Welcome to Healthy Personal Chef

What We Are About...

The Mirror Immage 'foodie' crew spent some time trying to create a way to share our wonderful knowledge about food, the techniques of preparing and cooking food and the benefits that foods can offer the body. In one of our planning sessions we began to joke about our food concept and nick-named it the personal chef.

And then it was born... Healthy Personal Chef

In so many ways, we are all looking for our own little personal chef; One that will offer great culinary techniques while feeding us delicious healthy foods. So, the Healthy Personal Chef has begun. We are preparing to share with the world from some great culinary minds.

Chicken

Poultry

Most people assume that chicken is healthy, but the nutritional content of chicken depends on how the poultry is prepared and which part of the bird you eat.

Does the nutritional content change when you eat different part of the bird? Yes, it does. Chicken breast is usually the healthiest choice. Here's how the nutritional content of various chicken parts compare according to USDA data.

Chicken can be an excellent source of low-fat protein. Chicken is also a very good source of selenium, phosphorus, vitamin B6 and niacin. Depending on the cooking method you choose - chicken can also be low in sodium.

Vitamins & Minerals

Garlic

The garlic plant's bulb is the most commonly used part of the plant. With the exception of the single clove types, garlic bulbs are normally divided into numerous fleshy sections called cloves. Garlic cloves are used for consumption (raw or cooked) or for medicinal purposes. They have a characteristic pungent, spicy flavor that mellows and sweetens considerably with cooking.

Technique

Searing
It is a technique used in grilling, baking, braising, roasting, sautéing, etc., in which the surface of the food (usually meat, poultry or fish) is cooked at high temperature until a browned crust forms. Similar techniques, browning and blackening, are typically used to sear all sides of a particular piece of meat, fish, poultry, etc. before finishing it in the oven. To obtain the desired brown or black crust, the meat surface must exceed 150 °C (300 °F), so searing requires the meat surface be free of water, which boils at around 100 °C (212 °F).

Tools

Frying Pan, Frypan, or Skillet

It is a flat-bottomed pan used for frying, searing, and browning foods. It is typically 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in) in diameter with relatively low sides that flare outwards, a long handle, and no lid. Larger pans may have a small grab handle opposite the main handle. A pan of similar dimensions, but with less flared vertical sides and often with a lid, is called a sauté pan. While a sauté pan can be used like a frying pan, it is designed for lower-heat cooking methods, namely sautéing.

Health Highlight:

Cucumbers contain several antioxidants, including vitamin C, beta-carotene and manganese, as well as flavonoids, triterpenes and lignans that have anti-inflammatory properties. Vitamin C is well known for its immune system benefits, and beta-carotene has been shown to be beneficial for vision, according to the Mayo Clinic.
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