We still can’t get over the amazing food we cooked at the Wellness Kitchen and how much we learned in so little time. Our tummies left very satisfied, but more importantly, we left inspired to make a change in our diet and share this nutritional wisdom with anyone we can.
Seriously, there was so much that we didn’t know about nutrition, and how it not only effects our own health, but also the environment.
How often do you make a home-cooked meal? Do you know how to prepare a nutritionally-balanced meal with real ingredients?
These are questions we should all ask ourselves. Before I took a hands-on cooking class led by Paulette Lambert, R.D., CDE, I would have answered “often/above average” and “yes”. But after this experience, I was reminded how important it is to prepare home-cooked meals as part of your weekly routine — not only for our own health, but for the environment.
I also realized that there area lot of nutritional “fads” that I’ve been misled on, thanks to marketing, trends and yup, you guessed it, the internet.
First of all, I’m going to cut right to the chase — coconut oil is not good for your diet. It’s good for hair, skin, etc., but NOT for your diet. It has a ton (like 92%) of saturated fats — which are the bad fats. So sadly, I had to remove mine from my pantry and now put it in my bathroom.
We were shocked. I seriously felt like that scene from Mean Girls where Regina realizes those chocolate bars are making her fat. HA! sorry, couldn’t help it.
Okay, back to the class 
It was incredibly informative, hands-on. and most importantly, fun. After Paulette gave us a glimpse into her vast knowledge about nutrition and the environment, we jumped right in. All the recipes and ingredients were laid out at different stations, while Paulette and her sous-chefs were available to provide assistance — but other than that, we were on our own!
They weren’t joking when they said it was a “hands-on” cooking class!;) Oh, and did I mention how pretty the kitchen is?! 
This is the special green sauce I made — mostly comprised of parsley and cilantro, full of antioxidants and delicious!
This is the Beyond Beef vegetarian sausage, a great source of plant-based protein! [Check out Beyond Meat’s mission in order to learn more about how our diet effects the environment and why we need to make a change]
Here’s my face as Ryley poured the delicious white sauce on her lasagna (I’m not posing for the camera, that was me in the moment!;).
I prepared the salmon. Super easy! This is the perfect crowd-pleasing dish for guests – it’s impressive, delicious and easy to prepare!
Grilled tomatoes for the Charred Tomato soup… mmm!
And here’s a look at the prepared food, all cooked by us!
Summer Strawberry Salad with Walnuts and Feta
Moroccan Carrots
Lentils with Roasted Eggplant and Tahini
Cedar-Grilled Salmon with Fresh Herbs
White Lasagna with Vegetarian Sausage
Chocolate Cupcake with Matcha Frosting
Now it’s time to eat!
Paulette shed so much light on how simple and crucial it is to live a whole-balanced diet. We were so inspired that the next day my sister and I ordered her cookbook (definitely recommend it!) and headed to the grocery stores.
I highly recommend visiting the Wellness Kitchen at Four Seasons Westlake Village, and bringing anyone you care about. Seriously, I can’t stress enough how eye-opening and inspiring our experience was. We’re planning to bring our entire family back soon!
#nutrition #eatwell #livewell #bewell #homecooking #localeats #healthylifestyle #LL805
xx~
Hayley {LL805}
The post Don’t Ingest Coconut Oil, How to Eat an Environmentally-Sustainable Diet, and other things we learned at The Wellness Kitchen appeared first on Local Love 805.