Hello, there!
I am a registered dietitian, specializing in diabetes and celiac disease. I have lived with diabetes for over 30 years, and celiac for almost 20. My life has revolved around preparing my own "special" foods, substituting ingredients, and modifying recipes. Thankfully, I come from a family who enjoys cooking and baking.
Throughout my life and career, food has been a centerpiece. When you look at our culture, it revolves heavily around food. All the recipes in my blog will be modified to be gluten free - some recipes may also be modified for convenience, or for cost, or just to make them more "dietitiany."
As part of my dietetics schooling, I had to take two cooking classes - The Scientific Study of Food and Experimental Cooking. While I have always enjoyed cooking, especially trying new recipes, those classes sparked something in me - I became fascinated with what happens to recipes when you alter ingredients or modify the cooking method. In general, I find recipes are guidelines. I don't always measure ingredients, I never weigh them, and I have a tendency to add spices to recipes based on the "sniff" test. Baking is harder for me. Although I love eating the final product, baking is much more precise. Each ingredient serves a very specific purpose, so I am forced to be more diligent about ingredients. I'm excited to dip my hands into baking more often, so I can "experiment" with different ingredients.
Please note: I am not a chef. Outside of those two cooking classes, I've never had professional training in the kitchen. I have learned by doing. My previous job as a supermarket dietitian allowed me 11 years of learning how to cook on the fly. Because of this, I have decided to dub myself a "cookatitian."
Most recipes I make turn out to be edible - with a few categorized as baked garbage and some winning the delicious award. See below for a description of how I will rate my own recipe adventures.
Throughout my blog, I'll rate the recipes on a scale of 1-5 stars:
* - (1 star) baked garbage
** - (2 stars) meh
*** - (3 stars) edible
**** - (4 stars) I've impressed myself
***** - (5 stars) delicious award
I am passionate about dietetics, and I do not believe in "one size fits all" eating. Everyone has a unique lifestyle and eating pattern suitable to them. I encourage everyone to find what works best for their life. You'll see I use recipes from all over and don't focus on just one eating pattern. There may be an abundance of Italian and Hispanic, though, because I believe spaghetti and nachos should be their own food groups. But, again, I'm taking this as an opportunity to expand my own eating horizons as well as (hopefully) yours.
If you have suggestions, websites, or recipes you would like to see me try out - please send all correspondence to RecipesAreGuidelines@gmail.com.
I appreciate you following me on this journey and look forward to having a nice meal with you all. From at least 6 feet away. In small gatherings of less than 10 people.
