Episode 8: "Common Threads" Options

[chucole]

Well, Pita, curries of all kinds are fairly strong, assertive flavors that do not resemble any other flavors in the typical American palette. And curries are strangers to the the typical American palate. :-)

Kids, in general and much more so than adults, just do not take well to foods and strong flavors that they're not familiar with. It can be exceptional food but if it lies far outside their experience, they aren't usually very receptive. I nearly gagged the first time I was fed a PB&J sandwich at 13, it was so god-awfully strange in every way.

The other, more successful chefs played things closer to the familiar. Foods with basic flavors the kids recognize and enjoy, and just a few novel spins and extras here and there.

loves me some curry. would have to convince my boys to try it though.

[WhataJoke]

Whata, I'm sorry. I know you will insist on proving Your One Point.

But you are hopelessly wrong. Mark's dish was not nutritious and not healthy, and sweet potatoes are not a superfood in the absence of other complete proteins. So indeed... yes... please put an end to your argument.

Sweet Potatoes Rank #1.

From Organicfood.com

Sweet Potatoes Nutrition Info
So good for you is the humble sweet potato that the US based Nutrition Action Healthletter once rated it the number one healthiest vegetable! This root vegetable qualified as an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), a very good source of vitamin C and manganese, and a good source of copper, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, potassium and iron.


Sweet Potatoes Health Benefits
Recent research studies on sweet potato has also focussed on two areas of unique health benefit. First are some unique root storage proteins in this food that have been observed to have significant antioxidant capacities. In one study, these proteins had about one-third the antioxidant activity of glutathione - one of the body's most impressive internally produced antioxidants. Although future studies are needed in this area, count on these root proteins to help explain sweet potatoes' healing properties.

Second is the recent classification of sweet potato as an "antidiabetic" food. Sweet potato has been given this label because of some recent animal studies in which sweet potato helped stabilize blood sugar levels and lowered insulin resistance. (Insulin resistance is a problem caused when cells don't respond to the hormone insulin, which is supposed to act as a key and unlock the cell in order to allow sugar to pass from the blood into the cell). Some of its blood sugar regulatory properties may come from come from the fact that sweet potatoes are concentrated in carotenoids. Research has suggested that physiological levels, as well as dietary intake, of carotenoids may be inversely associated with insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels. Once again, more research is needed in this area, but the stage is set for sweet potato to show unique healing properties in the area of blood sugar control.

Sweet Potates seem pretty healthy to me. Not to mention the other vegetables that were in there.

Sweet Potatoes also have 2 grams of protien for a half cup serving.

A Glass of Milk would likey make up any lack of protien.

[teleburst]

Well, Pita, curries of all kinds are fairly strong, assertive flavors that do not resemble any other flavors in the typical American palette. And curries are strangers to the the typical American palate. :-)

Kids, in general and much more so than adults, just do not take well to foods and strong flavors that they're not familiar with. It can be exceptional food but if it lies far outside their experience, they aren't usually very receptive. I nearly gagged the first time I was fed a PB&J sandwich at 13, it was so god-awfully strange in every way.

The other, more successful chefs played things closer to the familiar. Foods with basic flavors the kids recognize and enjoy, and just a few novel spins and extras here and there.

That's why Steph's peanut butter choice seemed like a no-brainer. The thing is, I'm not sure I've ever had a dish that paired a peanut sauce with tomatoes (unless they were maybe just a few small dices or something). That's just not a natural pairing and something that most good cooks wouldn't try to force. Of course, I had never paired jelly with cheese on a crusty roll until I lived in Germany and my fiancee introduced me to it. Now I'm a big fan. So, I'm now officially intrigued to see if peanut sauce and tomatoes can work, although I'm skeptical.

As to the Uncle Ben makeover, no I didn't know that they had done that. How perfectly cynical! Still doesn't change my mind about the branding. next thing you know, they'll be sending Uncle Remus to Harvard and redubbing his voice with James Earl Jones'.

[Pita]

Well, Pita, curries of all kinds are fairly strong, assertive flavors that do not resemble any other flavors in the typical American palette. And curries are strangers to the the typical American palate. :-)

Kids, in general and much more so than adults, just do not take well to foods and strong flavors that they're not familiar with. It can be exceptional food but if it lies far outside their experience, they aren't usually very receptive. I nearly gagged the first time I was fed a PB&J sandwich at 13, it was so god-awfully strange in every way.

The other, more successful chefs played things closer to the familiar. Foods with basic flavors the kids recognize and enjoy, and just a few novel spins and extras here and there.

Please. Whatever you do, don't tell my kids that! LOL.

I do see your point. I do. I just think it's a terrible shame that kids aren't introduced to flavors and a great variety of fruits and vegetables at an early age. I just did it differently, I guess.

I was very happy to see kids try and like the fennel salad and the beets. Good for them! I hope those kids make those additions an increasing part of their eating lives.

I suppose I liken the thought that kids don't do well with strong flavors as mind boggling as not cooking with beer and Polish sausage. Other cultures do it all the time. Other kids around the World have eaten and enjoyed plenty of chilies, garlic, onions, vinegars, jicamas, fennel, beets, etc.

I had to lol about your first experience with pb&j. My kids won't touch a pb&j because "it doesn't have any taste". So sayeth the 7 & 3 yo food critics.

[chucole]

Please. Whatever you do, don't tell my kids that! LOL.

I do see your point. I do. I just think it's a terrible shame that kids aren't introduced to flavors and a great variety of fruits and vegetables at an early age. I just did it differently, I guess.

I was very happy to see kids try and like the fennel salad and the beets. Good for them! I hope those kids make those additions an increasing part of their eating lives.

I suppose I liken the thought that kids don't do well with strong flavors as mind boggling as not cooking with beer and Polish sausage. Other cultures do it all the time. Other kids around the World have eaten and enjoyed plenty of chilies, garlic, onions, vinegars, jicamas, fennel, beets, etc.

I had to lol about your first experience with pb&j. My kids won't touch a pb&j because "it doesn't have any taste". So sayeth the 7 & 3 yo food critics.

One son doesn't like peanut butter and the other doesn't like chocolate milk. Go figure.

[WhataJoke]

Sweet Potatoes Rank #1.

From Organicfood.com



Sweet Potates seem pretty healthy to me. Not to mention the other vegetables that were in there.

Sweet Potatoes also have 2 grams of protien for a half cup serving.

A Glass of Milk would likey make up any lack of protien.

And just to add on here, a healthy diet includes a variety of foods.

Rabbit is one of the leanest protiens around but you can't live on it.

I wouldlove to look at Mark's curry item by item to see what was init but given the usual accuracy of Bravo's recipies coupled with last weeks recipie being reworked to include polish sausage it's hardly a reliable source.

[SecondTry]

One son doesn't like peanut butter and the other doesn't like chocolate milk. Go figure.

Talk about abnormal kids......

[SimonBao]

Sweet Potatoes Rank #1.

From Organicfood.com

Sweet Potates seem pretty healthy to me. Not to mention the other vegetables that were in there.

Sweet Potatoes also have 2 grams of protien for a half cup serving.

A Glass of Milk would likey make up any lack of protien.

Whata, you need to move on. A healthy root vegetable does not now and will not in future consitute a nutritious healthy meal. Not even when paired with other vegetables that all have their own merits as well. He could have added sweet potato leaves to that dish and thereby added a great source of lutein. But it makes no matter.

Instead of a nutritious, healthy meal, that had to account for the kids that would be eating it, Mark fed "a family of four" a nearly protein-free, dish of curried veggies. He was called out for the lack of protein and simply asserted that he didn't see why a vegetarian dish needed protein.

And by all accounts, it wasn't a good dish of curried veggies. And the kids didn't like it.

I'm from Vietnam. We know sweet potatoes. They'll keep you alive for a while till you can get your hands on some protein. (Heeeere doggie doggie doggie... come here...). But no, you cannot assert that was a healthy, nutritious meal.

[WhataJoke]

You can't live on sweet potatoes alone either. I don't think I ever used the "no protein" slam. I would characterize it as a serious lack of protein easily fixed by the addition of a few beans or a separate dal dish.

Since his curry tasted way off-base as well as not being nutritious and being pretty inappropriate to the challenge and didn't even look very good, it seems like his misfires trumped the Sausage Sisters' misfires. At least theirs seemed to taste better than the other misfire dish.

We have chicken a lot at family meal. Sometimes it's dry and oddly seasoned. But I eat it (not gladly). However, sometimes we have a teriyaki version of it and the chicken is naturally tender because it's in a sauce and yet the cook always heavily oversalts it (I suspect he uses both teriyaki sauce AND salt). Despite the fact that it's a pretty typical teriyaki dish, it tastes like a salt lick and I only eat a bite or two of it before I have to give up on it. So I can well understand why Simon might eat the chicken and cous-cous but not be able to gag down a sticky sweet curry that also happens to lack nutritional balance on its own.

Finally, about the sausage thing - that's why I like the fact that they have multiple criteria. Apparently the thing that landed them on the chopping block was the fact that they didn't conform strictly to the rules. And yet, their dish seemed to taste pretty good in general (maybe I'm misremembering, but I don't remember any really serious knocks to the flavor of the dish). So it didn't lose to a clearly inferior tasting dish. In fact, the fact that they didn't use Polish sausage probably was the only reason that the "in-the-middle" dish of Mark's team didn't make it to the chopping block. So, these things seem to work themselves out from challenge to challenge.

A glass of Milk would work.

I'm sure if Mark or any other contestants cheated like the sausage sisters their food would taste good.

Their are multipule critera so the judges aren't hamstrung about who they are eliminating. The nutritional argument gave them the tiny sliver of something, heck anything, to get rid of Mark and save Stephanie because she clearly made the worst food.

[SimonBao]

I had to lol about your first experience with pb&j. My kids won't touch a pb&j because "it doesn't have any taste". So sayeth the 7 & 3 yo food critics.

Pita, when I first got here, all kinds of "normal" and "typical" American foods seemed utterly and completely gag-worthy. I would have welcomed cardboard if it came in a coconut milk/curry sauce.

[SivartAlappes]

the other doesn't like chocolate milk.

WHAT?!?!?!?!? To me, that's a crime! I'm a chocolate-milk-a-holic! It's by far the single greatest drink in all mankind, as far as I'm concerned.

[teleburst]

Sweet Potatoes Rank #1.

From Organicfood.com



Sweet Potates seem pretty healthy to me. Not to mention the other vegetables that were in there.

Sweet Potatoes also have 2 grams of protien for a half cup serving.

A Glass of Milk would likey make up any lack of protien.

But 4 glasses of milk would drive the combined cost of the meal well over $10. Plus, while the protein in such a combined dish would supply half of a 50 lb child's daily requirement, it would only supply less than a fifth of an adult's. That's assuming of course that each serving had a half a cup of sweet potato. In looking at the dish, that appears to be the case, as there were some nice big chunks of it.

No one says that sweet potatoes aren't healthy. And I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that rice has some protein as well, although the percentage of protein vs caloric content is far smaller than the legume types of protein.

But there's no way that anyone could consider Mark's dish balanced, either from a nutritional stadpoint or, perhaps more importantly, from a flavor standpoint. And that's pretty much why he lost, because that was on top of a poor choice of dishes in the first place.

[SimonBao]

Sweet Potatoes also have 2 grams of protien for a half cup serving.

You need to bear in mind, that is an incomplete protein. That's not a small issue. That is THE issue in vegetarian and vegan cooking. To be useful and to be nutritious, a meal must put all the essential amino acids into the diner. Not some. All. And not over the course of the day or the course of the week. There, in that one meal. Hence the combo of high protein grains with legumes. Both have proteins in them, neither is complete. The combination... that is complete.

[WhataJoke]

Whata, you need to move on. A healthy root vegetable does not now and will not in future consitute a nutritious healthy meal. Not even when paired with other vegetables that all have their own merits as well. He could have added sweet potato leaves to that dish and thereby added a great source of lutein. But it makes no matter.

Instead of a nutritious, healthy meal, that had to account for the kids that would be eating it, Mark fed "a family of four" a nearly protein-free, dish of curried veggies. He was called out for the lack of protein and simply asserted that he didn't see why a vegetarian dish needed protein.

And by all accounts, it wasn't a good dish of curried veggies. And the kids didn't like it.

I'm from Vietnam. We know sweet potatoes. They'll keep you alive for a while till you can get your hands on some protein. (Heeeere doggie doggie doggie... come here...). But no, you cannot assert that was a healthy, nutritious meal.

This was one meal. Where in the challenge did they say that this meal was supposed to be a self sustainable diet? If a family of four in today's society eats this one night during a week I bet most dietitians would be pretty happy.

[dcjewbear]

I'm a very messy and unorganized cook myself. I spend much more time worrying about perfecting the dish than cleaning my workspace. And I'd definantly need to wear an apron over my chef coat as I tend to wipe my hands off on my shirt, and I'd rather not have to do laundry every single day.

I've met many fine chefs, and their work stations have always been impeccable. You need that to work in a restaurant. Now, as a home cook, it may not be a deal breaker, but, if I see someone with their coat a mess, besides the sleaves, then I'm already wondering. It's just something that is taught to aspiring chefs. That's just my opinion, but it's one I've gotten from many fine chefs, as well as the simplest line cooks. In fact, a great line cook is worth his, or her, weight in gold.

[SivartAlappes]

This was one meal. Where in the challenge did they say that this meal was supposed to be a self sustainable diet? If a family of four in today's society eats this one night during a week I bet most dietitians would be pretty happy.

I agree. How many households eat a "fully balanced and nutricious meal" anyway?! Most families today don't even HAVE dinner time anymore with more than 60% of the american families having more than 2 jobs! It's pretty much "fend for yourself". And most kids aren't going to put chicken and vegies in a pot together... they're going for Mac&Cheese or Chef Boy-R-Dee (sP?)

[SimonBao]

I agree. How many households eat a "fully balanced and nutricious meal" anyway?! Most families today don't even HAVE dinner time anymore with more than 60% of the american families having more than 2 jobs! It's pretty much "fend for yourself". And most kids aren't going to put chicken and vegies in a pot together... they're going for Mac&Cheese or Chef Boy-R-Dee (sP?)

Well, that was the challenge. No matter what others may do, THAT was the challenge.

As for how most Americans do eat, they never replicate the Lack of Protein issue. Plenty of protein in American diets and meals. But far too many simple carbs and simple starches, too much high fructose corn syrup, too many saturated and trans fats, too much fat and calories over all.

That's why Antonia's plate is so deserving. And Nikki's One Pot Wonder, entree and side salad. Andrew's dish may have tasted fine, but as plated it looks more like a course than a meal. Props for getting kids to eat fennel bulb, I can't abide it.

[SecondTry]

Props for getting kids to eat fennel bulb, I can't abide it.

I can't stand the stuff either, but my entire extended family lives for it--they generally serve it with the fruit course.

[teleburst]

You need to bear in mind, that is an incomplete protein. That's not a small issue. That is THE issue in vegetarian and vegan cooking. To be useful and to be nutritious, a meal must put all the essential amino acids into the diner. Not some. All. And not over the course of the day or the course of the week. There, in that one meal. Hence the combo of high protein grains with legumes. Both have proteins in them, neither is complete. The combination... that is complete.

Dr. Bronner's used to have a food additive similar to a soy sauce that, when combined with avocado, was alleged to supply all 14 of the important amino acids in the proper proportions. It was actually quite tasty if you put it on a cut avocado, and it was claimed that you could actually live on only the two together (which I always doubted). Sadly, they don't seem to still be making it, at least if the website is to be trusted. It was a tasty condiment that I used to use in a veggie mix that I used to make for a veggie omelet. Obviously I haven't used it in years though, because I didn't know that they weren't making it.

[SivartAlappes]

I've met many fine chefs, and their work stations have always been impeccable. You need that to work in a restaurant. Now, as a home cook, it may not be a deal breaker, but, if I see someone with their coat a mess, besides the sleaves, then I'm already wondering. It's just something that is taught to aspiring chefs. That's just my opinion, but it's one I've gotten from many fine chefs, as well as the simplest line cooks. In fact, a great line cook is worth his, or her, weight in gold.

Well, I was a line cook in a restraunt for about 8 months. I was the same way there. The head chef got annoyed at my work station and made me clean it before making any other dishes at times... but he generally let it slide because I move around the kitchen extremely fast (I can do a table of 8 entrees in under 20 mintues), and all my stuff tastes great.

I consider myself to be a "soul chef". I don't bother with measuring stuff out unless it's the very first time I've made a certain dish, or I need to make a certain large amount (catering). I do everything by look, taste, and gut feelings. I trust my tastebuds. They've only done me wrong once (I thought one time I might try pasta with meatballs and bernaise... well, now I know what NOT to cook! )