Dieting? How About Healthy Recipes for Pampered Chef Future

Now is the time that everyone is thinking about joining a gym or going on a diet. Is that a New Year’s resolution you have made in the past? Did you know that the average New Year’s dieter loses interest in her or his weight loss program by January 14th?

I wish Pampered Chef would focus more on real food-natural choice recipes instead of chemical laden convenience foods. Large companies like the Pampered Chef influence the public's awareness. People think that if PC or Panera Bread or a company like that says it is healthy, then it is and this could not be further from the truth. Some of our recipes are hardly real food. (Real Meals-Real Fast = pork stir-fry with Ramon noodles!!!) I am constantly pointing this out to the HO and they need to hear it from others. Check out my healthy blog for more on :thumbup:http://www.wowyouarereallylucky.com/food-choices/government-corporate-responsibility.htm

With the New Year here everyone is thinking about diets. If we eat real food we would never have to go on a diet! Chemicals are addictive and have no nutritional value. They set us up for over eating!

If the diet you are starting requires:
• special meals to buy
• meeting fees
• pills
• going it alone....
• complicated recipes or ingredients
• chemicals or artificial ingredients

It won't last a lifetime! When looking for a :balloon:http://www.wowyouarereallylucky.com/reduce-weight-for-a-new-you look for one that uses natural foods, one that fits into your busy life and includes foods that the whole family can eat as well as guidance from a food expert. You do not have to be one of those statistics. Don't fall for the wild promises!

Tell PC how you feel too! Every comment represents hundreds of reps to the HO so it does make a difference even if it doesn't seem like they are listening.

Deb, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!! You are SOOOOO true about the convenience foods! I will be writing an email to HO soon. I also have the ear of one of the test kitchen chefs, so you will be sure that he will be hearing from me as well.

Thank you for bringing this up in a very professional manner. I have also been dismayed that PC relies so much on convenience/processed foods. I would love to see more recipes using whole grain products, for example.

I will definitely write HO about this...

Interesting, I was just having a conversation with a friend on 12/28 about recipes, etc. while looking over a Season's Best. She had never given her kids crescent rolls until her son was about 10. They just made them plain and he had a reaction. Tried again a few months later, same reaction but almost anaphylactic.I have many customers who like the recipes but make their own dough.

I totally agree Deb. Healthy Family Recipes would make any of our customers happy. Thanks for bringing the topic to the table.

THANK YOU DEB!! I thought I was the only one who had problems with our recipes. My DH and I are always struggling to eat healthier and when I became a consultant last year, we sorta went backwards. It is really hard for me to promote recipes that I wouldn't eat myself! One of my goals for 2009 is to find healthier recipes to demonstrate. Of course, this takes more time on my part. Surely there are some chefs, food editors, etc. at HO who can come up with better alternatives! I, too, am going to write a letter.

I agree that having healthy food recipes is a great idea. I wish PC had a fresh-homemade-natural cookbook with recipes for people. So many young women don't know how to make things from scratch. (Bread, cake, mac n' cheese)

With that said, we as consultants, need to keep in mind that eating fresh homemade or natural food is expensive $$$ and takes time regarding preparation. These two things, time and money, are what most people are lacking. Especially right now.

I try to point out how the PC's tools can help them get away from buying the prepared foods that are now a more expensive, but quicker way to stock their kitchen. Pre-grated cheese can be replaced with a block of cheese and the Ultimate Mandy a little flour in the bag, shake and freeze; the salad choppers, a head of lettus and you spin it. With our tools you can dupilcate the convience foods with a healthier, more budget friendly options. But you keep the time down during the evening rush do get dinner on the table.

Thanks Deb! I thought I was the only one who questioned the Pork Noodle Skillet being "real food".
The Real Food issue is one reason why I don't always try the recipes at home before demoing them. If other people want to eat that stuff, I'm not going to be their conscience, but we don't eat stuff like Ramen Noodles.

I really like the 29 Minutes to Dinner cookbook, because it uses mostly natural ingredients to make quick meals. The new Latin cookbook also has mostly natural choices.


Here is a recipe to use in place of crescent rolls for the Clubhouse Chicken Squares, Mini Ham Puffs, etc.... I've used it for years.

Veggie Pizza Crust

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teas. baking powder
1 teas. salt
2/3 C. fat free milk
1/4 C. plus 1 Tbls. olive or canola oil - divided

Combine flour, bp, and salt. Add milk and 1/4 C oil; mix well. Shape into a ball; knead 10 times. Press onto bottom and up sides of large bar pan. Prick with fork & brush with remaining flour. Bake at 425 for 12-14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool.

Crystal Patton said:

With that said, we as consultants, need to keep in mind that eating fresh homemade or natural food is expensive $$$ and takes time regarding preparation. These two things, time and money, are what most people are lacking. Especially right now.

Click to expand...

Actually, scratch cooking is CHEAPER, but yes, it does take more time.

Yes you are right I have been selling P C for 9 years and every January I find it hard to find low fat recipes cause that is what everyone wants . I know the skillet cake look amazing but when ever i make the NO ONE eats it and it goes to waste,
I my self try to eat healthy and a bit more help from PC would be great for all of us Thanks again

I have to admit when I started with PC I had to change some of my cooking. I have always cooked from scratch due to, it is cheaper, we had four children, and two of our children were teenage boys that were never filled. I had never bought any of the tubed biscuits or pizza dough.

I would love to have more healthy dinner options come out in the SB that would be good for demos. But really, so many people have different opinions about what they consider "healthy"... to some it's whole foods, others it could include convenience foods that are low in calories or low in fat. There are so many differing diet plans out there, so HO could never make everyone happy. I think they have been trying, the It's Good for You, 29 Minutes to Dinner, the Latin Flavor cookbook are just a start, and maybe they will make more with everyone's requesting more healthy ones. My sister would gripe about the recipes being unhealthy and made from crescent rolls and premade pizza crust, but I told her that PC is about the tools! The recipes are what we use to help to demo the products. When you do a demo, you could tell the guests that while tonight we are using crescent dough/pizza dough/etc, you could make your own version. You can use whole wheat pasts instead of regular, natural peanut butter instead of regular, etc. I view the recipes as a means to get people to see products in action. The recipes themselves are good at inspiring people to cook again. So many people just eat out. The recipes are a kick-off point, they help to get people excited about cooking and it starts the creative juices flowing for people to think of what things they can make at home. Also, there are many recipes for the DCB that are great and healthy. It must be hard trying to come up with new recipes, trying for new flavors, pretty presentation, something that uses a lot of our tools, can be made in 30 minutes, etc. I think it's great to make the request to HO, but I wouldn't be upset with them if they still throw in recipes that aren't "healthy". Appetizers and desserts also are hardly ever healthy (you can substitute things to make them better, though) But if I were to hand a recipe to a host that had a lot of ingredients and told her to make the dough ahead or whatever, I think it would be a big turnoff. People want convenience when hosting (and consultants, too), and I think our recipes are good at that. JMHO, hope no one takes offense..

Speaking of pizza dough, I posted a recipe on the bread machine thread the other day. I had made it yesterday with the intent on freezing some of it for later, but we had homemade pizza hot pockets instead for lunch. It, along with Becky's recipe (it is similar to that) make great based for the chicken squares and other things. If you have a bread machine, it is great to make dough.I'm also looking to make some dinner rolls this weekend and freeze them.Like others said, it takes time, but if you can pick part of a day a month to just focus on it, you can get a lot prepped, your freezer stocked and ready for those busy days...and those who know me know that I know busy! However, I want to save money and I want to eat as a family at home not in a restaurant if I can, and eat healthier.

Amanda - I think your point makes perfect sense, and at a point I was there too, and so are many customers.I agree with others though that we focus on convenience and do lack the healthy.As a consultant, I had to teach myself how to do more things by hand to reach that customer base too. We may "say" you can use homemade dough, etc., but we also need to learn to "teach" a scratch cook how to use our tools, otherwise, they go with what they have. (I hope that made sense too).It's a tough balancing act for HO...either way you have to choose who to market too and will alienate a few.

I also agree that cooking from scratch can be a lot less expensive than using convenience foods...if you plan ahead. I see Amanda's point that PC is about the tools, and we should be using those tools to teach people more healthy recipes and the occasional decadent appetizer or dessert, rather than demonstating something unhealthy then leaving to the customer to make the transition.

I am encouraged that PC does keep up with trends and am sure that recipes will continue to evolve toward fresh ingredients and include more cultures' cuisine.

Here are some awesome "Martini" choices - to excite audiences - fruit or veggie

Scott those look so yummy

scottcooks said:

Here are some awesome "Martini" choices - to excite audiences - fruit or veggie

Click to expand...

Wouldn't those look even better in our dots stemwear?!:thumbup:

Well, I just got an email response from the Test Kitchen. Unfortunately, healthy eating is not a priority these days!! And PC has to go along with the trend. I guess part of selling is to cater to the marketplace. I just hate practicing unhealthy recipes and then feeding them to my family. And I surely don't want to pitch them! Guess I'll have to come up with some alternatives--hey, I'll start a new thread and we can do it together!!

cactus_flower said:

Well, I just got an email response from the Test Kitchen. Unfortunately, healthy eating is not a priority these days!! And PC has to go along with the trend. I guess part of selling is to cater to the marketplace.

I just hate practicing unhealthy recipes and then feeding them to my family. And I surely don't want to pitch them! Guess I'll have to come up with some alternatives--hey, I'll start a new thread and we can do it together!!

Click to expand...

Maybe if enough people e-mail them with information that we wants heathier recipes as well as our customers.

cactus_flower said:

Well, I just got an email response from the Test Kitchen. Unfortunately, healthy eating is not a priority these days!! And PC has to go along with the trend. I guess part of selling is to cater to the marketplace.

I just hate practicing unhealthy recipes and then feeding them to my family. And I surely don't want to pitch them! Guess I'll have to come up with some alternatives--hey, I'll start a new thread and we can do it together!!

Click to expand...

What did the email say?

Deb Bixler said:

I wish Pampered Chef would focus more on real food-natural choice recipes instead of chemical laden convenience foods.

Click to expand...

YES!!! I'm a new PCer, but have been focusing my food choices on locally grown, organic, and whole foods for close to two years. I am not about to start buying foods laced with high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated fats just to sell products, so that cuts out a whole range of recipes. I will not be buying any dough in a tube or brownie mix. :thumbdown:Add to that the fact that I don't serve meat products and most PC recipes are just not an option for me. Vegetarian recipes are few and far between in PC cookbooks. There are no PC vegetarian cookbooks, which I find really surprising. I realize that not everyone eats vegetarian, but there are quite a few people who are trying to eat less meat to lower their food bills. I'm on a message board about household finances and it's a big topic over there, cutting out meat one or two nights a week to save money. I cook almost everything from scratch. It's definitely cheaper, and usually healthier side by side for the same dish. I've been making the 3-cheese garden pizza with fresh whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe's at all of my shows. It's all whole ingredients, and lower fat than many of our recipes. I've been giving tips about how to use our tools to make meals healthier (chop up veggies in the food chopper to add to casseroles or eggs, for example, or the adjustable measuring spoon to get all the peanut butter out, unlike regular spoons that you have to lick clean .)

koima..great writing. I am a vegetarian and am stumped at times about what to cook. I love informing people about healthier choices. We will definitely need to start a thread about healthier recipes... I do cook what the host wants.. and it is usually desserts. I try to focus on salads and desserts. You are so strong in your convictions.. and I admire you for that. I also help those with allergies... they have to prepare most from scratch too to avoid the allergen.

I agree! I too am a vegetarian and I try not to eat fast food or convenience foods. Once I actaully started learning about food and additives I was shocked to find out all the crap that goes into thing that most families (especially children) eat everyday! I wish the test kitchen would realize that you can do fast without refrigerator dough! ick!

pampermejolene said:

I wish the test kitchen would realize that you can do fast without refrigerator dough! ick!

Click to expand...

I'm sure that they would agree with you. However, most of today's population is too lazy or too busy to do it that way and they are catering to the population. Personally, I have eaten more Pillsbury products since I've been a consultant than I have in my life! It would be nice if there were alternatives listed to the recipes to include more 'from scratch' tips and ideas. That being said, I am seeing less of these items in the newer cookbooks than in the older ones though - so I think that HO is listening and trying.

gingertannery said:

koima..great writing. I am a vegetarian and am stumped at times about what to cook. I love informing people about healthier choices. We will definitely need to start a thread about healthier recipes... I do cook what the host wants.. and it is usually desserts. I try to focus on salads and desserts. You are so strong in your convictions.. and I admire you for that. I also help those with allergies... they have to prepare most from scratch too to avoid the allergen.

Click to expand...

I would definitely be a participant in a thread like that! I do not like buying so many high sodium, high fat, high sugar, pre-packaged foods. I can make numerous from scratch recipes that are simple and take very little time at all! I would love to see recipes with more whole grains, whole grain pastas, leaner cuts of meat, meatless ideas, more veggie and fruit recipes, and basically, recipes with foods that come from the perimeter of the grocery store, not the aisles in the middle.

Speaking of a new thread about healthier recipes... there is a thread started and I'm surprised not very many people are posting their ideas. Please share your favorite healthy recipes! I don't know how to copy and paste the link, but it's called "2009 healthier recipes...share yours", or something like that. If everyone posts some of their favorite recipes, we'd have a nice little file we could create to share with customers or to at least use for ourselves. We don't have to wait for HO to make us something, we can adapt, create, or collaborate to come up with some great ideas on our own, right?!

soooo glad to see this.my teenage son is very health consious (no meat either) and gets upset that I cant make many healthy PC meals.I have tweaked a few recipes for him and my friend who cant do dairy..(I actually made her a pizza)so, a vegetarian recipe really appeals to me for him
the rest of the house eats meat...

We eat in a very healthful way. For many years now I have avoided buy products with HFCS, or hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oil. I also try to avoid most preservatives, and also food colorings (other than natural ones) and artificial sweetners.
BUT - I realize that it is a lifestyle choice, and so I have never tried to foist it onto my hosts. People have such different ideas about what is healthy and good for them. If my host thinks buying a lowfat brownie mix, and sugar free pudding w/ sugar free cool whip is what is healthy, than that is her choice, and I am not going to give her a hard time about it or make her use ingredients she doesn't want. I am not her conscience, or her Dr., or health advisor.
I can practice the recipes at home using my own cooking techniques, and do them as written for shows.
I have tried many times to offer a "Healthy Eating" class - and have never had any takers - so I guess that says to me that most people aren't interested in eating the way that we eat at our house. In fact, sometimes someone will ask me about how we eat, and when I tell them they say "Oh, I could never eat like that".

Also - keep in mind that depending on where you live, healthier options are more available to some than others. I have no Trader Joes, or Whole Foods Market, or anything even remotely like them within a 100 mile radius of my home. I have a choice of 1 regional and 2 local grocery store chains, plus a Super Walmart if I want to drive 25 miles(and wouldn't shop there anyway). Oh - and Costco! Thank God for Costco! They have begun offering more organic and natural products, but pickings are still slim. So, for people in my area, there is not as much awareness of healthful foods, because there just isn't the same exposure to them.

Most of how we eat is now 2nd nature - I don't even think about it being different anymore. I just make better choices now. For instance:

I always buy eggs that are cage-free/organic. This makes them higher in vitamin E and Omega-3 oils.
I buy only whole grain pastas, and bread.
I use only brown rice.
I buy organic milk - I'd like for all of my dairy to be organic, but it's too cost prohibitive.
I make sure that I buy fresh organic fruits and veggies as much as possible - but often, especially during the winter, there isn't much choice, unless we want to limit ourselves to lettuce, carrots, celery, and apples. I was thrilled this week when I was able to buy a bag of organic potatoes (on sale no less!) and a bag of organic sweet onions!:thumbup:
I have a garden during the summer where I grow my own veggies - without the help of chemicals.

When someone asks me now about eating healthier - I give them these ideas.

Start by buying cage free eggs and switch to a whole grain bread. (Those are simple things that anyone can do.)
I also encourage people to read the following books:
Eating Well For Optimum Health
Eight Weeks To Optimum Health both by Dr. Andrew Weil.

Also Ultra-Metabolism by By Dr. Mark Hyman

I agree with you Becky, about not pushing our eating styles on our hosts. I agree that our recipes are not the healthiest, although over the past year (my first as PC Consultant) I have enjoyed many of the recipes, that is why I had to join Weight Watchers this week! :cry: But I know that not everyone has the same problem. For myself and my family I will still probably cook some PC recipes, but I will adapt them to my new healthier eating lifestyle. And, I may, at my shows, explain to the guests how they can skinny up the recipe or make it healthier, depending on their priorities in life. But I can't imagine telling a host that they have to go to Trader Joe's and get the special dough because I have a problem with the more convenient cheap one. As a past PC host, I would have been very upset with my consultant if she had told me that she refused to cook a PC recipe because of her personal taste. I don't think that's what we're here for. In the end, the recipe is a means to sell the product, and you should make a recipe (within reason) that you and your host agrees on... JMO.