The Everyday Gourmet: Making Healthy Food Taste Great
Taught By Multiple Professors

Course Overview

When you hear the words “healthy food,” it’s all too easy to think of bland, uninspired, or unfamiliar food that takes all the pleasure out of cooking and eating. What often prevents us from practicing healthy eating habits: the wealth of misinformation out there about what foods are healthy and the idea that we have to sacrifice the flavor that makes food such an enjoyable part of life.

But there’s an easy way to conquer both of those obstacles. All it takes is a little nutrition science and a few culinary tricks—both of which you’ll get in The Everyday Gourmet: Making Healthy Food Taste Great.

It turns out that healthy food is easy to understand and, when prepared well, is a treat to your palate. Healthy food doesn’t have to compromise on taste; rather, imaginative preparation can enhance the natural flavors of food while providing you with enormous health benefits. What you eat, and how you prepare it, has a profound impact not only on the way you look but on the way you feel.

And in recent years, multiple scientific studies have confirmed the benefits of a healthy diet for reducing the risk factors for obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even certain cancers.

In short, healthy eating is a profound part of living a longer, healthier, and happier life. In these six lessons delivered by Dr. Connie Guttersen and Chef Bill Briwa, two master instructors from The Culinary Institute of America, you’ll discover:
   - the specific nutritional benefits of foods commonly found in grocery stores,
   - what’s true and what’s false about nutrition and diet,
   - how specific culinary techniques and ingredients can transform healthy foods into taste sensations,
   - why international cuisines are a key component of a healthy diet, and, most important,
   - how easy and fun it is to cook with health and nutrition in mind.

Filmed on location at the CIA’s Greystone campus in the heart of Napa Valley, these lessons are packed with scientific insights and tasty dishes that will get you excited about healthy cooking and eating—whether you’re a novice cook or a seasoned home chef.

Explore the Science behind Healthy Cooking

Central to Making Healthy Food Taste Great is what Dr. Guttersen calls “the Sonoma Smart Plate,” which focuses on creating a healthy plate of food that incorporates the perfect balance between the right amount and the right combination of foods.

“It’s really about making healthy eating second nature,” says Dr. Guttersen, who pioneered this popular approach to healthy eating. “It’s not about micromanaging how much food you eat, the calories, the points, the grams—it’s really about being more mindful and about shifting your focus to what we know is the healthiest way to eat.”

And when it comes to the food itself, Dr. Guttersen offers you fascinating and helpful insights into why particular foods and food groups are so beneficial to health and wellness, and why incorporating them into your everyday diet is essential to a well-lived (and well-fed) life. In these engaging lessons, you’ll learn the nutritional science behind:
   - whole-grain carbohydrates such as farro, bulgur wheat, and quinoa;
   - healthy proteins that come from lean animal meat and plant-based foods;
   - “superfoods,” including broccoli rabe and peppers, that are packed with vitamins and nutrients;
and much more.

Create Healthy (and Delicious) Dishes with Confidence

As you learn alongside Dr. Guttersen, you’ll also benefit from the experience of Chef Briwa, one of the CIA’s master chef-instructors, as he demonstrates just how easy and fun healthy cooking is. As he notes, “Healthy eating is really all about understanding the science—and then finding a way to make that science taste good.”

You’ll learn how to confidently approach healthy cooking techniques such as broiling, steaming, and toasting, and you’ll discover how to create eye-popping and mouth-watering dishes for yourself, including:
   - breakfast quesadillas cooked with whole-grain tortillas and healthy oil to replace much of the saturated fat,
   - lunch and dinner salads made with everything from roasted peppers to barley to beans, and
   - walnut oat cookies with dried cranberries, which make for a much healthier—but still indulgent—dessert option.

A Course as Fascinating as It Is Practical

But above all, what makes these lessons on healthy food unlike anything you’ll find in a cookbook or on television is the opportunity to learn from two of the CIA’s best instructors. Both Dr. Guttersen and Chef Briwa combine engaging teaching methods and on-set cooking demonstrations with hard nutrition science. So not only are you being engaged and entertained—you’re getting invaluable knowledge that you can carry with you every time you step into the grocery store or the kitchen.

Dr. Guttersen brings to these sessions her pioneering work on nutrition science and her years as a consultant for some of the world’s largest food-related corporations, including Kraft Foods and Nestlé. Chef Briwa brings his expertise as a culinary instructor with decades of experience and his work as a chef at popular venues, including The Hess Collection Winery in Napa, California, and The Wine Spectator Restaurant at the CIA at Greystone.

Together, they make an informative and engaging team from which to learn everything you need to master the secrets of healthy cooking—and to improve your health through the dishes you make and eat without having to compromise on taste. So join them both for The Everyday Gourmet: Making Healthy Food Taste Great, a course as fascinating as it is practical for the foodie, the home cook, and anyone interested in the benefits of healthy food.