Consider the Senses

Beyond Calories, Fat Grams and Nutrients

In the field of nutrition, the focus tends to be on calories, fat grams, and hopefully, nutrients. What about the senses? Eating is one of the most sensual things we do. It involves the way food looks, sounds, smells, tastes and feels. Have you ever finished a meal knowing you have eaten enough, but you just feel as though you need something else? Or you are craving something that you are disallowing, like chocolate. So you try eating carrots, you try eating an apple, you try eating yogurt, but you end up eating the chocolate anyway. These experiences are likely related to sensory satisfaction. If your senses are not taken care of during a meal or snack, chances are you will not be satisfied regardless of how much you have eaten or how healthfully you have eaten. It is important to know what satisfies your senses. Believe it or not, consciously satisfying the senses will help to self moderate intake.

The most important and influential consideration when choosing something to eat is the taste of the food (notice that it’s not calories, fat grams and nutrients). Chefs I have worked with have been known to say “Anyone can make anything taste good with salt, sugar, butter or cream.” Utilizing healthy cooking techniques means cutting back on or eliminating those items. Flavor has to be found somewhere else. Taste and flavor is not the same thing. Taste is a component of flavor. In addition to taste, flavor includes smell, texture, visual appeal and sound. Our first experience of food is smell and vision (interesting side note; visual appeal is particularly important for cold food because cold food tends to lack aroma). Tapping into the other sensual aspects of food is helpful when cooking in a health conscious fashion.

Chef Serna’s recipe for gazpacho is a great example of a healthy recipe packed full of sensory experiences. Visual appeal comes from the red tomatoes. Texture comes from the crunchy onions, cucumber, celery and jicama as well as the tender tomatoes. The vinegar, garlic, basil and onions offer intense smell and taste.” By the way, this recipe is low in calories and full of nutrients as well.

 Lisa MacDonald, MPH, RD is the director of Nutrition Services at Cottonwood Tucson.  Lisa is a Registered Dietitian with expertise in nutrition education, weight management and eating disorders.  She has worked in a managed care organization, a public health agency and in the health and wellness/spa setting.  Lisa is committed to scientific integrity and the “non-diet” approach to weight management. Visit cottonwooddetucson.com.

  The Recovery Chef

Italian Gazpacho (Makes 2 cups)

Presented by Cottonwood Tucson

4 each — ripe tomatoes (peeled, deseeded and chopped)

1 Tbsp red onion (finely diced)

1 Tbsp cucumber (peeled, deseeded and finely diced)

1 Tbsp jicama (peeled and finely diced)

2 Tbsp celery stalk (finely diced)

1 Tbsp red bell pepper (finely diced)

1 Tsp cilantro (chopped)

1 Tbsp red vinegar

1 Tbsp olive oil

½ Tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

4 Tbsp tomato juice

2 Tbsp tomato paste

½ Tsp fresh minced garlic

1 Tsp sugar

Pinch salt and pepper

 Instructions:     

Remove the core of each tomato and make a small X at the bottom. This will help the skins peel while boiling. Add the tomatoes to a pot of boiling water for about a minute or until the skin starts to peel back. Remove the tomatoes and add to an ice bath to stop the cooking process and to help remove the skins faster. Once the tomatoes are peeled, dice into quarters and remove the seeds. Rough chop and add to the blender with remaining ingredients. Blend on low to desired consistency.

 For Garnish

1½ Tbsp red onion (finely diced)

1 ½ Tbsp cucumber (peeled, deseeded and finely diced)

1 ½ Tbsp jicama (peeled and finely diced)

1 ½ Tbsp celery stalk (finely diced)

1 ½ Tbsp red bell pepper (finely diced)

1 Tbsp fresh basil (thinly sliced)

Add the garnishing vegetables to mix in the soup after it has been blended to give  texture and body.  Makes 2 - 1 cup servings. Enjoy. *All Nutritional Facts estimated by ESHA Research SQL Food Processor Programs

  Chef Richard Serna serves as executive chef at Cottonwood Tucson. Cottonwood is a dual diagnosis rehabilitation facility that wanted to foster a holistic approach to recovery. As any chef knows, health begins with what you eat. Richard has completely revitalized the culinary program at Cottonwood in only two years.

He became sous chef for Chef Cary Neff at Miraval Life in Balance Spa, which was voted the number one spa in the world while he was there. Next he was the sous chef at Enchantment Resort in Sedona. He ran the sushi bar at AJ’s Fine Foods, attended the culinary program at Pima Community College, and did his internship at the Anaheim Hilton.