I mentioned last week that my next book is coming out soon — get your free chapter here — and that I’d be introducing another of my co-authors.
Everyone say hi to Dinneen Diette.
Hi, Dinneen!
Dinneen is a Weight Loss Coach and certified Health Counselor and can be found at Eat Without Guilt. She’s also got a blog.
She loves cooking, baking and eating wholesome homemade meals. But it wasn’t always that way …
Dinneen spent years dieting and struggling with her weight, and had a kitchen stocked with lite, low-fat, low-calorie, (and low tasting) foods. Her life changed the day she re-discovered food, eating a meal in Italy of homemade ravioli covered in a heavy cream sauce cooked by an Italian mama.
She later developed a true love affair with food & cooking after living and working in France for 5 years. There she learned the basic skills, techniques, and appreciation of cooking — and eating! Gone were the days of counting calories, fat grams, and carbohydrates. She never put on weight but instead learned how to eat without guilt and found the joie de vivre.
She now teaches and empowers anyone searching to make peace with their body, weight and food. She currently conducts seminars and workshops, and speaks to groups across the United States. She also assists clients through her Weight-Loss Success Coaching program.
She can also be found traveling the world in search of a good homemade meal and never declines an invitation to eat at someone’s house.
If you have any questions for Dinneen, ask them below and I’m sure she’ll be happy to answer. If I can start: Dinneen, do you think your career choice was in any way preordained by your last name? (I didn’t say all the questions had to be serious, did I?)
Want more like this? For more recipes like this, that you can hold right in your hands, and write on, take notes, tear pages out if you want (Gosh, you're tough on books, aren't you?) you might be interested in How To Cook Like Your Grandmother, 2nd edition, Illustrated. Or to learn your way around the kitchen, check out Starting From Scratch: The Owner's Manual for Your Kitchen.
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13 Comments
Just an FYI: the link to your book chapter is mis-spelled…
Oops! Thanks for catching that.
Thanks for introducing me Drew. HELLO EVERYONE!!
I know, my last name is kinda ironic….as it does mean "diet".
It's actually pronounced "Dee-yet" But I've gone through my entire life having other people pronounce it "Diet". Which is normal as it's how it looks.
It's a French last name (grandparents from Quebec) and "Diete" (with one "t" but same pronunciation) does mean DIET
So yeah, it does mean diet. Just somewhere along the way it got an extra "t" and became a last name. Guess it was just fate… Yeah, totally preordained
I'D LOVE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS….so bring them on
Dinneen, is Panera's french bread as good as the stuff they bake in france?
Hi,
New to living in this eat what you like as long as it is food. My question is that I am now using up all the convience foods as we brought it and can not afford to waste it. So at the end of this month most of the food will be gone. I have sent Drew an email about the cookbook and more on making my own pasta. But, I need to know how to incorporate more fruit. My husband and I both are baked goods fans. Cookies, cakes, muffins etc. So I have tried to like fruit salad for breakfast but it is just not able to fill us up. He loves his full fry up. Bacon, eggs and pancakes or waffles. And on sundays cinnamon rolls. Made Drew's this sunday and oh my…..they were so good. Never going back to the store for the roll in the fridge case again! Any ideas would be great. Or maybe if I can soak them in a bit of sugar and make a topping like for ice cream and just eat the fruit a few times a day to snack on?? My dietian said that I should be ashamed of doing it that way. But then again, I have not followed her advice in a long time as I have lost more weight just eating what I want and working out at the gym. In the year so far 80 pounds have dropped off just by eating better and following the rules of eating as a family, making protein and veggies a bigger part of our diet and using our bread and pasta and other carbs as a side dish to savor.
Thank You!
Jonica, first of all that's fabulous how well you're doing. Always listen to advice, but if what you're doing works for you then keep it up.
And I'll answer your question from the email here. I've got roller attachments to cut the pasta into spaghetti or fettuccine, but that's all. I've seen people making other shapes by hand, but I can tell you they mostly take a ton of practice to get good at.
I've seen attachments to do little raviolis, but to tell you the truth it seems to me like an extra step for nothing. I'll just add the meat to the sauce and pour it over. Or if I want pasta with cheese in the middle I'll make a lasagna.
Speaking of which … lasagna with fresh-made pasta and tomatoes from the garden? Awesome.
@ Question on Panera Bread: Okay, I am a bit biased as I did live in France for 5 years, and my husband is French too
But seriously, no…the french bread at Panera is not as good as what's found in France. Why, you ask?
First off, in France they use a different type of flour, a different type of oven, and at the end of the cooking they add in some steam — which helps give the crust that nice crunch & crustiness.
Also, in France a "bakery" makes the bread on site. Meaning from start to finish, it is made from scratch. Panera, on the other hand, is more of a place of distribution. The bread is made in a factory, then frozen, shipped to Panera, thawed, and then baked.
So the quality at Panera could never be the same as most French bakeries.
That said, personally I think the bread at Panera is pretty good for American standards. Just don't tell my husband I said that
Drew,
Hubs came home with an attachment for my kitchen aid mixer that will make some pasta shapes like elbows etc. it was about 30 dollars for that one. I will keep using knives for the cutting of the pasta. I do have a roller for the pasta that will make straight edges or ruffles if I cut it with what my grandma gave me when I got married. Found alot of the crocheted linens she made for me too. She was very old fashioned and gave me a dowery chest. I even found her old pyrex dishes! And two glass casserole dishes too. Guess I need to unpack from that move we made 7 years ago!
@ Jonica,
First off — congratulations on losing 80 pounds!! That's awesome and you should be proud of yourself!
Secondly, I'm shocked that your dietician said you should be ashamed for something. I would NEVER say that to one of my clients. She should be giving you positive feedback on things you do well, and guiding you in the right direction in areas where you need help. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox..
Your question about adding fruit to your diet: it's a good question and one I get asked very often. For many people they tell me fruit is just not their thing.
But what I find is they often make one or more common mistakes:
1) eat fruit when it's not in season
2) eat fruit when it's not very ripe
3) eat mostly canned fruit and not much "whole" fruit
4) have a limited view of what is "fruit"
I'll elaborate:
Fruit tastes best when eaten in season. It's when it is most sweet, tasty, juicy, and also when the nutrients are at it's peak. A strawberry from the supermarket in December is bland, boring and dull. But a ripe strawberry in June straight from the farmer's market is sweet, succulent and delectably good!
Nature is amazing and makes food taste good. So best to spend the extra money and buy fruit from the farmer's market when you can. Not only is it fresh (usually picked that morning) but it's also in season and ripe.
In addition, there are so many types of fruit: papaya, kiwi, mango, many types of pears, melons, apples, berries, peaches, pineapple…I could go on and on. There is so much to choose from and so many different tastes and sweetness.
Now I just said to buy from farmer's market when you can. But you can also buy fruit at the supermarket as depending where you live, you surely can't find all fruits in season. And let's face it, we don't have kiwi grown here in the US, except for maybe California.
Just be sure to eat it when it's ripe. Very ripe. And try different supermarkets to find the ones that have the best fruit.
Now some suggestions: Add cut up fruit to: cereal, plain yogurt, in smoothies, on top of pancakes, on top of ice cream (your dietician would hate that, but I'm all for it…just in moderation.) etc. Try to be adventurous and add it to different things.
The way I look at it is this: better to have some fruit soaked in sugar (like you suggested to your dietician) than eat NO fruit at all.
Also just try to eat one piece of fruit in the morning with your breakfast. After a while you just might start to like it better.
Also, as a snack: add some protein with the fruit for added fullness. For example: fruit w/plain yogurt or cottage cheese, apple w/cheese or peanut butter, you get the idea.
Okay, clearly I love this subject. I could write a book! But hopefully this helps. Remember, SOME fruit is better than no fruit
Dinneen, so when are you going to write that book?
And Jonica, I just remembered how I made fruit more filling. Each morning while I was still commuting, I'd have a smoothie made of orange juice, banana, any berries that were a little past their prime (too soft to eat whole, but still tasty), a little yogurt and one raw egg. The protein from the yogurt and egg would hold me until lunch without getting hungry.
In Re to Dinneen and Anonymous,
Dinneen, I must say that I am surprised by your knowledge.
French bakers use sole ovens, with a thick layer of fireproof bricks: They retain the heat and allow a more even cooking.
Steam: once again, right on the spot. Steam carries much more energy than hot air, hence a blast of steam in the oven will create a thick nice crust while leaving the inside fluffy and moist.
Panera bread is ok, nothing to rave about: Overpriced industrial bread.
On the other hand, If you go to Vermont, Stop at the NECI Bakery in Montpellier (New England Culinary Institute), you'll drop dead …
They probably have the best French bread in USA, not to mention the croissants ….
Anon, I knew about the steam for the crust, but I never understood the mechanism. Thanks for explaining that.
Drew,
It's funny how you address folks as "Anon"
Dinneen,
Is that "Din" as in dinner and "neen" as in seen? Just curious!
Danelia–as in Amelia Bedelia, but not.