Anti-Cancer Foods

According to CDC (Center of Disease Control), the number one leading cause of death is heart disease; followed by cancer as the second. Cancer is one of those diseases that science does not fully understand yet. We don’t have a cure for it. The only thing we can do once the cancer is found is to remove it surgically and use chemotherapy to contain it, decrease it, and hopefully stop it from growing. Everyone can get cancer, from young kids to senior citizens. The best way to fight cancer is to prevent it in the first place. One of the best ways to do that is to fill your diet with anti-cancer foods. Atlanta Personal Chef Service is here to help you prevent cancer with the wholesome ingredients we use in our cooking that should be a part of every diet.

Garlic, Onions, Green Onions, Shallots, and Chives: Can all prevent cancer cell growth.

Tomatoes: Research shows that an antioxidant found in tomatoes (Lycopene, which is what makes the tomatoes have the orange pigment) reduces the risk of prostate cancer by reducing the cancer cell survival and reducing the growth of cancer cells.  Also, other tomato components have stopped lung and breast cancer cell production.

Dark Chocolate at least 70% Cocoa: There is no concrete evidence, but research shows there is a connection with dark chocolate (a daily treat of 1 ½ ounces) and preventing cancer.

Green Tea: It's one of those super foods that has great cancer fighting abilities.

Blueberries: Powerful phytochemical and anthocyanins  found in blueberries may prevent colon, prostate, breast, and mouth cancer.

Other great anti-cancer food include: Apples, oranges, grapes, strawberries, grape fruit, cherries, collard greens or any dark leaf greens, broccoli, seeds, wholegrains, winter squash, or any rich in color fruits and vegetables.

Remember: No single food component can prevent cancer, but it’s a combination of them eaten on a daily basis that can really make a difference.

Atlanta Personal Chef Service is here to make a difference in people lives by cooking with wholesome food that also tastes great. We have personal chefs in Buckhead, Dunwoody, Atlanta, Decatur, Marietta, Sandy Springs, Vinings, and other cities surrounding the Atlanta area.

Give your loved one a Personal Chef for Christmas

…Mmm can you already smell the great gift? Atlanta Personal Chef Service’s gift certificate is a great gift to give to family members, friends, the boss, or that special someone this holiday season.  Give the gift of great cuisine without leaving the house. Atlanta Personal Chef Service provides great food and excellent service.  We have a variety of different options to choose from, including romantic dinners for two, dinner parties, or cooking lessons. We have the best chefs in Atlanta. We love what we do and we are here to serve you with a smile.  This is the unique gift that you’re looking for this holiday season.  Call us today!

Why is it hard to maintain a healthy weight?

The answer to this question lies in the history of mankind. Long ago when human being used to live in caves, it was essential for them to eat as much they could, so they could store energy (fat) in order to survive. They never knew when or what their next meal would be. They had to spend a lot of time hunting (exercising) and going after their next meal. So, to eat a lot and get fat was a survival tactic, especially during the winter months when food was scarce. Also, most of what our ancestors ate was a diet based of protein (meat and nuts), vegetables, seeds, and fruits. A much better diet than what most people usually have today. 

Once humans learned about agriculture, they spent less time running or working for their food. Still, agriculture was a very hard job. Today, most of our jobs are not physically demanded and food is everywhere with easy access. We no longer need store energy during the winter months in order to survive, but still our biology has not changed since the Stone Age. Our bodies still wants to store fat because it was made that way to survive, but we don’t spend enough energy anymore running after food (exercising) in order to keep a stable balance diet. People that live in big cities such as,  Atlanta and the cities surrounding, such as Marietta, Kennesaw, Dunwoody, Buckhead, Vinings, Brookhaven, Decatur and Alpharetta, they are always in a hurry eating fast food or big proportion restaurant meals. With easy access to food and less exercise we are bound to increase our weight.  

So, what should we do then? Essentially, we should try to live like our ancestors did. Eat a balance diet and exercise. Our bodies were made for survival. It wants to store fat and that is normal. It is part of our nature. We just need to make sure we put in our exercise as well. To maintain a healthy weight it is not rocket science, it is a change of habit. This habit should not be hard to change because we did it throughout most of our existence, only in the past one-hundred-fifty years that it has changed. Atlanta Personal Chef Service is also here to help. We provide healthy delicious meals to our clients in the right proportions. We can’t do the exercise for you, but we sure can help you in the eating healthy part. Give us a try and we will prove to you how delicious meals can be healthy and desirable.  

Personal Chefs Speak: Tricks to Help you Eat Less

In a country where food is cheap, plentiful, and the choices are many, it’s very hard for Americans to control their eating habits. It’s like running on the treadmill while you watch the seconds passing by. The time seems to pass so slowly and thirty minutes never seems to end. So, what do you do? Put a towel over the timer and listen to music, which makes the brain focus on the music thus helping the time go by much “faster.”

The brain behaves the same with eating less. We just need to trick it or “put a towel over it” to make it seem that we don’t need as much food as the brain thinks we do. Atlanta Personal Chef Service is here to give three simple pieces of advice to help you eat less or lose weight without you even noticing you are doing so.

First, decrease the size of your plates. Research shows that people are prone to eat more (28% more) when using a larger plate. Why? Because they simply put more food on their plate and don’t want to throw it out due to the starving children in Africa. Also, if you use smaller cooking dishes, you will also cook less, thus not having to feel bad for the starving children and actually do something about it. You can save money by spending less on food then donate what you saved to charitable organizations that help starving children in Africa.

Second, change the name of a “normal” portion to a “large.” It will help you to take less on your plate and eat less, because your brain will think that eating a large portion is too much. Most people defer to the normal portion while picking a meal or drink because they think that small is too small and big is too big. Our society’s “normal” has been increasing and it differs for each restaurant, so who is to say what is regular and what is large? Drink and eat less by always sticking with small.

Third, rearrange the way you stock fruits and vegetables in your fridge. Research shows that people are more prone to eat their fruits and vegetables when they put them in places that are visible, such as the center shelf. This will help you to acknowledge that the food you bought is still there and you don’t want to throw money away. Filling up on healthy food will help you decrease the amount of unhealthy food you eat.

Atlanta Personal Chef Service is here to help you live a healthy life without giving up the taste of great food. We have personal chefs in Buckhead, Marietta, Dunwoody, Vinings, Roswell, Alpharetta and other cities in Georgia. Keep following our blog and continue getting great tips about food and heath. For more information, check out our website at: www.AtlantaPersonalChefService.com.

The Truth About Multivitamins

Recently articles from the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune warned its readers about taking multivitamins pills. Those articles were based on the trend of people who take their vitamins as a substitute to fruits and vegetables. Some people even believe that taking those vitamins might prevent them from getting a heart attack, cancer, and other diseases. “In the Physicians’ Health Study II, we found no evidence overall that taking a multivitamin for more than a decade prevented heart attacks or strokes or any more than taking a placebo, but it didn’t increase risk, either,” says Howard Sesso, a Harvard epidemiologist who conducted the study.

The problems is that the majority of people who take multivitamins believe they don’t need to eat as many vegetables or fruits, since they are consuming their vitamins through supplements. Also, they believe that the supplements will prevent diseases. These people are obviously wrong. Its common sense that eating healthy, balanced meals with fruits and vegetables and exercising is the best way to be healthy, but people are lazy and always trying to find that magic pill so they don’t need to worry about their heath. It does not exist. There’s plenty of research that has already been proved that eating healthy and exercising is the best way to prevent diseases. There are many health components in fruits and vegetables (many that we still don’t know about it) that a multivitamin pill does not have.  The fact is that taking a multivitamin pill can be good, only if taken as supplement to a healthy diet and not as a substitute for one. Unfortunately for many lazy people out there, eating healthy and exercising is still the best way to be healthy and no amount of supplements can substitute that, at least for now.

At Atlanta Personal Chef Service, we know the value of eating healthy, well-rounded meals, and we help families make this a part of their regular routine.  Clients have told us that they feel better and more energized after eating our meals.  Most people are fully capable of eating healthy, but they don’t have the time or energy to devote to shopping, cooking, and cleaning.  We love cooking for families and share a sense of enthusiasm about helping families eat healthy, wholesome, great tasting foods.  For more information about our weekly dinner service, visit our web page here.  We serve families in Buckhead, Vinings, Midtown, Marietta, Dunwoody, Decatur, and more.

Seasonal Menus at Atlanta Personal Chef Service

The fall is here and the Atlanta Personal Chef Service team is excited for a busy season of holiday parties, special occasion dinner parties, corporate events, and romantic dinners for two. We bring excellent dishes to dinner tables around Atlanta and the surrounding areas, including Buckhead, Marietta, Dunwoody, Vinings, Brookhaven, Decatur and Alpharetta. In the state of Georgia, fall offers seasonal ingredients such as apples, corn, eggplant, field peas, peppers, squashes, Vidalia onions, cabbage, pecans, sweet potatoes, arugula, beets and kale.  We update our menus each season to bring the freshest, healthiest, tastiest dishes to your dining room.  Contact us today to find out about our dinner parties and see our sample fall menu. Also, don’t forget to check out our Facebook page!

Sample Seasonal Starters:

Maple Bacon wrapped Shrimp with Butternut Squash Purée garnished with Fried Edamame

Goat Cheese Tart with oven roasted Tomatoes and Caramelized Sweet Onions garnished with Arugula tossed in Lemon Vinaigrette

Picking Ingredients at Season's Peak

Atlanta Personal Chef Service - Fresh Avocado Salad over Seasonal Greens

Atlanta Personal Chef Service always uses the freshest ingredients available for the highest quality and best tasting dinners. Everyday our chefs go to grocery stores around Atlanta and the surrounding areas, such as Buckhead, Marietta, Dunwoody, Roswell and Alpharetta, to stores including Publix, WholeFoods, Harry's, and the Buford and Dekalb Farmers Markets. We always integrate seasonal ingredients into our menus, so we provide Atlanta Personal Chef Service’s clients dishes that taste great and are as fresh as can be. Summer in the state of Georgia offers seasonal ingredients such as blueberries, corn, cucumbers, field peas, melon, peaches, peppers, tomatoes, Vidalia onions, and summer squashes. Close to Atlanta is Florida, with their seasonal ingredients of avocados, cantaloupe, mangoes, peppers, and watermelon. Apricots, celery, cherries, gooseberries, nectarines, peas, rhubarb, strawberries, and tomatoes come in from Tennessee. Our chefs are always striving to cook the best and freshest food of the season. To see more pictures of our freshly prepared foods, visit our website (www.AtlantaPersonalChefService.com) or Facebook page.

Use a Personal Chef for a Truly Unique Proposal

Proposal season has arrived! Grooms-to-be all over Atlanta and Buckhead are thinking up crafty ways to pop that question to their significant other. Some are reserving seats in fancy Buckhead restaurants planning to propose to their girlfriends, while others are planning a surprise in the park. But why not try something different that is more romantic and less crowded? For those of you who live around the Perimeter area of Atlanta (Marietta, Buckhead, Dunwoody, Midtown, Vinings), Atlanta Personal Chef Service would be happy to help you plan a special evening for the big proposal. Have an intimate dinner in the coziness of your home or condo, while our chefs cook and serve a menu tailored just for you. All of our chefs have experience in high end restaurants and know how to make a memorable evening with great food. Atlanta Personal Chef Service will work with you to customize your perfect menu. We will gladly show you some samples menus, which you are encouraged to customize as you like. For example, if you have gone to Buckhead Diner or any other restaurant and had a dish you really enjoyed, we will gladly cook a similar (and better!) dish for you. We are a professional service dedicated to planning and executing a wonderful dinner that you and your future bride will always remember. Atlanta Personal Chef Service serves Atlanta, Buckhead, Marietta, Dunwoody, Midtown and other areas around the perimeter with tasty dinners and wonderful memories. Find out more about our dinner service here.

Grocery Shopping with Atlanta Personal Chef Service

Have you seen Atlanta Personal Chef Service's team of chefs shopping in your local Publix and Whole Food's stores?  We do most of our shopping in the early afternoon hours, so that dinner is ready when you come home from work.  But we also shop over the weekends to get the freshest ingredients for our dinner parties around Atlanta.

Take a look at the photo's below as we follow one of our Personal Chefs, Kym, who joined the Atlanta Personal Chef Service team in early January.  Kym cooks dinner three nights a week for a family of four in Buckhead.  With two working parents, and two school-aged children, there's just not enough hours in the day to prepare healthy, home-cooked meals as well.  But you don't have to give up that family time of dinner each night.  For many families, its the routine of enjoying a meal together every night that binds the family together across everyone's busy schedules.  Our service allows busy families to return to the dinner table, and create a lifestyle of eating together, and eating healthy, tasty meals.

If you'd like to find out more about Atlanta Personal Chef Service, please visit our website here.  Take a sneak peak into one of Kym's latest shopping trips.  Menus are customized for each family at the beginning of each week, and chef's bring the menus to guide their shopping each day.  Of course, we also always select the freshest ingredients, so you'll always see seasonal items on the menus.  Here, Chef Kym is shopping in Publix, but we also shop at Whole Foods, Harry's, and some specialty stores on occasion.

Spring Dinner Parties are in Season at Atlanta Personal Chef Service

Our Chefs were busy this weekend preparing some of our favorite spring featured dishes.  See the photos below for a look at the finished courses prepared by Atlanta Personal Chef Service:

Foie Gras on top of Toasted Brioche Bun and Fig Demi Glaze (Atlanta Personal Chef Service) 

Goat Cheese Tart with Roasted Tomatoes and Caramelized Onions (Atlanta Personal Chef Service)

Tomato Basil Bisque with Gruyere Crouton (Atlanta Personal Chef Service)

Spring Greens tossed with White Balsamic dressing with Apples, candied Pecans, and Goat Cheese Schnitzel (Atlanta Personal Chef Service)

Seared Red Snapper over herb poached Fingerling Potatoes, Haricot Verts and Spring Pea sauce (Atlanta Personal Chef Service)

Are you looking to host an intimate dinner party to celebrate a special occasion coming up?  Our talented team of chefs is excited to help each of our clients celebrate what's most important to them with those who are most important to them.  We do all the cooking in your house, so its truly amazing to see what fine food can come from your own kitchen!  Contact us (click here) to find out our availability and make your next celebration an intimate dinner with great food.

Executive Chef Patricia to judge local Culinary Competition

Atlanta Personal Chef Service's Executive Chef Patricia Homma will spend next weekend juding the 2013 Georgia Culinary and ProStart Management State Championships at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school.  This one day competition is a chance for aspiring young chefs to compete for the chance to move on to the National ProStart International competition in April in Maryland.  The competition is judged by some of Atlanta's top chefs, including Master Chefs, Executive Chefs, and restaurant executives.  Winning young chefs will receive thousands in culinary scholarships.

Chef Patricia started Atlanta Personal Chef Service after working in some of the fine dining restaurants of Atlanta.  Having received a culinary scholarship herself from winning the "Best Teen Chef in America" competition, the chance to give back to the community in this sense is extremely meaningful.  Patricia was the first-ever female winner of the national competition, which she won in 2003, which earned her a full scholarship to the Art Institute of Atlanta.

Interested in having Chef Patricia or one of Atlanta Personal Chef Service's team of chefs cook for you in your home?  We cook family dinners during the work week, and also serve up fancy, multi-course dinner parties to make that special occassion really memorable.  Contact us here for more information on our personal chef service.

A Great Valentine's Day with a Personal Chef

Looking for a unique, personalized, and romantic gift for Valentine's Day?  Surprise that special someone with a private four-course dinner prepared by a personal chef in the comfort of your own home.  Don't fight the crowds and lines of the restaurants on the 14th.  Enjoy fine-dining from the comfort of your own dining table.  This year, we've put together a menu that provides a tasting of Atlanta Personal Chef Service.  The menu is below:

Valentine’s Day 2013

Soup

Tomato Basil Bisque with Manchego Crostini

Salad

Red Wine Poached Pear Mixed Green Salad with Goat Cheese and Cranberry Walnut croutons tossed with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Entrée

Seared Filet Mignon with Cabernet Sauce over roasted Root Vegetable purée with sautéed Asparagus

(Herb Crusted Lamb Chops $10 additional)

-or-

Seared Salmon with Beurre Blanc sauce over Mushroom Risotto with Brocollini

Dessert

Chocolate Lava Cake with Assorted Berries and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

-or-

Crème Brûlée garnished with Fresh Berries

Your chef will arrive about 2 hours before your scheduled meal time, with fresh ingredients in hand, and prepare your dinner in your own kitchen.  That means you'll need to have a working oven and stove, and some extra space in the fridge.  All you'll have to do is pick out your favorite bottle of wine or champagne, and enjoy the meal.  Your chef will do all the cooking, serve each course of the meal as if you were in a fine restaurant, and clean up everything afterwards.  The cost of the service, food included, is $350 for two.  (Please contact us for special rates for dinners with multiple couples. Dinners held outside the Perimeter will incur an additional $20 travel fee.)

We only have a few reservations left for the 14th, so contact us or call us today to schedule your Valentine's Day Dinner!

Dinner Parties by Atlanta Personal Chef Service

Dinner parties with Atlanta Personal Chef Service will ensure great food and good time for everyone, including the host.  Here, we'll walk you through one party from start to finish.  This dinner party in Buckhead, hosted by Atlanta Personal Chef Service, highlighted cuisine from the French tradition.  As guests arrived, they warmed up their taste buds with the following:
 

Hors D’Oeuvres:

Crostinis with Chicken Liver Pate garnished with Shallot Marmalade

Prosciutto wrapped Asparagus Tips

Spinach and Artichoke Gratin in Quiche Shell

Atlanta Personal Chef Service - Hors D'Oeuvres before the meal

Following the Hors D'Oeuvres, guests made their way into the dining room, and were introduced to tonight's menu at their place setting.

Menu made by Atlanta Personal Chef Service

Next, the four course meal was plated and served as it would be in a fine-dining restaurant.  Here's a sneak peak at each course!

Atlanta Personal Chef Service -St. Jacques Provençales                                            

Atlanta Personal Chef Service -Red Wine Poached Pear Mixed Green Salad with Buttermilk Blue crumbles, Raisin Bread croutons

Atlanta Personal Chef Service - Beef Bourguignon with Whipped Potato and sautéed Brussels Sprouts 

Atlanta Personal Chef Service - Crème Brûlée garnished with Fresh Berries

 Lastly, take a sneak peak in the kitchen... where the magic happens!  Atlanta Personal Chefs are hard at work preparing all the food from the finest, freshest ingredients.

Atlanta Personal Chef David keeps a close eye on the stove

Atlanta Personal Chef Patricia prepares the Creme Brulee

Atlanta Personal Chef David seasons the potatoes

Are you interested in having Atlanta Personal Chef Service cook for your next dinner party?  Give us a call today!  Please keep in mind that much preparation goes into each and every party, so its best to reserve you party at least two weeks in advance.  Also, visit our website for more pictures sample menus.