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Healthy food according to Master Chef Rudolph van Veen
What exactly is healthy eating?
'It might be an easy question, but the answer is much more difficult. I was raised in a world of delicious food. As a chef, I have been taught to indulge people. Beautiful decorated plates, little peaces of art with an amazing taste. Nutritional value, however, came second and was not that important. Attractive-looking plates with a large piece of meat, lots of sauce made of real butter, fried potatoes and maybe four carrots whose foliage was cut to exactly four centimeters. As a pastry chef, I blew up sugar into two-meter-high showpieces and baked the most delicious pies. Healthy food, vegetables and vitamins were just not an issue. If the meat was tasteful, that was the important thing. Times have changed, both for me as a person and as a chef.
What ingredients do we need for this?
'Unhealthy and healthy food is for every person different. For me, healthy food is food as natural and unprocessed as possible. Cooking with pure ingredients: whole-grain ingredients, vegetables, fish, meat, seeds, fruit, etc. All ingredients that makes your body to work, to digest. So replace white pasta and rice with whole-grain. Use whole milk instead of semi-skimmed or skimmed varieties. Cook with lots of vegetables. Choose good quality fish and meat. What you could take as a guide in choosing your products: if your grandparents wouldn't recognize it, don't eat it. So no tomato sauce from a jar, no cereal from a packet, no flavored yogurt.'
Healthy food is not necessarily a starvation diet of superfoods?
'Absolutely not. Rather than less, we should eat differently. We tend to over eat. There is a lot of health issues nowadays: obesity, type 2 diabetes, kidney problems, heart disease, gastrointestinal, liver and intestinal problems. Mostly caused from what we eat. I am surprised that bakers still color their cakes with food coloring. When I ask them if they would feed that to their children, they immediately say no. But they give it to their customers, thinking they prefer a nice red cake colored with chemicals than a less red but healthier cake. It is an interesting topic to look at ways how to transform this to a next level.'
What is our most common unhealthy habit these days?
'In processed products. In the supermarket, we buy one of those magic boxes with a beautiful picture on the packaging of a delicious chicken madras, Tuscan schnitzel, or boeuf bourguignon. At home, you open it and actually find no more than two bags of powder: a spice mix that often contains a big amount of salt (as it is cheaper than other spices). Where are the tomatoes, stumps of leeks, and broccoli from the picture? It's playback, an illusion, what you buy. The same goes for places we can get 'easy' food: at train stations and petrol stations. A quick fix, food to grab. 'There is little or no healthy choice. Eating all day long is not so good for our digestive system, as it won't get a proper rest and do it's job well. Nevertheless, a great movement is taking place in companies. More and more employers are offering healthy lunches to their employees.'
What does a healthy plate of food look like?
'Your plate should ideally be half vegetables, a quarter carbohydrates, and the other quarter meat or fish. We have a culture of eating plates empty, especially in a restaurant where you have paid for your food. Not finishing your food is a waste, but that's why we often eat more than we need to. Preferably you should also eat mindfully or with attention, so not behind the computer or TV. Taste your food, enjoy the process. Chew well and take your time! And, it's a good idea to eat at set times. Although I love to cook a nice dinner with friends and be at the table at midnights, enjoying drinks and food, it is not so good for our health. But.. the social aspect is also important. This is the reason I apply the 80/20 rule. Try to eat healthy for 80 percent and then there is 20 percent left over for a glass of wine, a pastry, ice cream etc.'
What is the big secret to healthy food?
'More veggies! We would make a huge health gain if people started eating more vegetables, and it's gain that is easy to achieve. It may seem a lot, 250 grams of vegetables per day. Personally, when I started, I just weighed it every day until I got used to it. And 250 grams of vegetables doesn't have to be just a mountain of cauliflower or green beans, right? Have two or three different varieties, combine broccoli with peppers and carrots. Look at Japan, the government encourages people to have five colors on their plate, every day. Each color represents certain nutrients. Start to vary with cooking: Stir fry, boiling (not too long as then there won't be any vitamins left) and steaming. Steaming is not only healthy, it also ensures that the flavor is preserved.
Any more advice for someone who wants to start eating healthy?
'Do it together! If you make it as a joint (family) project, it's easier ánd you motivate each other. Great to start: clean your cupboards, see what you have and throw away all processed products. You might find lot's of products you barely use, or are not good for your health. Think sauces, sachets, jars, tins, sugars etc. Clear them all out and replace them with healthier, unprocessed products. Start to read labels. Look at the first listing of 3 - 5 ingredients, and you will know what the main ingredients are. If a jar of jam says 60% sugar and 12% strawberries, you immediately understand that they are not the healthiest choices. Then invest in a basic collection of herbs and spices and you are ready to go.’
Not that difficult or complicated?
'Healthy eating is accessible to everyone, but you have to motivate and do it yourself! I am not a big fan of sport myself. Nevertheless, I recently started to sport. I still don't like it, but I feel much more healthy and vital. Building up muscles is even more important when we age. The same goes for changing your eating habits. The first two to four weeks you need to get used to those 250 grams of vegetables, to the taste of unprocessed food and to the different kinds of portions. And then you experience more energy and you start to feel better.'
Who is Rudolph van Veen?
'From an early age, Rudolph (1967) knew he wanted to be a chef. He trained at the Culinary School of Breda, obtained his SVH Meesterkok degree and got his specialization in patisserie. He won several awards and medals, both nationally and internationally. After starting Life & Cooking on Dutch television, he became a famous celebrity chef. He wrote several books and presented several programs on 24Kitchen. The latest project Rudolph is involved in is Food First Network, a platform for food, exercise and health. 'I don't have my own restaurant, nor do I want to,' he says, 'but I do want to contribute to the health and wellbeing of people.
Vitamin pill called Kamalaya
'Rudolph has been to Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary, three times in total. To relax, unwind, reflect and have good conversations with other guests. But mostly to get inspired by the food. The food in Kamalaya is really unique. 'Their healthy cuisine is so incredibly beautiful and delicious. The ingredients, preparation and portioning are well thought about and balanced. No fried food and no peanuts, but thirty different steamed vegetables. I always gain new motivation, inspiration and knowledge when I am in Kamalaya. I highly recommend the cooking courses!'
