A career as a chef is really a good one because you really don’t need to have formal expensive training. If you got it, you got it. Food safety standards are a critical aspect of your business. Ensuring that the food you serve is safe and free of allergens is essential to maintaining customer loyalty. Meat testing can be an excellent way to ensure that your products meet these requirements, but it needs to be done with care!

Your cooking career can even take a boost with healthy cooking. Here is why there is a great opportunity in healthy cooking.

Most catering companies are animal-based and more and more people are health conscious and are looking for healthy food options for their events. But first, what does healthy cooking involve.

• What Does Healthy Cooking Involve
• Can You Make Money as a Chef?
• Who is a Natural Food Chef
• Is Being a Chef a Good Career?
• Healthy Cooking Methods
• 3 Ways to Make Your Veggies Taste Better
• Healthy Cooking Tips
• How to Become a Healthier Cook
• How to Make Money as a Health Chef

What Does Healthy Cooking Involve

Eating healthy food doesn’t mean giving up your favourite foods. Your favourite recipes can be adapted easily to provide a healthier alternative. For example, non-stick cookware can be used to reduce the need for cooking oil. Vegetables can also be microwaved or steamed instead of boiling to keep valuable nutrition.

There are many ways to make meals healthier. Limit fats, sugars and salt and include plenty of vegetables, fruit, grains, lean meats and low-fat dairy in your cooking. Foods with added fats, sugars or salt are less healthy than food in which these are found naturally.

Can You Make Money as a Chef?

Median pay for chefs and head cooks is $43,180 a year or $20.76 an hour; this means that half of chefs earned more than that and half made less money. How much money chefs earn annually varies from under $23,630 for the bottom 10 percent to over $76,280 for the top 10 percent. Chefs working for restaurants averaged $43,750 a year, while chefs working for performing arts companies did better and earned $69,150 a year on average.

Who is a Natural Food Chef

Natural food chefs prepare healthy cuisine that incorporates proper nutrition and fresh, minimally processed foods procured in season. They can work privately for individuals who have specific health concerns, or they might be employed by restaurants and caterers.

Many natural chefs also teach their clients how to prepare natural foods. Similar to other chef positions, natural food chefs may spend many hours on their feet and sometimes work under stressful, time-restricted conditions.

The skills required of natural food chefs include extensive knowledge of natural and organic foods and the ability to use culinary and nutrition-focused software. They also need the ability to create new recipes, manual dexterity, heightened sense of taste and knife-handling skills.

Some business and management capabilities are also required, like communication, organizational and motivational skills necessary for leading a culinary team. The path toward a career as a natural food chef is fairly straightforward. Let’s walk through the steps.

Earning as a Natural Food Chef

Natural chefs can be employed in a variety of work settings. They may be employed in a private residence and cook for a family or individual. Many natural chefs who work privately serve individuals with health issues who are seeking wellness though nutrition. They may also work for restaurants or catering services that emphasize natural food.

Natural chefs also work in schools as teachers of natural cooking. They may teach full-time or in addition to their work as a natural chef. Often, natural chefs provide in-home instruction so that clients may learn to prepare healthy meals on their own. They may also teach group classes in the community.

Earnings for natural food chefs can vary greatly by work setting and level of experience, but overall, chefs earned an median annual salary of $48,460 in May 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Is Being a Chef a Good Career?

It is a good career with vast scope. Being a Chef isn’t as easy as it seems to be, it surely does mean one has to cook but not the way we normally cook at our homes. Being a chef one has to have enough knowledge about the cuisine you wish to choose and have a thorough and deep knowledge about the cuisine.

One has to have a lot of patience, be hard-working, adaptable to any changes, mature enough to handle situations, be innovative & creative and should always seek for more to learn and absorb knowledge as much as he/she can. It’s a huge department where it leads to many sections:

• Continental cuisine
• Oriental cuisine
• Indian
• Bakery
• Halwai
• Garde Manger & Pantry, etc

And various other sections. Being a chef doesn’t mean he/she can work only for hotels,

One could also join into Cruise lines, Airlines, MNC’s and can open your own restaurant and start off. It has a lot of scope to continue and earn in the field, just needs the right amount of hard-work and patience to let it grow and have a outcome

Healthy Cooking Methods

Microwaving

Nuking may be the healthiest way to cook because of its short cooking times, which results in minimal nutrient destruction. Microwaves cook food by heating from the inside out. They emit radio waves that “excite” the molecules in food, which generates heat, cooking the food.

While microwave cooking can sometimes cause food to dry out, that can easily be avoided by splashing on a bit of water before heating, or placing a wet paper towel over your dish. The way that microwaves cook food nixes the need to add extra oils.

The best part is, you can microwave just about anything, from veggies and rice to meat and eggs. And studies suggest it may just be one of the best ways to preserve nutrients in veggies; microwaving broccoli is the best way to preserve its vitamin C, for example. Just make sure to use a microwave-safe container.

Boiling

Boiling is quick, easy, and all you need to add are water and a touch of salt. But the high temperatures and the large volume of water can dissolve and wash away water-soluble vitamins and 60 to 70 percent of minerals in some foods, especially certain vegetables. But research actually suggests boiling could be the best way to preserve nutrients in carrots, zucchini, and broccoli (when compared to steaming, frying, or eating raw).

Steaming

Cooking anything from fresh veggies to fish fillets this way allows them to stew in their own juices and retain all their natural goodness. And no need for fat-laden additions to up the moisture. It’s always good to add a little seasoning first, whether that’s a sprinkle of salt or a squeeze of lemon juice.

If the carcinogen-fighting glucosinolates in broccoli are important to you, some research suggests steaming could be the best way to cook the little green trees. In the body, glucosinolates become compounds called isothiocyanates, which some research suggests may inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

Poaching

The same goes for boiling’s cousin, poaching — no additives. Basically, poaching means cooking the given food in a small amount of hot water (just below boiling point). It takes slightly longer (which some experts believe can decrease nutrient retention), but is a great way to gently cook delicate foods like fish, eggs, or fruit. (Plus, it’s just about the most delicious way to cook an egg in our book.)

Broiling

Broiling entails cooking food under high, direct heat for a short period of time. Broiling is a great way to cook tender cuts of meat (remember to trim excess fat before cooking), but may not be ideal for cooking veggies, since they can dry out easily.

Grilling

In terms of getting maximum nutrition without sacrificing flavor, grilling is a great option. It requires minimal added fats and imparts a smoky flavor while keeping meats and veggies juicy and tender. While these are definitely healthy benefits, not everything about grilling is so good for you.

Some research suggests that regularly consuming charred, well-done meat may increase risk of pancreatic cancer and breast cancer.

Cooking at high heat can also produce a chemical reaction between the fat and protein in meat, creating toxins that are linked to the imbalance of antioxidants in the body and inflammation, which can lead to an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

This doesn’t mean BBQs are forbidden — just stick with lean cuts of meat that require less cooking time, and keep dark meats on the rarer side.

Stir-frying

While this method does require some oil in the pan, it should only be a moderate amount — just enough to get a nice sear on your meat and vegetables. It’s effective for bite-sized pieces of meat, grains like rice and quinoa, and thin-cut veggies like bell peppers, julienned carrots, and snow peas.

No Cooking

Raw food diets have gained tons of attention recently, and for good reason. Many studies suggest there are of benefits of incorporating more raw foods into the diet: Studies have shown eating the rainbow consistently reduces the risk of cancer, but the jury’s out on whether raw or cooked is really best overall.

On the one hand, since the diet is mostly plant-based, you end up eating more vitamins, minerals, and fiber, with no added sugars or fats from cooking.

But while some raw items might be super-healthy, studies have found that cooking can actually amplify some nutrients, like lycopene in tomatoes and antioxidants in carotenoids such as carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, and peppers.

3 Ways to Make Your Veggies Taste Better

Dress them up. “The easiest healthy vegetable dip in the world is mashed avocado with lime juice and salt,” says Slayton. Or drizzle veggies with olive oil and an acid like lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, recommends Morford. Bonus: Studies have found that eating fresh vegetables with a healthy fat helps the body absorb nutrients in the plants.

Cheat a little. “For any vegetables that don’t wow you raw, blanch them,” says Slayton. What does that mean? “Take your asparagus or broccoli, for instance, and place in boiling water for a minute or less,” she explains. “Then transfer it to a bowl of water with ice to stop cooking at that perfect, bright place.”

Swap them out. Some people don’t love raw veggies because they’re thinking of the usual suspects, like carrots and broccoli. Morford suggests going with offbeat picks (jicama, radish, kohlrabi, fennel) to surprise the taste buds. Try pairing new-to-you veggies with a dip made from Greek yogurt, a splash of olive oil, a pinch of salt and black pepper, and herbs such as basil, mint, cilantro, or parsley.

Healthy Cooking Tips

Keep fats to a minimum

Choose lean meats and reduced-fat dairy products and limit processed foods to minimise hidden fats. Nuts, seeds, fish, soy, olives and avocado are all healthier options because they include the essential long-chain fatty acids and these fats are accompanied by other good nutrients.

If you add fats when cooking, keep them to a minimum and use monounsaturated oils such as olive and canola oil.

Shopping for healthy food

Low-fat cooking begins when you are shopping:

• Choose the reduced or low-fat version of a food if possible – for example milk, cheese, yoghurt, salad dressings and gravies.
• Choose lean meat cuts and skinless chicken breasts.
• Limit fast foods, chips, crisps, processed meats, pastries and pies, which all contain large amounts of fat.

Low fat cooking

Suggestions include:

• If you need to use oil, try cooking sprays or apply a small amount of oil with a pastry brush.
• Cook in liquids (such as stock, wine, lemon juice, fruit juice, vinegar or water) instead of oil.
• Use low-fat yoghurt, low-fat milk, evaporated skim milk or cornstarch instead of cream in sauces or soups.
• When browning vegetables, put them in a hot pan then spray with oil, rather than adding the oil first to the pan. This reduces the amount of oil that vegetables absorb during cooking.
• An alternative to browning vegetables by pan-frying is to cook them first in the microwave, then crisp them under the grill for a minute or two.
• Use pesto, salsas, chutneys and vinegars in place of sour creams, butter and creamy sauces.

Retaining the nutrients

Water-soluble vitamins are delicate and easily destroyed during preparation and cooking. To minimise nutrient losses:

• Scrub vegetables rather than peel them, as many nutrients are found close to the skin.
• Microwave or steam vegetables instead of boiling them.
• If you like to boil vegetables, use a small amount of water and do not overboil them.
• Include more stir-fry recipes in your diet. Stir-fried vegetables are cooked quickly to retain their crunch (and associated nutrients).

Cutting down salt

Salt is a common flavour enhancer, but research suggests that a high salt diet could contribute to a range of health problems including high blood pressure. Suggestions to reduce salt include:

• Don’t automatically add salt to your food – taste it first.
• Add a splash of olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice close to the end of cooking time or to cooked vegetables – it can enhance flavours in the same way as salt.
• Choose fresh or frozen vegetables, since canned and pickled vegetables tend to be packaged with salt.
• Limit your consumption of salty processed meats such as salami, ham, corned beef, bacon, smoked salmon, frankfurters and chicken loaf.
• Choose reduced salt bread and breakfast cereals. Breads and cereals are a major source of salt in the diet.
• Iodised salt is best. A major dietary source of iodine is plant foods. Yet there is emerging evidence that Australian soil may be low in iodine and so plants grown in it are also low in iodine. If you eat fish at least once a week, the need for iodised salt is reduced.
• Avoid salt-laden processed foods, such as flavoured instant pasta or noodles, canned or dehydrated soup mixes, chips and salted nuts.
• Margarine and butter contain a lot of salt but ‘no added salt’ varieties are available.
• Most cheeses are very high in salt so limit your intake or choose lower salt varieties.
• Reduce your use of soy sauce, tomato sauce and processed sauces and condiments (for example mayonnaise and salad dressings) because they contain high levels of salt.

Herbs

Culinary herbs are leafy plants that add flavour and colour to all types of meals. They are also rich in health-protective phyto-oestrogens. In many cases, herbs can replace the flavour of salt and oil.

Remember:

• Herbs are delicately flavoured, so add them to your cooking in the last few minutes.
• Dried herbs are more strongly flavoured than fresh. As a general rule, one teaspoon of dried herbs equals four teaspoons of fresh.
• Apart from boosting meat dishes, herbs can be added to soups, breads, mustards, salad dressings, vinegars, desserts and drinks.
• Herbs such as coriander, ginger, garlic, chilli and lemongrass are especially complimentary in vegetable-based stir-fry recipes.

Sandwich suggestions

To make a sandwich even healthier:

• Switch to reduced salt wholemeal or wholegrain bread.
• Limit high-fat spreads such as butter or margarine. You won’t miss butter if your sandwich has a few tasty ingredients already.
• Use plenty of vegetable or salad fillings
• Limit your use of spreads high in saturated fat like butter and cream cheese. Replace them with a thin spread of peanut butter or other nut spreads, hummus, low-fat cheese spreads or avocado.
• Choose reduced fat ingredients when you can, such as low-fat cheese or mayonnaise.
• Try to reduce your use of processed meats. Instead use fish such as salmon, tuna or sardines.
• Enjoy toasted sandwiches with baked beans.

How to Become a Healthier Cook

1. Cook more often

It’s the healthiest thing you can do for yourself and your family. You will automatically make better choices that have you eating less saturated fat, sodium, added sugar, and processed foods.

2. Embrace affordable aquaculture

You (yes, you!) can make a difference in the health of the planet’s fish stocks by purchasing sustainable seafood, such as farmed mussels or salmon, or laying off species that are overfished, such as Atlantic cod.

One of the most affordable ways to do so is to look to aquaculture—farmed fish and shellfish raised in a responsible way. Download the Seafood Watch app from Monterey Bay Aquarium for guidance, or ask at the seafood counter.

3. Go savory at breakfast

Many sweet breakfast options (pancakes, doughnuts, pastries) are full of refined carbs and added sugars. Even wholesome foods like steel-cut oats and whole-grain toast can go awry if you pile on jam, syrup, or honey.

The USDA recommends limiting added sugars to 10 percent of daily calories—that’s 12.5 teaspoons for a 2,000-calorie diet. We aim to consume as little added sugar as possible. Start your day savory with a veggie omelet or a hearty breakfast salad, and you’re much more likely to stick to that goal.

4. Stock up on healthy convenience items

Unsalted canned beans and tomatoes, precooked unseasoned brown rice, and unsalted chicken stock are the hardworking convenience heroes of a healthy kitchen because—let’s get real—they allow a healthy meal to happen when you have almost no time to cook. Use fresh ingredients to perk them up: a little citrus, perhaps, or some herbs.

5. Eat more flora, less fauna

Doing so is better for your health and the health of the planet. We’re not saying you need to go vegetarian, but do try to eat a more plant-based diet. Maybe that means Meatless Monday and Wednesday or using meat as an accent rather than the center of the plate.

When you do eat more as an entrée, use the 50/25/25 rule to keep portions in check: half the plate devoted to vegetables and fruit and a quarter each to starch and protein.

6. Learn how to balance textures and flavors

Sometimes, a one-note dish is a good thing. A sloppy joe, for example, is a delightful monotextured combo of squishy filling inside smushy bun. More often, though, dishes need balance. A creamy pureed soup might be A-OK as is, but it turns into a phenomenal experience when topped with crunchy croutons.

And consider salted caramel, arguably the superior caramel. It’s delicious precisely because the sweetness is balanced by the contrasting taste and crunch of the salt; without it, the flavor might simply be cloying. Sautéed greens too bitter? Balance with a splash of acid from vinegar or lemon juice. Embrace the idea of culinary yin and yang.

7. Make snacks count

First, make sure they offer some fat, protein, and fiber, not just carbs, so they’ll satisfy your hunger. Try Greek yogurt and berries, an apple with almond butter, grape tomatoes with a stick of string cheese, or carrots dipped in hummus. And think of your snack as opportunities to fill your daily fruit and veggie quota. If dinner ends up being pizza delivery, well, at least you will have had all those carrots earlier in the day.

8. Be good to your gut

Science is uncovering more and more potential benefits to having a thriving gut microbiome (the bacterial community in your GI tract): lower risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, depression, and more. Put more of the good bugs into your gut by eating probiotic-rich foods, such as yogurt and kefir, and fermented foods like sauerkraut, kombucha, and kimchi.

And be sure to fuel your bacterial team with plenty of prebiotics (food for probiotics), including whole wheat, garlic, onions, asparagus, and leeks. So what’s not good for your gut? It’s not surprising, but try to avoid artificial sweeteners and highly processed foods, and cut back on sugar. 

9. Don’t stress too much about dietary cholesterol

We’re recently removed it from the numbers we report with our recipes. The link between the cholesterol you consume and the cholesterol that ends up in your blood is not as direct as once thought. The USDA’s 2015 Dietary Guidelines removed the daily cholesterol cap in favor of advising that you “eat as little dietary cholesterol as possible”. Bottom line: If you eat an overall healthy diet that goes easy on foods high in saturated fat, you shouldn’t have to worry.

10. Add, don’t subtract

It used to be that healthy eating was about what you shouldn’t eat. Now, our focus is on all the fresh, delicious interesting foods you should be eating—from avocados to beets, mussels to fried eggs, kimchi to artisan salumi. Healthy eating is a celebration of color, variety, balance, and the intrinsic pleasures of food that makes you feel good. And if you eat this way, you’ll be a much healthier, happier cook.

How to Make Money as a Health Chef

1) Get hired as a personal chef

This is the reason why businesses like takeachef, chefdehome, atyourtable exist because the demand exists.

Gone are the days when only the ridiculously rich can afford a personal chef. Indulgent experiences like this are now getting more and more attainable and guess what? You can capitalize on this too if you are experienced in healthy cooking .

2) Freelance as a caterer for small events like kids birthday parties or local business meetings

Connect with other parents in your community and casually drop your cooking prowess into the conversation. Keep your ears open for any special events coming up at your child’s school and offer to cater for a small fee.

You can also grab a pack of 100 business cards from Vistaprint for less than 10 bucks to give your business a professional edge. Then you can approach local small businesses of no more than 10 people (remember, you’re a one-wo/man show) and promote your services.

You may also need a license to operate this business from home so make sure you have the right permit, license and business structure to do so.

3) Start a blog about food and healthy cooking

This is a great chance for you to showcase how amazing of a cook you are.

Share your best recipes and aim to help beginner cooks with tutorials.

You can put ads on your blog that your visitors and readers can click through which you would get paid for.

This blogger earned $150,000 in 2014 from taking photos of food and sharing them on social media! Imagine what she would be making now!

4) Be an affiliate for food and kitchen products

Be an affiliate on behalf of brands by promoting the product affiliate links all over your blog or social media. If a visitor clicks through any of your affiliate links and makes a purchase, you get to pocket a small fee.

And of course, the more people buy through your links, the more money you earn!

5) Get paid to write for bigger blogs

If you find writing enjoyable, you can even pitch your writing skills to bigger food/cooking blogs than yours and you could get paid for your articles.

You would either be a guest writer or a ghost writer. A guest writer is a paid gig with recognition.

Whereas if you’re a ghost writer, you’re just in the background pumping out blog posts for a big blog but of course, you’re getting paid.

Depending on the project, ghostwriters can get paid anywhere between $5,000 to $50,000 according to bizfluent.

6) Start a YouTube channel

Teaching people how to cook is very much a visual learning experience so video tutorials are a must.

You may think that having a YouTube channel is just for fun but once you get heaps of people watching your videos, earning money left, right and center could be a real possibility.

It only takes one viral video to take your YouTube channel to the next level.

You can put ads on your videos, promote affiliates or if you become popular, you could even work exclusively with brands to promote their products.

Or you can review cooking appliances, utensils and post your reviews online. Still need convincing?

How about a 7-year old kid who’s earned 22 million bucks (yes, that was NOT a typo!) just by posting toy reviews on YouTube?

7) Teach others how to cook

If you enjoy cooking and teaching but are intimated by technology, then you can teach cooking classes at your home or somewhere else more convenient.

You can have cooking classes for kids, adults or even tourists if you know how to cook local specialties.

This is a more hands-on approach and is particularly good if you like interacting with your clients.

8) Create and sell online courses

Cooking is on the brink of extinction what with meal delivery services and other conveniences getting more and more popular.

There’s never a better time than now to revive this valuable skill and imagine getting paid for doing humankind a favour.

You can use platforms like Udemy, LearnDash, Teachable or Thinkific to create and sell your courses.

9) Can you bake?

If your answer is yes then you can start a made-to-order cake business. Once again, you can get your name out there by networking with the parents at your children’s school or the moms in your mothers group.

You can also be extra friendly with people at your local shops or playground. You can even pin your business details on community notice boards around your area. The idea is to make sure that people are seeing your business name everywhere.

10) Publish an eBook and sell it on Amazon or on your blog

It can be about learning how to cook or you could curate your best recipes and put them in an eBook. This could be a great passive income idea even if you just sell your book for $9 each.

If you have about 1500 people in your email list and even if only 500 of them bought it, that’s still $4,500 in your pocket for something that you only have to work for once. Not bad!

There are many ways to earn money in the food industry while still enjoying the flexibility of setting your own schedule, working your preferred hours, and running your business from home.

If you’re looking for healthy cooking career options, don’t give up on your dreams. There are plenty of home-based opportunities for foodies and cooking enthusiasts.