According to Merriam Webster the term whole food means “a natural food; especially an unprocessed one such as a vegetable or fruit.” While there’s no official criteria for a whole food diet, most would agree that it consists of minimally processed food as close to its natural state as possible.  Experts agree this is a smart way to eat as it encourages nutritious options from all the food groups.

At Healthy Gourmet we are proud to prepare our meals using all-natural ingredients and without artificial preservatives.  Consequently, our meals are packed with the nutrients and taste that nature intended and do not have added sugars, starches, flavorings, or other manufactured ingredients.  In this way, we believe that Healthy Gourmet’s approach to preparing meals is as close to whole food as we can make it.  What are some examples of whole food, why should we eat them and how can we incorporate them into our diet?

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Goulash is the traditional stew of Hungary.  The name ‘Goulash’ comes from the word Gulyas meaning herdsmen in Hungarian, otherwise known as Magyar (Hungarian) shepherds.  In the 9th century, these Gulyas traveled on long cattle drives across the grassy Hungarian plains with their long-horned, Steppe cattle.  The weakest in the herd would not survive the journey and consequently the resourceful herdsmen would butcher them, making the meat into stew.  For additional flavoring, they would add onions and caraway, which conveniently grew wild on the plains.  The resulting dish eventually evolved into the stew we know today as Goulash.  However this was not before undergoing a number of interesting adaptations.

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Beef Stroganoff (Stroganov) is simple, comforting Russian cuisine, comprising sauteed pieces of beef served in a sour cream sauce.  It dates back to the mid 19th century and is named after a member of the Stroganov family, a group of highly successful Russian merchants and landowners.  Unlike the French, who often named dishes after the chefs who devised them, the Russians traditionally attached the names of famous households to their cuisine.  This was because the cooks were usually serfs. In other words, they were agricultural laborers of peasant class without social status.  Count Pavel Stroganov was a celebrity in turn-of-the-century St. Petersburg, a dignitary at the court of Alexander III, a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts, and a gourmet.  Allegedly, Count Pavel’s love of entertaining ‘popularized’ Beef Stroganov, which had actually appeared as a recipe some years earlier.  Let’s review some examples and characteristics of Russian Cuisine.

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The Middle East is a vast region located at the crossroads of North Africa, Asia, and Europe.  It centers on western Asia, Egypt and Turkey and incorporates several major countries.  These include Lebanon, Egypt, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Bahrain and Cyprus.  People from all over the world flock to the Middle East to witness its architecture, culture, and remnants of the ancient world.  Not surprisingly, history, religion, Mediterranean climate and tradition play a huge role in defining its cuisine.  In addition, foreign invasions and trade routes throughout Europe, Africa and Asia have been influential.  Middle Eastern cuisine uses a characteristic blend of local herbs and spices to season its meat.  Accordingly, lamb, beef and chicken skewers produce many different versions of kebab.  Let’s look at Middle Eastern kebabs in more detail.

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