Forum Thermomix
Welcoming Center, Management and General Chat => Introduce Yourself => Topic started by: MrSpock on May 15, 2009, 12:47:55 am
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Hi guys!
My name is Marie-Josée, and I'm from Montreal, Canada. Thermomix is virtually unknown here. I heard about it when I asked friends on Facebook for feedback on bread machines. A French colleague of mine told me that I needed a Thermomix instead, and a week after I had mine!
I have a bit of a challenge though, because since I'm French speaking, they gave me a French cook book, but it's in French from France, which is about as different as Mandarin and Cantonese! Well ok, maybe not, but different enough to ruin a perfectly good recipe.
So I'm looking forward to exchanging tips and tricks from all of you guys, but especially the one or two other North American members :)
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Hi Marie-Josee, you certainly didn't waste any time deciding on what you wanted. I wish you many happy days of cooking in your new TMX and would like to welcome you to this wonderful forum of friends from around the globe.
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welcome Marie-Josée! am lol at the french cookbooks, what a shame! hope you can find some great recipes on here!
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Welcome - It's nice to have you onboard!!!
Hope you enjoy your time here.
Trudy (Australia)
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Bonjour MrSpock - et bienvenue - just thought (difficult at my age but sometimes works) - if vous parlez francais - you really should also (but not exclusively) look at http://www.vorwerk.com/fr/thermomix/html/thermomix.html (http://www.vorwerk.com/fr/thermomix/html/thermomix.html) and join the forum there at http://www.vorwerk.com/fr/thermomix/html/forum_recettes.html (http://www.vorwerk.com/fr/thermomix/html/forum_recettes.html)
Great to have you here and hope we can help, but you'll find lots on the French site - especially recipes that are possibly more relevant.
Bon chance.
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Bonjour! I'm a French speaking Australian. I hope you have lots of fun with your TM31 - I've had mine for nine days now and I'm still overawed!
Niki
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Thank you all for the warm welcome :)
...- if vous parlez francais - you really should also (but not exclusively) look at http://www.vorwerk.com/fr/thermomix/html/thermomix.html (http://www.vorwerk.com/fr/thermomix/html/thermomix.html) and join the forum there at http://www.vorwerk.com/fr/thermomix/html/forum_recettes.html (http://www.vorwerk.com/fr/thermomix/html/forum_recettes.html)
Great to have you here and hope we can help, but you'll find lots on the French site - especially recipes that are possibly more relevant.
Bon chance.
Actually, that's my problem: The French (from France) recipes are absolutely not relevant! My reaction is either
- What does THAT mean??
- I am NOT eating that! No way! (as in fish heads in soup, ew!) or
- That looks yummy, but I'll gain 10 lbs just looking at it. I swear, 75% of the recipes in my book have either 40% cream or bacon. Quoting the movie City Slickers... "The man ate bacon at every meal... you just can't do that! " :)
I must admit almost total ignorance of the Australian way of life, so I'm looking forward to see if we have more in common :D
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LOL!
we don't eat poutine ;)
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LOL!
we don't eat poutine ;)
Aw, you guys are missing out on the good stuff! Although I'm not sure how I'd make that in my TMX!
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I saw a program once about why French women (or maybe it was women from Paris) don't put on weight but with the type of food they eat over there, I find it hard to understand why not :o :o :o So much butter, cream etc in their recipes as Mr Spock attests to. Hope you find a happy medium with your recipes from all over the world, especially here on the forum. Must admit, most recipes aren't low fat though - it would be nice to have more in this category. Good luck in your search for recipes which will appeal to you - a bad recipe book is not a good start to your life with the TMX.
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I saw a program once about why French women (or maybe it was women from Paris) don't put on weight but with the type of food they eat over there, I find it hard to understand why not :o :o :o
Me too JD, but I cant remember the reason why they dont either! Thinks it was possibly something like the fact being its all sooooo rich that you cant eat that much (otherwise you would be sick) and thats why they are all a size 8!!!! :'( :'( :'( Instead of an 18 like me!!!! ;D ;D ;D
Welcome Marie Josee! I live in Spain, you have a very Spanish name ??? any Spanish blood there?
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I saw a program once about why French women (or maybe it was women from Paris) don't put on weight but with the type of food they eat over there, I find it hard to understand why not :o :o :o
Quantities is one thing, but I believe the #1 difference is the cooking with whole, fresh ingredients, as opposed to eating processed food. This is the main reason why I got my Thermomix in the first place actually. I read about people making everything from scratch with their TMX, from mayonnaise to peanut butter. That alone sold it to me, as I had recently made the decision to get rid of as much prepared food as possible in my diet. Today's processed food, with the immensely stupid "low fat" trend, stipped all food from important nutrients like Omega 3, replacing them with sugar. Here's a great article on the subject: Food, Drink, and Decadence: How the French Stay Thin (http://www.getfitslowly.com/2008/06/06/food-drink-and-decadence-how-the-french-stay-thin/)
Welcome Marie Josee! I live in Spain, you have a very Spanish name ??? any Spanish blood there?
Thanks! No Spanish blood that I know! My blood is all French Canadian and all the way back to France. Actually I didn't even know my name had anything Spanish... Catholic heritage maybe?
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Interesting reading MrSpock but how does one eat slower ??? I like my food piping hot and unlike DH who takes an hour to eat his meal, I have finished in less than 10 minutes at the most. It all makes sense, virtually eat what you like, in moderation and walk everywhere - I do the first one, maybe overdo the second one and definitely don't have time to do the final one (plus my knees are a bit dicky anyway and I don't want to wear them out unnecessarily :P :P :P) I have decided to be comfortable in my body and enjoy my time on this earth whilst I am here ;D ;D I think genes also play a big role in our shape so I can blame Mum for that one. Having said that, I am only a size 12-14 so don't feel it is a problem even though I would prefer to be a size 10-12.
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Belated hello MrSpock!
I'm a frequent visitor to Montreal and absolutely love the restaurants there. You do know you have a cooking shop in Montreal that offers ThermoMix demos and I guess sell the units? I believe they're holding ThermoMix cooking classes too. They're on St. Laurent, on the downtown side of Little Italy; I can't remember the name.
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Quantities is one thing, but I believe the #1 difference is the cooking with whole, fresh ingredients, as opposed to eating processed food. This is the main reason why I got my Thermomix in the first place actually. I read about people making everything from scratch with their TMX, from mayonnaise to peanut butter. That alone sold it to me, as I had recently made the decision to get rid of as much prepared food as possible in my diet. Today's processed food, with the immensely stupid "low fat" trend, stipped all food from important nutrients like Omega 3, replacing them with sugar. Here's a great article on the subject: Food, Drink, and Decadence: How the French Stay Thin (http://www.getfitslowly.com/2008/06/06/food-drink-and-decadence-how-the-french-stay-thin/)
Welcome MrSpock. The TMX is fantastic for getting back to the whole foods - that's what got me into the TMX too, to get rid of all the nasties in our foods these days.
Enjoy this fantastic website!!
And after saying that - must say I also side with JD here, still working on the balance thing. But can happily say that since I've pretty much been cooking 95% with the TMX (I don't have saucepans anymore) I've lost about 7kgs (in 7 months) without trying. All good wholesome food. I probably should minimise some of the stuff, but we're only here once, might as well enjoy it! :P :P ;) :D :D :D
Interesting reading MrSpock but how does one eat slower ??? I like my food piping hot and unlike DH who takes an hour to eat his meal, I have finished in less than 10 minutes at the most. It all makes sense, virtually eat what you like, in moderation and walk everywhere - I do the first one, maybe overdo the second one and definitely don't have time to do the final one (plus my knees are a bit dicky anyway and I don't want to wear them out unnecessarily :P :P :P) I have decided to be comfortable in my body and enjoy my time on this earth whilst I am here ;D ;D I think genes also play a big role in our shape so I can blame Mum for that one. Having said that, I am only a size 12-14 so don't feel it is a problem even though I would prefer to be a size 10-12.
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Interesting reading MrSpock but how does one eat slower ??? I like my food piping hot and unlike DH who takes an hour to eat his meal, I have finished in less than 10 minutes at the most.
Unfortunately I don't have an answer to that one, since I can't eat very hot food at all! I believe it's beneficial to eat food as little cooked as possible to keep all the nutrients intact. The precious Omega 3s for example are destroyed by cooking. Very hot food also disturbs your digestive enzymes (http://prevention.intoday.in/index.php?issueid=16&id=1654&option=com_content&task=view), as does very cold food. If you really dislike eating warm food, maybe a good compromise would be to eat more of the food that doesn't nead cooking, like salads?
I have decided to be comfortable in my body and enjoy my time on this earth whilst I am here ;D ;D I think genes also play a big role in our shape so I can blame Mum for that one. Having said that, I am only a size 12-14 so don't feel it is a problem even though I would prefer to be a size 10-12.
I totally agree that being comfortable in your body is the key. Those one size fits all "healthy weight" rules might apply to Hollywood stars who have time and money to train with a personal trainer 4 hours a day because they have a nanny taking care of the kids and a cook preparing them healthy meals, but for the regular folks like us, it's not as simple... And don't get me started on the anorexic supermodels who we are supposed to emulate >:( >:( >:(
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Belated hello MrSpock!
Hello UnConundrum! I've been reading a few of your older threads and I must say that you are my new hero! My husband and I love to host big garden parties for 50+ people, but we usually stick to quick to make hamburgers and hot dogs. You've set the bar quite higher for your BBQs I must admit!! e have much to learn :D :D :D
I'm a frequent visitor to Montreal and absolutely love the restaurants there. You do know you have a cooking shop in Montreal that offers ThermoMix demos and I guess sell the units? I believe they're holding ThermoMix cooking classes too. They're on St. Laurent, on the downtown side of Little Italy; I can't remember the name.
Yes, we do live in the culinary mecca of America, although I must admit I'm not much of the eating out type. I know the place you're talking about, since that's where I bought my Thermomix! It's called La guilde culinaire (https://www.laguildeculinaire.com/fr/accueil). As far as I know they haven't had any Thermomix cooking classes. They do free demonstrations about once a month, but that's all. I'm on their mailing list so I'll be the first in line if they ever decide to hold classes, but I'm not sure the demand is very high unfortunately. We were only 3 people at the last demo and I was the only one to get the machine.
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Hi
Maybe you would prefer the Australian version of the Thermomix cookbook? There are lots of healthy recipes in that book.
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Hi
Maybe you would prefer the Australian version of the Thermomix cookbook? There are lots of healthy recipes in that book.
Yes, that's what I'm finding out. I'm not too excited about paying an extra $40 for a new cookbook though; not until my Thermomix is paid off on my credit card anyways!
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the original australian cookbook is not that well written though, even if the recipes are nice ;)
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There will be an updated and improved edition of the Everyday cookbook at some stage - I'd wait for that.
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Just dropping by to say hi, and no I didn't drop off the Innernet. Summer is finally in full swing here, and we're enjoying the few sunny days we have by going outside as much as possible.
I am however facing an existential crisis with my Thermomix, and find myself using it less and less. My problem is that DH doesn't like much of anything that is not junk food or a plain piece of meat. :( He will not eat anything with spices or herbs, nor most vegetables. So when I make a meal, I can either make something new in my Thermomix, and make him something else, or I can just cook him something he likes and make a quick salad for myself. Most of the time I don't have the energy to make two complete meals (with double the dishes to wash), no matter how easy it is to cook with the TMX. He does love the breads and desserts made in the Thermomix, but I'm overweight enough as it is, so I've slowed down on those too. Oh well. It might be easier when fall comes around, which will be soon enough I'm sure...
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Oh dear MrSpock, you do have a problem. So many men just love their piece of meat which is not covered in sauce and vegies. Chicken fillets are lovely done in the varoma like a parmigana type thing - would he eat that? I mainly want to use my TMX for main meals, soups, drinks and easy desserts but there are more recipes out there for cakes, biscuits etc than anything else. We are gradually building up a lovely selection of mains though - thanks to all our members - so I am a lot happier now than I was in the early days of TMX'ing. I actually cooked DH a T-bone on the BBQ last night for tea with some leftover mashed potato and a couple of fried eggs as I had been out for lunch with my carers' group of women - all that was left on his plate was the bone!!! He never complains he doesn't get enough of this type of meal though and he is in the mindset these days that everytime I serve him up a meal he asks me if we are reviewing this recipe for the forum ;D ;D ;D Bless him, he never used to comment on what I did before TMX but now gives his opinion of every meal presented to him.
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You're lucky Judy. All I get is "it's ok" when I try something new, which means he doesn't like it. The biggest problem is that he hates most of the ingredients that I love, like mushroom, onions,tomatoes... He doesn't care much for garlic either, although he will tolerate it, thankfully.
And the thing with meat, at least in the summer, is that it's much easier to just slap it on the BBQ. It means he does the cooking most of the time, and less dishes to wash afterwards. So I'm left with plain white rice or Lipton Sidekicks to do in the Thermomix, and that's not very inspiring. Anyways, thanks for listening to my whining :-*
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That's what we are here for MrSpock - supporting each other through our trials and tribulations. You have me intrigued - what is a Lipton Sidekick ??? ???
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i'm imagining something like a long island iced tea ???
what about using it for the salads and side dishes?
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I feel like Chicken tonight or there abouts - Liptons Sidekicks (http://www.sidekicks.ca/)
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I feel like Chicken tonight or there abouts - Liptons Sidekicks (http://www.sidekicks.ca/)
Thanks Thermomixer - have never heard that word before. Oh you are so clever ;) ;) I would have said a drink of some description. ;D ;D
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... everytime I serve him up a meal he asks me if we are reviewing this recipe for the forum ;D ;D ;D Bless him, he never used to comment on what I did before TMX but now gives his opinion of every meal presented to him.
Glad to hear that he is taking an interest JD and feels like he's contibuting to the forum ;) ;D
MrSpock - I wish you had some great answer for you. My only suggestion is to persist. Are there any of his meals that you could convert to the TMX? Just to get him used to it, and then gradually introduce more healthier options slowly? Junk food can be quiet addictive so it's hard to break into something healthier.
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Hey, c'mon. We can do junk food in the TM too !!!!
Throw some of his favorite meals at us. Maybe we can come up with some recipes he'd like ;)
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You poor thing MrSpock. Does he like icecreams and sorbets, cool juices that you could make for him? Perhaps steam his vegies (and yours) in the Varoma.
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I made some ribs last week. 2 hours in a roasting bag in the varoma in a bbq sauce (made in thx) and then 15 mins on the bbq, do you think that would inspire him, maybe he won't like the sauce, quite tomatey and spicey!
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Thanks guys for your suggestions. He does like all the "bad" things in the Thermomix, like pizza and bread dough, carbonara, sorbet, etc, but the goal of buying the Thermomix was to eat better!
My husband did surprise me greatly this week though. He had a lunch with the "big boss" at work, and it was at a fancy restaurant. I told him he probably wouldn't like anything on the menu... Well he came back saying he had fish soup and mustard duck and loved it!! He says he even ate all his veggies, but I find that hard to believe ;)
So I might try some new recipe as soon as I have a minute. We're planning a vacation to Washington DC and a Caribbean cruise this summer, so that's keeping me quite busy (but in a good way) YAY! ;D