"Think, Then Think Again…"

  Overall I did a very good job with my healthy meal project.  I’m proud of the fact that my meal included a little bit of each food element.  This is probably the project that has taught me most in all the projects I have done before.  I learned a lot about vitamins and minerals, cooking tips, planning, chopping… I could go on forever…  But two important lessons that I think will come in handy in the future is one, when stir frying you should always stir fry the garlic first followed by onion for better taste and second, when cooking vegetables you don’t overcook so that you don’t lose the nutrients of the vegetables.

 The process of this project was long and challenging but worth it.  It started off simple with the planning and shopping part but when it was the preparation and cooking part,  I had a bit of trouble particularly working with the chicken.  I didn’t feel at all comfortable doing anything with the chicken –  touching it, chopping it, washing it, etc.  But although that obstacle held me down I was still able to conquer it in the end.  Having an experienced chef like my Mom, she demonstrated to me how to do it step by step.  I was lucky enough to be serving two chickens, so while my Mom was doing one chicken, I was following with the other. 

  My favorite part of this project was definitely making the Lumpiang Shanghai.  All the chopping, wrapping and frying were A LOT of work and fun.  I think that by now I’m a real expert at making Lumpiang Shanghai.  Best of all making the Lumpiang Shanghai took longer than the other dishes.  

  Unlike my other projects I actually scheduled all my mini deadlines, which worked like a charm.  Next time I will consider creating mini deadlines for my future projects to get everything done on time without stressing myself out.

  Although I started really early, I think I still could’ve started earlier.  I cooked my meal very early but when it came to making the presentation I didn’t realize it would take me really long.  I worked almost every other day on my presentation but I guess in the end I still haven’t given it enough time.  With the lesson I learned about setting mini deadlines on a big project I think that next time I can do better at managing my time.  In summary, I am still happy I did a FABULOUS job and gained a WONDERFUL experience in doing this project!