Dining out can be a fun way to socialize, but it can also be a gastronomic disaster if you’re not careful. In this past year we’ve seen restaurants trend toward the ultimate calorie and sodium shock factors, first with the KFC Double Down (more like double over) and now with the Chili’s Ultimate Stacked Burger.
The Chili’s burger advertises “two big mouth burger patties stacked a mile-high with melted American cheese, mayo, applewood smoked bacon, pickles, lettuce, tomato, and crispy onion strings.” In this description alone we can translate that the burger contains a total overload of fat, cholesterol, and sodium. If you were making a burger at home, it would not look like this. The size of this burger is unrealistic and raises the “unhealthy” ingredients to out of control.
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All this week, I’m covering walnuts. From nutrition to culinary uses, I’m exploring what top fitness, nutrition, and culinary experts have to say about this “bumpy” nut. Up next is my interview with Chef Greg Higgins. If you’re into “green eating,” this is your guy. Find out what he has to say about how you can eat healthy and green:
1. As a restaurant chef, what is essential for creating healthier menu options? Whether it is swapping out butter for a healthier oil, or lower-fat dairy, etc., how do you keep high-taste intact while still offering healthful options?
We use olive oil as our primary cooking and flavoring oil. That in conjunction with a steady supply of local, seasonal and sustainable fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
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Renowned fitness expert and spokesperson for California Walnuts, Petra Kolber, shares her ideas for exercising at home and setting realistic goals.
For those unable to dedicate hours at a gym every day, what’s a good short exercise to do at home?
Walking is the perfect cardio exercise that can be done anywhere and has great health benefits. Even a quick 10-minute walk around the block will give you results.
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It’s walnut week here at Diets In Review. I’ve been blogging some great interviews with top fitness, culinary, and health experts on all things walnuts, and of course, healthy eating. If you’ve missed my posts, you can always catch up at our walnut week roundup page! Next up, an amazing interview with cookbook author Mollie Katzen. Read what she thinks you should eat to get healthy:
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All this week, I’m dedicating my blogs to walnuts. If you’ve missed the content so far, be sure to catch up. You can find out what fitness guru Petra Kolber thinks you should do to stay energized this summer, and read about the latest research on the health benefits of walnuts.
This interview is with chef Charlie Ayers, former chef at Google, author of the book “Food 2.0” and member of the California Walnuts Chefs Council, a group working to make restaurant meals healthy and delicious at the same time. Read what he has to say about healthy cooking and check out his healthy recipe using walnuts: Walnutty Egg and Bell Pepper Gratin.
1. As a restaurant chef, what is essential for creating healthier menu options? Whether it is swapping out butter for a healthier oil, or lower fat dairy, etc., how do you keep high-taste intact while still offering healthful options?
It is important to give your guests compelling flavor profiles, so that they are satisfied and not missing the added fats that are normally associated with restaurant foods. We tend to use a lot of ingredients that are versatile and can be either applied to Latin American or Asian cuisines. We make all of our own dressings; our ketchup is made in-house with no high fructose corn syrup, and instead use an organic brown sugar in small amounts as a sweetener. I try not to use added fats when working with product that already has a naturally high fat content, and I try and bring out the flavors of the foods with the combination of using fruit and vegetable juices instead of adding additional fats.
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