Go Ahead – Eat Out

The What’s Cooking Blog has moved: Please visit us at our new location: whatscookingblog.com

You have been working all day, either at home with your kids or at the office. At the end of the day, you are ready for someone else to step up and take care of you for a change. But instead of throwing yourself on the sofa with your feet up, reality sets in and you have to think about dinner. The simplest option, of course, is going out to eat or getting take-out. But for some reason after doing it habitually, we feel guilty, as if we are cheating, or doing something unhealthy. Here are some tips for enjoying restaurant food without the guilt.

• Drink a glass of water when you arrive at a restaurant. Sometimes people confuse thirst for hunger.
• Skip the soda and save your sugar intake for something really special (did anyone say chocolate?!)
• Eat Smart. Did you know that while super-sized options save you money, they nearly double your fat and calories?
• Get your dressing on the side, so you can use what you need without drowning your food.
• Order appetizer portions instead of entrees. By controlling your portion size, you can prevent yourself from over eating. Or, if you order an entrée, ask for a “to-go” box and pack up half the meal before you start eating. Out of sight, out of mind.
• Remember – restaurant food tastes good for a reason…lots of butter and salt! With that in mind, consider avoiding cream sauces and gravies if you are watching your waist-line.
• Choose healthy carbs, such as whole grain bread, brown rice or whole wheat pasta.
• Your mama always told you to eat your veggies. Well, she’s right (of course)!
• Look beyond the Kid’s Menu. Appetizers from the “regular menu” should have plenty of delicious options for kids that will expand their palates and help them to eat healthier.
• Your kids are watching what you eat. Be sure to set a good example.

If you are feeling guilty for eating out so much, give yourself a break. You are not alone. The average family eats out 29% of the time, where they spend 44% of their food budget. Cut yourself some slack. Go ahead and eat out, just make good choices.

Michelle Stern owns What’s Cooking, a Certified Green business that offers healthy cooking classes and birthday parties to children in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her online shop contains unique sustainable gifts and party favors as well as What’s Cooking Weekly, their online meal planning service offering recipes, grocery lists and tips on making cooking with your kids fun and simple.

Fast food: 6 ways to healthier meals

The What’s Cooking Blog has moved: Please visit us at our new location: whatscookingblog.com

 

 

Fast Food: Friend or Foe?

You are in the car, shaking and cranky with hunger, as you taxi your children around town…A whiff of food comes through the window, and you find yourself steering towards the fast food drive through. Such convenience!

But is it really possible to make healthy choices at a fast food restaurant? Here is what the experts at the Mayo Clinic have to say…

---

Can fast food be part of a weight-loss or healthy diet plan? You might not think so. In fact, you might even think that you can’t have a meal that’s both quick and healthy.
But this isn’t necessarily so. An occasional stop at a fast-food restaurant can fit into a healthy diet plan. The key is to choose wisely.

1. Keep portion sizes small. If the fast-food restaurant offers several sandwich sizes, pick the smallest or order half a sandwich, if available. Bypass hamburgers with two or three beef patties, which can pack more than 1,000 calories and 70 grams of fat. Instead, choose a regular- or children’s-sized hamburger, which has about 250 to 300 calories. Also, skip the large serving of french fries or onion rings and ask for a small serving instead. This switch alone saves about 300 calories. Or better yet, select a lower calorie option.
2. Choose a healthier side dish. Take advantage of healthy side dishes offered at many fast-food restaurants. For example, instead of french fries choose a side salad with low-fat dressing or a baked potato. Or add a fruit bowl or a fruit and yogurt option to your meal. Other healthy choices include apple or orange slices, corn on the cob, steamed rice, or baked potato chips.
3. Go for the greens. Choose a large entree salad with grilled chicken, shrimp or garden vegetables with fat-free or low-fat dressing on the side, rather than regular salad dressing, which can have 300 or more calories per packet. Watch out for high-calorie salads, such as those with deep-fried shells or those topped with breaded chicken or other fried toppings. Also, skip salad extras such as cheese, bacon bits, croutons and fried chips, which quickly increase your calorie count.
4. Opt for grilled items. Fried and breaded foods, such as crispy chicken sandwiches and breaded fish fillets, are high in fat and calories. Select grilled or roasted lean meats — such as turkey or chicken breast, lean ham, or lean roast beef.
5. Have it your way. Don’t settle for what comes with your sandwich or meal. Ask for healthier options and substitutions. For example, ask for reduced-fat mayonnaise or mustard on your sandwich. Or at a fast-food Mexican restaurant, request salsa with your meal instead of shredded cheese and nacho cheese sauce. Try to avoid special dressings, tartar sauce, sour cream and other high-calorie condiments.
6. Watch what you drink. Many beverages contain a large number of calories. For example, a large soda (32 ounces) has about 400 calories. Instead, order diet soda, water, unsweetened iced tea, sparkling water or mineral water. Also, skip the shakes and other ice-cream drinks, which can contain more than 1,000 calories and all of your saturated fat allotment for the day.

You can eat healthy away from home, even at fast-food restaurants. The bottom line: Be choosy. Make wise menu choices and focus on portion control.

Cooking with Kids 101…(ages 5 and under)

The What’s Cooking Blog has moved: Please visit us at our new location: whatscookingblog.com

Let’s face it…parenting doesn’t usually come with a lot of positive reinforcement. Nor does it come with a handbook on even the most basic concepts, such as getting our kids to eat! Even though I run a successful business cooking with children, my own daughter staged frequent protests at dinner time. Finally a light went on in my head. It was time that I started to practice more of what I teach to my students and their families. She needed to participate more in both the selection and preparation of our family meals!

Here are some tried and true suggestions to help you feel more confident in bringing your kids into the kitchen:

How Do I Start?

• Read recipe names to your kids and see what sounds good to them.
• Decide which 3-5 of the approved recipes you plan to make for the following week.
• Make a master grocery list, so that you only have to go to the market once.
• Purchase produce at your local farmer’s market. Kids love to eat food they have tasted and approved!

When and How?

• Select a time of the day when your kids are well fed, happy, and eager to be with you.
• Start meal preparation earlier in the day, instead of right before dinner. For working families, do this for several meals at a time on the weekend.
• Before calling kids into the kitchen, get out all of the ingredients and tools required to make the meal.

What Can the Kids Do…even if they are young?

Even toddlers can help you in the kitchen! This list includes tasks for children ages 5 and under. Please use your discretion, as you know your child best.

• Rinse and dry fruits and veggies
• Tear up lettuce for salad
• Break the tips off beans
• Stir and mix
• Help to measure
• Pull cloves of garlic from bulb, and peel the “paper” (skin) off
• Slice mushrooms, olives and other soft foods with a child-safe knife or with an egg slicer.
• Crack eggs (do this into a separate bowl, in case you have to fish out bits of shell)
• Dip chicken or fish in egg and then again in bread crumbs (this is called “dredging”). Kids love when food is “crispy” on the outside!

Some amazing things happened to me (and my family) when I started implementing these concepts. My meals were prepared and ready to go into the oven up to 2 hours (yes, hours) earlier than before. I was relaxed and able to spend quality time with my kids before dinner, after our prep work was finished. And my daughter was very proud of her work and started eating dinner with gusto! I love spending quality time together with my family in the kitchen, as I am sure you will enjoy with yours.

 

 

What’s Cooking: Cooking Classes, Birthday Parties and Gifts for Children
What’s Cooking Weekly: A Healthy and Seasonal Online Menu Subscription for Families
www.whatscookingweekly.com ~ 415-342-4353