FERN - Decreasing Food Waste in Lebanon

June 5 is the World Environment Day and the smartest way we can preserve the environment is by action. We can 'think' all we want that something must be done to protect mother nature, or we can do something about it >> Exactly what FERN advocates are doing! FERN, Food Establishments Recycling Nutrients, is a Lebanese NGO founded during November 2012, tackling the issue of food waste in Lebanon.

F.E.R.N. increasing awareness on food waste
in Souk El Tayeb

In Lebanon, 63 to 95 % of waste is organic, meaning actual food that can be composted, while the remainder of the waste is basically recyclable glass, plastic, metal and paper. In addition, at least half of the food grown in the market is thrown away, especially when fruits and vegetables are aesthetically considered lower than the market's selling standards because of skin blemishes. Consequently, this has increased food waste, cost, methane gas emission and overall pollution. Therefore, FERN is determined that food establishments in Lebanon can have an overall of ZERO waste, recycling food to generate more food! So if you're skeptical, walk with me.

• F.E.R.N. contacts food establishments, analyzes their food preparation process and

  

  Cedar Environmental recycles
  organic and non-organic waste!

  trains employees on how to reduce their foodprint and on how to sort out organic material (food) from the rest of the waste generated on site.
• Food is then collected daily
  >> Food waste is sent to treatment facilities such as Cedar Environmental (www.cedarenv.com) in order to generate 100% environment friendly and organically certified compost for farmers' use. I remember meeting Ziad, the brains behind Cedar Environmental, in TedX few years back. His talk was absolutely inspiring as he was in love with recycling our Lebanese garbage! What I love most is that when such compost is applied to the soil, it can improve its quality as it is rich in essential nutrients originally found in food while reducing the use of chemical fertilizers!
  >> As for leftover safe food, it is donated to those in need through organizations such as FoodBlessed and the Lebanese Food Bank (which deserves a post of its own!).
• FERN is also committed to increase awareness about decreasing food waste and nutrient recycling to children as well as food establishments and farmers.

Currently, 83% of waste is being dumped in landfills or directly into nature whereas only 17% is being composted and recycled. This is why FERN has started this easily implemented initiative where any food establishment can take part! FERN is currently working with 10 restaurants to recycle, reduce and prevent food wastes all over Lebanon!

So my question was, given that I don't own a food establishment, what can we do to decrease our foodprints and food waste??
>> Naji Boustany, FERN co-founder, was helpful enough to give me few tricks on what I can personally do for the environment!

Fruits and vegetables with blemishes
can be turned into jams, pickles or soups!

• Start by adjusting your food shopping behavior: Buy the exact amount of food you need. If it's hard for you to assume that, start by keeping a list of the leftover food you throw away. This will definitely give you an idea on what you are buying in excess!
• Apply FIFO: First In, First Out! Store them back and move the older food items to the front, this way you can use these foods before their expiration date.
• Fruits and veggies with blemishes should not be thrown away, as they are as safe and nutritious as perfectly-shaped produce. They can be eaten as such or made into soups, jams, cakes, smoothies, pickles or juice! And I actually applied this few weeks back when we had extra bananas on the verge of dying - Turning them into banana ice cream was a success!
• Of course in Lebanon, we cook as if everyday is a fiesta (at least that's what mom does). But the trick lies in never throwing left overs away
  - When we cook huge amounts, we make sure to invite lots of people over or send my teta, aunt, family and even colleagues some of the yumminess.
  - We also freeze those extra meals and have them in coming weeks.
  - Or we have leftover days! Boy is this common in our house! This is usually done on Thursdays or Fridays, where all foods left from the week are gobbled!
• And one tip I loved is separating all food waste from non-organic ones, turning them into a bland and using them as fertilizers for my plants, smart and nutritious!

FERN also provided us with this printable poster for more ways to decrease food waste!

So FERN is currently expanding its awareness campaign to decrease food waste, increase food recycling and include more food establishments that FERN-alize their organic waste! You can check their website, twitter or facebook page to know more about their activities as they are having an environmental quiz night tomorrow June 5th and a fundraiser on Thursday!

The 'Taste Lebanon' Project - Delicious Lebanon Revealed

First of May happens to be towards the very end of Mangroves-season, in which you can still harvest these tiny shrubs you see off the shores of Lebanon. We usually buy mangroves' pickled leaves, my dad seems to love them with everything and enjoy them with anything that includes lentils. So this year, I decided to go harvest those shrubs and pickle my own! We went off to the coastal shores of Amchit, North of Lebanon. Many seem to harvest the leaves as shrubs were harvested already, but we managed to find our own. There are different types of mangroves shrubs, we got lucky with some of the semi-immersed ones, those that tolerate salty tidal seawater twice per day.

Nevertheless, this post is not about my mangroves hunting, it's more about our after-harvesting part of the day. We passed by Furn El Sabaya in Amchit, which deserves its own post soon, and bumped into Bethany Kehdy with a small group of tourists. So you see this tiny post is about the amazing (and might I add fun) work Bethany is doing in giving an excellent image about the culinary & cultural life of Lebanon. I have followed Bethany on twitter, kept myself busy with her recipes on Dirty Kitchen Secrets and checked her updates on food blogging conferences, Food Blogger Connect, but the best part of it all is her Taste Lebanon project.

In case you're not familiar with what Taste Lebanon's aim is, this is it.

Bethany Kehdy cooking
Courtesy of MidEats

We were having some fatayer (Lebanese good spinach pies) when Bethany and 3 tourists came in. She introduced them to the place and ordered the place's specials. The group enthusiastically watched how food was prepared and took photos as Bethany explained the whole procedure, what ingredients went in, the way of cooking as well as the cultural background of the food, all in English.

>> That's what Bethany does in Taste Lebanon. She highlights the good, delicious side of Lebanon to tourists from all over the world. Bethany guides tourists on a 7-day culinary trip all over Lebanon. The tours are private, as you see the group we met were just 3. It's a combination of a fun, cultural and super delicious trip. 

Few of the places/food you'll get to experience touring Taste Lebanon [And I got these just by recapping FEW reviews on Taste Lebanon! You might wanna click on those links and check their latest youtube video for savory food!]

Pita bread making
By DKS

- Falafel making and tasting
- Touristic visits to Baalbeck ruins then heading back to mountain wineries
- Fish markets, seafood restaurants and of course, swimming!
- Beehives and honey making
- Saj bread preparation
- Lebanese sweets making (such as baklava, middle eastern pastries & mwaraqa)
- Wild-thyme farms (that I've never been to)
- Lunches with full Lebanese meze
- Authentic chicken and kebab lunches
- Breakfast options you can have in Lebanon >> labne, manakich, croissants, yum!
- Ice cream tasting
- Arak tasting
- Kaak making
- Maamoul making
- Pita bread making
- Orange flower water making
- Beef/lamb meat market / Sheep for dinner!
- Kibbe preparation (I'm sure by now you know you'll taste those too!)
- And the best of all, tours around old authentic Lebanese old souks and street markets!

If you love learning about and tasting good food, you will be drooling. I couldn't but link all those photos. You can check David Lebovitz posts on his latest tour with Bethany and many more here. I couldn't stop reading the tourists feedback about how easy it was to go around the whole country with Bethany while having all the amazing culinary experiences I haven't had in my own country, makes me want to re-organize my to-do list! Of course, there's a lot to do in such a short period of time so not all the culinary trips I mentioned can fit into one visit I guess. As Bethany explains, tours may differ from one time to another.
All I know is that if I were a tourist, I would want to have this delicious trip. So if you know similar (as cool & as delicious!!) trips around Europe or Asia, I beg thee to link me!

Why Wait for Sunday Gatherings - Souk El Tayeb, Authentic Lebanese Food in the Heart of Beirut!

A lot of us long for Sundays to have those authentic gatherings with our extended families, around a table rich in traditional Lebanese food, from tabboule, fattoush, hummus, home-made mana’ich, to kebbe, grilled meats and Lebanese sweets; especially with brilliant cooks like our moms and tetas!

Food is indeed a very important part of our daily lives, better yet; food constitutes a crucial part of our identity and heritage! So what about a place, cozy and authentic, that prepares your Sunday lunches every day?  This is what Tawlet is all about!

On Saturday 1^st of October, Cynthia from Strawberry Blu, my friend, dietitian, food scientist and amazing blogger decided to visit Tawlet, located in Mar Mechael street in Gemmayze, Lebanon! And what an amazingly delicious experience it was! We had lunch and a casual chit chat with Mr. Kamal Mouzawak, chef, writer and founder of Souk el Tayeb- Tawlet, and here’s how it went…

Tawlet Overview

Tawlet (Arabic for Table) is a farmer’s kitchen that simply revolves around “Shou tabkha el mama el yom?” (English “What’s mom cooking today?”). Each day, different food producers, cooks and also well known chefs come from all over the country to prepare traditional Lebanese home-made food from their own region or village.

 

The Menu

Visitors can serve themselves food buffet-style from a menu that varies daily, depending on the regional specialty for that specific day.

 

Tawlet's open buffet

You can definitely find foods that you are familiar with, but what is most exciting are those foods that are unique to every region of Lebanon! Such as Bemye bi debess el remmen (Okra with pomegranate molasses) from Jezzine, Koussa bel zet (Zucchini in oil) from Maaser El Chouf and Kebbe arnabiye (Kebbe with sesame paste and sour orange juice) from Kfaratra!

You can have some lemonade, jellab, arak or wine while the water is free to pour some from the traditional “bri2” (which is a rounded glass bottle with a tight neck and a nozzle from which you can pour water, mainly found at our granny’s!)

Tawlet uses preservative & chemical-free (products) produce in all the foods prepared! That’s why you don’t find any place for carbonated beverages, such as cokes and sodas, for they are not part of our cuisine, right? As for dessert, you can find the finest fruits, fruit salad, as well as Arabic sweets such as knefe, so we definitely had some! 

Delicious fruit, knefe, cakes and Lebanese sweets!

To wrap up, the menu is full of delicious authentic Lebanese dishes that you don’t get to have every day and which you can actually check weekly on facebook!

Tawlet's Environment

The place's interior is earthy, green and warm! The chairs and tables are wooden with plants and flowers all over the, might I add, smoking-free dining area. You can find meticulously arranged bri2 stand, a beautifully arranged Lebanese wine collection as well as a stand for various home-made Lebanese mouneh (pickled and preserved produce and pantry). Moreover, what I loved is that the kitchen is right there in front of your eyes! Whatever food is being prepared, heated or cooked is out there for all of the visitors to see!

Beautifully arranged wine collection

Warm, green and homey!

Maya Zankoul's illustrations
decorating one of Tawlet's walls

Tawlet under the Umbrella of Souk El Tayeb

Tawlet's kitchen actually falls under Souk El Tayeb (Tayeb meaning tastes good/delicious) that includes a farmer's market, wine tasting classes, cooking workshops, food feasts and school programs! Cynthia and I will make sure to visit this market very soon in Biel (which opens every Saturday in Biel from 9 am till 2 pm) to check their mouneh, pastries, sweets, dairy products, and their fresh, local and organic fruit and vegetables.


Kamal Mouzawak is doing his share of preserving our Lebanese culture and traditional cuisine by supporting local farmers, organic and fresh produce and by focusing on the importance of our Lebanese character and identity! So what are we doing to preserve our culture?

Tawlet Contact Details

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday: 1 pm - 4 pm

Cynthia (right) and I (left)
enjoying Tawlet's kitchen

At night, it is open for private dinners and exhibitions
Price range:

• "Producer's buffet" and "Saturday's Souk Brunch": 27 USD $
• "Plate du jour": 10 USD $

Phone number: 01-448 129

Address: Beirut, Sector 79 -  Naher Street #12 (Jisr el- hadeed), Ground floor facing Spoiler center, Beirut, Lebanon

Facebook page

Twitter page

Website link

*Photos courtesy of Paty M's Nutrition World and Strawberry Blu.
Strawberry Blu's similar post about Tawlet [here].

Paty's Hearty Meals

Since it's our first year anniversary next month, yes it's been a year already,we're launching a new category in our blog called "Paty's Hearty Meals".

What happened is that I've noticed that eating outside in Lebanon is quite the fuss! Almost everyone who is trying to lose weight or fix their dietary habits avoids eating outside or ends up ruining his/her healthier habits if they do, mainly because they think food everywhere is fattening, with lots of fats or sugar.

This is particularly true- Yes food in restaurants is dipped in fats and sugar, but I'm "faithful" that somewhere in that menu, I will find that healthy meal which you and I can enjoy, guilt-free. So every month, or twice per month, I'll be visiting casual Lebanese restaurants, where friends and family go out just to hang, and I will choose a healthy meal they offer, take pictures, ask about means of cooking and ingredients and estimate how many calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, sugar, sodium, etc. are actually in this particular meal. I will also mention if I did any modifications to that meal, so if I substituted a dressing or a type of bread for another, I will sure mention what and why I did it.

We all love and enjoy food, so this section will be helpful for everyone in Lebanon, whether for people who are trying to lose weight, watch their figures, regulate their cholesterol or triglycerides levels or simply, people who just want to have a light meal!

So if you have any suggestions, ideas or feedback that will make this new section better and more beneficial for all of us, I would love to hear them!

For many more cartoons, please visit Randy's site @ www.glasbergen.com.

Barcelona is Del-iiii-cious!

Barcelona is an amazing historical city! It is pretty easy to move around it even if you haven't been there before thanks to their touristic buses! There's a lot to see here -from monuments, beaches, parks, ancient churches and all the beloved work of Antoni Gaudi, you cant' but fall in love with the city! 

Better yet, the food is not to be missed! Barcelona is famous for many: Tapas, Paella, Churros, Sangria, and the list goes on and on so I couldn't but have "me" some, right?

Tapas Tapas, yum yum!

Tapas are small snacks given when ordering a drink in a bar, in our case it was given with wine Sangria (as opposed to champagne Sangria). As you can see in the photo, any kind of food -seriously- can be served on a delicious baguette as a form of a snack or appetizer served either with or before your meal/drink! In some restaurants, they are offered for free (so we've heard) but in the resto we visited, we ordered them - you just can't visit Spain without having yourself some good Tapas! With any round of drinks, tapas are usually presented, even if it's just a small tapa. They can be served both hot or cold, depending on the type of food served on your tapa.

My 2 favorites were Tortilla de patatas (potato omellete) made from potatoes and eggs served on a white baguette with onions, spinach and cheese as well as the Gambas al ajillo (shrimps) served cold with some creamy garlic bed, yum!

Seafood paella, all the seafood you can have

Paella is another seriously good meal you have to taste when in Spain, after all it's the Spanish daily dish! There are three widely known types of paella: Valencian paella (paella Valenciana), seafood paella (paella de marisco) and mixed paella (paella mixta), along with other types of course.

Valencian paella consists of white rice, green veggies, meat (could be chicken, duck or rabbit) with snails and beans, while seafood paella has no veggies, beans, meats, snails, but instead some an exquisite bouquet of seafood! As for the paella mixta,it's actually free styler with a combination of meats, veggies, seafood and beans! 

What makes the rice yellowish is the addition of saffron to the dish.Some olive oil could go into this dish as well so yes, peeps, it is super delicious!

Churros with molten chocolate

Churros are the Spanish desserts, their version of doughnuts! These are delicious, although I would have to say: the fact that they are deep fried pastries = unhealthy refined sugars! You can even dip them in hot molten chocolate, like how I tasted mine! We bought ours while walking back from the annual Fiesta de Gracia, but they can also be dipped/eaten on the side with cafe latte! So when in Spain, have a taste of their famous Churros, but in moderation, of course!

Zesty Sangria with freshly cut fruit

Last but least, we had some Sangria!

Sangria is a wine punch served everywhere you go in Spain! There are many types of Sangria and lots of ingredients can go in this famous drink: white wine, ginger ale, 7 up, amaretto, etc. But it is usually made of:

• Red wine, although there are some Sangria's made from champagne - the wine version tastes much better!
• A small amount of brandy
• Chopped fruit, like oranges, lemons, apples, cherries, strawberries, grapes, pineapple or - the best part - whatever fresh fruit you feel like!
• With some orange juice or honey, sugar or syrup as a sweetener

Fruitful, colorful Mercat

Either way, when in Spain, have yourself some good time, the beach is amazing, the churches are majestic, the monuments are historical and Gaudi's work is not-to-be missed! Bicycle around the city, enjoy some seriously Del-iii-cious food and make sure to pass by the colorful public market in Barcelona: La Boqueria Mercat!

Big Forks Make You Eat Less?

You might be able to trick yourself into EATING LESS by using a BIGGER FORK, a new

Photo credit: Sustainable-path.com

study conducted by the Business school researchers at the University of Utah suggests (published in Journal of Consumer Research). 

The study aimed to find, in field study, whether there is a difference in intake between people provided 2 different sized forks:

• A larger fork that held 20 % more food than the fork usually used restaurants
• A smaller fork that held 20 % less than the usual utensil

Turns Out >> When eating out, people who used a large fork for bigger bites ate less than those who used a smaller utensil. The reason, the study authors suggested, is that people who eat out have a well-defined goal of satisfying their hunger. This makes them more willing to invest energy as well as resources to meet that goal, such as making menu selections, eating and paying the check.

 

    "The fork size provided the diners with a means to observe their goal progress. The physiological feedback of feeling full, or the satiation signal, comes with a time lag. In its absence, diners focus on the visual cue of whether they are making any dent on the food on their plate to assess goal progress." 

Note that these findings apply to restaurant customers only, not people eating at home who may not have the same goals of satiating their hunger as restaurant customers. Therefore, to avoid overeating, the researchers suggested that people are ought to learn to better recognize, understand & respond to their hunger and satiety cues rather than relying on perceived food portions or utensils sizes!

References:
Healthland.time.com

Study PDF

Fork photo 

Delightful Feast for Change

“It is certainly heating up in the city right now” is the first sentence in my new RPN – Restaurants, pubs and nightclubs - Guide to fabulous and great variety of restos in Lebanon, which I got last week in “Feast for Change” dinner on the 13^th of July which was hosted by the Lebanese Syndicate of Owners of Restaurants, Cafes, Night Clubs and Pastries in Lebanon.

Fresh veggies for
a delicious tabboule!

And yes, it is quite true that Lebanon is on the roll! Whether with concerts, parties, diners, pubs, night clubs and pastries.. these have become countless. And one can’t deny that restaurants standards are becoming better and better by the day! More customer care, more online presence and interaction, more food safety concerns, more investment in restaurants interior designing with solid identities and good music and better yet, more delicious variety of cuisines! This hospitality business has been taken to a higher level alright!

So, back to the “Feast of Change”, I must say, it was delicious! To start with, I had the chance to meet fabulous tweeps in addition to enjoying some seriously good food around an exquisite taste of music! 

Smokin' delicious grill station!

The “Feast for Change” was well organized, with different sections for foods with different cuisines and live cooking, desserts and drinks thus making filling up your plate quite easy – not so good for a dietitian I must admit! I started my journey with a delicious taboule from Leila’s and I accompanied it with some smokin’ delicious shrimps and mini burgers from the grilling station! This station was what I loved the most – healthy & delicious with prompt service! I also had myself a refreshing fresh watermelon drink – a drink I really needed especially with the hot, humid temperature in Sursok Palace, which could have used some mist fans by the way!

Sam's plate of sinful desserts

The richest section was the desserts! From Mich’s knefe, mafrouke, Micho’s cotton candy, to Sam’s delicious plate filled with Gou's macarons, marshmallows dipped in melted chocolate from the famous chocolate fountain to a wide icy range of ice creams, the desserts section was sinful!

Last but not least, what matters most after the joy and fun, is the whole point behind this event! It was a "Feast for" - I'm hoping some - "Change" aiming to protecting natural sites and old buildings in Lebanon (APSAD), so I am personally waiting to see how this event can, in fact, help to protect Lebanese old buildings and natural sites!!


Thanks Mohammad & the Syndicate for this pleasant invitation!

McDonald's Horrifying Nutrition Facts

So let's say you decided to hit McDonald's for a Big Mac, some fries, a coke and one small Oreo Mcflurry! And the nice lady on the cashier asks if you would like to super-size it Sir, and you go "What the hell!" Pretty common conversation, no?

Well, truth be told, we are talking about:

• Big Mac >> 540 calories with 29 grams of fat, 10 of which are saturated, 70 mg cholesterol and 1020 mg sodium
• One large fries >> 560 calories with 27 g fat, 4 g saturated 430 mg sodium
• A large coke >> 320 cals with and 82 g sugar!
• One Oreo Mcflurry >> 500 calories, yes, with 17 grams fat, 10 g saturated, 60 grams sugar and 330 mg sodium

Lots of fat, sodium, cholesterol, saturated fats and sugar no? And a total of 1920 calories is more than I can have in a whole day! So say hello to heart diseases, stroke, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, hypertension and obesity!

So before you decide to go for McDonald's and other fast food restaurants, check McDonald's Nutrition Facts for the unbelievably huge unwanted amounts of extra fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sugar and sodium you are adding to your diet!

Taste Lebanon - A Culinary Journey Across Lebanon

Dirty Kitchen Secrets, in collaboration with the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism, is organizing the 2nd edition of Taste Lebanon - a culinary journey across Lebanon for all the foodies out there who would love to combine tourism with food appreciation.

It will take place from April 28th till May 6th 2011.

Now what I found interesting is that this tour will be very personalized where people will be invited to Lebanese homes across the country to learn the authentic cooking techniques. 

The 7-day tour will include some of these activities, depending on seasonal variation:

• Fish your own - boat trip
• Harvest your own - with a short discussion on local farming
• Demonstration on Arabic bread and Saj bread, sujuk and basterma (Armenian sausage and cured meat), Kebbe making, Baklawa and/or halewet el jebn (Lebanese sweets)
• Kitchen workshop on Lebanese mezza (delicious range of appetizers)
• Visits to old and new souks
• Dairy farm visit
• Visit to a butcher and a bakery in order to watch the process of making the Lebanese sfiha (miniature minced lamb pies)
• Visit oil groves and olive oil pressing
• Visit a vineyard with wine tasting
• Visit an Arak distillery (Lebanon's national alcoholic drink - similar to ouzo and pastis)
• Visit wild Zaatar (thyme) fields
• Demonstration of how to make Moune like Kkshek, bulgur, awarma. etc. (traditional Lebanese food storage techniques)

Amazing and exhaustive list of foods you always see in Lebanese delicious recipes, yet you never know their origins. So it's a great way to visit Lebanon and get more acquainted with our yummy food! More details for costs, hotel, meals, detailed schedule, terms and conditions, etc. please check Dirty Kitchen Secrets (DKS).

You can also check the DKS blog for many creative recipes!

Roadster Diner Goes Light

 

Roadster Diner in Lebanon introduced a new light menu section of burgers & sandwiches!

These include beef grilled patties & chicken breasts for burgers and sandwiches of either chicken, tuna, turkey and beef filet. This is great news for those who are watching their diets and figures because all these items contain less than 500 calories, served with vegetables in brown breads and buns!

I loved the Fit n' Burger made with grilled patty, rocket leaves, grilled onions, grilled tomatoes, grilled fresh mushrooms and their light sauce served in a mutli-cereal brown bun.Yum yum! 

Now calories and health aside,I have one tiny note:
Should all light/healthy meals in Lebanon be really that expensive? This is probably a very important aspect to tackle. I mean if you saw the same burger in a menu:

• The first considered as unhealthy and dipped in saturated fat, luring you with extra mayo, bacon and cheese
• And the second is all grilled, healthy in brown bread - BUT - around 5000 LL more expensive??

It's not that we can't afford it, it's more like making it impossible for people to make healthier and lighter choices without making them pay extra for it!

Eat Out for Life In Lebanon!

Eat Out for Life is a program in which you get to dine in Lebanon and in the same time contribute to the Children Cancer Center. 

It goes like this >> Between the 4th and 15th of February, whenever you dine in specific restaurants or pubs in the area, a percentage of your bill will be automatically donated to the center! The Children's Cancer Center of Lebanon (CCCL) is a non profit organization that provides treatment to children suffering from cancer at no cost on their families. It usually depends on donations and various support of the community through fundraising programs.

So you see it's pretty easy!

Have a meal at Gem, Pepe Byblos Fishing Club, Chicken & Cow, Flip Side, My Bar, Razzz Jazz Club, Cello, El Rancho, Yasmina, Sushiko, Couquely, Sophie's Choice, Viola, Ginette, Duo, Zinc, Charlie's, Fiona's, Gou, Lakay, Hard Rock Cafe, and the list goes on, check it out the participants here!

Donation is easier this way, it'll only cost you a meal. Notice that the timing is just perfect: spring break & Valentine's day! You could also use my Eating Right when Dining Out article while you're at it!

Spread it around & Bon Appetite!

Gourmet's Guide to Sauces

When dining out, I find that the hardest thing to figure out - given that I am not a professional chef - is "what's in the sauce exactly?" Who is this Alfredo that is poured all over my pasta and what do they mean when they just mention the name of the sauce! It's pretty hard since most of the times, everyone assumes that you know what to choose with your pasta, meat, fish or chicken!

This is why using this list as a quick reference would make you a savvy restaurant patron!

Pasta with Alfredo sauce

- Alfredo - Creamy Italian sauce, typically prepared with butter, heavy cream and Parmesan cheese

- Bearnaise - Thick French sauce made with white wine, tarragon, vinegar, shallots, egg yolks and butter

- Bechamel - Basic white sauce made with flour, milk, butter and flavored with onion.

- Bolognese - Italian meat sauce made with ground beef and sometimes pork & ham, sautteed in a small amount of butter and/or olive oil with tomatoes, other vegetables, herbs, and sometimes wine. It is also referred to as a ragu bolognese sauce

- Bourguignonne - French sauce made with red wine, carrots, onions, flour and a little amount of bacon

- Beurre blanc - Thick, smooth, sauce whisked with wine, vinegar, shallot and cold butter

- Carbonara - Italian sauce made with cream, eggs, Parmesan cheese and bits of bacon

- Coulis - Thick puree or sauce such as tomato or squash

Salmon with sauce Hollandaise

- Demi-glaze - Reduction sauce that gets its intense flavor by slowly cooking beef stock and Madeira or sherry to a thick glaze

- Hollandaise - Thick sauce with white wine, vinegar or water, egg yolks, melted butter and lemon juice.

- Marinara - Italian tomato sauce made with tomato, basil and perhaps other seasonings such as onions, garlic and oregano

- Pesto - Uncooked sauce made with fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan or Pecorino cheese and olive oil. And actually it is my favorite with Italian pasta!

- Reduction sauce - Sauce of broth or pan juices boiled down to concentrate the flavor and thicken the consistency. 

Sweet and sour chicken

- Sweet & sour - Sugar and vinegar added to variety of sauces. This is mostly famous here when added to Chinese dishes!

- Veloute - Light, stock-based white sauce. The stock is usually broth left from cooking meat, poultry, fish or vegetables. It is usually thickened with flour and butter but sometimes egg yolks and cream are added.

- Vinaigrette - Simple oil and vinegar combination.

Sauces like bourguignonne, coulis, demi-glace, marinara, reduction sauce, sweet & sour and vinaigrette are usually lower in fat than other cheesy/creamy ones. However, the ingredients tend to vary from one chef to another and so does the fat content!

This was brought to you from the ADA's Complete Food and Nutrition Guide book!

Eating Right When Dining Out

Everybody loves eating out and there's not reason why you shouldn't - except the fact that most restaurant-foods are high in fat, salt, sugar or calories in general!

New health care legislation in the States will require (some time during this 2011) that big restaurant chains indicate how many calories each of their food items contains; however, it's not always possible to get the information you want.  

- Some fats are good for you while other are not - Monounsaturated fats, such as those found in avocados, nuts, olives and olive oils, can help lower your LDL and maintain your HDL and polyunsaturated fats in vegetable oils, fish, mixed nuts, edamame and seeds could help decrease your cholesterol in general. So ordering grilled seafood when you go out will offer you taste, heart healthy benefits and omega 3 fatty acids. Meanwhile, the fats you should be aware of are trans fats, saturated fats and cholesterol. These are found in greasy cheeses, palm oil, coconut oil, shortenings, butter, creamy sauces, stuffed with cheese, meats and whole dairy products. Fried foods  are the main concern here. Foods that are labeled as "golden crispy" to induce your mouthwatering appetite are fried with trans/saturated shortenings, ghee (clarified butter) or lard (pork fat) that will in return make your blood cholesterol spike!

- To make foods more palatable, salt (sodium) is the key. Restaurant foods can be very high in sodium. Now whether or not you are medically required to decrease your sodium intake because of high blood pressure for instance, research has shown that a low sodium diet can benefit any healthy youngster. However, the point here is to know how to spot high sodium foods. Foods that are pickled, creole sauce, smoked, marinated, teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, cocktail sauce, bacon, MSG (monosodium glutamate) added to meats or Chinese foods to give them their umami taste and canned foods are all high in salt. Therefore, don't add any table salt, ask your food to be done without extra salts and learn how to spot salty ones.

- Most restaurants label foods with extra symbols on the side: All you have to do is look for "Heart-healthy" or "Light" symbols: these are usually a red heart, a green butterfly, etc. These offer low fat, low salt and low cholesterol items making it easier for you to know which foods are the best to choose from. Watch out not to mistaken them with flags symbolizing most popular food choices.

- Don't be afraid to ask how the food is prepared and what ingredients are used. Tell your server that you are staying away from high caloric foods, high fatty/salty ones and ask for special requests for a lighter version of that meal. You can ask the chef to prepare foods using less oil, no butter, less sugar, less syrups, less salt, you name it! It's actually easy to be done so go for it next time you're eating out. You can also ask for healthier substitutions such as:

• baked potatoes instead of a side french fries order
• low fat milk instead of whole milk in your coffee
• fresh salad instead of glazed or sautteed vegetables

And if there are no substitutions, eat smart:

• peel off the chicken skin
• ask your server to skip putting fries in your plate
• skip the butter, cream, cheese, fried/sautteed vegetables, fatty fressings and dips
• know your meats: skip high fat meats, rib-eye, pork, bacon, lamb, T-bone steaks and go for leaner ones

- Ask for your sauces, dressings, gravy or dips on the side! This way you can skip them or dip less than you would have if it were already all mixed together. In addition, know which dressings to order with your salad and which not to.

• Ask for balsamic dressing, lemon-oil, light mayo, lemon, vinaigrette, citronette, mustard,tabasco, marinara with your pasta (tomatoes, garlic, onions), primavera without cream or small amounts (2 tbsps) of guacamole or low fat sour cream.
• Skip dips and dressings: heavy creamy ones such as heavy lemon, heavy vinegar, thousand island, Caesar's, cocktail, tartar, bechamel, tempura, mayonnaise and  homestyle dressings.

- Know menu linguistics for healthy and unhealthy foods: Restaurants often describe foods using specific words that aim to lure your appetite while explaining how the food has been prepared. 

• Watch out for: fried, batter-fried, au gratin, in cheese sauce, marinated in oil, double crust, sauteed, braised, crispy, glazed, golden, deep fried, prime, rich, buttered, buttery, breaded, creamy, beurre blanc, bearnaise, with mayonnaise sauce, creamed, escalloped, cheesy, Hollandaise, pan fried, rich in butter sauce or pan roasted. 
• Whereas go for foods that are: baked, braised, cooked in its own juices, dry boiled (in wine or lemon juice), lightly sauteed, stir-fried, broiled, barbecued, roasted, boiled, grilled, poached and steamed.

Extra Dining out Tips:

• Always start with a green salad on the side, it will help make you fuller for longer. Keep in mind that peas, corn, croutons, olives, avocados, couscous, cheeses and meats could be part of a salad but are not considered as greens (which have the least calories in your meal, thus will help you make full without extra calories).
• Downsize portions: always think small. A double cheeseburger is around 600 calories while a cheeseburger is 340. Also, super fries could contain 540 calories whereas a small one accounts for 210 calories.
• Ask for whole wheat/brown/mutli-cereal breads, pasta and doughs. 
• Order a thin crust pizza, no cheesy stuffings, with extra sauce, half the cheese topping, vegetables as toppings and skip the meats. Moreover, it's best if you stick to 2-3 slices max.
• Occasionally have a small portion of lighter alternatives for desserts: a scoop of diet ice cream, 1/2 cup of fruits smoothies, a cup of fruit salad, leeches and avoid high fatty, creamy and sugary ones. 
• Try to decrease fluids intake with your meal. However, if you choose to have a drink go for water, unsweetened tea or sugar and alcohol-free drinks.
• Go for a small or medium portion of a meal or share a big one with a friend. Most meals nowadays are huge so don't over-indulge.

1st pic from Healthy urban kitchen, the rest of the pictures & info from WebMD.