Get ready to be bowled over by this restaurant trend

The bowls have it, at least when it comes to how people are buying food items at restaurants, according to a piece by The Food Institute, a food service industry news site.

One chain, Juice It Up!, saw sales climb 38% over the past five years because of its bowl offerings, for example.

It’s not just cereal people want in a. bowl anymore. Restaurants are seeing sales rise for bowls offering a variety of menu items, all aimed at satisfying consumer desire for better-for-them products.

“In 2023, Brandwatch declared bowls ‘the reigning champion of food trends.’

“Bowls are a fun choose-your-own-adventure with endless combinations,” Troy Guard, the owner and executive chef with TAG Restaurant Group, told FI. “They’re easy, convenient, travel well, can often be reheated or saved for later, and contain fresh and healthy ingredients.”

“No matter where consumers look, restaurant-goers seeking salads, acai, Mexican, Poke, protein, fruits, or grains can often find them in bowl form,” the article states.

A chain I’ve been frequenting lately, Cafe Zupas, has been pushing its bowls in email marketing but I’m sticking to the make-my-own salad because I can control the salt, fat and sugar by doing that.

February 28, 2024 0

You can cook like Julia Child, at least when it comes to salad dressing

Cooking icon Julia Child was a hero of mine when I was a kid. Her PBS shows kindled my love of cooking, and of experimenting when I cook.

But I’ve never attempted her recipes, even though I’ve owned some of her books over the years. They all seemed more complicated than I could handle.

Another Standard Market Grill salad offering. — *Top your salad with a little piece of Julia Child’s food legacy.*

If you’ve felt the same way, take heart. I found one of her recipes you and I can easily make, and enjoy, since it seems relatively heart-healthy too.

It’s in this piece, Julia Child’s Timeless Vinaigrette Helped Me Fall in Love with Salad on Eatingwell.com.

Start with these ingredients:

2 tablespoons wine vinegar or a combination of vinegar and lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and/or salad oil, such as grapeseed oil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced shallot or scallions and/or ¼ teaspoon dried herbs, such as tarragon or basil
Big pinch of freshly ground pepper

I’d omit the salt and stick with olive oil. But even if you use the salt, it’s still a relatively small amount given the amount of dressing you’re creating.

Continue reading →

February 13, 2024 0

A failed try at touting “healthier” game-day snacks; try mine instead

The weight-tracking app LoseIt recently sent me this article in its e-newsletter, 7 Popular Super Bowl Snacks and RDs’ Healthier Alternatives. (RD stands for registered dietitian.)

The concept is a good one, leave behind high-fat, high-salt munchies for others that are less damaging to your health.

These mini cups are low in fat and salt and sugar-free. Fill them with salt-free treats for Super Bowl munching.

Try filling mini-puff pastry for Super Bowl snakes.

But the items included largely left me shrugging my shoulders. Things like Jalapeño Cream Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Poppers never made my Super Bowl table.

The list has a Southwest tilt to it, again not what I usually eat for game watching. The turkey sliders are probably the only item of the seven listed that I would try.

So I’d say this list doesn’t cross the goal line for a touchdown. Much better are some of my past pieces:

Low-salt, Low-fat recipes for Super Bowl

Super Bowl Low-salt, low-fat party menu — try swordfish steaks as a main course

Super Bowl Treats — Puff pastry shells with salasa, mushroom, tomato combo

Super Bowl Party dishes — try fat-free twice-baked potatoes

Salt-free potato chips for Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Treats — Puff pastry shells with salasa, mushroom, tomato combo

February 10, 2024 1

Cheese recall promoted by listeria spreads to salad kits

A listeria-related recall that started with cheese products has spread to salad kits including those cheeses, various media report.

“Salad products sold at Walmart, Costco and Winco were recalled Thursday amid a nationwide outbreak of listeria that has sickened at least 26 people and left two people dead,” reports Patch.com

“Ready Pac Foods voluntarily recalled a limited number of casesof four salad kits as a result of an expanded recall by Rizo-López Foods, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. The kits contain cheese that could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause serious — and sometimes deadly — infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and people with weak immune systems. Additionally, a listeria infection can cause women to miscarry or lead to stillbirths,” the report says.

Some of the recalled products are sold at Costco, Walmart and Cinco. Products sold at Trader Joe’s also ahve been impacted.

To read more details in the Food and drug Administration recall announcement, simply click here.

February 9, 2024 1