Red & white zucchini boats for July 4th

The Fourth of July usually means grilling lots of meat on a grill or two (or four like I have in my outdoor kitchen) but don’t forget your vegetarian family members or friends — here’s a great stuffed zucchini boat you can make on the grill as well.

It already has two colors for the 4th, kudos if you can find a way to add something blue — maybe the plates you serve it on?

Any regular reader of my blog knows I love zucchini and regularly post recipes from famous chefs like Giada D. Follow this link for a page of past posts with zucchini recipes.

*Our tilapia, zucchini and corn dinner. Another zucchini alternative.*

But back to the latest recipe I found on a site called SimplyItalian Cooking. The ingredients:

Medium zucchini
Onion
Tomato
Garlic
Breadcrumbs
Italian cheese (Romano or Parmesan)
Olive oil
Basil
Salt and pepper (optional — leave out the salt)

The instructions:

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July 4, 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

Looking for a Mediterranean Diet Plan? Here’s a 7-day one

One of the fun things about doing this food blog for more than 10 years is that now people send me food story ideas all the time. Most don’t apply to eating less salt, fat and sugar, but some do and I try to share as many as possible of those with you. The website Total Shape recently sent me a 7-day Mediterranean Diet plan, for example.

“Research found that the Mediterranean diet supports prevention of cardiovascular diseases, increases lifespan, and healthy aging. Also, when used in conjunction with caloric restriction, the diet may also support healthy weight loss,” a Total Shape nutritionist says.

The diet plan:

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January 19, 2024 2

Thanksgiving food costs are down; here’s how to drive them even lower

The good news for Thanksgiving 2023 is that food costs are down compared to last year. The American Farm Bureau estimates you can feed Thanksgiving dinner to a family of 10 this year for $61.17 compared with $64.05 act year.

But if you’re a smart shopper, you can drive your costs down even more. To do that:

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November 22, 2023 0

McDonald salads 2023 — gone, gone, gone

*Bye, bye McDonald’s salads. Bye, bye McDonald’s.*

My most-read post last year was about McDonald’s bringing back salads in some locations after killing them during the pandemic. But it looks like the return of McDonald’s salads is over. A search through the Northern suburbs of Chicago the past two weeks (via the McDonald’s app) shows no outlets with salads on their menus in 2023.

I sent a note to McDonald’s customer service and got back a form reply saying salads are no longer part of the national menu and it’s now up to individual franchise holders whether they offer them. I find only a little truth in that since suppliers have to be found for them and I don’t see corporate letting individual outlets go rogue on finding suppliers. Corporate has decided to walk away from any pretense of having a healthy menu option.

That means there is now nothing even remotely healthy on McDonald’s menu and I can no longer frequent them. My favorite McDonald’s in the suburb of Winnetka was like my away-from-home office since I retired in 2015.

I’d go there twice a week and everyone on staff knew me and treated me wonderfully. I will miss them tremendously, but sadly McDonald’s now, just like Trader Joe’s, too is dead to me if I want to keep to my heart-healthy diet.

I’m going to test a Wendy’s salad to see how they measure up but looking at their nutritional information, they mostly seem loaded with salt. The same is true for Panera salads. I’ve had salads at Culver’s but found them bland in the past, it might be time to test them again as well.

January 25, 2023 3

No salt, No Fat, No Sugar Journal tops 88,000 views in 2022

This blog, the No Salt, No Fat, No Sugar Journal, recorded a record 88,398 views in 2022, blowing past the record set in 2021 of 80,127. The number of visitors also set a record in 2023 with 57,344 people coming to our site, well above the 43,64 who visited in 2022.

“Last year was an amazing one for us, people are finding us and, in the process, hopefully they’re cutting the salt, fat and sugar in their diets,” says blog founder and editor John N. Frank.

*Our reporting on the partial return of McDonald salads brought thousands of visitors to our site in 2022.*

The most popular post last year had to do with the spotty return of salads at McDonald’s, First look: McDonald’s 2022 salads – a shadow of what they used to be. That post attracted 16,319 views.

An earlier post, among the first to report the return of the salads which were eliminated during the Pandemic, McDonald’s salads are sneaking back onto menus, attracted 5,225 views.

“Salads are the only almost-healthy item on McDonald’s menus. There is obviously interest in them. LEt’s hope the burger chain does more to make them healthier, and tastier than what they offer now,” says Frank.

January 5, 2023 0

Aldi, Walmart promise Thanksgiving food price breaks

Aldi and Walmart have captured media attention recently by saying they’re rolling back prices on their Thanksgiving offerings to 2019 or 2020 price levels. The moves come in response to what seems like a public obsession with inflation these days. (That obsession is overblown in my opinion, you can adapt by how and where you shop to still find food deals as I’ve written about here).

Checking their sites for more details, I found that Walmart is very specific in terms of what prices will be held down.

“We’re removing inflation on an entire basket containing traditional Thanksgiving items. We made significant investments on top of our everyday low prices so customers can get a traditional Thanksgiving meal at last year’s price at Walmart*,” according to a press release on the Walmart site.

Having covered Walmart as a food business journalist, I can tell you its senior execs are very serious about always offering the lowest prices. Their buyers get continually pushed to find lower prices. So this move doesn’t surprise me, it fits with the DNA of the brand.

Aldi is less specific about what prices are being rolled back. When you click on its Thanksgiving Price Rewind graphic (on the Aldi website), it simply takes you to an online shopping page. Aldi is claiming to roll back prices to 2019 levels, significant since we did express price increases in 2020 and 2021.

I’m going to be checking both locations to see if either is offering low-sodium turkeys, fat-free gravy, or healthier butter substitutes for prices lower than the local supermarket chains. I’ll let you know what I find.

November 7, 2022 0

Grocery shopping tips from Nicolette Pace

You may have seen Nicolette M. Pace on TV, her demo reel shows her making the rounds of the TV talk shows, discussing food and healthy eating. Her PR people recently reached out to me with her list of healthy grocery shopping and I’ve decided to share them with you here, just click the continue reading button if you’re seeing this on my home page. Enjoy and let me know what you think of them.

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October 7, 2021 0

Pandemic food price gouging – demand advertised sale prices

The continuing increase in food prices throughout the pandemic has been well documented, in posts I’ve written and elsewhere. And I’ve given tips on how to cope, such as shopping dollar stores that stock produce and buying essential items in bulk.

Today, I ran into one of the most egregious examples of pandemic food price-gouging I’ve seen. My local Jewel, an Albertson’s chain in Illinois, had advertised filet mignon for $5.99 for a six-ounce steak.

Filet is normally the leanest cut of steak and so fits in my efforts to minimize my fat intake. Because it is an expensive cut, I’m always watching for deals and so jumped at the chance to buy some 6-ounce fillets for $5.99 each.

When I arrived at the meat counter of the Jewel in Wilmette, Il., a neighboring suburb, however, the signs posted said the filets were $6,99 each, not the advertised $5.99. Asking the meat counter attendant got me no answer, he had to follow what the sign said, he told me.

What price are these steaks? The ad says $5.99, the store is charging $6.99. The flyer has language lawyers wrote to allow this, but really, who expects to see an ad for one price only to see a different price in a story #ShameonJewel, #Shameon Albertsons

So I went to the store service counter. The person there had no answer for the disparity and so called the head of the meat department. She replied that store had decided to charge $6.99, not the advertised $5.99. But since I had complained, she would sell me some for $5.99

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August 23, 2021 0

Sabra Hummus recall — check the states to see if you’re affected

Salmonella has reared its ugly head again, this time in a tub of Sabra hummus. As a result, roughly 2,100 cases of the product ahve been recalled in 16 states by maker Sabra Dipping Company, LLC.

The states affected are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, New Jersey, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Details of which products are involved:

Product name: Sabra’s 10-ounce Classic Hummus
UPC code: 300067
Best by date: 4/26/21
Production date: On: Feb 10 Between: 18:00:27 and 23:49:00

If you have this in your fridge, you can return it to where you bought it or visit www.sabrahummusrecall.com for a refund. Consumers can also contact Sabra Consumer Relations at 1-866-265-6761 for additional information Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. eastern time.

April 5, 2021 0

Category: Uncategorized

Red & white zucchini boats for July 4th

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

Looking for a Mediterranean Diet Plan? Here’s a 7-day one

Thanksgiving food costs are down; here’s how to drive them even lower

McDonald salads 2023 — gone, gone, gone

No salt, No Fat, No Sugar Journal tops 88,000 views in 2022

Aldi, Walmart promise Thanksgiving food price breaks

Grocery shopping tips from Nicolette Pace

Pandemic food price gouging – demand advertised sale prices

Sabra Hummus recall — check the states to see if you’re affected

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