Farm-to-table restaurants don’t often equal low-salt, low-fat options

Farm-to-table restaurants, or local food restaurants, are gaining popularity across the country these days, especially among millennials looking for alternatives to the highly processed foods they grew up with.

My walleye at Heartland made without salt in the crust, hopefully.

My son, who lives in St. Paul, Minn., is a big believer in the local food movement and so while visiting him recently, we tried a place called Heartland that fits into this new school of fresh, local specialties.

But looking over its menu, I was reminded of our visit to Boltwood in our hometown of Evanston, Ill., another local food restaurant — while this movement promotes local and regional specialties, it isn’t doing any more to cut salt from menu items than are more traditional restaurants. Continue reading “Farm-to-table restaurants don’t often equal low-salt, low-fat options” →

December 10, 2014 0

Finding low-sodium, low-fat food at Mall of America

Mall of America outside Minneapolis is truly the mother-ship of all enclosed shopping malls in the United States. Large enough to have an amusement park inside it, it dwarfs any similar structures.

Crave...most of the orders coming up were burgers. — The open kitchen at Crave…most of the orders coming up were burgers.

But finding low-sodium, low-fat lunch foods there is a daunting task, much as was finding healthy foods at Orlando’s Universal or Disney World.

We bypassed the usual fast food options and high-salt locations like Bubba Gump Shrimp to try a restaurant that billed itself as “fresh, vibrant American.”

Crave talks the talk about fresh but getting what I wanted required some rearranging of menu items, and an extra charge. I had hoped to get a salmon salad much like one I recently made at home. Continue reading “Finding low-sodium, low-fat food at Mall of America” →

December 8, 2014 0

Turning leftovers into a treat — a wonderful salmon salad

Leading up to and including Thanksgiving, we had house guests for 10 days straight, which meant a lot of cooking, and a lot of leftovers.

Oddly enough, they left Sunday and then my wife left on a business trip Monday, so I’ve had the house, and the leftovers, to myself all week. I’ve eaten a lot of turkey, as you might guess. But we also had made salmon for some pre-Thanksgiving dinners, and there was a large amount of salad already made as well.

So Monday night, I combined the salad with the left-over salmon for a great salmon salad dinner. I heated the salmon with some added Mrs. Dash salt-free teriyaki sauce for added flavor. Then I topped the salad with it and added olive oil and balsamic vinegar for a great dinner treat.

Don’t give up on your leftovers, find creative combos to get the most out of your cooking efforts.
John

December 5, 2014 4

Shaw’s: a Chicago seafood classic

With all the seafood I eat these days, it’s easier to meet friends for dinner at a seafood restaurant than at places that serve other types of cuisine that I largely can’t eat because it contains too much, salt, fat and sugar.

Recently, we met friends for dinner at Shaw’s Crab House, a long-time Chicago seafood place. I often frequented its downtown location when it was a new, hot spot to be. It now has a suburban outlet in Schaumburg, Il., near the massive Woodfield Mall, and we’ve enjoyed eating there in the past as well.

My delicious rainbow trout at Shaw's in Schaumburg. — My delicious rainbow trout at Shaw’s in Schaumburg.

Shaw’s did not disappoint on our latest visit, although it had too many seafood options gunked up with crusts and cheese and other things I can’t eat anymore, as far as I was concerned. Continue reading “Shaw’s: a Chicago seafood classic” →

November 7, 2014 0

Flounder: an old favorite re-enters my daily eating habits

I’ve been eating a lot more fish since my angioplasty two years ago, mostly salmon and tuna. But I’m also always looking for new varieties to try.

Flounder is delicate, so keep an eye on it while cooking. Here's mine with lots of green beans. — Flounder is delicate, so keep an eye on it while cooking. Here’s mine with lots of green beans.

Recently, I ran across an old favorite in the frozen fish case, flounder. Continue reading “Flounder: an old favorite re-enters my daily eating habits” →

November 3, 2014 0

The pub food challenge: welcome to the Valley Lodge Tavern

In addition to my food blog, I also write and co-produce plays with my wife. We’re in the midst of rehearsals for my newest play right now, Talking with My Dad, and so we’re doing some cast bonding that recently included going out to eat after a Sunday rehearsal.

I had checked the menu of the place we were going, the Valley Lodge Tavern in Wilmette, Il., before we went and knew there was nothing on it I could order on my low-salt, low-fat post-angioplasty diet The place is an offshoot of the long-time fixture Valley Lodge in Glenview, Il., where I had many a tasty fish lunch years back when I worked nearby.

My plain tilapia and squash at the Valley Lodge Tavern, Wilmette.

This new location didn’t list any plain fish options, but it did have some fish dishes I thought I might be able to get a bit plainer. A special the night we went was tilapia, covered in something I couldn’t eat. So I asked the waiter if I could just have plain tilapia and he said of course, which was very nice. I also got a squash side dish which I asked be cooked with no salt and no sauce. Continue reading “The pub food challenge: welcome to the Valley Lodge Tavern” →

October 8, 2014 1

Levant: a Portland (OR) find on our recent vacation

My wife and I took a recent vacation to the West Coast, starting in Seattle and then journeying to Portland where my daughter has settled down these days.

Meeting her for dinner our first night in Portland presented her with a logistical challenge: I am on a low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar diet, and her boyfriend is a vegan.Where could we eat that would satisfy us both, as well as being tasty for my daughter and my wife?

Her answer was a fun place not far from where she lives called Levant, which describes itself as French-Arabesque “serving modern representations of Middle Eastern dishes.”

An amazing beet salad at Levant in Portland, OR.

My daughter had been there before but apparently the menu had changed by the time we went with her. The four of us ended up ordering a variety of appetizers, salads and side dishes to create our own small plate extravaganza. Continue reading “Levant: a Portland (OR) find on our recent vacation” →

October 7, 2014 0

The Crab Pot, a Seattle Pike Place Market fun standby

Our trip to Seattle included a stop early on at The Crab Pot in the city’s famed Pike Place Market. Yes, I know, the place is known as a tourist trap and many reviews complain of poor service in the evenings when it’s busy, but we were lured in by the seafeast in which they dump a bucket-load of seafood on your table and you have at it.

The Crab Pot Seafood feast — Me, preparing myself for the Crab Pot seafood feast.

We had better seafood at other Seattle spots, but for sheer fun, the Crab Pot still is worth a visit. WE did go in the late afternoon when it was empty, so service was good for us, being one of the very few tables filled at the time. Continue reading “The Crab Pot, a Seattle Pike Place Market fun standby” →

September 29, 2014 0

Prairie Moon: a long-time favorite comes through with a low-salt tasty treat

Prairie Moon is a long-time Evanston, Il., standby when it comes to casual, fun restaurants. But because it’s menu skews a bit Cajun and barbeque, I haven’t been to eat there since my angioplasty two years go.

My wife recently decided we should go there with friends for dinner, though, so I braced for maybe at most a salad. But I was pleasantly surprised that the chefs there were able to modify a menu offering and still keep it tasty and hearty. Kudos to you, Prairie Moon.

Trout, potatoes and broccoli at PRairie Moon, no salt and no crust but wonderful in taste and simplicity.

Continue reading “Prairie Moon: a long-time favorite comes through with a low-salt tasty treat” →

September 12, 2014 1

Fish tacos: here’s how to make them healthier

I recently came across this video on the Boston Globe site for what’s dubbed healthy fish tacos. You’ll have to watch to get the recipe and leave out the salt, but other than that, it sounds very simple.

Use some spray-on canola oil to cook your tilapia — Tilapia such as these would work for fish tacos.

To make it healthy, the recipe substitutes Swiss chard for a taco shell or soft taco, either of which is loaded with salt. It’s a variation of the lettuce wraps many places sell these days. Rather than Swiss chard, I’d try romaine lettuce or maybe radicchio leaves.

Fish that would work include tilapia, flounder or just about any white fish. Grill the fish, inside or out, following her instructions here. Enjoy!

John

September 5, 2014 0

Tag: fish