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Food Trucks: Navigating Your Way to Healthy Roadside Eats 

By Stephanie S. Saunders

Rule one of avoiding fast food may be to drive right by, but what happens when the fast food restaurants start driving to you? The food truck has become the newest culinary craze, announcing their scheduled appearances via Web sites, Facebook^®, and Twitter^®, which results in thousands of people cyberstalking their whereabouts every day. In most major cities around the United States, chefs and entrepreneurs alike have been taking these “meals on wheels” to a whole new level. You want samosas, tacos, pad thai, sausage, cupcakes, falafel, or sushi? There’s a truck out there that’ll sell it to you. But what if you’ve been diligently following your nutrition plan and everyone in your department decides to “graze at the curb” for lunch? The easy answer would be to submit and go back to your old ways, wallowing in grilled cheeses and cupcakes. But you’re better than that. Instead, let’s look at some healthier options for food truck feasting. (Note: Specific nutritional information for each dish will vary from truck to truck.)

Mexican

Tacos have been traditional street food for generations. In their authentic form, a corn tortilla, a couple of tablespoons of chopped meat, and some cilantro aren’t actually too much to be concerned about. Unfortunately, gourmet food trucks tend to deviate quite a bit. Most trucks offer tacos, burritos, and quesadillas, many topped with fancy crème sauces, loaded with four types of cheese, and accompanied by a slew of fried tortilla chips. Whatever your local food trucks are offering up, the rule with Mexican food is this: the fewer the ingredients, the better. The traditional taco I just described has about 150 calories, whereas a fully loaded burrito can have 800 or more! Stick to corn tortillas, lean protein, and veggies, and leave your chips for the pigeons.

Wraps

Many people, myself included, have been led to believe that a tortilla must be better for you than a slice (or two) of bread. Unfortunately, we were all wrong. Your average wrap-sized tortilla has about 300 calories, and up to 6 grams of fat. This is before you stuff it with yummy fillings. And just because the wrap is spinach- or sundried tomato- flavored doesn’t seem to make all that much difference. They’re still high in calories and carbs, and not so low in fat. So even if you fill your wrap with chicken or turkey and cram it full of veggies, you’re looking at a sandwich that’s got a minimum of 400 calories. So how do you survive the wrap truck? Ask if they’ll make the filling ingredients into a salad, or just dissect the tortilla and eat the insides. This might cause your cool factor to drop among your colleagues, but really, this isn’t Spago^®, so who cares?

BBQ

How they get that big smoky flavor out of a truck is anyone’s guess. But yummy meat dripping in sauce seems to be a food truck staple. And although chicken, tri-tip, and smoked ham are okay calorically, every tablespoon of barbeque sauce can add 70 calories of sugar to your entrée. And I think the likelihood of their stopping at one tablespoon is about as likely as we all are to win the lottery. Then there are the sides: baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad, and Texas toast (also known as pork fat [beans], mayo fat [“salads”], and butterfat [toast]). Yes, several trips to the BBQ truck could lead to a trip to the cardiologist. Try ordering the chicken with no sauce and some unbuttered toast. If they have collard greens or corn on the cob, again avoid the butter and eat it plain.

Chinese

Chinese cuisine seems to follow the yin and yang of ancient Chinese philosophy. It’s either relatively healthy or horrible for you. Both can exist side-by-side in the same food truck and comingle in your to-go container. An order of mu shu pork at 800 calories a pop, a side of eggplant in garlic sauce for another 300, and a serving of white rice and a single egg roll at 200 each adds up to a day’s worth of calories and a week’s worth of sodium. If the East is calling your taste buds, ask the chef on wheels if there’s a steamer on board. A few ounces of steamed tofu or chicken, steamed veggies, and a half-cup of brown rice could save you upwards of 1,000 calories. For some added flavor, ask for the sauce on the side and use chopsticks to drizzle it on.

Hot dogs

Most people who work hard doing an hour of intense exercise daily are probably not going to be lining up outside a hot dog truck. Most of the population would not construe any type of frankfurter as a health food. Especially when you order the gourmet bacon, guacamole, onion, and bean monstrosity that could clog an artery if you look at it. Your average dog sans toppings is between 200 and 300 calories; the bun adds an additional 100. The biggest problem is that most of those calories come from fat. Your best bet is to ask if they have a turkey or tofu version, a whole wheat bun, and more traditional toppings like mustard and onions. Or walk to the next truck in line.

Sushi

Nutritionally, sushi is probably the least scary of food truck options. Until you do anything fun with it. At around 40 calories a pop, a piece of fish on a tablespoon of rice isn’t going to affect you adversely. But the minute you stir in some spicy mayo, roll it in more rice, and top it with tempura, you’re looking at hundreds of calories. Stick to fish and rice, with perhaps some edamame if they’re available. If you need flavor, add some wasabi and low-sodium soy sauce. And most importantly, if it tastes and smells overly “fishy,” use caution. You always have a greater danger of bacterial issues with raw meat or fish.

Dessert

People have been peddling dessert to us off trucks for decades. Summer wouldn’t seem like summer without the ubiquitous ice cream man. Yet what’s peddled in trucks today isn’t a Big Stick^® or a Sno-Cone. Think about homemade ice cream piled between two fresh-baked cookies. Warm crepes filled with Nutella^® and sliced banana and drizzled in Godiva^® chocolate. Warm chocolate bread pudding with vanilla custard. Crème fraiche cheesecake with a blueberry compote. Yeah, just reading it could send you into a diabetic coma. If you must indulge in something, try a single scoop of ice cream. Or split something with four other people. Or run.

The “roach coach” has been around forever, and especially with this latest gourmet reinvention, it looks as if it’ll hang around at least as long as the critters it’s named after. Visiting a food truck is essentially the same as going to a fast food restaurant, except the food’s slightly more expensive and there are no plastic tables to sit at. Use them the same way you would Subway^® or Taco Bell^®, which is rarely and judiciously. And if you need to cyberstalk something, use Twitter and Facebook for their original intentions: finding ex-boyfriends/girlfriends and flaunting how hot you are after 60 days of Insanity.

Edit: Sorry, everyone; I don’t know why it cut off the article originally. Fixed.

5 Ways to Make Over Your Veggies

By Joe Wilkes

We’d like to take a look at a significant study that touts the benefits of adding more servings of vegetables to your diet. This study finds there may be parallels between eating vegetables and keeping the brain young. Of 2,000 older Chicagoans, those having two or more servings of vegetables every day showed significantly less mental decline over 5 years than those who didn’t. Veggies are loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, and most have practically no calories. So what’s not to like? Well, for many, it’s the taste.

We can all agree that eating veggies is a good thing. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends that you eat five to nine servings each day. The question is how do you choke down those five to nine servings if you don’t care for vegetables? And how can you get your friends and family, especially kids, to “veg out” with you at mealtime without the aid of cheese sauce or a deep fryer? While the best way to consume most vegetables is either raw or lightly steamed, some of us may need to get a little more creative to get all those servings down the hatch. Here are some ideas.

1. Heal your inner vegetarian. Many of us are nursing vegetable traumas from childhood. When I was a young boy, my grandmother scarred me gustatorily by serving up numerous culinary atrocities, many involving canned or pickled beets. Soaked in sugar and vinegar until any structural integrity had dissolved into fluorescent purple mush, those beets and their sickly taste has been forever seared in my memory. It wasn’t until years later that I was served a fresh roasted beet salad, with beautiful ribbons of gold, red, and violet that bore little resemblance to those horrible vegetables I politely gagged into my dinner napkin every family holiday. Now I love hitting the farmers’ market, finding multihued heirloom tomatoes, purple cauliflower, exotic Asian vegetables, and all the fresh versions of the creamed, boiled, or pickled monstrosities I was force-fed as a kid (and swore I would never eat as an adult). It’s well worth revisiting the vegetables you hated as a child, as well as trying new vegetables for the first time. Often, you might find that it was the preparation you hated and not the food itself.
2. Spice up your life. It’s been suggested that many warmer cultures began cooking with spices to help camouflage the flavor of meat that was a bit past its prime. Why not experiment with herbs and spices to give some of the blander veggies a flavor boost, or to help out veggies that have too strong a flavor? For example, many find brussels sprouts to be less than enchanting in both appearance (they look like the alien brains from Mars Attacks!) and flavor (I’ve heard it remarked that they taste like dirt). Try cutting them in half lengthwise and roasting or sautéing them with some chicken broth and curry powder. You’ll alter the flavor, color, and texture of the sprouts without losing any of the nutritive value.
   
   Mix and match spices, herbs, and condiments like basil, cayenne pepper, chili powder, cilantro, cumin, dill, garlic, ginger, horseradish, mustard, oregano, rosemary, soy sauce, and more to add flavor without significantly adding calories. Be creative and experiment with spices that might not immediately come to mind when you think of certain vegetables. For example, a friend of mine, a master of microwave cuisine, sprinkles frozen cauliflower with nutmeg before she nukes it, with delicious results.
3. Soup up your veggies. One great way to eat veggies whose appearance or texture might not be the most appealing is to puree them and make soup. Cauliflower is a prime candidate for the food processor. People who are put off by its rough appearance and strong flavor can get most of the nutritional value by having it in soup form. Sauté some cauliflower florets and other vegetables in low-fat, low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, then blend the cauliflower and broth in a blender or food processor until smooth. Make sure to include the broth you sautéed the cauliflower in, as it will include many of the nutrients. For thicker soup, blend a boiled potato into the mix. Or add some nonfat yogurt for a creamier texture. Add other veggies from Michi’s pious tier, like onions, leeks, shallots, or garlic, for extra flavor, or throw in a little nonfat Parmesan cheese.
4. Don’t be bitter. Among the healthiest of all vegetables are some of the ones that are the least commonly eaten: the dark, leafy greens. These veggies, which include kale, chard, and rabe, as well as beet, collard, mustard, and turnip greens, contain more nutrients and fiber than almost any other vegetables, but their bitter, chalky taste often puts people off. Also, when you buy them in bunches, it seems almost impossible to get the grit and sand off the leaves, which doesn’t add much to the experience. To clean your greens, start by removing the stems. You can do this easily by folding the leaf in half lengthwise, which should help you tear the leaf halves off the stem cleanly. Let the leaves soak in a sink full of cold water, changing the water several times until there’s no grit or dirt left. Or check your produce section; for a little extra money, you can buy bagged, precut greens that are marketed as being washed and ready to cook. We still recommend that you give your greens a thorough rinse before you prepare them. (You can dry damp greens quickly with a salad spinner.)
   
   As for the bitter taste, a common mistake that people make is to steam greens. This can actually seal in the bitter taste, making the greens taste even worse. The best way to cook greens is to sauté them in a nonstick pan with a bit of broth. The bitterness will disperse in the broth, leaving your greens tasting sweeter. Adding something acidic like lemon juice, vinegar, or white wine while the greens are cooking will also cut the bitterness. You can add onion, garlic, or spices to your sauté, which can improve the flavor and add their own nutritional benefits.
   
   Greens are also terrific additions to soups or casseroles, but you should blanch the greens for 1 minute in boiling water before adding them to the main dish to remove most of the bitterness. Like coffee, greens can be an acquired taste, but the more you eat them, the more your palate will become accustomed to and even enjoy their unique flavor.
5. Hit the sauce. Okay, you’ve tried steaming, sautéing, and pureeing your vegetables, and you’re still facing silence or worse when you serve them up. It’s time to bring out the heavy artillery: sauce. Now, we’re not talking “heavy” as in old standbys like cheese sauce or hollandaise—they’re delicious, yes, but they’re loaded with fat and calories, which kind of defeats the purpose of eating vegetables for your health. (It’s like taking your cholesterol pill wrapped in bacon.) But a quick glance at the top two tiers of Michi’s Ladder shows that there is hope! There are plenty of healthy ingredients that can be combined to make some sauces that are delicious and can add to the nutritional value of your vegetable dish.
   
   Nonfat yogurt is a great base for healthy sauces. Try mixing some yogurt with mustard to taste for a faux hollandaise sauce for asparagus or broccoli. Tofu is another exceptionally healthy sauce base. My brother gave me a recipe for pureeing soft tofu with garlic, black pepper, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard to make a thick and creamy Caesar dressing. (This helps solve another dietary dilemma: how to make heart-healthy tofu taste good.) You can double up your daily veggie servings by using vegetables to make sauce for your other vegetables. Make a Spanish romesco sauce out of pureed tomatoes, red bell peppers, garlic, almonds, and olive oil—all ingredients from Michi’s top two tiers, which combine to make a delicious topping for green beans, kale, or spinach. And if you don’t have time to make an elaborate sauce, just keep some soy sauce, flavored vinegar, lemon juice, Tabasco, and olive oil on hand, and dress your veggies with a couple of dashes of whatever you’re in the mood for.

Hopefully, you’ll be creatively inspired to try out some new vegetables and some new methods for preparing them.

Study: Associations of vegetable and fruit consumption with age-related cognitive change. M. C. Morris, ScD, D. A. Evans, MD, C. C. Tangney, PhD, J. L. Bienias, ScD and R. S. Wilson, PhD. From Rush Institute for Healthy Aging (M.C.M., D.A.E., J.L.B.), Department of Preventive Medicine (M.C.M., J.L.B.), Department of Internal Medicine (M.C.M., D.A.E.), Department of Clinical Nutrition (C.C.T.), Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center (R.S.W.), Department of Neurological Sciences (R.S.W.), and Department of Psychology (R.S.W.), Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL. NEUROLOGY 2006;67:1370-1376.

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The Good, the Bad, and the Oily

By Jeanine Natale

The notion of extracting the oil from food has been around for thousands of years. Long before it even occurred to anyone that oil and vinegar are two great tastes that taste great together, people began pressing oil from fruit, seeds, legumes, and grains. What we’ve learned since then is that certain oils allow us to augment our diets in ways that are both healthy and delicious. The specific oils we’re looking at in this article are olive, avocado, canola, sunflower, grapeseed, sesame, coconut (really!), peanut, and corn oils.

Each of these nine oils contains both mono- and polyunsaturated fats. In addition to helping to lower cholesterol and possibly helping prevent medical conditions like heart disease, they contain beneficial ingredients like vitamin E and some omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, and also help other essential vitamins get to where they can do the most good for your body. Furthermore, both mono- and polyunsaturated fats have been shown to lower disease risk in general.¹

Some of these oils are becoming increasingly more available in a variety of different forms. You’ve probably heard of virgin or extra-virgin olive oil, and if you like to frequent tiny gourmet-type boutiques that offer indulgences for your tastebuds, it’s likely that you’ve seen the words “cold-pressed” on many a fancy label. This refers to oils that have been pressed very carefully at low temperatures to ensure the most taste and the highest nutritional content. Conversely, refined versions of these oils have been derived from second or third pressings, then usually processed at a higher temperature—these will have lighter, more neutral flavors, a slightly longer shelf life, and just generally a lot less good stuff.

Here are some ways to get the best use of whichever oil you choose. Don’t forget, the cold-pressed and extra-virgin varieties will be more expensive and are offered in smaller bottles, as they have shorter shelf lives. Also, lower cooking temperatures ensure more retention of the very things that make these oils good for you when used wisely. You should always avoid the smoke point, or temperature at which all oils begin to burn. When oils reach the smoke point, this means most if not all of the beneficial elements have been burned away. Besides, it’ll probably make whatever you’re cooking taste terrible, not to mention how bad all that smoke is for your lungs.

As for serving sizes and/or RDAs of these oils, remember that they are all fat. Always use them sparingly—a tablespoon of any of these oils is approximately 100 to 120 calories, with about 14 grams of fat.

Presenting Our Natural Nine

1. Olive oil. High in oleic acid, olive oil has long been touted for its beneficial properties, with many studies showing that it can help to lower bad cholesterol levels and even aid in the prevention of heart disease. Use extra-virgin or cold-pressed varieties for drizzling on salads, bruschetta, or even a cool, freshly tossed tomato and basil pasta—the distinctly dramatic taste of a fine-quality olive oil pairs well with, oh, just about everything. In a “proper” Italian restaurant, it’s what you’ll be treated to when you’re first seated, served with fresh bread and sweet balsamic vinegar. The lighter, more refined varieties are good for stir-frying, sautéing, and baking.
2. Grapeseed oil. This light, much thinner oil is high in linoleic acid—an antioxidant that helps promote healthy skin and aids in lowering bad cholesterol levels. Easily found in any health food store, grapeseed oil has been used in Middle Eastern cooking for centuries. If your local market has a decent international foods aisle, you should be able to find grapeseed oil there. Use grapeseed oil in just about anything you want, as it takes to being heated very well; stir-frying, sautéing, and searing are all quick, easy, and delicious with grapeseed oil. However, the delicate nutty flavor of the extra-virgin and cold-pressed varieties are exquisite for dipping, drizzling over cold salads like hummus or baba ganoush, or accenting all kinds of dressings.
3. Avocado oil. Vitamin E is spoken here. Avocado oil tends to be a bit more expensive than the other oils on this list, as it’s still somewhat of a newcomer to the food scene, and you can find it mostly in those specialty/gourmet stores we mentioned earlier. Extra-virgin avocado oil has a delicious fruity, nutty flavor, perfect for dipping, drizzling, and accenting all kinds of dishes. It also happens to have, hands-down, the highest smoke point, topping out at 520° for the most refined variety. Searing, stir-frying, sautéing, baking—a touch of this light, flavorful, versatile oil will definitely do you good.
4. Sesame oil.

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The 5 Best Fats for Getting Lean

By Whitney Provost

You might think that to lose weight, you need to cut the fat out of your meals. After all, fat is higher in calories than protein and carbs, and low-fat diets have been popular since the Senate Nutrition Committee first recommended them in the late 1970s. But research shows that a moderate-fat diet (with about 35 percent of calories consumed coming from fat) will help you drop pounds permanently, feel full longer, and avoid bingeing. The trick is to eat the right kind of fat to increase satisfaction and boost weight loss. Here’s why it’s important to eat fat—and we offer five of the best fat sources to add to your diet.

How eating fat will help you lose fat.

In 2008, researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel found that people who followed low-fat diets lost less weight than people who followed low-carb or moderate-fat diets. The low-fat group lost an average of 6.5 pounds over 2 years, but the low-carb and moderate-fat groups lost about 10 pounds. Women did especially well on the moderate-fat diet, losing an average of 13 pounds during the study.

Fat is an important element in weight loss for several reasons:

·                 Fat helps your body control blood sugar and insulin spikes after eating carbohydrates. Better sugar metabolism means less fat storage.

·                 Fat slows down digestion and aids nutrient absorption. You’ll stay fuller longer and get more health benefits from the food you eat.

·                 Essential fatty acids (like omega-3s) may boost your metabolic rate and increase fat burning.

·                 Fat tastes good. It also provides a “mouthfeel” that is satisfying, which can help you be happy with less food.

Eating more fat may also help you stick to your diet longer. In a study conducted by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, participants got either 20 percent of their calories from fat or 35 percent of their calories from fat. After 6 months, both groups had lost weight. But after 18 months, only 20 percent of the people in the low-fat group were still following the diet, compared with 54 percent of the people in the moderate-fat group. Likewise, the subjects in the moderate-fat group had maintained their weight loss, while the low-fat group participants had gained most of the weight back.

If you reach for a box of low-fat or fat-free crackers or cookies because you want to lose weight, you may actually be sabotaging your diet. Manufacturers frequently replace fat with sugar in packaged food items to make them taste better. You think you’re making a good decision by eating fat-free products, but the excess sugar and refined flour can lead to fatigue, cravings, mood swings, and weight gain caused by the overproduction of insulin—the fat-storage hormone. As a snack, a sliced apple with some peanut butter or a salad with oil and vinegar dressing would be a better weight loss choice. The complex carbs and healthy fats will maintain your blood sugar levels, boost your energy, and keep you satisfied longer.

What kind of fat should you eat? To get lean, you need to eat the right kind of fat. Avoid saturated and trans fats (which are found in red meat, full-fat dairy products, and many packaged foods), and instead choose monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Here are some of the best sources of fat to help you reach your weight goal.

1.               Fish. Fish like salmon, albacore tuna, herring, mackerel, and sardines contains beneficial amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Most experts agree that eating two servings of fatty fish per week is safe for people who are worried about mercury or other toxins. (Pregnant women should consult with their doctors about consuming fish.) If you don’t like fish, a quality supplement like Core Omega-3™ will give you the benefits without the fishy taste.

2.               Olive oil. Heart-healthy oils like olive, canola, and peanut oil are excellent sources of fat for dieters. They have also been shown to lower bad cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Use them sparingly when sautéing, or drizzle them over your favorite salad or vegetables with a little vinegar and some herbs to maximize the absorption of nutrients. Moderation is important: You really only need about a teaspoon of oil to get all its benefits. Using more will add significant calories.

3.               Avocados. Eat a spinach and carrot salad with a little avocado, and you’ll not only get a dose of good fat, but you’ll also absorb more phytonutrients like lutein and beta-carotene. Scientists at Ohio State University in Columbus found that more antioxidants were absorbed when people ate a salad containing avocados than when they ate a salad without this tasty fruit. One-quarter of an avocado will add flavor while only adding about 75 calories.

4.               Nuts. Almonds, walnuts, pecans, and peanuts are powerhouses of good nutrition—full of antioxidants, minerals, and monounsaturated fat. The Nurses Health Study, where more than 86,000 nurses were followed for 14 years, found that those who ate nuts regularly (about an ounce per day) tended to weigh less than those who didn’t. The protein, fat, and fiber make nuts more filling, which helps dieters stay on track. Plus there’s a psychological bonus to eating nuts: Because they’re rich and satisfying, you probably won’t feel like you’re on a diet.

5.               Flaxseeds. Packing the triple wallop of fat, protein, and fiber, flaxseeds are a delicious and healthful addition to any diet. You can grind them up and add them to oatmeal, yogurt, salads, or vegetables, or pretty much anywhere you want a nutty crunch. They’re a plant source of omega-3 fatty acids, making them a good choice for vegetarians or the aforementioned non-fish-loving folks. Ground flaxseeds also have 3 grams of fiber per tablespoon, which helps slow digestion and keep your blood sugar stable.

Making room for fat.

Certain fats might be considered necessary for health, but that’s not a cue to overindulge. At 9 calories per gram, fat is a more concentrated energy source than either protein or carbohydrates (each has 4 calories per gram). You need to be mindful of your overall caloric intake if you want to eat more fat and lose weight. But when you feel full and satisfied after eating the right kinds of fat, you’ll probably find it a bit easier to manage your calories.