Salads With Purpose

Can a salad be good for you and good for the earth too? Yes it can, thanks to a new rush of salad chains that offer biodegradable packaging. The food is not only delicious but purposeful.

The New York Times Sunday Style section featured a close up of  fast casual chains Sweetgreen and Chop't, written by Jonah Engel Bromwich who writes for the NY Times' Style section explored these  trendy chains that are more in metropolitan areas than in the suburbs, There's also Dig Inn and Just Salads, with the same mission purpose and appeal to young urban hipsters.Another plus is that the chains buy local and organic produce, which helps farmers from local farms.The biggest pull, especially for the eco-conscious is the biodegradable plates and cutlery. At Sweetgreen, each site has a huge bin proclaiming that the company's utensils, plates, napkins and cups are plant based and go into the compost bin with any leftover food. Just Salad has a better idea. They have their food served in reusable , plastic bowls.Its' director of marketing, Stephen Schwartz says that they save over 75,000 pounds of plastic from being thrown out. This is a better bet, especially if the bowls are brought home and saved for leftovers.

How are the salads?It seems that greens are the urban worker's lunch of choice. Many feel that an old fashioned lunch a hamburger or a pizza slice is too heavy and it'll make them feel sluggish. Salad bowls are better. The ingredients are lighter and fit in better in  a schedule where there really are no more hour long lunch breaks. Workers order on  line , pick it up and go back to spreadsheets and clients.The choices are healthy and yet filling. Sweetgreen offers salads and warm bowls - ones with roasted chicken or steelhead  a type of rainbow trout. There are also vegan bowls too, full of curry flavoring and quinoa along with roasted tofu and portobellos. There's also make your own - which is great for both meat eaters and vegetarians alike.Just Salad goes one step further by selling the ever trendy avocado and the new hummus (!) toast, a thick slice of Italian bread slathered with hummus,  roasted tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese. Most have seltzers to drink but Chop't does sell sodas too.

Can a  salad save your diet and the world? Yes, if you go to any of these chains, from Sweetgreen, to Chop't, along with Digg Inn and Just Salad. Try them to not just good about your diet but about what you're contributing to the world.

A Meatless Fourth

 Millions of Americans are going to sink their teeth into burgers and dogs tomorrow .More son than Thanksgiving, July 4th is a true Yankee carnivore holiday. Yet, what about the vegans, vegetarians and those who want to eat healthier. The answer is easy - go meatless.

Eight  years ago, I wrote about vegan barbecues and even then the market was expanding. There are some tasty burgers out there, thanks to recipe improvements. Morningstar Farms, is the leader in soy products and they have a wide variety of burgers. They have Griller primer Burgers which have a smokey steak-y flavor. These are perfect for those wanting a taste like the real thing but without the cholesterol. Kids will love the company's tomato and basil ones that even have mozzarella bits in them. Serve them on the chewy Italian rolls, ciambatta, for extra goodness. For those on a diet Morningstar has their Mediterranean chickpea burgers which is kind of like a textured  hummus, and brimming with spinach and tomatoes along with Greek herbs and spices. Grill these and serve on grilled toasted pita  with tahini sauce. There are also hickory riblets that can be grilled and served with cole slaw and grilled corn for a real down home meal.

Hot dogs are another Fourth must have. Morningstar also has some good veggie dogs that can pass for the real thing. To make them more like Sabrett's , slice the dogs in half before grilling. Doing this will grill them up nice and crispy , perfect for tasty eating. The company also produces corn dogs which can be a fun barbecue extra.Of course there are other brands too, namely Tofurky, They also produce deli slices and sausages too however it's their dogs and jumbo dogs that are the stars. Grill the jumbo ones and serve on those bready Portuguese rolls for a fun , filling treat.If you want chili dogs, then also go vegan. You can make your own using Morningstar  Farms meat crumbles. Try a  a chili salsa, using fresh tomatoes and onions mixed chili powder and sliced jalapenos.Grilled chicken is always good too. and again look to Morningstar for this. They have both the regular and buffalo style patties that are just as easily barbecued as their burgers..Serve them on biscuits with honey mustard for a Southern take along with piccalilly relish .

Yes , you can have a meatless Fourth. It's healthier and tastier than the standard fare.It makes for good eating and good holiday memories.

Much Ado About Food Trends

Trends rule our lives. Women gear their calendars by what's hot in the spring and fall. Techies of both sexes get excited over the latest I -something. Even foodies go completely gaga over what the experts and trendistas tell us to put into our mouths.The question is: is a food trend all the fuss?

I recently found this out when I tried macarons for the first time. Recently writing about them made me curious. When I spied them in one of my favorite New Jersey bakeries I had to get them. I wanted something sweet for a dessert later that evening. It was either them or home style oatmeal cookies. Of course the macarons won out. Let me preface by saying that this particular bakery is one of my favorites. I love their cupcakes . They're even better than the ones that are found in Magnolia Bakery . Their cookies are wonderful. I had anticipated that their stab into the newest sweet trend would be too. They were not what I thought they were going to be.. The chocolate ones were a bit gooey and reminded me of a brownie. The vanilla was better, redolent of almonds with a non traditional butter cream filling. So this is what all the fuss was about.

Maybe I 'm not used to them . I thought my first macarons were going to be heavenly. They were more leaden than what I imagined. Maybe another bakery would do them differently., create a lighter, crisper shell with a sinful filling.However that's the problem with food trends. There's so much hype about them . What's good? What isn't? It's kind of like the fuss about fashion.Platform shoes may look wonderful but in reality they hurt the calves and make walking cumbersome. The hype overwhelms and sugar coats the actual product sometimes.

What to do about foodie trends that make you scratch your head? Like any other trend, ride it out. In the end it's all about what makes you happy - not others.Listen to your taste buds - not the style makers.