Posts Tagged ‘Healthy’

VC Fit Recommends: All Shook Up!

February 15th, 2010 by Kara Voght

We know it’s easy to get sick of eating on campus; we’ve been back a few weeks, and already I can barely tolerate the DC.  There’s tons of off-campus options on Collegeview and Raymond avenues, but many of these restaurants are not the healthiest.  To help you make informed dining decisions, Charlie and I are starting a new series, “VC Fit Recommends.”  We’ll bring you the best healthy restaurants/menu items/groceries/events around campus, so when that craving for “anything but the DC” kicks in, you’ll know where to go for a good and good-for-you meal.

In this first part of the series, we’re giving you in the inside look into one of our new favorite lunch places, All Shook Up!, on the corner of Raymond and Davis Avenues.

After talking about trying lunch at All Shook Up! forever, Charlie and I headed down on Friday to try it out. Upon walking in, this place looks nothing like a healthy alternative lunchette; it more closely resembles a really unhealthy 50’s diner.  The countertops, seating, and appliances are all retro; Elvis and other 50s rocker paraphenalia cover the walls.  “Jailhouse Rock,” one of the King’s greatest hits, was blaring from the speakers. Last time I was in a place like this, the menu had burgers, fries, and milkshakes…I wondered, “Do they actually serve health food here?”

Turns out, the offerings were healthy indeed.  I knew I was going to like it as soon as I saw the day’s specials: a locally raised, grass fed burger with homemade tomato sauce and local mozzarella, and a variety of organic and local soups (the offerings change every day), including black bean and fennel, free-range turkey chili, old fashion chicken noodle, and french onion.  The everyday menu is full of really health choices, including salads, sandwiches (named after retro rock songs), burgers, smoothies, and health shakes.

Starving, Charlie and I each ordered a soup and a sandwich.  He got the vegan black bean and fennel soup with a “Silhouette” panini, which had marinated and roasted carrot, eggplant & yellow squash with agave caramelized onions and a black olive tapenade;  I got the curried chick pea and spinach soup with an “Earth Angel” panini, which had roasted portabella mushrooms, zucchini, roasted red peppers, fennel & arugula topped with a spicy sun dried tomato spread.

The "Earth Angel" panini and bean salad at All Shook Up!

We absolutely loved the soups.  Restaurants soups often have too much broth, but ours were full of veggies and flavor.  The paninis were great, too.  My veggies were perfectly well cooked and seasoned, and the whole-grain ciabatta roll they came on was perfectly crunchy and fresh.  As a complement, the sandwiches were served with a three bean salad; it was nice to have a side dish with them that wasn’t high calorie, like coleslaw or potato chips.

While we loved our meal, Charlie and I were dying to know where the inspiration for a health food diner came from.  Co-owner Michelle Morrill explained the idea for the healthy menu came first.  Michelle struggled with balancing diets all her life, and in her adulthood, found a healthy solution in eating organic, local food, free of antibiotics preservatives.  “There’s a lot of crap in our food,” she reminds us, which is why everything on the menu at All Shook Up! is as organic, locally produced, antibiotic-free, free range, and preservative-free as possible.  In her own experiences, Michelle has seen the power of a healthy diet change the course of someone’s life.  A few years ago, her mother was very sick; by getting her to eat an organic and antibiotic-free diet, Michelle says she got her mother off of seven of her nine medications and helped her get rid of all of her diseases.

Another inspiration for the restaurant was Michelle’s interest in glyconutrients, certain monosaccharides or carbohydrates that she says are key to maintaining health.  These products “help the cells communicate” with each other, leading to better whole body health.  Her products come from Mannatech, a company that has pioneered research on and production of glyconutrients.  Michelle says she wanted to open a store so she could educated people about these kinds of vitamin compounds.

As for the theme, she and partner Frank Fasano decided 50s rock and roll was the only music they could tolerate listening to all day long: voila, 50s diner.

Whether or not you believe the hype about glyconutrients, the menu at All Shook Up! is still amazing in terms of its local and organic offerings.  Michelle says that everything is as local and organic as possible, given New York’s seasons and her access to products.  The restaurant serves Applegate Farm’s organic, antibiotic-free meets, local grass fed beef, Sprouted Creek Farms grass-fed cheeses, and produce as its in season.

All Shook Up! is a little far away from campus, but there are plenty of easy ways to get at the food.  The restaurant will be appearing at the College Center’s Tasty Tuesdays on various dates throughout the semester, and offers discounts and delivery for Vassar students who pay with their VCard on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

With an outrageously healthy menu, reasonable prices, and fantastic flavors, VC Fit gives this eatery two big thumbs “Up!”

For more information, check out the All Shook Up! website.

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More good veggie eats!

February 1st, 2010 by Charlie Gray

I hope everyone liked my first veggie recipe. For those of you who did, I have another one that I call Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry; I promise the flavors are a lot more complex than the title. It’s a great combination of sweet, savory and spicy and most importantly, it’s incredibly nutritious. Remember, don’t be afraid to make whatever adjustments you’d like and use whatever veggies look the freshest. A note on technique, I boiled the broccoli and green beans in this recipe before I mixed them into the stir fry because I like them to be tender and not so tough, but if you like your vegetables to have a little more bite to them, just add them in with the onions and mushrooms. And if you did like the quinoa, it would also go great in this; I just used brown rice because it was all that was available.

Makes one generous size portion:

One of the cooking pans that is a little more rounded around the edges (like a saucepan rather than just a frying or sauté pan)

Enough water to cover about 2-3 inches of your saucepan

5-7 broccoli florets

6-8 green beans

Enough cooking oil to coat bottom of pan (preferably olive oil)

1 rounded spoonful of red onions (if they are not at the stir fry station, the salad station almost always has red onions; if there aren’t any, white onions are a perfectly good substitute)

1 rounded spoonful of peppers

1 rounded spoonful of mushrooms

1 rounded spoonful of shredded carrots (if carrots are cut into thicker pieces like a carrot stick for dipping, I would recommend boiling them with broccoli and green beans)

Half a spoonful of chopped garlic

Small pinches of the following spices: red pepper flakes, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, anise (if they don’t have the anise, it’s okay to leave it out)

10-12 pieces of tofu

Splash of teriyaki sauce

2 scoops of brown rice

Start by filling your saucepan with the water and place on the highest heat of the hotplate. Cover the pan with another frying pan and let the water boil (luckily these hotplates get very hot very quickly so the water boils within about 3-4 minutes). While the water is boiling, get the rest of your ingredients ready.

When the water is boiling, add the broccoli florets and green beans to the water, recover the pan with another to return the water to a boil, and cook for 2-3 minutes (you just want the vegetables to start getting tender). When the vegetables are done cooking, take them out of the water and then drain the water from the pan (I either pour it into 1 or 2 DC cups or into the sink where they wash all of the dishes).

Return the dry pan to the hotplate and heat the oil, then add red onions, peppers, mushrooms, and carrots. Turn the heat down to medium, medium-low (I think that’s 20-40 percent on the hot plates) and cook for approximately 5 minutes or until the vegetables soften and give up their water. Then add the garlic and sauté for approximately 2 minutes.

Then, add back the broccoli and the green beans, as well as the red pepper flakes, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, anise, tofu, and teriyaki sauce to the pan. Let those ingredients cook for a minute or two and then add the brown rice. Let the brown rice get up to temperature, 2-3 minutes, and that’s it.

I hope you like this recipe as much as the first one, and once again, if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or feedback, please let me know so I can make changes. Thanks so much and I hope you enjoy!

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Good Veggie Eats

January 25th, 2010 by Charlie Gray

As Kara mentioned in an earlier post, our new year’s resolution was to give vegetarianism a try. As you’re all probably aware of, it’s hard enough to find a decent meal at the DC when you’re an omnivore, but being a vegetarian makes things even more difficult. Therefore, this semester I will be posting some easy, healthy, and delicious veggie recipes that anyone can make in the stir fry station of our very own dining hall. Since there are no measuring devices at the stir-fry station, I’ll try to describe the measurements with words like “spoonfuls” and “splashes.” And keep in mind that the ingredients for these recipes are just my suggestions; you can alter them however you’d like to suit your tastes.

The first dish I tried making I would call spicy quinoa with a tofu peanut sauce; if you’re a fan of spicy pad thai I think you’ll like this dish very much. Kara introduced me to quinoa a few weeks ago and it’s becoming one of my favorite foods. It’s a grain that is similar in look and texture to couscous but it has a slightly nutty flavor so it is closer in flavor to brown rice. It’s incredibly nutritious as it is high in protein and fiber and low in fat; it’s also a great source of essential amino acids. I’ve noticed that it’s been available at the stir fry station this semester so if you see it, I would definitely recommend cooking with it. If you can’t find it or you’re not a fan of it, brown rice is always a good alternative. So here is the first of many healthy and delicious recipes you’ll see on VCfit this semester:

Enough cooking oil to coat bottom of pan (preferably olive oil)

Spoonful of mushrooms

Spoonful of zucchini or squash

A few pieces of shredded carrots

Half a spoonful of chopped garlic

1 Shake of ground ginger

1 Shake of ground cumin

Pinch of red pepper flakes

6-8 pieces of big tofu mashed up into crumbles, plus 10 more whole ones

Splash of soy sauce

1 heaping spoonful of peanut butter (the natural peanut butter provides a nice grainy texture and its consistency helps to thicken the sauce better than the regular creamy kind)

Splash of red wine vinegar

Enough water to cover a ¼ inch of the pan, probably about a cup of water or 8 oz.

2 rounded scoops of quinoa

Handful of chopped green onions

Put your pan on high heat and add the cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms, zucchini, squash carrots, and garlic to the pan. Turn the heat down to medium, medium-low (I think that’s 30-40 percent on the hot plates) and cook for approximately 5 minutes. You just want the vegetables to soften and give up their water.

Once the veggies are soft, add the ginger, cumin, and red pepper flakes, mashed up tofu, soy sauce, peanut butter, vinegar, and water. Let the sauce cook for approximately 6-8 minutes or until its thickened to the consistency of chili. Then add the quinoa and remaining whole pieces of tofu and let them cook until they are up to temperature, approximately 2-3 minutes. Garnish with the green onions and then it’s time to eat.

So in less than 20 minutes you can have a delicious and nutritious dinner. Apart from the peanut butter, every ingredient in this recipe you can get at the stir fry station; and the peanut butter is just over by the butter, jelly, and frozen yogurt machine.

I hope you like this recipe and if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or feedback on how it turns out, please don’t be afraid to comment on this post. Just remember to be creative in the DC. You can take ingredients from the salad bar or even from the pasta station if you want to doctor up one of their sauces. Thanks so much for reading and I can’t wait to hear your feedback!

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The Retreat, Part III

September 23rd, 2009 by Kara Voght

In our last post in the Retreat series, we’re taking you to the Retreat windows– deli, pizza, and grille– to debunk myths about one of Vassar’s favorite eateries.

The Grille

Like breakfast, lunch and dinner at the grille is a mixed bag.  Skip the burgers, the grilled cheese, the wraps; not to say that these don’t have any nutritional value, but there are better options.  We really like the black bean burger on a wheat bun (especially with a little hot sauce, which you can find at the salad bar), because its high protein and high in fiber, while low in calories and fat.  We’re also fans of the grilled chicken sandwich on a wheat bun.
As far as fries, it you want to indulge, opt for sweet potato over regular fries.  Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A and a good source of potassium and vitamin C, B6, riboflavin, copper, pantothetic acid and folic acid; regular potatoes are not.  Still, they’re fried, so don’t go overboard.

The Pizza

There really isn’t much to say on this subject; pizza is pizza, which means lots of calories, and lots of fat.  The Retreat does a relatively healthy version of pizza, using local Greenwave tomato sauce, local produce as topping when available and whole wheat crust.  Still, there’s lots of oil and cheese, which is high in fat and cholesterol.  Go ahead and indulge once in awhile, but this is definitely not the healthiest choice.

The Deli

You can, generally, make better choices at the Deli window than at the Pizza or Grill one.  There’s a better variety of healthy choices, and tons of ways to build a healthy sandwich.

Starting with the bread, we recommend whole wheat bread or the multigrain hoagie; skip any of the white breads or rolls, since they lack nutritional values.  Also, don’t get caught in the “warp trap;” wraps, even though they are “spinach” or “tomato and basil” flavored, they don’t have the nutritional benefits of the veggies that give them their name, its usually just dyed white bread.  As such, skip those, too.

Next, meat.  Conventional deli meats are often packed with nitrates, compounds used as preservatives that are high in sodium and may have poisonous effects on our bodies; chances are, many of the meats in the Retreat deli have nitrates in them.  Luckily, Vassar roasts its own turkey breast, which means its nitrate-free; as such, we recommend this for your healthiest sandwich.

Hummus is offered as a vegetarian protein option, but VCFit is here to dispel this myth: Hummus is not that good for you.  Per tablespoon, there’s only .7 grams of protein; as a hummus sandwich only has 2-3 tablespoons, that’s only 2-3 grams of protein, which is less protein than what is in your two slices of whole wheat bread.  I know, its heartbreaking, and continue to eat it, but just know that its not packing the protein punch by any stretch of the imagination.
Cheese, as you may know, is high in fat, and low in nutrition.  A lot of vegetarians (sorry again, guys) rely on it as a source of “protein” in a sandwich, but that is a common misconception; cheese really is just fat.  We know most sandwiches don’t taste complete without it, but use it sparingly, if at all.

Veggies: load up.  Get as many as you can into your sandwich; they provide flavor, vitamins, and minerals with minimal calories.  As for dressings/spreads: a little oil and vinegar goes a long way, as does a touch of mustard (with 5 calories per tablespoon, add as much of that as you want).  Always skip mayo; there’s an absurd amount of cholesterol in that.  My favorite spread, which is sometimes (though not always) offered at the Retreat is avocado; it’s a little high in fat, but has the good kind of fat that helps with metabolism, lots of vitamins, and is really tasty (so a little goes a long way).

As for the menu offerings, like the Mediterranean Ciabatta (ciabatta bread with hummus and veggies), Matthew’s Medley (ham, turkey, swiss, and mayo on a hero roll), and Vassar Club (turkey, bacon, American cheese, and mayo on herb bread), you really should skip all of them, and build your own healthy sandwich.  These sandwiches are nutritionally flawed in almost every aspect, from lacking veggies to white bread to no protein.  Besides, its fun to be creative and experiment with new flavors—make your own!

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Staying hydrated at Vassar

September 9th, 2009 by Charlie Gray

For my first two years at Vassar, I constantly found my self in a state of unquenchable thirst. I was always complaining that there was never any place to get a cold, refreshing glass of water; my urine had the same green shade as Shrek’s skin. This year, I’m a new man. I have a 1.3 gallon Brita water filter that converts unpalatable Hudson Valley tap water into clean and drinkable H2O, and a 32 ounce Nalgene bottle to transport my water anywhere; and my pee is crystal clear.

Here are some helpful tips that I’ve found very useful to stay hydrated throughout the day:

  • Always carry a personal water bottle around with you. You can refill it at the DC or the Retreat and you won’t have to buy a bottle of water every time you want a cold drink
  • Buy a water filtration system of some kind for your room.
  • Make sure to drink water consistently throughout the day. Don’t go three hours without drinking anything and then chug 32 ounces of water in 5 minutes.
  • Don’t go to sleep without feeling sufficiently hydrated. You’re likely to wake up in the middle of the night with an incredibly dry mouth and feel badly dehydrated. To prevent this, always drink a glass of water before you go to bed and then refill it so you have something in the morning to drink when you wake up.
  • If you’re exercising, you want to make sure you are drinking water in 15 to 20 minute intervals. In a recent New York Times article, Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, was quoted saying, “How we drink can make a difference in how optimally we hydrate our body. A lot of people sip liquids, but gulping is better. Gulps of fluid leave the stomach more rapidly. It’s important to do this. It’s counterintuitive, since it seems like gulping would cause a cramp; in fact, people are more likely to have stomach cramps sipping because fluid stays in their gut too long.” I’ve found this to actually be true when I work out. I take about 3-4 oz. gulps of water every 15 minutes and my stomach does not get bloated nor does my mouth feel dry.

Its especially important to stay hydrated in the fall, as we’ll be experiencing days of scorching heat, but also early fall cold and dryness. Good luck with hydrating yourselves and remember that there is no substitute for good old-fashioned H2O.

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Retreat breakfasts: Ignore the middle—go around the perimeter

September 7th, 2009 by Kara Voght

Navigating the Retreat for a healthy breakfast can be challenging, especially to the groggy Vassar student. VCFit’s rule of thumb? Ignore the middle; go around the perimeter.

Walking into the Retreat, the first thing a patron is assaulted with is an array of sugary baked goods, placed in the center kiosk where the salad bar lives following breakfast hours.  On any given day, these can include chocolate-filled croissants, muffins, danishes, donuts and cinnamon buns.  Don’t be fooled by fruit flavorings or healthy-sounding ingredients; just because there are apple slices on the strudel or bran in the muffins doesn’t mean any of this is health food.  These pastries have the same nutritional values as desserts, with calories in the 400-500 range, tons of sugar and none of the important breakfast nutrients, like fiber or protein.

Keep walking straight, and you’ll run right into the grill.  While this menu has better offerings than the baked goods bar, you still need to be cautious.

Setting ingredients aside for a moment, its important to point out that the Retreat prepares food on the grill in a very healthful way.  They use canola oil in the all of the frying, which, because of its low in saturated fat and high in helpful omega-3 fatty acids, is the healthiest of the cooking oils.  The Retreat also uses trans-fat free oils and sprays in their grilling, meaning their cooking methods do not add unwanted cholesterol and fat.  That said, however, healthy cooking methods do not equal healthy food; fried, no matter how, is still fried, adding tons of extra empty calories to your daily intake.

Back to the menu, I’ll first point out that the Retreat uses cage-free eggs, meaning the chickens that produced the eggs weren’t caged and were allowed space to roam around naturally, making it more humane for the chicken, and healthier for their eggs.  The Retreat menu has a variety of omelets and egg breakfasts that are great options, as long as you ask for wheat toast on the side, and skip the home fries.  With the breakfast sandwiches, we recommend you get it served on a multigrain bagel, English muffin, or on wheat bread, and skip the fatty additions like bacon and too much cheese; maybe instead ask for the deli ham and forgo the cheese altogether.  Also, we know everyone likes the cinnamon-sugary sensory experience of Retreat French Toast, but we say nay; there’s no nutritional benefit.

The rest of the perimeter has other options in store; for example, the cereal rack.  Most of the cereals are loaded with sugar, and have very little protein or fiber; this is a bad combination for breakfast, since the sugar will only keep you energized for a little while, and, as there’s not fiber or protein to keep you satiated, you’ll have hunger pangs about an hour after you eat.  You should always look for the cereal that has the highest amount of fiber and protein, while still keeping your eye on the number of calories.  We picked Raisin Bran Crunch (280 cal/6g fiber/5g protein) and Kellogg’s Granola (240 cal/4g fiber/5g protein) as the healthiest bets; they’re a little higher in calories than some of the others, but at least they’ll keep you full until lunch.

Generally speaking, I suggest the oatmeal over any of the boxed cereals. The Retreat prepares the steel-cut variety at breakfast, which is the inner portion of the oat kernel.  Less refined than their rolled or instant cousins, these little guys are high in B-vitamins, calcium, and protein, and also have 8 grams of fiber.  They’re also free of the sugar and additives that processed cereal has.

Looking at yogurt, the Retreat definitely has a ton of options, from light to organic to fruit on the bottom.  We recommend the Stonyfield Organic Low or Nonfat yogurts; it’s the only organic one the Retreat offers, and it has all of the probiotics necessary to keep your digestive tract running smoothly.  Yes, it is indeed higher in calories than the Dannon Light and Fit (80 cal vs. 150 cal), but Light and Fit is mostly chemicals, and doesn’t have the same calcium and protein content as Stonyfield; this means its just empty calories and no nutrition.

Even nutritionally better than yogurt, though, are the Breakstone Cottage Cheese Doubles.  They only 130 calories per serving, but also have 11 grams of protein (almost twice that of most yogurts), 15 percent of your daily calcium (as much as many yogurts), and a whole serving of fruit.  For people looking for a light option, this might be your perfect breakfast food.

The Retreat uses a local bakery, Formisano’s in Saugerties, N.Y., for their bagels.  Bagels really aren’t that good for you, since they’re the caloric equivalent of 3-4 slices of bread, and their spreads usually tend to be high in calories and fat.  Still, they’re one of my favorite breakfast foods that I struggle giving up, so I recommend, for myself and others to keep it healthier, go with the multigrain/wheat bagel, and put some peanut butter on it; it’s high in calories, but the carb/fiber/protein combo keeps me full at least until lunch, if not later.

One thing to say about fruit in the Retreat: this time of year, its pretty much fantastic.  On the right side of the entrance is a farmer’s market-esque set up, with baskets full of local produce.  Right now, because it’s early September, different varieties of peaches are abundant; we recommend you add a least one piece of these to your breakfast.  The benefit of eating local produce is that there’s less of a transportation time, meaning you’re more likely to get fruit that’s perfectly ripe (a.k.a. nutritious), instead of underripe from being picked too soon and shipped long distance.  Peaches are really high in Vitamin C and fiber, and have only 60 calories per fruit, which makes them a great breakfast choice.  Plus, they’re ridiculously tasty, so it’s totally fine to indulge.

I’m also loving that the fruit salad cups, once a staple in the now-deceased Atrium, have found their way to the Retreat fridges as a daily, instead of sporadic, offering.  There’s about three servings of fruit in one of those, so go ahead and eat up, but try to balance it with some protein, as too much fruit can give you the same sugar spike as a bowl of sugary cereal.

Breakfast beverages are pretty self-explanatory.  Coffee and tea are fine, as long as you don’t go overboard on the half-and-half and sugar.  The Retreat has lots of different juices, which are great as long as you don’t substitute juice for actual fruit.  Orange juice provides the same kinds of vitamin and mineral benefits as a real orange, but an orange has more fiber and one-third of the calories of a box of Tropicana…so we’ll let you decide.

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