My Healthy Pick at: TERESA'S CAFE IN WAYNE, PA

When clients come to me and are looking for easy ways to lose weight or decrease salt in their diet I have one main recommendation: LIMIT EATING OUT! I generally advise to my clients that the more you eat out, the harder it is to stay slim and have a well balanced diet. Most restaurants are going to add more butter, oil, and salt to foods, sometimes unbeknownst to you. They sneak butter in places you would not guess... everything is made better with butter!

However, I am guilty of eating out for dinner at least once or twice a week, on average. I find eating out enjoyable and I don't want to deprive myself of fun social situations. This is something I stress with my clients as well: you cannot become a hermit in order to control your eating... that is the sign of a more serious problem. So, you have to learn how to make good choices when you do eat out. Hence, I decided to start a series of blog posts entitled "My Healthy Pick at: ______" where I go around to local restaurants and give my recommendations for more healthy items at these institutions. 

My first healthy pick is from a place I rarely eat at, simply because my friends prefer the right hand side (Teresa's Next Door) for the ambiance, nice bartenders, and the fact that the draft beers are on that side. The left side (Teresa's Cafe) is lovely, but it is a different (Italian) food menu, vibe, and you don't have as quick access to the beers. However, I had several clients say they had no idea what to order at Teresa's Cafe, so I decided to go investigate and come up with a recommendation for them at that location.

Upon reading the Teresa's Cafe menu, I decided something that I would enjoy, but would be healthy is their "Roasted Veggie Salad". However, this is lacking a protein... so I decided to add scallops. In hindsight, I only received 3 scallops, so for that price I should have opted for roasted chicken breast and hopefully received a little more protein. I asked for the dressing on the side (as I always advocate!), and found I didn't even need it. The roasted vegetables had oil and salt and were flavorful enough. I found that I couldn't even finish the meal as it was an ample serving of veggies, definitely Wayne Nutrition approved! So, next time you are at Teresa's Cafe in Wayne, and looking to order healthy, try the Roasted Veggie salad w/ roasted chicken breast (or shrimp!).

In the next few "My Healthy Pick at" posts, I will hopefully move to Teresa's Next Door, Christopher's, The Great American Pub, and other Wayne or Main Line/KOP spots. Stay tuned!

Chocolate PB Banana Kefir “Milkshake”

This recipe appeared in the 2018 February edition of Radnor Life & Style Magazine:

Kefir is one of the foods (and one of the few beverages that I recommend besides water) that I recommend quite frequently to my clients, especially for those with gastrointestinal problems. Kefir is cultured milk that is loaded with billions of healthy probiotics. You can find it at most supermarkets now in the yogurt aisle. Some have a lot of added sugar, so I have most of my clients get the plain, which only has sugar from the natural lactose in milk. Below is a recipe that I have clients make when they are looking for a dessert-like treat, that is more voluminous and nutritious than a bowl of ice cream. It’s something that tastes indulgent but actually is fairly healthy as far as desserts are considered.

INGREDIENTS

·         ½ c plain low-fat kefir

·         ¾ c unsweetened chocolate almond milk (shelf-stable)

·         ½ medium frozen banana

·         1 tbsp Chocolate PB2 (or other powdered peanut butter)

·         1/2 scoop Trader Joe’s Chocolate Whey protein (or another chocolate protein that does not use artificial sweeteners)

·         ½ c ice

DIRECTIONS

1.      Pour kefir and almond milk in blender.

2.      Break up frozen banana

3.      Add protein, PB2, and ice.

4.      Blend and enjoy!

NUTRITION- makes 1 serving

200 calories, 5 g fat, 29 g carb (3 g fiber), 14 g protein, good source of Calcium and Vitamin D (analysis performed using Diet Master Pro software)

Picture Source: Nature & Health website 

Light Vegetable Frittata

I just came up with this meal the other night when I was trying to get rid of some eggs and veggies that were getting past their prime. I often tell my clients that a very easy, quick, healthy, and cheap meal they can always make at night is a (mostly egg white) veggie omelet. For those that are looking for even more convenience, I say you can use the carton of "All whites" and frozen vegetables if you are really in a time crunch or feeling particularly lazy. One reason I came up with this recipe was when I was feeling lazy and thinking that if I make a giant omelet, I can really eat that for a few days and not have to make a new one every day.

This meal can be used for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and is extremely healthy, easy, and quite cheap! Feel free to use whatever vegetables you have… even thawing frozen vegetables to use would work just fine. This frittata can last several days in the fridge, so is a great thing to make and keep on hand when you need a quick meal. Since I made this and realized how quick, easy, delicious, and healthy it is, I have been recommending it to nearly all of my clients!

INGREDIENTS

10 egg whites

2 whole eggs

Salt, pepper, and other spices to taste (I use cilantro and turmeric)

1 zucchini, sliced into ½” slices

¼ c crumbled feta cheese

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

5 large leaves of kale, collards, Swiss Chard (or sub spinach), chopped

½ c shredded 2% mozzarella cheese


DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Whisk together egg whites and eggs in a large bowl with spices.

3. Spray 8” round or square baking pan (pie pan, spring form, etc.) with oil spray, paying attention to spraying sides of pan thoroughly.

4. Lay bottom of pan with zucchini slices.

5. Pour egg mixture into pan.

6. Evenly lay feta, tomatoes, mushrooms, onion and greens on egg mixture in pan (some will fall to the bottom).

7. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of egg and vegetable mixture.

8. Bake for 30-40 minutes until eggs are cooked through.

9. If desired, broil on high for about 5 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly on top.

I serve this with avocado toast (on whole wheat bread) which makes this meal even more well-balanced and satisfying!

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NUTRITION INFO PER SERVING: Serving size= ¼ frittata  (analysis using DietMaster Pro)
175 calories, 6 g fat (3 g saturated, 1 g MUFA, 1 g MUFA), 101 mg cholesterol, 10 g carbohydrate (1 g fiber), 19 g protein

Picture source: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/spinach-frittata-vertical-a2-1800.jpg