Disease Proof

It’s Friday! And you know what the means. More blog posts from me using the phrases, “check it out”, “take a look”, and “here’s a bit?” No. Well, actually yes, but that’s not what I’m taking about. Friday means Eating to Live on the Outside, and this week we’re heading to New York City.

I’m a total city urchin, I love New York! And New York City is a great place for health eating and this week’s restaurant, Candle Café, is no exception. Candle Café claims to serve up organic vegetarian cuisine—so it’s got to be good—right? Only one way to find out!

Okay, most of Candle Café’s menu is very workable. I don’t see any major red flags. So, here are the menu items I’d be most inclined to order. Now, since the cocktails and smoothies are first on the menu, I’ll start with those.

As for the cocktails I like the ones made with greens. Combined the Green Goddess, Candle Cocktail, and the Solar power are concocted with mixed greens, apple, lemon, ginger, carrot, celery, and beet. Yeah, no pun intended, but you’d be hard pressed to find a problem with these.

Onto the smoothies, the Tropical Freeze is cool. It’s got orange juice, bananas, strawberries, mangos, and pineapples—no problems here! The Classic Combo is awesome too. It’s made with apples, berries, and bananas. So far, so good!

Now, it’s time for an appetizer. The steamed edamame beans are great—I eat a lot of them—but I’d ditch the sprinkle of sea salt. I also like the quesadilla, relax, there’s no cheese, remember, “Organic vegetarian cuisine.” However, it does come with soy cheese, which I can do without. I don’t like that stuff. In addition to the soy cheese the quesadilla is made with bean puree, grilled vegetables, salsa, guacamole, and a whole wheat tortilla. Clearly, the whole wheat tortilla isn’t the best thing in the world, but I can live with it—hooray for grilled vegetables!

Next up are the salads. No surprise here, there’s a bunch of great ones. I’m cool with the House Salad, Living Crunchy Sprout, Chopped Salad, or the Aztec Salad. They’re made with a lot of great stuff; mixed field greens, hearts of palm, tomatoes, carrots, sprouts, raisins, sesame seeds, Romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato, chickpeas, red onion, tofu feta, bi-color quinoa, black beans, jicama, spiced pumpkin seeds, barbequed grilled tempeh, seasonal vegetables, brown rice, steamed greens, avocado, mango, and a variety of dressings. Yup, lots of good stuff! The only thing I’d do is nix the tofu feta and tempeh—not my bag—and I’d order those dressings on the side—good idea?

Alright, there are a couple decent options in the sandwiches and burgers, but they’re all made with tempeh and seitan, and as I’ve said, neither of those get my motor running. So, I’ll skip that section of the menu; which brings me to the sides. In the event that you don’t like any of menu items I’ve mentioned, the sides might be your salvation. You could certainly order a plate of quinoa salad, a baked sweet potato, and steamed vegetables and greens. Now that’s Fuhrman-friendly!

Yeah, Candle Café is cool beans. Certainly a healthy spot in the heart of the big apple and since New York City is one of my stomping grounds. I should drag my butt into Candle Café and tell you all about it, but in the meantime, check out Candle Café’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat very healthfully! Peace.

I just flipped through the last couple month’s of Eating to Live on the Outside and I’ve got to admit, its been a nice run. Check out these great restaurants: Blue Sage Vegetarian Grille, Salad Works, Live, Green Tango, and Leaf Cuisine. All good!

And this week’s is another winner. Daily’s has serious potential. Thanks to Michael for emailing me about it. Daily’s menu is about half and half; half the food is iffy, but the other half could easily soothe the savage nutritarian. So, enough vamping—let’s hit it!

For starters I like the steamed vegetables and the small mixed green salad; hard to find something wrong with these. Steamed veggies rock and provided you go easy on the dressing, the green salad kicks butt too.

Now, onto the salads; I like four of the six. I’m skipping the Baja Flavors Pasta Salad and the Large Mixed Green Salad; the Baja Salad because of the pasta and the Green Salad because it’s a tad boring, but the rest entice me.

Combined the Chinatown Chicken Salad, Thai Noodle Salad, Greek Salad, and Spinach Pasta Salad are made with Romaine lettuce, cucumber, carrots, water chestnuts, chicken, sesame seeds, sprouts, soba noodles, celery, scallions, cabbage, feta cheese, black olives, pepperoncini peppers, rotini or fussili pasta, spinach leaves, red onions, tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and your choice of dressing. Wow, a lot of stuff!

Okay, here’s the stuff I’d omit: the chicken, soba noodles, feta cheese, black olives, either pasta, parmesan cheese and of course, I’d order the dressing on the side. I’d go with the balsamic vinegar. What would you do?

I’m passing on the entrees and pizza; nothing there gets my motor running. Let’s check out the sandwiches and wraps and yes, the wrap, bun, or bread would a concession. I’m fine with it. A bread concession I can live with, believe it me, it could be A LOT worse!

My two favorites are the Veggie Wrap and the Mediterranean Wrap. The Veggie Wrap is made with a flavored tortilla, mushrooms, onions, black olives, tomatoes, zucchini, brown rice, and a ginger sesame dressing—I’m ditching the olives and getting the dressing on the side. Now, the Mediterranean Wrap includes a flavored tortilla, tomato sauce, zucchini, mushrooms, lentils, brown rice, and nonfat mozzarella cheese—I’m dropping the cheese.

I also like the Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini, the Garden Vegetable Burger, and the Thai Wrap; altogether they’re prepared with roasted red pepper spread, eggplant, zucchini, French baguette, garden vegetable burger, whole grain honey bun, flavored tortilla, tofu, celery, cucumber, shredded carrots, mushrooms, rice, and various dressings. All good stuff; grilled eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms are three of my favorite things!

I’m jumping over the desserts and drinks and going right for Daily’s Blender Bar. I like four of them. The Paradise Splash Smoothie; fresh orange juice, strawberry, and banana. The Double Berry Blitz; blueberries, strawberries, and apple juice. Razzle Dazzle; cranberry juice, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. And the Fit & Fresh; raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, and apple juice. Seriously, what’s better than blended bananas!

Now, perhaps the coolest thing about Daily’s is that the menu lists the nutrition facts. This is a HUGE asset for anyone who is mindful of their nutrition. So, here are the nutrition facts for the items I selected. Take a look:

Pretty cool—right? Yup, I definitely think Daily’s is a great place to have a healthy meal. But hey, I say it all the time, what do I know? I’m just a blogger. I’m hardly a nutrition expert. So, do me a favor, scope out Daily’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat wisely. Peace.

On your way to work today you probably drove past three or four fast food joints, one or two casual dining places, and at least few delis or mini-marts; not exactly havens of healthy eating. Hey, by now you know, Eating to Live on the Outside is hard work!

But, lucky for us, this week’s restaurant is a break from the terrible. By terrible I am referring to Eating to Live on the Outside flunkies like Don Pablo's, Jackson's Sports Grill, Fazoli's, and Lonestar Steakhouse—I’m still shaking from these places.

Good thing Blue Sage Vegetarian Grille serves up plenty of fruit and veggie-inspired dishes. Now, Blue Sage isn’t perfect, but we can work with it. I’m pretty confident even the most ardent nutritarian could find something to eat on this menu. Let’s see if I’m right!

Admittedly, I’m not much of an appetizer guy, but there is one that might work. The Green Curry BBQ Summer Rolls are rice paper wrapped around baby spinach, Thai glazed barbeque vegetables, smoked red onion, ginger, basil, soy syrup, dipping oils, and a side of jicama. Agreed, it’s a little dicey, but the hefty amount of veggies could help you overlook the oil, smoking, and barbeque—what do you think?

The salads are less complicated, let’s jump to them. Both the lunch and dinner house salad are great; combined their made with spring mix, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), sun-dried berries, plum tomatoes, with a maple mustard, chile lime, or smoked chile vinaigrette. I’d probably get the chile lime on the seed and then kick back and enjoy those pumpkins seeds and berries.

The Asian Citrus Spinach salad is also really cool. It’s prepared with roasted gold beets, tangerines, green curry barbequed onion, spicy cashews, and an orange sesame vinaigrette. Another solid option is the Adobo Cubano; roasted plum tomatoes, grilled peppers, chipotle carmelized onions, baby spinach, and cheddar cheese. For both of these I’d order the dressing on the side and as for that cheese—no thanks!

Onto the entrees. I’m digging the Green Curry Shepherds Pie; made with couscous, brocolini, butternut squash, candy stripe beets, sun burst squash, green curry coconut broth, and Okinawa purple potato rosette. Its kind of exotic, but it does sound great. The Sonoma Sampler works too. It includes tabouleh grain salad, black beluga lentils, black berry barley, roasted sweet corn, grilled zucchini, guacamole, sesame eggplant, and a pepper-topped grilled pita hummus. Alright, provided that guacamole is sour cream free, the only major concession I see is the pita. I can deal with. Black beluga lentils, sounds interesting.

Two more. Both the Quesa Havana and the El Fino sound nice; combine they’re made with whole wheat tortilla, adobo black beans, cilantro, mango, jack cheese, avocado-roasted corn salsa, baby greens, chile lime vinaigrette, spinach, grilled pears, maple pecans, gorgonzola, grilled onions, dairy-free carmelized onion mayo, spring mix, pear-walnut vinaigrette, oranges, roasted baby yellow beets, and sun-dried cranberries. There’s a lot of good stuff here, but I’d drop the mayo, gorgonzola, jack cheese, and, I’d get those dressings on the side.

The cool thing about Blue Sage is that quite a few of their entrees are vegan, like the house salads and Asian Citrus Spinach salad. Now, even though I’m not a vegan. I like to see this because vegan usually means vegetable-based. Sometimes it can mean faux-food and refined junk, but more often than not it means veggies—very cool!

Well, I feel pretty good about Blue Sage and I’m positive a nutritarian could have a nice meal there, but what do I know? I’m just some dopey blogger. You people are smarter than me. So, put your thinking cap on and check out Blue Sage’s menus and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat well. Peace.

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As a card-carrying member of Italian-American society, I think I’m pretty qualified to examine Girasole for this week’s Eating to Live on the Outside, and, a good friend of mine asked me to do it. So, let’s see if this Italian kitchen passes the test.

Actually, it’s pretty bad. I just scanned through the lunch and dinner menu and both menus don’t offer much for the discerning nutritarian. I kind of expected it. As an Italian guy, I can tell you firsthand, since I started eating a vegetable-based nutrient-dense diet. I’ve cut out A LOT of traditional Italian favorites; things like pizza, chicken parmesan, lasagna, antipasto, and meatballs.

Sure, now I’m the black sheep at family get-togethers, but that doesn’t bother me. I’ve been crazy for years. So eating lots of fruits and vegetables and doing Yoga is pretty tame for me. Okay, enough about me, back to the Girasole’s menu.

Okay, I’ll start with the appetizers. Well, there’s a whole mess of them—mess being the operative word—lots of gooey cheese, sausage, and prosciutto. Yeah, not exactly health-promoting, but, there are two menu items I could roll with.

The first is the Funghi Trifolati. It’s made with Portabello mushrooms, domestic mushrooms, sautéed white wine, herbs, garlic, and bread crumbs. Not perfect, I know. But comparatively speaking, it’s not bad. The sautéing and the bread crumbs are a concession, but mushrooms are great and so is garlic—right?

Next up is the Vongole in Bianco or Rosso. Relax you don’t need to know Italian. It’s prepared with clams, and your choice of white wine and garlic broth, marinara, or far diavolo sauce. This one is certainly iffy. According to Oceans Alive clams have some contamination issues. So, even if I ordered them with the marinara sauce—which I would—I’d still have to deal with the typical seafood concession.

Alright, truth be told. I probably wouldn’t eat either of these appetizers, but in a pinch and if for some reason I HAD to order an appetizer. I’d go with Funghi Trifolati. Hey, let’s just move onto the salads!

Now, the Insalate is not the slam dunk it can sometimes be. For example, consider the Mozzarella Fresca e Pomodoro. It’s hardly a salad—this is actually a pretty common Italian food—its just mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil. Not exactly a salad packed with phyonutrients—egad!

As for the real salads, I like the Tre Colori—in fact, I think this is the best option overall—it’s prepared with arugula, radicchio, Belgian endive, and lemon vinaigrette. Nothing too bad here, just order the vinaigrette on the side and you should be all set—agreed?

At first the Capricciosa caught my eye, until I looked closely. The lead ingredient is organic greens—GREAT—right? But it quickly gets a whole lot worse; provolone cheese, olives, and salami. I saw that stuff and all I could say was, “Feets don’t fail me now!” No thanks.

And that’s it folks. I don’t see anything else I’d consider ordering. There are pasta dishes, but I hardly eat pasta anymore and none of Girasole’s are worth taking the refined pasta hit. Like I said, when you’re an Italian nutritarian a lot of your traditional ethnic food goes out the window.

Alright, now it’s your turn. Perhaps I’m in a stupor. Maybe Girasole really is a great place for nutritarians to grab a meal. So do me a favor, check out Girasole’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat wisely! Peace.

I guess it’s only fitting that it’s a warm sunny day out and I’ve got Bob Marley on the stereo, because today, Eating to Live on the Outside heads to Island Flavors for a taste of “Authentic Caribbean Cuisine.” Does it hold up? Only one way to find out!

Right away we’re off to a promising start. The salads are up first and I see two I like. Let’s start with the easier one, the Reggae Salad; prepared with seasonal fruits, paradise dressing, tropical spring mix (I’m guessing veggies), and mango bread. Not perfect, but not bad either. The fruits and veggies are great, the dressing doesn’t bother me that much and I could take or leave the mango bread—although I’m curious to try it. How about you?

Now, the Tropical Jerk Chicken Salad—relax, I know there’s chicken in it! We’ll deal with that in a second, but first, check this out. It’s made with FOUR different lettuces; green leaf, Romaine, iceberg, and radicchio. That’s cool! It gets better. This tropical salad also comes with cucumbers, tomato, mango, pineapple, dressing, and of course, the jerk chicken. Okay, I love the fruits and veggies, but the spiciness of that chicken terrifies me. If I eat jerk ANYTHING, you’ll have to jerk me off the toilet all night, so, I’ll pass on the chicken, and, order that dressing on the side.

Moving on, the sandwiches and wraps are next. The Grab and Go Fish Sandwich has potential—just as long as the fish is an Eco-Best—it’s made with fresh fish, spices, roti skin, lettuce, tomato, and mango-papaya salsa. I know what you’re thinking, what the heck is a roti skin? Roti skin is basically a flatbread, which makes it a concession, but I can live with it. The sautéing makes me nervous, but I could handle it in a pinch—although I like to water sauté my veggies.

The Caribbean Vegetable Wrap is also a nice choice. Like the name says, it comes with a lot of veggies; carrots, zucchini, Portobello mushrooms, yellow squash, red peppers, onions, fresh basil, roti skin, and fried plantains. I like everything, but the fried plantains. I’ve got nothing against plantains. It’s the frying I can do without. Oh, and you’ll have to come to grips with the sautéing here too.

Veggie Style is a really good place for a discerning nutritarian to check out. I see three things I’d order; Curry Vegetables, Plantain Special, and the Dreaddie Special. Combined these dishes are made with garden vegetables, curry sauce, plantains, rice, peas, salad, and spicy or mild sauce. Hard to argue with these, maybe the rice makes you a little apprehensive, but I don’t eat rice very often—and when I do its usually brown rice—so I can handle it.

Alright, to finish up our digital trip to the Caribbean, here are some miscellaneous menu items that might strike your fancy. The Curry Veggie Roti; carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, sugar snap peas, curry sauce, greens, and plantains. Now, I like all of this, my only concern is if that curry sauce contains cream, is so, NO THANKS! A side of steamed cabbage is a nice option to consider and finally, the carrot juice is a surprising winner. Here’s why, from Dr. Fuhrman’s Food Scoring Guide:

Hooray for carrot juice! Okay, I think someone eating a nutrient-dense vegetable-based diet could certainly find refuge at Island Flavors—there are plenty of workable fruit and veggie inspired dishes to soothe the savage beast. Well, my Bob Marley CD is nearing an end, so it’s your turn. Check out Island Flavor’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat well! Peace.

Okay, last week we had a hard time with Jackson's Sports Grill, but no worries, this week is a little more palatable. We’re heading to Boston to grab a bite to eat at Ma Soba. An Asian restaurant with plenty of veggie inspired goodies. Let’s have a look!

Now before we start going through the menu. We should remember one thing. While it’s true that many Asian restaurants serve up lots of Fuhrman-friendly food choices. Asian food usually comes with a price, salt. So, we’ll do our best, but we’ll probably hit a snag or two.

Alright, I see a couple entrees I could roll with. The Tofu and Chinese Eggplant Stew is prepared with two kinds of tofu, sliced eggplant, rice, and a soy and wine sauce. Soy sauce, yup there’s a concession! I’d probably ditch the sauce or at least order it on the side. Now rice isn’t exactly nutrient dense, but I can deal with it—trust me, it could be worse.

Next up is the Grilled Salmon Filet. Along with the fish you get mango salsa, mashed sweet potatoes, and stir-fried vegetables. Provided the salmon isn’t Atlantic salmon, I’ll cool with it. Perhaps the bigger hit is the stir-fried vegetables. The veggies are great, but the frying part, not so much, might be a good idea to inquire about steamed veggies instead.

Ma Soba also serves sushi. I like sushi, but I don’t eat it very often and usually—for the sake of safety—I stick with salmon. Ma Soba does serve salmon sushi, so I’d probably go with that, but if I was in the mood for sushi rolls, it wouldn’t be my first choice. Here’s why.

Check out the maki rolls. Ma Soba has got some great VEGGIE sushi options. Now, I like sushi, but I LOVE veggie sushi. These four are great. From Ma Soba’s menu:

I would pass on any soy dipping sauce, but as for the rice these rolls are prepared with, I can live with it. White rice doesn’t scare me that much, but if do feel a little guilty about eating some, I’ll just run an extra mile at gym or maybe hold a Yoga a little longer than I normally would.

Let’s move onto the “others” section of the menu—kind of a funny name, but there’s some good stuff here. Like the edamame and steamed tofu appetizers. I probably eat steamed edamame beans once a week. Beans in general are great foods—musical too!

Perhaps even better than these appetizers are the salads, in fact, I’d say the salads are the BEST options on the menu. I went ahead and marked them on the menu. Take a look:

For either of these salads I’d ask for the dressing on the side. Now, the seaweed salad looks tempting and green seaweed is wonderful, but seaweed salads are usually LOADED with salt, so, got to skip it—darn!

To close out our digital visit to Ma Soba, I think the Steamed Vegetarian Dumplings and Sauteed Asian Vegetables are okay options too—no great, but not horrible. Neither of them would be my first choice and if I were to order one of them, I’d make sure to keep close tabs on my diet over the next couple of days, just to keep myself from tripping.

So there you have it, another restaurant onto the ever-growing pile of Eating to Live on the Outside, but, we’re not finished yet! It’s your turn. Check out Ma Soba’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat well! Peace.

“I see the bad moon arising. I see trouble on the way. I see earthquakes and lightning. I see bad times today.” Maybe John Fogerty was singing about this week’s Eating to Live on the Outside—BECAUSE IT’S BAD! Jackson’s Sports Grill is a ROUGH mission.

Most of the menu is totally off limits. I mean I’m no dietician, but I hardly think meat pizzas, cheesecake, Buffalo wings, onion rings, Italian sausage, fried shrimp, and patty melts are nutrient-dense—right? Yeah, this isn’t going to be easy.

Okay, let’s see what—if anything—we can do with this menu. Well, the appetizers are out and so are the wings, pizzas, and desserts. So, I’ll just jump right to the salads. I see two I like, but they’re not without problems.

First, the Mandarin Chicken Salad; made with salad greens, green peppers, tomatoes, green onions, pineapple, mandarin oranges, Asian noodles, sesame seeds, sesame seed dressing, and grilled chicken breast. Okay, if you wanted to keep the chicken—I guess you could—but I’m ditching it, I’m also nixing the noodles and ordering the dressing on the side.

The next option is the Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad; prepared with Romaine lettuce, mandarin oranges, raspberry vinaigrette, grilled chicken breast, and shaved roasted almonds. Pretty much the same deal here; keep the chicken if you want to and order the dressing on the side.

Moving on, the sandwiches, wraps, and specialties are no man’s land—or should I say no nutritarian’s land. There are a couple fish dishes that you’d THINK would be a decent, but, in both cases the poor fish has been deep-fried to death—yeah, pass!

Now, below Jackson’s specialties are the sides; coleslaw, salad, Caesar salad, collage cheese, corn, green beans almondine, onion rings, mashed potatoes & gravy, French fries, seasoned curly fries, and fresh-fried potato chips. Okay, most of these are junk, but I could certainly make a nice meal out of the corn, green beans, and salad—good idea?

Lastly, there’s a workable option under burgers, The Veggie Burger. According to the menu it’s made from all vegetables. Now, earlier in the week I blogged about veggie burgers; sure, they are meatless, but they’re hardly super foods. They’re loaded with salt. Maybe Jackson’s veggie burgers are different. Personally, I wouldn’t risk it. I’ll stick with a salad.

That’s that! Another lousy standard American restaurant bites the dust. It’s sad. So many restaurants are just dumping stations for the standard American diet—very depressing. Alright, maybe I’m slipping, maybe you can do better. Check out Jackson’s Sports Grill’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat healthfully! Peace.

The other day I was thinking, “Do you guys think I’m a vegan?” Not that it would be a bad thing, but, I’m not. I’m a true-blue nutritarian. My diet is vegetable-based; which means I eat plenty of fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, and beans, but, I do eat some animal products.

Now, in the beginning I used to eat a lot more animal foods. Just check out these previous Eating to Live on the Outsides: Friday’s, P.F. Chang's, Lonestar Steakhouse, and Sizzler. I’d like to think I’ve evolved because now the only animal I eat is fish.

I don’t eat it all the time, a couple times a month—tops! And when I do, I only eat the fish Dr. Fuhrman’s considers to be low in mercury: salmon, tilapia, sole, flounder, and trout. My favorite fish is Steelhead Trout. Now, thanks to Oceans Alive we can examine these fish further:

See, it’s tricky. Even with the good fish you’ve got to make sure it’s the right kind. So, let’s test ourselves. This week Eating to the Live on the Outside heads to Naked Fish. Obviously this place is a fisherman’s dream, but, is it a nutritarian nightmare? Only one way to find out!

Okay, let’s start with the Starters. Alright, I don’t like shrimp and I’m not into blazing peppers and ham slivers, but, the Steamed Prince Edward Island Mussels might work; prepared with tomato laurel broth or white wine and leeks. Yes! I know mussels aren't on Dr. Fuhrman’s list, but Oceans Alive gives them high marks:

Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I had mussels, so I wouldn’t be too hung up about ordering them. Oh! And I’d probably ask for the tomato broth with the leeks and pass on the wine.

Next up are the Sandwiches. I’m going with the Vegetable Wrap; roasted tomatoes, peppers, onions, mixed greens, tomato lavash bread, with avocado aioli spread. Clearly, the bread is the concession—I can deal with it—although I can’t deal with the side of fries.

Speaking of sides, since I’d be ditching the French fries, I’d ask if I could sub in one of these: Roasted Garlic Red Bliss Potatoes, Sauteed Golden “Maduros” Plantains, Grilled Asparagus, Grilled String Beans, Stir Fry Vegetables, and Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Bananas. The mashed potatoes are cool—provided they aren’t made with any cream or butter—but my first choice is either the asparagus or the string beans. And hey, why not just make a meal out of the sides?

Moving on to the Salads. The Chopped Salad is a good option—although the menu doesn’t say what’s in it—but be sure to nix an undesirables, like croutons and order that dressing on the side or skip it altogether. Now, maybe the Salmon Salad is a nice choice; made with grilled salmon, seasonal greens, red onion, diced orange, and lemon vinaigrette. As along as that salmon isn’t Atlantic Salmon, I’d be sitting pretty.

As for the Grilled Seafood and the Sauteed & Roasted, I’m digging the Tilapia, Mahi Mahi Fillet, and the Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi. The Tilapia is cool, that’s easy, but what about the mahi mahi? Again, it’s not on Dr. Fuhrman’s list. Let’s check back with Oceans Alive:

Yeah, it’d be a good idea to ask the wait staff about the mahi mahi, but in the end, I really wouldn’t have any regret ordering either of these; especially if I were to pair these up with one of those great sides.

In the end, I think Naked Fish is certainly a decent place to eat if you’re looking to have a nutrient-dense meal, but remember this piece of advice from Dr. Fuhrman. Pay attention now:

Choose fish over other animal products, but be aware that the place where it was caught, and the type of fish, matters. Don't accept recreational fish from questionable waters. Farmed fish is safer. Never eat high-mercury-content fish. Don't eat fish more than twice a week, and if you have a family history of hemorrhagic stroke, limit it further to only once a month.

I felt a post like this was long overdue. As a fish eating nutritarian, you got to know what to eat and what to stay away from! But tell me what you think. Check out Naked Fish’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat well! Peace.

Sometimes healthy restaurants smack you right in the face. Earlier this week I was sitting in traffic, and, after I finished banging my fists against the steering wheel. I looked up—and like a message from the beyond—I saw a billboard for Salad Works. A nutritarian’s dream!

Salad Works is along the same lines as Eating to Live on the Outside all-stars Just Salads and Salad Creations. I mean heck, they all have SALAD in their name—they got to be good! But there’s only one way to know for sure. Let’s crack this menu open stat!

Well, pretty much anything on Salad Works’ menu is workable. Sure, some of the salads harbor nasty things like bacon, croutons, and cheese, but, if you nix these things, you’ll be in good shape. So, here are my selections for the “best” choices—tallyho!

As for the Signature Salads, the Garden Salad and the Mandarin Chicken are solid choices; together they include iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, cucumber, mushrooms, carrots, onions, chicken, mandarin oranges, craisins, and chow mein noodles. Alright, the Garden Salad is completely without problems, but in order to make the Mandarin Chicken concession free. You got to de-chicken it and while you’re at it, toss the noodles too. What do you think? Good move?

Now, you’re probably wondering about the dressing. Salad Works has a bunch of them. Here are the ones that caught my eye—yes I’d order them all on the side—Balsamic Vinaigrette, Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette, and Vinaigrette Italian. The others are very creamy, and, I don’t do creamy—at all!

Okay, if for some bizarre reason I didn’t feel eating a SALAD at a SALAD JOINT, there’s a couple wraps that look interesting. I could go with either the Oriental Wrap or the Veggie Wrap; combined they’re prepared with a “fresh spring mix”, chicken, mandarin oranges, cucumbers, carrots, oriental sesame dressing, lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and your “favorite” dressing. What’s got to go? The chicken—go cross the road! Now, no matter what dressing I ordered, it’s definitely going on the side.

Next up is the Grilled Panini. I’ll pass, there’s nothing worth investigating here. Alright, if you feel like taking a salt hit—can’t imagine why you would—you could go with the Tuscan Bean Minestrone; made with vegetables and white beans. Or, maybe you like the Vegetarian Vegetable, prepared with lots and lots of vegetables! On face value, these soups look cool, but chances are—like all prepared soups—they are salt-heavy. I’d double-check with the wait staff, but why bother. The salads are great!

Yeah, Salad Works is an awesome place for a nutritarian. Now, here’s the really awesome part. There is one practically down the road from my apartment, so very soon I’ll haul my butt over there, eat some delicious nutrient-dense food, and tell you all about it. But, as for right now, its time for you to check out Salad Works’ menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Then, make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat greatly! Peace.

Believe it or not, but its been almost two years since I reviewed Friendly’s for Eating to Live on the Outside and I’ve worked hard to block it from my memory—it’s bad, real bad—here are some lowlights. Proceed with caution:

One minute you’re at home checking out DiseaseProof (shameless plug) and the next you’re at a restaurant with friends—-totally dumbfounded by the menu! It may be Friendly's, bit it's not looking very Fuhrman-friendly! You’re scared. Your initial reaction is, “Oh man! I gotta get out of here. I can already feel myself getting fatter.” Don’t worry, you're not alone. We'll stare down this menu together. Although feel free to curl up into the fetal position if you need to…

…Okay, time to flex my powers of guess-timation. This week I’ll being taking a look at the ironically named Friendly’s menu. After a few minutes of perusing the menu sweat actually began to bead up on my forehead. This restaurant is a tough sell for an Eat to Liver—-just lots of good-old fried goo smothered with cheesy American goodness! But surprisingly, you do have some options…

…Another dish that is certainly worth a try is the Vegetable Fajita Quesadillas. You Eat to Livers know what I mean, you see the word vegetable on a menu and your eyes snap to attention. Now, it's not perfect, but you can work with it. The flour tortillas are a problem, but an acceptable concession if you skip the Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese. Then you’re left with baby portabella mushrooms, sautéed onions, and red peppers and green peppers—-I’m a sucker for portabella. Yes, I realize cheese is high on Dr. Fuhrman's list of evil foods.

Eek! Not good, and, I actually go on to recommend ordering a chicken dish. This was WAY before my healthy lifestyle. Now, onto current events, its being reported that Friendly’s is going trans-fat free. More from The Boston Globe:

Friendly Ice Cream Corp., once an iconic New England venue for family restaurant meals heavy on burgers and sundaes, could become the latest restaurant chain to switch over to using trans fat-free oil.

Friendly's, a Wilbraham-based chain of about 500 restaurants, said it expects the change-over to be completed by the fall.

Trans fat has been linked to heart disease in humans and to diabetes in experiments with animals.

Although Friendly's said it has been working on the initiative for over a year, the chain came under fire yesterday from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, or CSPI, a Washington, D.C., advocacy group that crusades on behalf of such issues as nutrition.

Well, nixing the trans-fat is great, but, what about the cheese, bacon, mayonnaise, ice cream, and other garbage? It’s a start, but I hardly think this move is going to skyrocket Friendly’s out of the Eating to Live on the Outside reject list. Sorry Friendly’s, try again.

Eek! We got a Firkin nightmare on our hands this week. As you’ll soon see Firkin Pubs will quickly join the ranks of Eating to Live on the Outside rejects: Hobee's, Carino's, and Huddle House. I’ve said it before, you got to take the good with the bad. So, let’s see if this standard American restaurant has SOMETHING that a nutritarian MIGHT considering eating.

Whoa! This is going to be tough sledding. I’m no nutritionist, but, I’m pretty sure there is NOTHING nutrient-dense about breaded chicken fingers, bacon wrapped scallops, and barbequed beef brisket—EGAD! I just threw up in my mouth a little.

Okay, with a “liberal” eye let’s search this menu. Well, the Vegetable Stir Fry is kind of an option. Obviously the FRY part sucks—frying, a great way to ruin a good thing—if you can get passed the frying, it’s made with mixed vegetables, basmati rice, and sesame teriyaki sauce. HELLO CONCESSIONS! The frying, the white rice, the oil, and the salty sauce—I wouldn’t eat it!

Maybe the Veggie Burger? I guess it’s your standard veggie burger amalgamation; prepared with sautéed mushrooms, onions, lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickle, and your choice of sides (the best being the grilled vegetables). Even with the grilled veggies, I’m not eating it. Processed meat substitutes aren’t my favorite thing, they’re okay, but I usually pass—what about you?

Alright, if by some complete miscarriage of fate you found yourself in a Firkin Pub, just head for the salads. That’s your best bet. The safest option is the House Salad; made with seasonal vegetables, greens, and your choice of dressing—I’d go with the Balsamic Vinaigrette on the side. Go on. See for yourself, the House Salad is really the ONLY option.

Now, if you were feeling naughty, you might want to give the Greek Salad a whirl; includes mixed greens, feta cheese, tomatoes, onions, Kalamata olives, and “Firkin” dressing. Well, like I said, if you were feeling risqué, you might want to drop the cheese, keep the olives, ditch the Firkin dressing, and swap in the Balsamic Vinaigrette. Maybe those salty olives would give you a cheap thrill. Personally, I’ll stick with the House Salad.

Hopefully by now you’ve realized just how much of a train wreck Firkin Pub really is. With that being said, if none of these entice you—which wouldn’t be all that surprising—maybe you could ask for a double side order of grilled vegetables. That’d be a decent option, especially if you pair it up with a little salad. At this point, it’d probably be easier to just walk out the Firkin door!

I’d like to close on a high note—I really would—but Firkin Pub is just another junk food restaurant. It might be fun to watch a football game there, but eating a Firkin meal is gambling with your health, and, I don’t think you have to be a nutrition guru to make that statement.

So, another restaurant bites the dust, but hey! Maybe I’m crazy—believe me, it’s a possibility—maybe Firkin Pub is a fantastic place to eat. You decide! Check out the Firkin menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. In the meantime, eat your veggies! Peace.

Eating to Live on the Outside breaks for the border—the northern border that is—this week we’re checking out Toronto, Ontario, Canada’s own, Live. I’ve got to thank DiseaseProof reader Adrienne for this. Live looks like a GREAT place for to snag a health-promoting meal.

Live’s menu is packed with good stuff. You could pretty much order anything on the menu—barring the alcohol—and only encounter minimal concessions; like olive oil, salt, or rice. So, with that being said, here are the menu items that really caught my eye.

Okay, starting with the appetizers, I’m digging the Pecan “Tempura” Rolls and the Thai Spring Rolls. Combined they’re made with pecan and sunflower pate, sweet potato “tempura”, mixed veggies, almond sauce, collard greens, and coriander oil. Clearly the oil is a concession and apparently the pecan rolls are made sushi style, meaning they might be made with rice. If so, the rice would be a concession too. Other then these two things, I’m call with both appetizers.

Live has some cool salad options too. What’s really great is you can build your salad. That’s a fantastic way to go, but I’m really feeling The Big Bowl; made with field greens, kale, spinach, tomatoes, avocado, cucumbers, sprouts, seeds, grilled tofu, beans, with your choice of dressing. Personally, I’d order the Creamy Ginger (olive oil, miso, ginger, rice vinegar, and agave) on the side—good idea?

Now, as for the entrees, I see three I really like. First is the Ayurvedic Dish: Winter Warming Pave; made with root vegetables, caramelized tempeh, balsamic reduction, and criminni mushroom gravy. I’m not a huge tempeh guy, but I don’t mind it every once and a while. Next, I’m liking the Macrobiotic Dish: The Rejuvenation Bowl; made with brown rice, a creamy tahini sauce, grilled tempeh, steamed kale, carrots, burdock root, lotus root, and served with brown rice miso soup and house-made kimchee. I’d probably pass on the soup, but the kimchee sounds interesting, and the brown rice would be the concession. Oh! And I also like the Curry Stuffed Mushroom; made with criminni mushrooms, curry pumpkin seed pate, and coriander oil. Well, the oil is the concession here, but, I deal with it.

There are some pretty neat sides too. I could certainly make a meal out of these. I’d order both of these. Corn Tostados; prepared with corn tostados, sunflower seed “refried” beans, salsa Verde, guacamole, and cashew sour cream. The corn tostados are a little bit of a concession, but I’m not too worried about it. But the Tropical Fresh Fruit Salad is an even better choice. It’s a nice collection of mango, kiwi, pineapple, and mint. Pairing these two together would make a decent dish.

Live also has some interesting juice options to choose from. Here’s the two I liked. The Green Kick; made with pear, kale, ginger, dandelion, lemon, and hemp protein. Sounds cool to me! I actually eat dandelion greens, so this is right up my alley. The juice that caught my eye is the Liquid Plumber—I love the name—it includes kale, cucumber, celery, dandelion, lemon, and milk thistle. I’m telling you, blended greens are way underrated—good stuff!

Well, I got to say. Nice pick Adrienne! Live is certainly a wonderful place for a nutritarian to grab a bite to eat—thanks for the heads up! But, who cares what I think? I’m just some dopey blogger. It’s your turn. Check out Live’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or a send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat greatly! Peace.

I’m not much of a dancer—me on the dance floor looks a lot like a dog floundering on a frozen pond—but nevertheless, Eating to Live on the Outside is about to tango. This week we’re hitting salad emporium, Green Tango.

A place that advertises “fresh chopped salads” has got to be good—right? Yeah, it is. Green Tango is a fine place for the discerning nutritarian to call home. So, enough jibber-jabber! Let’s crack this menu open and see what we got.

Green Tango offers two major options, Salads and Wraps. Let’s check out the salads first. Okay, technically they all “work.” All you’d have to do is drop the occasional egg, bacon, and cheese, but here’s the four that really caught my eye.

I dig The Big Salad, the Tusan Salad, the Fiesta Salad, and the Garden Delight. There’s A LOT of veggies in these. Combine they included iceberg lettuce, hard boiled egg, tomatoes, carrots, green beans, potatoes, chickpeas, feta cheese, arugula, white beans, cremini mushrooms, artichokes, parmesan cheese, corn, black beans, avocado, red onions, grilled shrimp, mesclun greens, broccoli, beets, artichokes, asparagus, and zucchini. Not doubt—this is a MASSIVE amount of phytonutrients—awesome! And once you ditch the egg, cheese, and shrimp it gets even better.

To ensure the health-promoting integrity of these salads, I’d order the dressing on the side. Speaking of the dressing, Green Tango has two options that won’t leave me feeling very guilty; fresh squeezed lemon juice and age balsamic vinegar. I could go for either of these.

If none of the Green Tango favorite salads entice you, why not make your own creation out of these wonderful ingredients? Feast your eyes on these: Romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, arugula, spinach, mesclun greens, almonds, artichokes, asparagus, avocado, beets, black beens, broccoli, carrots, celery, cauliflower, chick peas, cremini mushrooms, crispy noodles, corn, croutons, cucumbers, dried cherries, dried cranberries, green beans, hearts of palm, mandarin oranges, peanuts, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, raisins, red onions, and roasted red peppers. How fantastic is this!

Here’s the salad I would create. Okay, I’d start with a spinach base—I love me some spinach—then on top of that I would pile on some avocado, beets, asparagus, and carrots. Now, for my dressing, I think balsamic vinegar would go nicely with the root veggies—don’t you agree?

Okay, if a salad is striking your fancy—which would be hard to believe if you’re a nutritarian—you could go for a wrap. The wraps are basically one of the salads wrapped up in an original tortilla or either an herb garlic, spinach, or sun-dried tomato basil tortilla. Now, I’m not anti-wrap, but when confronted with all these salad options, I’d easily pass on the tortilla, but if I were to order a wrap, I’d probably go with the spinach tortilla—it’s kind of cruciferous!

Now, to wrap things up—pun intended—I should mention that Green Tango also sells soup, but as we all know, prepared soups tend to be very salty—so, not thanks. Oh! And if you’re looking for a side to go with your salad, Green Tango offers fruit—pretty neat!

I feel like I got off easy this week. Green Tango sounds like a great place to grab a meal; very reminiscent of Eating to Live on the Outside favorite Just Salad—but what do you think? Does Green Tango REALLY stack up? You decide. Take a look at Green Tango’s menu and let me know how you’d handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat greatly! Peace.

Man, am I happy this week is over—what a bear! Anyway, it’s Friday and you know what that means. Time to fire up the machine—vroom-vroom—Eating to Live on the Outside rides again! And this week Salsa Rico is on the hot seat. How will it do? Well there’s only one way to find out.

Time to rock and roll! First up, burritos, and right away we’ve got a concession, flour tortillas—eh, I can deal with it. Believe me, it could be A LOT worse. Now, the burrito I’d go with would be the Calimax; made with ancho chile salsa, melted jack cheese, rice, pinto beans or black beans, fresh pico de gallo, and fresh guacamole. Okay, I’ll ditch the cheese and the rice—and provided the guacamole has no sour cream—it’s a decent option.

Oh! If the tortilla freaks you out. Another option might be the Fajita Burrito Bowl; prepared with flame-roasted peppers, onions, Mexican rice, black beans or pinto beans, ancho chile salsa, jack cheese, and pico de gallo. Nix that cheese and rice and its looking good, and, no tortilla to contend with—sweet!

Next are the Specialties. Yeah, we’ll skip those. Unless of course you think nachos and quesadillas are nutrient-dense—you don’t, right? Let’s just move onto the Salads. I like all three of them. There’s some undesirables in there but combined they include shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, a blend of cheeses, cilantro, a taco shell, black beans or pinto beans, avocado mango salsa, tortilla chips, Romaine lettuce, black olives, cheddar cheese, corn salsa, and a chile lime vinaigrette. Wow, that’s a lot of stuff. Out of all that I’m dropping the sour cream, cheese, tortilla chips, taco shell, and black olives. So if you make those alternations and go easy on the dressing, the Taco Salad, the Cabo Salad, and Chili Lime Salad are all good—nice!

Now, let’s check out the Tacos. I see one I like. The Grilled Vegetable Fajita Taco; made with flame-roasted peppers, onions, and obviously taco shells. It’s not the best option, but if you’re not feeling the salad, you might be willing to make the taco shell concession. Personally, the grilled veggies are great, but give me one of those salads any day.

Alright, let’s scope out the Salsas, they all look very veggie friendly. They could be a nice accent to one of dishes we already looked at. Here’s the three I really liked. The Corn Salsa is cool; made with ancho chili pepper, corn, fresh tomatilos, char-grilled plum tomatoes, fresh lime, and orange juices—not too shabby. I also like the Salsa Fresca; prepared with table salsa, plum tomatoes, sweet onions, jalapenos, and cilantro—you got to love cilantro. And finally, the Onion Salsa is simple but very tasty looking; it’s made with jalapenos, Spanish onions, cilantro, and lime juice—again, another winner! These would certainly liven up one of the salads, maybe as a salad dressing?

It’s probably worth mentioning that Salsa Rico has a couple sides you might want to consider making your main dish. The two that work for me are the pinto beans or black beans and the fresh guacamole—again, provided it is sour cream free. I hate when they ruin perfectly good avocado with sour cow juice—YUCK!

So what do you think? Is Salsa Rico workable? I think there’s hope. Sure, there’s some nasty stuff to deal with like rice, cheese, char-grilled (or burned) food), tortillas, and a potentially heavy salt load—ask the wait staff before you order—but overall I’d give Salsa Rico a shot.

Now it’s your turn, time to judge for yourself. Scope out Salsa Rico’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat the best you can! Peace.

I’m hungry. I worked out hard this morning, did an extra Yoga class last night, and now I’ve worked up quite an appetite. Lucky for me it’s Friday, which means its time to test out a new restaurant and—hopefully—grab a nutritious bite to eat.

And, I think we’ve got a chance this week. Justix has potential. It’s not perfect—most restaurants aren’t—but I think it’s got a decent shot at satisfying the discriminating nutritarian. So, grab your knife and fork, tuck a napkin into your collar, and let’s hit it!

Justix is, “Grilled food on a stick.” Well, as far as the “on a stick” part. That’s a little iffy. You’ve got six options; beef, chicken, pork, tofu, portabella mushroom, and salmon. Okay, I’m cool with the tofu, portabella, and salmon. The portabella mushroom is by far my favorite. It’d be my first choice.

As far as the sides go, I’d pair my portabella mushroom sticks with either steamed broccoli, grilled zucchini, steamed carrot sticks, potato wedges, or roasted veggies. I’m leaning towards the steamed broccoli or the roasted veggies, but I’d probably go with the broccoli—I’m on a bit of a steamed broccoli kick lately.

Onto the sauces, there’s three I’d consider ordering. I like Annabelle’s Mint & Orange, Cousin Tony’s Balsamic Glaze, and the Sub-lime Peanut Cilantro. Neither of them strikes me as a massive concession, but just to be safe. I’d order them on the side—what do you think?

Now, Justix isn’t just sticks and sides. They’ve also got some salads and wraps you can work with. Some are bad news; loaded with bacon, beef, blue cheese, and ranch sauce. Clearly, I’ll be avoiding all that stuff. As I’ve pointed out in the past, bacon is my nemesis—growl!

Let’s start with the wraps. I’m digging The Salmon BLT Wrap and The Veggie Wrap—the veggie being the obvious favorite—combined they include grilled farm-raised salmon, bacon, baby lettuce, tomato, ranch sauce, flour tortilla, portabella mushroom, red onion, zucchini, red pepper, goat cheese, and a Balsamic glaze. No question, I’m ditching the bacon and the cheese—yuck! I’m cool with the salmon. I’ll just make sure I don’t eat fish again for a few weeks. So, when all is said and done, the only major concession would be the flour tortilla—I can live it.

Salad time! The Justix Side Salad is cool. It’s made with mixed greens, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and red onion. With dressing on the side, this one looks good. The next salad I could work with is the Southwestern Chicken Salad—relax! I’m nixing the chicken. Post chicken, the Southwestern salad comes with mixed greens, yellow corn, red onion, tortilla strips, and a lime cumin vinaigrette. Yeah, those tortilla strips are history and that vinaigrette is going on the side.

So there you have it, short but sweet. Granted, Justix is not a homerun, but, if you’re a hungry nutritarian looking for a quick bit to eat, you can certainly make it work—don’t you agree? Now, whether you do or don’t, let me know how do you handle Eating to Live on the Outside? Check out Justix’s menu, make a comment, or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat healthfully! Peace.

It’s Friday! Thank goodness. I’m pooped! But before my weekend can begin, I got to pay Georgia Brown’s a visit. Georgia Brown’s is a southern-style restaurant located in the heart of Washington DC. Let’s see how it measures up.

Well, it certainly won’t be an Eating to Live on the Outside all-star, but it has SOME Fuhrman-friendly potential. Sure, we’ll have to bob and weave through some of the undesirables—like fried chicken, cheese, and bacon—but there is hope.

Okay, as far as the “inspirations” go, I’m not too confident about any of them. Maybe you can make a case for the Fried Green Tomatoes, but I wouldn’t eat it; especially since they’re topped with cream cheese and mayonnaise—yuck! Let’s scope out the salads instead.

Unfortunately there’s only one I’d consider ordering—and it’s not without its own issues. The Country Kitchen House Salad is prepared with baby greens, dried apricot ginger vinaigrette, goat cheese, Bermuda onions, and grape tomatoes. Clearly, the cheese gets the axe! Now, like I said, the rest of the salads aren’t worth the trouble; loaded with chicken, cheese, and sausage—no thanks!

Now, even though I’m not a vegetarian. Georgia Brown’s two vegetarian options are looking good. The Black Eyed Pea Cakes are a bit of a mystery though. The menu doesn’t explain what they’re made of, so I’d ask the wait staff first; they’re served with Carolina red rice, asparagus, and lemon-cayenne mayonnaise. The asparagus is great, the rice is a concession, but the mayo has got to go! The Vegetarian Sample is okay; it comes with a black eyed pea cake, a fried green tomato, Carolina red rice, and sautéed spinach; not exactly a homerun, but workable. Personally, I’d ditch the fried tomato and yes, the rice would be a concession and so would the oil used to sautéed the spinach. I can deal with it!

If none of these tickle your fancy, give this a whirl. Try making a meal out of the sides because Georgia Brown’s offers some good ones. I’d order the collard greens, red rice, grilled asparagus, seasonal vegetables, and sautéed spinach. Nothing too bad here; the only concessions would be the rice and—again—the oil used to sauté the spinach and other veggies. No worries. It’s cool.

Like I said, Georgia Brown’s is far from perfect, but if all else fails. The side dishes make it workable. Now before I bid Georgia Brown’s farewell, let’s talk about their fish options. I’m not a vegan or a vegetarian—because I do eat fish—but I wouldn’t order any of these dishes and here’s why. For starters they’re prepared with things like sausage, duck, cream, and butter, but it’s also because the types of fish available aren’t exactly the most eco-friendly.

The Fried Catfish is the safest fish, but the whole “fried” thing puts the kibosh on that one. Next, unless you know the type of crab, lobster, scallops, or shrimp, it’s at best a crapshoot. So I wouldn’t order any of them. Finally, Chilean sea bass and Atlantic salmon are flat out bad news—I wouldn’t touch these! Do you see why I skipped over the fish now?

Okay, what do you think? Does Georgia Brown’s really have a shot at feeding a discriminating nutritarian? It’s certainly not perfect, but I think it works—just focus on those sides—but hey, its time for me to shut up. Check out Georgia Brown’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or drop me an email at diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until next time, eat well! Peace.

Sometimes healthy living can be hard work. Imagine walking into Huddle House or Carino's Italian Grill. Eating at these places is like playing Russian-roulette with your health. So what we need is a healthy restaurant. Do we have one on tap this week?

Yes! “Our intention is to create healthful, tasty, and affordable foods, in their natural state, using only organic ingredients, imagination, and conscious care.” That’s the mission of Leaf Cuisine, an organic raw vegan restaurant. Sweet! That’s what I’m talking about. Let’s hit it!

Alright, I’m looking at the menu and I like what I see, so, its time to put my favorite strategy into action. Since all the food looks good—unlike the most of the standard American restaurants I review—I’ll share with you my favorites, and, I encourage you to do the same in the comments.

Let’s start with the appetizers. I like the Raw Slaw a lot; cabbages, carrots, herbs, and a creamy seed cheese dressing. Very cool, I make dressing with nuts and seeds all the time—avocado too! Speaking of avocado, I dig the Guacamole with Flax Seed Crackers; it’s pretty self-explanatory. Now, I really like wakame—seaweed in general—but wakame salads tend to be salty. So, I wouldn’t be too quick to order the Seaweed Salad. Darn it!

The soups don’t excite me too much, onto the wraps and salads. The Garden Delight is great; mixed greens, tomatoes, sprouts, carrot, red cabbage, and house dressing. Pretty basic, but still yummy, provided I go easy on the dressing. The Mediterranean Medley looks tasty; made with sun-dried tomato, walnut croquettes, spinach pesto sauce, greens, tomatoes, and sprouts. Oh! The croquettes are prepared by dehydrating a veggie, nut, seed, and herb pate. Sounds good to me! What do you think? Now, the Veggie Sunburger looks fantastic! It’s another veggie-seed croquette, topped with a tangy tomato sauce, mixed greens, sprouts, and, it’s all wrapped up in a collard green. What a great idea! An awesome way to avoid a bread or tortilla concession—kudos to Leaf on this one!

Okay, I’m briefly skipping over to the breakfast and house specialties. The Apple Spice Oatmeal looks tasty; sprouted oats, apple, banana, almond butter, raisins, and dates. Well, I’m hard-pressed to find anything bad about this. The Kale Salad is also a solid choice; they make it with copped kale, avocado, sprouted wild rice, mung beans, tomatoes, and cayenne. Lots of phyonutrients here, but I’d probably ditch the cayenne, no sense risking my tummy with the hot spice.

Now, jumping back to the smoothies and drinks. The Very Berry is cool; strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, banana, apples, and dates. Sweet! No pun intended. The Chocolate Milkshake looks very tempting; cacao, carob, banana, nut milk, coconut milk, and dates. For a chocolate-fiend like me—awesome! The Green Lean Scene is very Fuhrman-friendly; kale, mango, orange juice, cinnamon, and banana. Love that kale! As for the drinks, the Veggie Combo and the Got Greens are full of great stuff; combined they include carrot, celery, beet, kale, collard greens, parsley, and spinach. I can almost feel the nutrients surging through my body.

As for the desserts, I’d easily devour them all, but my two favorites are the Apple Pie and the Chocolate Brownie. The Apple Pie is made with apples, raisin compote, a date-nut crust, and cashew cream, and, the Chocolate Brownie is put together with raw cacao, chocolate sauce, chopped walnuts, and whipped “cream.” Provided neither of these are packed with sugar, I could order either one guilt free. What about you?

Okay, so there you have it. I think Leaf Cuisine is a slam dunk for a ravenous nutritarian, but, I want to hear from you. Check out Leaf’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or shoot me an email at diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat healthfully! Peace.

When did breakfast become synonymous with bacon and eggs? All the breakfast cafés I’ve been to are loaded with wall to wall eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese, and other griddle thingies, and, The Flying Biscuit Café, pretty much continues the tread.

Clearly, I’ve got my work cut out for me. As expected The Flying Biscuit Café has plenty of omelets, creamy dairy, smoked meat, and bread to go around, but, are they’re at least one or two nutritarian-type dishes to found? Could an Eat to Liver make this work? Let’s see.

First up, is the all-day breakfast. Now, I know Dr. Fuhrman considers eggs to be a cleaner and safer animal food, but, eggs just aren’t for me, but by ditching the eggs, I’m seriously cutting down the menu. So, what’s left? Well, as far as the breakfast goes, not much. The Organic Oatmeal Pancakes might work (provided they’re not cooked on a greasy griddle); three cakes, topped peach compote and served maple syrup. It could be worse! At least the oats are organic, peach is a fruit, and the maple syrup is served on the side—it kind of works.

Alright, onto the appetizers—unless you think I should spend time examining the Pasta, Sausage & Eggs—that’s what I thought, moving on. The appetizers are a little better and by “better” I mean there’s ONE item I’d order without reservation. Take a guess what it is? A salad! Of course it’s a salad. According to the menu the House Salad is field greens tossed with balsamic vinaigrette and a Flying Biscuit. Personally, I’ll make the biscuit fly alright. I’m tossing it out the window, and, getting that dressing on the side. Good idea?

Let’s see what the favorites have in store for us. Okay, this is better. I like the Vegan BBQ Burrito; barbecued tofu, collard greens, mushrooms, sun dried tomato tortilla, and topped with salsa verde. Well, the barbecued tofu does give me pause. It’s probably a little salty and burnt, but since I seldom eat this sort of thing, I could roll with it. Same goes for the tortilla. Overall, not a bad option, I’m definitely digging the collard greens—actually, I’m eating some right now!

Cool, we’ve reached the salad portion of the menu. As we all know, salads are a great place for the panicking Eat to Liver to find refuge. Not all of The Flying Biscuit Café’s salads are winners, but I see two I could work with. First is the Warm Chicken Salad; grilled chicken breast, oven-roasted rosemary potatoes, bleu cheese, field greens, and balsamic vinaigrette. Relax! The cheese and chicken are history. Next I like the Tofu & Tater Salad; tamari-marinated tofu, oven-roasted rosemary potatoes, field greens, feta cheese, red onion, and balsamic vinaigrette. Adios cheese! And you guessed it, dressing on the side.

And to close the show, let’s scope out the sandwiches. Okay, I see two I really like. The Hummus Wrap and The Angel Burger are cool; combined they include sun dried tomato tortilla, rosemary potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, feta, veggie-grain patty, and roasted red pepper mustard. For starters, the bread and tortilla are concessions, but beyond that I’d nix the feta. Provided you can get past the bread, you’ve got lots of yummy veggies to enjoy—hello phytonutrients—nice!

Well, there you have it. The Flying Biscuit Café is certainly in the mold of standard American restaurants, but, they are clearly making an attempt to offer some healthier options. So, despite all the eggs, cheese, bacon, and sausage, I have to give them a little kudos, but what do you think? It’s your turn! I’m putting YOU to work. Check out The Flying Biscuit Café’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until next time, eat greatly! Peace.

In tribute to the Giants surprising trip to the NFL AFC championship game, Eating to Live on the Outside is heading back to the big apple. Let me point out, I’m not a Giants fan, so I’m doing this under protest—GO RAIDERS—alright, time to check out NYC’s own, Souen.

According to their website Souen is an “Organic Macrobiotic Restaurant.” Well, this is certainly a promising start. Oh! If you don’t know what macrobiotic is, just Wikipedia it. In short, people who are macrobiotic eat a lot of whole foods and avoid refined and processed food; its “kind of” Fuhrman-ish. Okay, lets crack this menu open!

First up are the soups. Now, at this past weekend’s event at the Beaver Brook Country Club Dr. Fuhrman pointed out that you should never order soup at a restaurant because most of these soups are loaded with salt. He’s right, but to be honest, most food cooked outside the house is salt bombarded. Hence my whole rap about concessions and not eating out very often.

So, if I felt like enduring a salt hit, I’d go with the Hayato Soup; a big bowl of mixed vegetables in a miso soup. Hey, it’s hard to beat mixed vegetables! Now, there is a Wakame Soup on the menu and I love wakame, but wakame is really salty and this soup has sesame oil too, so, I’ll pass.

Next, I’m skipping the breads and jumping to the Salads. Honestly, they all work. Here’s the two that really turned me on. The Green Garden Salad looks yummy; heaps of greens, watercress, raddichio, endive, daikon radish threads, grated beets, and sesame vinaigrette. Beets! You got to love that. The Cucumber Salad is cool too. It’s pretty basic, just slices of cucumber tossed with akatosaka seaweed, carrot, and sesame vinaigrette. The seaweed might be a tad salty, but I can live with it. Overall, if you go easy on or omit the dressing, these are both solid options.

Now, there’s a bunch of stuff under Small Plates. Most of them are iffy, but, I like the Edamame and the Sauteed Greens. The Edamame is just steamed soy beans in the pod and the Sauteed Greens are dark leafy greens sautéed in olive oil and garlic. Let’s start with the greens. Clearly the olive and sautéing is the concession—I can deal with it. The soy beans might have a concession too. I’ve found that occasionally these beans are salted. Before I’d order them, I’d ask the wait staff, but overall edamame beans are really great.

The Daily Fare looks good. There’s a bunch of things I’d order; the vegetable summer roll, bean of the day, avocado, steamed vegetables, grain of the day, hijiki seaweed, and steamed greens. Heck, I could make a meal out of these and be more than happy about it. I’d probably order the bean of the day, some avocado, steamed vegetables, and the steamed greens. The awesome part about all this is its concession-free—sweet!

I love some of the Vegetarian Entrees, namely the Macro Plate, Broccoli Tofu, Inspired Vegetable Curry, and the Kuzu Stew. Combine they’re made with beans, hijiki seaweed, steamed greens, vegetables, rice, broccoli, vegetables, scrambled tofu, onion, carrot, kabocha squash, white mushrooms, snap peas, a turmeric-curry-ginger broth, cauliflower, snow peas, shiitake mushrooms, tamari, and apple juice. Lots of good stuff! I don’t see really anything alarming here. Do you?

Okay, the rest of the menu is comprised of fish dishes, noodle-based entrees, desserts, and beverages. Now, as I’ve said many times before. I do eat fish, but, when confronted with all these veggie options, I wouldn’t order any fish. Take a moment and acknowledge my continued growth as a nutritarian—thank you, thank you.

But as for the beverages, there are some cool juices. Yes, I know, in one of today’s posts I say I don’t drink a lot of juice. I’m not lying, I really don’t, but sometimes, some very tempting juices do come along. All three of Souen’s are cool; Organic Fresh Squeezed Juice (apple, carrot, beet, ginger, celery, cucumber), Carrot with Ginger, and Carrot with Mixed Vegetables. I wouldn’t binge drink on any of these, but, I’d certainly give them a whirl. How about you?

Well, unlike the Giants this weekend, I like a nutritarian’s chances of finding a great meal at Souen. My friend swears by it. She said she usually orders the Miso Soup and apparently, Souen also offers an incredible Chef Salad that isn’t on the menu. Now that is certainly worth a look! Speaking of looking, it’s your turn. Scope out Souen’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. As always, make a comment or send me an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat well. Peace.

Whoa! I’m reeling. Between the news that blogging is hazardous to my health and the aftershocks of last week’s Eating to Live on the Outside nightmare, Buffalo's Southwest Café, I’m in need of saving. Oh please, oh please! Let this week’s restaurant be more palatable.

Now, like avenging angels, loyal DiseaseProof readers Jayson and Julie, swooped in and splattered this on my windshield. So, today Eating to Live on the Outside is paying Main Squeeze Natural Foods Café a visit. Well, not literally, via the powers of the internet—BEHOLD!

Main Squeeze is actually looking pretty good. It’s not perfect, but far better than Buffalo’s Southwest Café...of premature death. Now, there are some pesky things to deal with, like cheese, bread, and eggs, but nothing as bad as last week’s grilled pork chop and fried cheesecake. Alright, time to put Jayson and Julie’s recommendation to the test. Let’s hit it!

Okay, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and lucky for me. Main Squeeze has some solid breakfast options, four in fact. I like the Aussie Platter, the Mediterranean Scrambler, the Fruit Salad, and the Low Carb Scrambler—and yes, the name of that last one gave me the heebeegeebees too. Combined, these dishes include scrambled eggs or tofu, steamed spinach, soysage, wholegrain toast or corn muffin, tomato, scallions, spinach, broccoli, Monterey Jack cheese, peppers, onions, Feta cheese, and seasonal or organic fruit. Alright, I’m ditching the eggs—even though Dr. Fuhrman considers eggs to be a safer animal food—the soysage, cheese, and wholegrain toast or corn muffin have also got to go. In the end, you’re left with a nice array of veggies to go with that tofu.

Next up are the soups and salads. Honestly, I like them all. They’re all loaded with tasty veggies—like spinach, beets, sunflower seeds, and almonds—but I really like Nell’s 7 Layer and Babette’s Feast. Nell’s 7 Layer is prepared with lettuce, cabbage, carrot, beet, tomato, cucumber, sunflower seeds, and sprouts. Come on! It’s hard to beat beets. Now, Babette’s Feast is made with spinach, apple, beet, red onion, Swiss cheese, and almonds. Clearly, the cheese is out the window, but other then that, they’re both looking really great. Oh! And I’d be sure to go easy on the dressing.

There are also some options lurking in the sandwiches and wraps. They’ve go some teeny-tiny concession, but nothing earth-shattering. For example, the Super Mario sandwich is prepared on a baguette with hummus, roasted peppers, spinach, tomato, red onion, Feta cheese, and topped with a roasted red pepper dressing. Again, the cheese gets the heave-ho, but, I’d obviously keep the baguette and the hummus. The baguette is a concession because its bread and the hummus most likely has some sort of oil. I can live with both of them, especially if I order the dressing on the side. Two more decent options would be the Good Fortune Wrap and the Garden Burrito; together they include tofu, brown rice, carrot, spinach, cabbage, scallions, sesame seeds, sesame ginger dressing, grilled tortilla, beans, Monterey Jack cheese, beets, sprouts, salsa, and lettuce. For starters, I’m ditching the cheese, but keeping everything else, meaning the concessions would be the tortilla and the brown rice—no biggie!

As for the hot dishes, I’m digging the Buddha Bowl and the Peggy Plate. The Buddha Bowl is made with brown rice, tofu, carrot, broccoli, cabbage, scallions, sesame seeds, sprouts, and sesame ginger sauce. The concession would be the brown the rice, I can deal with it. I’d also order the sesame ginger sauce on the side. The Peggy Plate comes with brown rice, beans, the vegetable of the day, and lemon tahini. Looks cool to me! I’m currently on the edge of my seat thinking about the veggie of the day.

Finally, Main Squeeze offers some fresh juice combinations too. Personally, I’m not that big on juice—aside from my shot of pomegranate juice every morning—but, if you’re feeling adventurous, they all looking pretty nutrient-dense. The Ring of Fire is neat; it’s made with apple, orange, beet, and ginger. The Elvis Parsley is fun too. It’s a blend of carrot, celery, spinach, parsley, and beet—interesting, very-very interesting.

Well, I got to hand it to Jayson and Julie. They picked a winner here. Usually when I pick a winner, I just stick it under my desk. Kudos guys! Okay boys and girls. It’s your turn. Are Jayson and Julie really onto something? Scope out Main Squeeze’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. As always, make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat healthfully! Peace.

Have you ever been punched in the stomach? I mean really had the wind knocked out of you. Well, in case you haven’t. Just check out the menu for this week’s restaurant. Without question, Buffalo’s Southwest Café is a Mike Tyson sized wallop to the gullet—Wham!

Even a casual Eat to Liver would be hard-pressed to find SOMETHING acceptable on this menu, but, let’s knuckle up, strap on our helmet, snitch up our gloves, and step into the ring. Oh man, this has all the symptoms of a David versus Goliath rematch.

Okay, the World Famous Wings and the Starters aren’t exactly cutting the mustard. They might however, help you cut the cheese, because they’re loaded with ooey-gooey mozzarella, pepper jack, and white cheese. Not exactly nutrient-dense eating!

Now, beyond the appetizers and wings, it’s not going to get any better. The Steak & Favorites, Sweet Stuff, Outlaw Burgers, Lunch Stampede, Hand Helds, and the Mixed Grill are quite simply the antithesis of healthy eating. In fact, this stuff is the food of nightmares.

But hey, maybe I’m wrong. What do you think? Is there something redeeming about a grilled pork chop topped with bourbon roasted apples and brown sugar—those poor apples—or what about fried cheesecake wrapped in a flaky tortilla, topped with ice cream and raspberry sauce? If you think either of these are an option, please sit quietly and hang your head in shame.

Alright, I had to dig deep here, but, I think there might be a couple Fuhrman-friendly options under Soups & Salads and Southwest Specialties. However, before I proceed, let me say this, I don’t think they’re slam dunks, just the best this hellish menu has to offer.

The best salad I see is the Buffalo’s Cobb Salad; fresh greens, crisp bacon, cheddar jack cheese, black bean & corn salsa, bleu cheese crumbles, fresh tomato salsa, and chicken. The word “best” is relative here. Clearly, the bacon, cheese, and chicken have got to go, and, I’m skipping the dressing entirely. After that you’ve got something that at least resembles healthy food.

Another option might be the Sonora Salmon Salad. It’s made with grilled salmon, mixed greens, tomatoes, bacon, bleu cheese crumbles, and chipotle-ranch dressing. Well, the bacon, bleu cheese, and dressing are history, and, I’d probably go with a little vinaigrette dressing. Overall, it’s not great, but, it works. Oh! And if I got the fish, I’d wait a few weeks before I’d eat fish again.

Onto the Southwest Specialties, I could go with either the Black & Bleu Salmon or the Chimayo Mahi-Mahi; combined they include salmon filet, southwest seasoning, chipotle sauce, bleu cheese, steamed veggies, rice, mahi-mahi filet, jalapeno butter, and black bean & corn salsa. Now, after I nix the chipotle sauce, bleu cheese, and jalapeno butter, I could go with either of these, but again, I’d wait a while before I’d dine on fish.

Well, I feel like I just went twelve rounds with Evander Holyfield. My head is spinning, and, my stomach is turning. Buffalo’s Southwest Café is a standard American disaster. Lots of junk, “good ole fashioned America food,” and we’ve seen how good this stuff has worked out. I can’t image ever eating at a place like this.

Restaurants like Buffalo’s Southwest Café are a shining example why so many Americans are having heart attacks and are hopped up on statins and blood pressure medications, but, maybe I’m wrong. After all, I’m just a loony blogger. Tell me what you think. Check out Buffalo’s Southwest Café’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or shoot me an email at diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat well, or at least try to. Peace.

The holidays are nearly over. Hopefully you’re all staying on track. Saying, “It’s the holidays. I can have one more cookie,” can’t last forever. So, if the yuletide is getting the best of you. Sit down and get ready for this week’s Eating to Live on the Outside—EXTREME VERSION!

Well, it’s not really extreme. It’s just that today we’re taking a look at Extreme Pita. Now, Extreme Pita claims to be healthy, fresh, and fast. This may very well be true, but, there’s only one way to find out. Saddle up folks. Its time to crack this menu open—CHARGE!

First let’s take a look at the Freestyle Pitas. Clearly, if we are going to go for a pita, concession number one is the pita, i.e. bread. Okay, the only one I’d consider ordering would be the Market Fresh Veggie; lettuce, tomatoes, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, and cucumbers, and, I’d order it with the light Italian dressing. Now, not only are veggies great, but, if you check out the nutrition facts, you’ll see it’s your best bet, by far.

Alright, I’m skipping the Extreme Pita Creations and the Flat Baked Pitas, both are very meat and cheese oriented; not my thing. Onto the salads, and the salads—as they usually are—are a great refuge for the bleary eyed Eat to Liver trying to figure out what the heck to order.

There are two salads I’d go with. The first is the Fresh Veggie; lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, green peppers, and black olives. I’d keep everything but the olives, that way I could avoid the salt hit. I’d also get the Light Italian dressing, on the side of course. The other salad is the Traditional Greek. Now, it’s a tad mysterious because they don’t say what’s in it, but from the photo on the menu. I’d guess it comes with lettuce, black olives, tomatoes, Feta cheese, and the Greek Feta dressing. Well, after I ditch the cheese, olives, and switch the dressing. It makes more sense just to stay with the Fresh Veggie Salad. Don’t you think?

Outside of the Fresh Veggie Pita and Fresh Veggie Salad, you’re pretty much out of luck. Extreme Pita may advertise itself as a healthy fast food and yeah, compared to the likes of Burger Hut and Pizza King, they’re a better choice, but it’s no landslide victory.

Outside of these two options, the menu is slathered with cheese, lunch meat, and daunting condiments, but what really knocked me for a loop is the Just for Kids section of the menu. Here are the selections: Chicken Pita, Ham & Cheese Pita, 6” Pepperoni Flat Baked Pita, 6” Cheese Flat