New Trend In Fast Food

When you think of fast food, do you think of cheeseburgers and fries or Panera Bread, Boloco and Chipotle Mexican Grill?

A “fast casual” restaurant does not offer full table service but provides conveniences like non-plastic utensils and plates. Fast-casual customers demand low-fat, high-quality ingredients, freshly-baked bread and organic fruits and salads at prices not much higher than true “fast-food” fare. The average check ranges from $8-$15.

These fast casual chains are targeting younger generations who claim to want better ingredients and a clean décor with a lot of different seating arrangements and, of course, music.

The fast-casual sector has earned the reputation as a healthier and fresher alternative to fast-food. Most fast-casual restaurants emphasize the importance of fresh, sometimes organic, ingredients and avoid the deep-fryer.

I'm not convinced that fast-casual food is necessarily a healthier, fresher alternative to fast-food. Admittedly, I do love Panera--their soups rock-- my favorites are their French Onion, Broccoli and Cheese, and Tomato.

I am going to try to make a "fast-casual" meal tonight for dinner....cutting down on the salt and the $$.

My Fast-Casual Tomato Soup with Crunchy Grilled Cheeses

• 14 ounces (1 can) diced tomatoes in juice $1
• 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced $1
• 1 1/2 cups plain milk $2
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Coarse salt and ground pepper, to taste
• Parsley leaves, for garnish
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Bread (my choice: sourdough) $3
• Cheese (my choice: sharp cheddar) $2
• Butter

Total Cost: $9

Step 1:
In a food processor combine the browned tomatoes, garlic, chili pepper, carrot, milk, reserved tomato juices, and lemon juice. Puree until the mixture is smooth.

Step 2:
Once the soup is pureed, transfer to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.
Step 3:
Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley prior to serving.

Step 4:
Warm some butter, add your bread + cheese, slowly cook (you don't want to burn it!) and flip it when the underside is buttery and golden.

ENJOY!!

Baked Wings

My boyfriend is an artist. He works late--we're talking until after 2 a.m. He'll be driving home in the middle of the night and realize that he's starving. Usually, he stops at this greasy joint called Windy City and gets chicken wings.

Wings, in general, gross me out. They are fatty, salty and usually loaded up with some reddish colored sauce that is both sweet and spicy-- plus, they are incredibly messy to eat.

My mission: create a quick, non-fried, no-sauce version of this crowd, and boyfriend, pleaser

Challenge #9 Baked Wings

Ingredients:

• 3 T olive oil
• 1 T dijon mustard
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• 1 t garlic
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1/2 t lemon zest
• 16 chicken wings, halved at joint with tips removed
• 1 C freshly grated parmesan
• 6 T parsley, freshly chopped
• 1 1/2 C whole wheat breadcrumbs

Total cost: $10

Shake....


First you want to combine all your wet ingredients into a big, Ziplock bag: in goes the chicken, chopped garlic, oil, lemon juice + zest and mustard. Shake around-- really massage it in.

Coat....


Now coat your wet wings with all your dry goodies: parm, parsley, breadcrumbs, cayenne, salt + pepper.


Bake....


Last step is place your dressed up wings onto a oiled pan. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Rotate the wings half way through. I like to make sure that the wings are brown and crispy, so if they look like they could use a bit more color, toss them back in the oven for another 5-7 minutes.

Zucchini Nuggets

Kids can be very challenging, especially when they want junk-food. I was babysitting the other night and I did the dumbest thing: I asked the kids what they wanted for dinner. What a novice move...the minute I did it, I knew I had committed a cardinal sin....because of course the kids shouted the M-word...McDonald's.

I refuse to feed kids fast-food. It's a moral thing. I just can't do it. It's my health rule of thumb.

So when kids want junk, I like to try and offer quick and yummy alternatives. I like to serve zucchini nuggets (with a side of my sweet potato fries) because kids can eat them with their hands and they are just greasy enough to seem like a treat.

Food Challenge #8

Zucchini Nuggets

Ingredients

3 small zucchini, grated $2
2 cups coarse bread crumbs $2
2 Tbsp flour
2 eggs $1
1/2 cup cheese (cheddar, jack, whatever you like) $2
canola oil for frying

Total Cost: $7

In a large bowl, combine zucchini, crumbs, flour, eggs, and cheese. You want the mixture to have a meatball-like quality to it.

Heat up a small amount of canola oil in a frying pan over medium-low heat. Gather up scoops of the zucchini mixture, slightly smaller than a golf ball. Mush the ball in your hands a few times until the mixture is really holding together, and then flatten into a nugget shape. After all the nuggets are formed, cook them in batches.

I cooked them "low and slow" - about 4 to 5 minutes per side, over medium-low heat - to let them get nice and golden. This made about 20 nuggets.

Breakfast War

Just about everyone in the fast food industry has entered into the breakfast arena. At stake: a piece of the $77.6 billion breakfast market that, for the fast-food giants, can mean the difference between growth and stagnation.

Name 'em and they are all doing hot breakfasts: Starbucks, Burger King, Dunkin Donuts, McDonald's and now, Subway. There are so many varieties of breakfast choices-- it's hard to keep track-- Peppered Bacon, Egg & Natural Aged Cheddar Cheese on English Muffin, French Toast Sticks, Sausage & Egg Burrito and a Steak & Egg Breakfast Sandwich.

Breakfast, however, is probably one of the easiest meals to make at home. It is a nutritious, quick way to start off the day and save some money along the way.

Food Challenge #7

The Egg McMuffin

Nutritional Information:

• 300 calories
• 840 mg of sodium

My Fix: Southwest Eggy Scramble

Ingredients

• Eggs (3 eggs plus 2 yolks) $2
  
• Corn (canned or frozen) $2
• Scallions $2
• 1 Pepper (any color!) $1
  
• Avocado $2
• Cheese $2
• Whole Wheat Tortillas $2
  
• S+ P
• Olive Oil
• Hot Sauce (optional)
  

Santa Fe Stir Fry
Chop up your veg: scallion, pepper. Add some oil to a pan. Saute the scallion, pepper and corn bits together. Add salt and pepper.



Place mixture aside in a bowl.



Egg Power
Eggs are a terrific source of inexpensive, pure protein. Add a dash of oil into your pan and scramble your eggs on medium-low heat.

I like to slowly stir my eggs as they cook-- it makes for a creamy texture.

Once the eggs come together in a loose scramble, add your veggies and incorporate.

Guac Squawk
Avocado is another kick-butt source of pure protein and goes great with anything Southwestern. Slice a ripe avocado over your eggs (or, for an added kick, make a quick guacamole and serve it on the side).

I like to lightly warm my tortilla and serve along side my eggs. To add some ole, douse your eggs with hot sauce!

Action: Writing Letters to the Editor

I made it onto Grist.com

I spend a lot of time at my internship at Corporate Accountability International writing letters to the editors of various newspapers. Today I was thrilled to see that one of my favorite news outlets, Grist.com (a beacon in the smog...) picked and responded to my letter about retiring Ronald McDonald as the mascot for getting kids hooked on junk.



Umbra Fisk is a Research Associate at Grist and manages a "green goddess" web column Ask Umbra. She loves to talk about food politics and green-living questions.

Check out her response to my question at Ask Umbra!

Golden-Panko Nuggets

Food Challenge #6

Everyone loves chicken nuggets, but the chicken nuggets from the fast food chains are scary. I've heard many urban legends about the meat inside the nuggets and in Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma he discusses the fact that a McDonald's Chicken McNugget is 56% corn. What else is in a McDonald's Chicken McNugget? Besides corn, and to a lesser extent, chicken, The Omnivore's Dilemma describes all of the very unnatural thirty-eight ingredients that make up a McNugget.

I want chicken nuggets with no additives, so I decided to make my own as a healthy, natural quick dinner.

Nutritional Information:

McDonald's Chicken McNuggets (6 piece)

• 280 calories
• 600 mg of sodium

My Golden-Panko Nuggets

Ingredients:

Chicken (boneless breasts) $3

Panko Japanese Breadcrumbs $3

2 Eggs $1

Parmesan Cheese $2

Lettuce $2

Flour

S+P

Olive Oil

Sauce (Optional):

Apricot Jam

Mustard

Total cost: $12

Chicken Bites

Cut chicken into small bite-size pieces.

Eggy Wash

Salt + pepper your flour.

Dredge your chicken bites into the flour then the egg wash.

Shake N' Bake

Mix your panko breadcrumbs with parmesan cheese, olive oil (a tablespoon) and pepper. Drop the battered chicken into the panko and cover with the breadcrumbs.

Juicy, Crunchy Niblets

Lay the chicken bites onto a wire rack and bake the nuggets at 375 degrees for 20 minutes until they are golden brown.

If you want a dipping sauce, I suggest combining your apricot jam with the mustard and some olive oil. Mix it up and serve. This is a great alternative to a sweet-n-sour sauce.