Noshtopia

How well do you know your pasta shapes and other nibbly bits around the noshosphere

• Here is a fun quiz to see just how knowledgeable you are at identifying the different kinds of pasta shapes. Like what is the real name for corkscrew pasta? [Slashfood]

• Food network celeb Giada De Laurentiis had a baby girl on Saturday. Say Ciao! to Jade Marie De Laurentiis Thompson. Aw so cute! [MSNBC ]

• Oatmeal answered! Ever wanted to know the difference between steel-cut, Scottish, Irish, rolled, quick-cooking, old-fashioned, and instant oats? I had no idea that oatmeal had something called a groat. [Chow]

• Believe it or not. There are 8 health benefits to drinking beer. Apparently, wine doesn't get all the healthy-ness credit. We are talking moderate levels of beer though, not Spring Break beer bong kind of consumption. [Forbes Health]

Dress your salad with something other than traditional creamy dressing

One of the biggest calorie and fat contributors to salad is the dressing. Sometimes, you could even be eating more calories in dressing than in the salad itself depending on what kind of dressing you use, and how much dressing you put on. If you'd like to have some flavor to your salad without the excess calories and fat from traditional dressings, here's a couple ideas:

• The tried and true: olive oil and vinegar. You'll get some of the good MUFAs with the olive oil, and for the vinegar or oil why not try some of the infused kinds with herbs and spices. As well, try a different type of vinegar besides balsamic like rice, date, fruit, honey, or coconut.

• How about no dressing at all, and just adding a small sprinkle of things like grated parmesan or asiago cheese, turkey bits, or sun dried tomatoes which already have some olive oil in it. If you need some "wetness" to the salad you can add a tsp of evoo, soy or teriyaki sauce, yogurt, or tahini + lemon. And again, go for minimal. The point is to compliment the flavor of the salad, not take it over.

• Olive Oil + fresh squeezed lemon, lime, or orange: One of my favorites is 2 tsp of olive oil with a few squirts of fresh lemon topped with a multi-herb salad seasoner like Emeril's BAM IT! Salad Seasoning

• Kombucha + evoo: Kombucha is basically created just like vinegar and has similar taste. Add some salad seasoner or your own mix of herbs to add some kick to the robusto.

• Here's a simple honey mustard dressing:

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
3/4 cup olive or safflower oil

• Here's a simple Yogurt Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 crushed garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed or your favorite herb

Got any other great ways to add flavor to salad without traditional salad dressing?

6 ways to enjoy bread at restuarants and save on calories

On our journey to shed pounds, one tip that is typically given to help reduce calories when eating out at restaurants is to pass on the bread basket. Yes, that makes perfect sense, but the bread basket is one of the fun parts of the meal. I love breads, and I cannot totally give up on the bread when eating out so here are some things I do to still enjoy the bread yet keep my overall calorie count from going over board.

• Ask for a half full bread basket. This is especially handy if there are only two of you at the table. Sometimes, restaurants can put 6-8 pieces of bread in one basket, and that's almost a whole loaf. With a half basket, you get to enjoy but won't have too much.

• Eat just one piece, and then ask the waiter to take the basket away or ask for a to-go box and put the remaining bread in the box to take home to share or freeze to eat later. If the bread is not on the table any more, you won't be tempted to eat more than you need.

• Order your dinner with vegetables and a protein only and skip a second carb like pasta, rice, or potato. Meals start to get too heavy calorically if you eat two carbs at the meal, bread + pasta, bread + potato etcetera, and that goes for dessert too. This also gives you an opportunity to choose. You can decide which you want more, the bread or the other carb or dessert. With choices, you won't feel like you're being totally deprived.

• Ask if there are any whole wheat or organic breads available. Odds might be slim but you never know what they got back in the kitchen. Also ask if they make their breads on site, and what the ingredients are. There won't necessarily be a caloric savings, but if you're going to eat bread, you might as well eat a higher quality bread that contains as few additives and preservative as possible.

• I know some restaurants in my area that will put like 2-3 different types of breads in the basket like sourdough, french, or pumpkin. Ask the waiter to give you only one kind of bread, and nix any of the pumpkin or carrot type breads because those are really more like cake.

• Instead of butter, try dipping your bread in a little olive oil with some balsamic vinegar. With the olive oil, you'll get the healthy MUFAs (mono-unsaturated fats.)

Filipino Dishes at Whole Foods

I went to my nearby Whole Foods (@San Mateo) and I was utterly blown away when I saw Filipino food in the hot food section. Being Filipino, I was both excited and curious.

Of the Asian delicacies, Filipino dishes have not made it popular in mainstream America like Chinese, Japanese, or Thai. So, to see Filipino food at Whole Foods made me jump for joy. Interesting as well, there isn't a large Filipino or even Asian population where I live so that adds to my glee.

The other surprising thing was to see vegetarian versions of two popular Filipino foods: Adobo and Fresh Lumpia which is basically something very similar to a vegetable + pork, shrimp, or chicken burrito except that wrapper is really thin. Whole Foods created a "Naked Vegetable Lumpia" that resembles the PF Changs Lettuce Cup appetizer where you put stuff into a lettuce leaf. The stuff that WF made for the lumpia contained: garlic, carrots, celery, cabbage, snow peas, green beans, baby corn, jicama, and scallions. On top of the lumpia there is a peanut sauce you drizzle on top. Whole Foods did a pretty good job with this vegetarian fresh lumpia.

For the Adobo, Whole Foods created a Chicken and an Eggplant Tofu version. The Chicken version was pretty darn good. I got it twice this week. It needed a tad bit more vinegar for that kick that Adobo is known for but other than that, I was impressed. The Eggplant Tofu version was okay but not so great because I'm using my mom's Filipino point of view. If you have never had Adobo, then you wouldn't notice a thing, and probably would like it. The dish tasted like something you'd get at a Chinese restaurant.

Lastly, there was also Garlic Rice, and a Mung Bean Soup. The Mung Bean Soup (which I wasn't able to get a pic of) was made out of mung beans, garlic, yellow onion, carrots, celery, bay leaves, vegetable stock, and fish sauce. The Whole Foods version was surprisingly tasty although a bit non-traditional. When my mom makes it she adds pork.

Again, I was so excited to see some of my favorite Filipino foods at Whole Foods. If you have a chance to try it, please do!

Clam chowder with Manila clams in the shell

If you are coming to visit San Francisco this summer, one place you might want to check out is the Hog Island Oyster Bar in the Ferry Building, which has the best farmer's market on Saturdays.

Hog Island was founded by three marine biologists, and they raise in Tomales Bay California, Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea gigas), Kumamoto Oysters (Crassostrea sikamea) and Atlantic Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) as well as Manila clams and mussels. "They are dedicated to producing fresh, premium quality oysters and shellfish raised in a sustainable and environmentally beneficial manner."

Hog Island's clam chowder is made with their Manila clams in the shell, and man-o-man I don't know what secret ingredient they put in their chowder, but it is some of the best I have ever had. I've had some pretty good clam chowders in visits to the east coast, but this Hog Island chowder definitely takes a prize in my book.

Besides the fabulous food & drink, check out the view from the restaurant.You get a beautiful picturesque view of the San Francisco Bay. I was lucky to have a window seat. This is definitely a cool place to kick it with some beers and seafood.

Tasty nosh links: edamame, spinach, eggs, and Greece meets Ireland

Grab a gander at some of these oh-so delicious noshes. Each link will take you to a picture of the nosh, and they are fun to look at if you're totally into food photos like myself:

• Edamame with Hawaiin Sea Salt. The color of the orange sea salt on top of edamame in the shell made for a different twist. Edamame is a good source of protein and fiber. [Naturoptah]

• Spinach Catalan with pine nuts and raisins. You can also use Kale or Chard in place of the spinach for something different. I love the idea of the sweet and salty taste combined with a bountiful green. This would make a great tapas dish or a side with meatloaf. [Kathleen's Vegetarian Kitchen]

• Soft boiled eggs with a miso lemon dressing. Might sound like eggs and miso might not go together, but foodie Luke tried the recipe from CookThink with some minor adjustments, and the result looks really yummy. Eggs are high in protein and miso is rich in vitamin B12. This snack would make for a nice addition to afternoon tea. [Cookography]

• Now this is really creative. Greece meets Ireland with this culinary fusion: Colcannon filled cabbage purses in an Irish parsley sauce. I'm not a huge fan of cabbage, but I'd definitely try this number. The cabbage purses almost look like a green wontons. [Cooking by the seat of my pants]

Need help recovering from your Peeps and Cadbury sugar overload?

So you ate way too many of those delicious Peeps, chocolate bunnies, and jelly beans yesterday and you want some recovery help. The main thing is to not feel any guilt at all. An indulgence is a pleasurable thing that we are all allowed to enjoy on occasion. Here are a few things you can do to help offset yesterday’s over indulgence.

• Drink lots of water today. Water helps to flush your system, and hydrate your body.

• Get some exercise or just move so that you get your heart rate up for 20-30 minutes. Getting your muscles moving and your lungs breathing in lots of air will make you feel good all around.

• Eat some protein every 2-hours. The steady stream of protein will help your body feel well fed after the previous day with all that sugar. If you are start having intense cravings to eat more of those candy goodies, it’s probably because your blood sugar level is dropping.  Eat some turkey, chicken, nuts, or a smoothie with extra protein shots.

• Give any extra candies away. If you can’t see them, you won’t eat them.

• Load up on vegetables today. Eat anything green, yellow, red, or orange. The vegetables will remind your body of enzyme goodness, and fiber.

A sugar by any other name would taste as sweet

If you are trying to cut down or watch out for sugars, here are some other names for sugary goodness to look out for when reading the ingredients list.

Dextrose
Sucrose / Sucrose Syrup
Glucose
Fructose
Crystalline Fructose
Lactose
Maltose
Sorbitol
Xulitol
Mannitol
Dextrin
Maltodextin
Malt
Sorghum
Modified Cornstarch
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Corn Syrup / Corn Syrup Solids
Fruit Juice

Nutritional Breakdown for Fast Food Salads

Not all salads are created equal, so to help you make healthier salad choices at the fast food joints, I created a nutritional comparison of chicken or turkey based salads offered at the fast food restaurants: Arbys, Burger King, Carl'sJr, Jack in the Box, McDonalds, Subway, and Wendys. I included sodium in the chart because fast foods are known to be high in sodium, and the salad offerings are no exception as you can see. The bulk of the sodium in some of the salads appears to come from the meat.

As far as meats go, I didn't include any of the beef, or taco salads because when people are trying to eat healthy at a fast food place the tendency is to go with chicken, as well the taco salads tend to be very high in calories and sodium. A couple of the salads on the list have bacon along with chicken. All of the chains also offer non-meat versions of each of these salads. This salad nutrition information also does not include salad dressings.

To drop some of the calories on the higher caloric salads:

• Eliminate croutons or crispy won tons and noodles
• Order grilled chicken over crispy chicken
• Eliminate or cut in half any cheese
• Eliminate or cut in half any egg yolks like in Chef Salad
• Go light on the dressing or order light dressing

[Salad pic is Wendy's Mandarin Chicken Salad]

Check out this yumminess: Grilled Pork on top of Vietnamese Rice Noodles

Doesn't this look just delicious. This is what I ate recently at Zao Noodle Bar in Emeryville. This is the same place I had those yummy Tofu Fries. It's Grilled caramel-shallot-soy marinated pork on top of Vietnamese Rice Noodles with carrots, cilantro, and a peanut & nuoc cham dressing.

I ate half and saved the other half for lunch the next day. What I love about the way Zao Noodle cooks their food is that it is low on the grease. Sometimes they go a bit heavy on the sauces, but you can always ask them to lay low on that. Zao is one of my favorite places to chow, and if you are coming to the SF Bay Area to visit, this place is a must stop for lunch or afternoon nosh either in SF, Palo Alto, or Emeryville.