review: M Cafe de Chaya

 

by Amy Swanton Mills

Let me just say that I am not a macrobiotic, but am all in favor of any place that promotes fresh, healthy, organic ingredients.  M Café De Chaya definitely fits that description and they should be commended for it.  That said, I must disclose that I bring a certain prejudice to this review, as I find certain things delicious that macrobiotics wouldn’t even think of letting cross their lips.  This list includes, but is definitely not limited to, prosciutto, vanilla lattes with milk from a cow, and hamburgers.  So, for those of you who are on the same page as me, this review will probably be helpful to you.  For those of you who are macrobiotics, probably not so much, as I would imagine this restaurant is pretty much the crème de la crème of macrobiotic options.

I have nothing against the macrobiotic thing, am game to try just about anything, and I like the idea of a light and healthy lunch. Thus, how I ended up at M Café de Chaya.  I ordered the tuna tataki salad, a side of fries, and a mint green tea.  My lunch companions ordered sushi and a black cod teriyaki bowl.  The salad was good, and I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor on the fries.  They use seaweed as a seasoning, which gives the fries a delicious, yet unexpected, flavor.  The salad was good, though a little light on dressing and tuna.  I think that is part of the macrobiotic approach, though, where you eat more grains and vegetables than anything else. The teriyaki bowl looked to be the most substantial item on the table, with a generous helping of brown rice.  

I felt full after my meal and slightly proud of myself for eating so healthy.  If I was forced to go macrobiotic or lose weight, this place would be a wonderful treat, but I have to confess that I felt a little cheated.  I know that sounds bad, but I really can’t get behind spending $20 on a lunch that tasted a little unsatisfying.  Don’t get me wrong, if I had a friend who was a vegetarian, or macrobiotic, I would highly recommend this place for the variety and creativity of their menu and I wouldn’t be upset about returning. However, I have a lot of other places with a more diverse and delicious menu that I’ll return to first.

since no data is coming in yet…

Here is some great news from the USDA.

They are closing loopholes in grazing requirements for organic dairy cows. Apparently there was some fuzziness around what “access to pasture” meant. Huh.

So… the new rules are that the cow must be allowed to graze for 120 days per year and 30% of its food intake must be from that grazing.

And in case this made you think… yes… If you had been buying organic dairy products thinking that the animal was free range, I am letting you know that you were misled. The USDA still has issues with their allowance of labels. If an animal had “access”, whether it used it or not, it could be labeled “free-range”

HERE is the article

I bless the rains down in Africa

The United Nations Environment Programme released a report today indicating that new evidence suggests that organic practices – derided by some as a Western lifestyle fad – are delivering sharp increases in yields, improvements in the soil and a boost in the income of Africa’s small farmers.

An analysis of 114 projects in 24 African countries found that yields had more than doubled where organic, or near-organic practices had been used. That increase in yield jumped to 128 per cent in east Africa.

“Organic farming can often lead to polarized views,” said Mr Steiner, a former economist. “With some viewing it as a saviour and others as a niche product or something of a luxury… this report suggests it could make a serious contribution to tackling poverty and food insecurity.”

Because the farmers are saving money on fertilizers, pesticides and by not buying GMO seeds, they have money for themselves. They also are using that surplus in income to buy a variation of seed types, which not only allows for sustainable and local practices, but is also benefiting the soil through crop rotation.

All in all… it’s good!

Click HERE for the article.

Top 10

Reasons to buy local food:

1.) Tastes better
2.) better for you
3.) preserves genetic diversity… we know how important THAT is.
4.) GMO free
5.) supports local farm families
6.) build a stronger community
7.) preserves open space
8.) keeps your taxes in check
9.) supports a clean environment and benefits wildlife
10.) it’s about the future

Go HERE for the whole article.
Go HERE to find your local farmer’s market.

egg-cellent

I will admit that ever since I have read… well, anything by Michael Pollan… I have been wanting my own chickens. I know that it seems silly to you, but when you imagine for a few seconds the condition these animals are raised, you stop eating them. And I love eggs. I love eggs to scrambled and poached and omeletted. I love eggs in my cakes and brownies and ice creams.

I currently buy them from my farmer’s market, but I have to say, that is the one item that I have found to be quite costly.

So, I want a chicken coop.

HERE is an article about states becoming more lenient on restrictions for having backyard coops. I guess more and more people feel the same way as I do.

cheep, cheep

As I tend to do, I created a new challenge for myself this week.

Let me start by giving you some background information. My cousin, Lauren, and I were having a conversation about food. This subject tends to be one of the most frequent conversations I have. We were talking about it in relation to what we, as Americans, use our money to purchase. I positioned the argument that in order to buy the stuff we buy to define ourselves (houses, cars, watches, clothes), we sacrifice by not buying good healthy food. And that there is a general assumption in this country that it is more expensive and time consuming to buy food and prepare it at home, rather than go to a fast food place and get quick, cheap food. But then I wondered, is that food really cheap? If you are someone, like the average American, who gets 40% of your meals from a fast food place, are you really paying the least you can for food when you consider long term effects of having eaten that food?

Hence, the challenge. I set out to see if I can determine the true cost per meal when you eat out at a fast food place, versus eating a good, healthful meal at home. Why I do this to myself…. I have no clue… hopefully, it is to your benefit.

So first, some data about obesity and the population of the United States and our habits:

Obesity
- Obesity is when the excess of body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it has a negative effect on health. It is defined by Body Mass Index, with anyone being over a value of 30 is obese.
- There are many diseases affiliated with being overweight or obese, specifically defined in two ways; there are diseases based on having fat mass, like osteoarthritis and sleep apnea. And, diseases that occur because of having fat cells which are diabetes, cancers, and fatty liver diseases.
- The United Nations reports that we have more people suffering from over-nutrition (1 billion) than malnutrition (800 million).

U.S. demographics

- There are currently 304,700,881 million people in the United States.
- The United States is the fattest nation in the world with 60% of our population being overweight or obese. (The thinnest nation is Korea at 3%, from the data set given.) The fattest part of our country is the Southern states and the thinnest part is New England.
- Since 1980, our obesity levels have doubled with 32% of adults and 17% of children being obese.
- From 1971 to the present, we have increased out caloric intake by 30%. Interesting, considering the staple meal then was steak and potatoes. And, now we are supposed to be living in the health conscious age of salads and lean meat.

Fast Food and the U.S.

- The average American eats 3,500 calories, a day. The American Medical Association suggest 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men.
- 40% of all our meals are eaten outstide of the home
- 30% of our population visit fast food places everyday. That’s about 91 million people EVERYDAY!!!!!
- 19% of our meals are eaten in the car. According to my math, that is 174 million meals per year that Americans, as a whole, eat in the car.
- On average, the most expensive meal on a typical fast food menu is also the healthiest.
- The caloric intake of an average meal has increased four times in the last 30 years.
- In 1972, we spent $3 billion dollars on fast food. Today we spend $110 billion dollars.
- Fast food companies distribute more toys (read that: plastic) than Toys’R’Us.

This next set of data, I think, is really important.

- On average, we have increased our intake of sugar by 30 pounds per person in 20 years.
- $1 can buy you 1200 calories of fast food, or 210 calories of healthy food
- An average family will consume a total of 5000-6000 calories in one sitting for a fast food meal. Because of the high occurrence of corn derived products in that food, it took 1.3 gallons of oil to make that meal.
- A Happy Meal is 600 calories. The American Medical Association states that children between 0-8 should eat, on average, 1200 calories per day. That one meal just gave them half of their daily calories. The other two meals better be pretty lean!
- The most popular kids choice is the McNugget. It has the largest list of ingredients on the menu with a total of 38. One of the ingredients is butane… you know, LIGHTER FLUID. Thirteen of those 38 ingredients are corn derivatives.

I know that this is a lot of information, but I really think it is so valuable to have. I think every person needs to know what they are putting in their bodies or their children’s bodies. I think you would be limited in finding a person that doesn’t put the right kind of fuel and oil in their car, to ensure it runs well and for a long time. But, that same person doesn’t have issue with putting unhealthful stuff into their bodies, ensuring early death.

I also wanted to give all of this information in order to accurately juxtapose the difference in my own eating habits. I am a proficient cook. I enjoy being in the kitchen, experimenting with recipes, trying out new foods, and making meals for the ones I care about. This has led me to have the practice where I go to the market once a week, and make every single meal I eat, the occasional dinner at a restaurant, not withstanding. I pride myself on eating healthfully. But what I realized this week is I also eat pretty cheaply. Now, as anyone in my life can tell you, I eat a LOT; three hearty meals and two snacks a day. I don’t eat anything processed, with the exception of a protein powder that goes into a morning smoothly. If I do buy something packaged, my rule is that it has to have no more than five, completely understandable ingredients. I eat 2,000 calories a day and 45.7 g of fiber… I only know this because I just figured out my typical daily food intake and looked up the calories and fiber. I am 5’8”, I weigh 130 and I have a BMI of 19.2. I work out two to three days a week of intense exercise. I don’t have medical insurance, I do see an acupuncturist. I spend $50 a week on food. At 35 meals per week, this means that my cost per meal is $1.42 per meal. I know every single thing I put into my body, and the long term effect is lack of disease (based on diet, environmental factors excluded). If you calculate my annual acupuncture cost into my per meal cost, it is an additional $1.73. My total per meal cost is $3.15.

My approach to figuring out the cost per meal of someone who does not eat my way, was to start with look looking at the cost this country spends per year on obesity, and applying simple math to determine individual financial participation. (All of my references, and links to calculations, can be found at the end of this post.)

So… here is the data. The cost of obesity in the United States is $123 Billion per year. $64 billion of that total is the direct medical cost of being overweight or obese, and 59 billion is the indirect cost like the value of lost wages because of disabilities. Fifty percent of the $123B is paid for by the government either through Medicare or Medicaid (that’s your tax dollars), while the other 50% is paid for by the individuals. For the government to contribute its share, each tax paying American adult (you) contributes $280 per year. So, whether you choose to live healthfully, or not, you contribute that amount as a part of your taxes. As an overweight/obese individual, you pay not only your share of the first half ($280), but also your personal contribution to the second half, which is $945 per person. Which means your grand total is $1226 per year. (Obviously, to make things easy, but to get the point across, I am using an average; some people will pay more, some less.) If you then account for the average number of times individuals get their food at a fast food place, you can assume that each meal is costing an additional $8.40. For example, if you buy a Big Mac Value Meal at $3.99 plus tax, the true price of that meal is $12.72. That is four times the cost of my meal. And, that is only for this week, or this year. This does not account for rising prices, a new disease you may get, or over population, to name a few examples of what’s to come in our future.

This is just food and medical costs. Now, if you add in the fact that airlines charge more because of fuel usage. They estimate it takes an additional 530 million gallons of fuel to cart around our additional weight. This also does not take into consideration the additional fuel costs of your own car. Or, the cost of potential future lost wages because you may lose your job due to your illnesses. It is currently estimated that in the year 2030, about 25 years from now, we will be paying $900 billion per year to account for the obesity epidemic.

The saddest part of this whole thing is the socioeconomic class it affects the most; the poor. Fast food has the lowest cost/calorie ratio; $1 purchases 1200 calories. But these are the same group that cannot afford the associated medical costs. Type 2 Diabetes is the most common ailment that afflicts overweight people. The annual cost of this disease is estimated at $10K. Now, if you have insurance it is an estimated $2K, out of pocket expense. But, what if you don’t? The group with the highest rate of diabetes is in families with a gross income of $35K. That means, even if you have insurance, you are paying $200 per month in medical bills.

I don’t want this to be an essay claiming that I am better than everyone else. I eat what works for me, and I would never assume that it would or should work for everyone else. But, I really need to challenge this notion in society that eating fast food is “cheap”. Because, it is not when you consider the long term impact of what that food is doing to your body. I can’t even imagine the untold cost onto our environment to produce that low quality food. And, I don’t even want to imagine the cost of what it does to our society when families are eating at a fluorescent lit fast food restaurant, instead of being at home, with the TV off, participating and fully engaged in a conversation, caring about what is going on in their lives and what they are putting in their mouths.

Links:
http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/hlthaff.w3.219v1/DC1
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/economic_consequences.htm
http://www.forbes.com/2006/07/19/obesity-fat-costs_cx_mh_0720obesity.html
http://medicineworld.org/cancer/lead/4-2007/heavy-cost-of-type-2-diabetes-complications.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_products
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/08/03/business/03metrics.graphix.ready.html