I could sit around and tell you that Found Kitchen and Social House's menu is filled with healthy, low-calorie options but that would be the biggest lie ever. It’s not. And that's not why people come here anyway. Found is one of the top restaurants in Evanston and the North Shore and was written up in the New York Times, for crying out loud. You don't get there by staying away from butter. The food is incredibly delicious because of their use of the best, richest, yummiest (and local!!) ingredients. So instead of saying, “You should order this and you can order that but maybe stay away from xyz,” I am going to say: Order anything from the menu. Seriously. Anything. Even if you are currently losing weight. “Izzy, how the F could I do that and still lose weight?!” you scream? So glad you asked. 

Here is how you can have a delightful experience at Found without feeling deprived:

1. If you like having some wine at dinner, please note their pours are 5oz. Why is this important? Because 5oz is one serving of wine. Restaurants often give you goblets full of wine that are closer to two servings. So when you decide to stick to one glass at Found you’ll actually be getting one glass. 
2. I wrote this in my 10 Mile House review: There is power in sharing dishes, especially when you want to try a bunch of different plates. Plus, Found food is meant to be shared! Sharing gives you the chance to try out multiple dishes so you can have a little bit of this and a little bit of that and keep your portions under control while keeping the FOMO monster away.
3. Ask the server to pace out your plates so that you don’t get everything at once. We ordered everything we wanted all together and the server helped break the order up into three parts (had we been in a hurry, we could have broken it up into two parts).
   
   Breaking things up will serve to help you pace yourself so you can eat a little bit more slowly than you might if everything came at once. It will give you the opportunity to check in with yourself and ask, "Am I still hungry? How hungry?" 
   
   We started with the heirloom baby lettuce salad with blue cheese, pine nuts, and a fabulous fennel-herb vinaigrette. There wasn’t a TON of cheese or vinaigrette, it was all very light. You may have heard that starting with a salad can help fill you up so you’re less prone to eating a ton later. That might be true for some but not for me. I didn’t even want to order the salad but our server said it was really good. It WAS, surprisingly so for a simple salad. But what a great way to make sure you’re getting in a good serving+ of veggies off the bat!
   
   After the salad, we had two small dishes come — lamb meatballs served with a pistachio chimichurri and mint yogurt and a sweet potato hummus & quark flatbread topped with shaved root vegetables. Then the last two dishes came — the oven roasted pork chop served with braised beans, smoked chilies and a serrano crema and miso roasted carrots with chutney powder and cilantro. By the time the last of the food arrived, we were feeling pretty happy with what we’d eaten. We had a few bites, taking our time, making sure we were hitting the point of “I feel so great and content right now,” while staying away from, “Oh, hell, I feel really full and uncomfortable.” This meant the rest of the food was packed up to go home!
4. While you work on eating slowly, you can also play around with keeping your portions under control. It’s easy to lose track of how much you’re eating when things are coming out one after the other so feel free to try out the following: 
   1. Ask for a smaller plate for yourself so you can’t pile a mound of food on your plate. 
   2. Do not eat off of the main plate. It will be difficult to keep track of how much you're eating.
   3. Luckily, every dish we ordered came in pieces (from the individual whole carrots to the individual meatballs - duh - to the sliced flatbread and sliced pork chop). Add one piece from each dish on your plate at a time. For example, put one meatball and one slice of flatbread on your plate. Eat those items in pieces (even if you can technically stuff the whole meatball in your mouth, don’t; eat it in at least two bites). This will kill two birds: It will take you longer to eat and will keep your portions in check.

Yes, we ordered way too much food. Next time, I'll probably order two  less dishes if there are only two of us eating (unless we want food to come home with us -- at topic for another discussion). But I'm really happy about the tactics we used because we left the restaurant content. We didn't feel the  need for dessert because we'd taken the time to really enjoy the food we ate. 

I can't recommend Found enough but regardless of where you go, go armed with a handful of tactics you can use so you can thoroughly enjoy yourself and leave happy knowing you stuck to your plan with your ultimate goals in mind.

I recently had dinner with some girlfriends at Ten Mile House, a new restaurant on Central Street in Evanston. I arrived at 6:45PM on a Wednesday evening and there was already a wait. WHAT? Evanstonians are all about dining out these days and the recent surge of great, quality new places to eat is helping them get their fix. We only waited about 25 minutes, by the way, which gave us enough time to grab a glass of wine or beer at the bar.

You, dear reader, might not live in or near Evanston but I urge you to read on anyway because, though I am reviewing a local restaurant, my goal is to highlight different tactics you can use wherever it is you’re having a good meal.

When I first glanced at Ten Mile House’s menu I have to say I wasn’t sure I’d find a whole lot of options that were delicious AND could work with my desire not to break the caloric bank. Here’s how I was reading the menu:

“The seared ahi tuna appetizer sounds really good… OOH BUT PEPPER JACK STUFFED TATER TOTS?!” and, “I bet the salmon lettuce wraps are really yummy… OOH BUT THE CRISPY GRILLED CHEESE WITH WOOD FIRED TOMATOES?!” Tip for non-treat dinners out: Take a deep breath and look the FOMO monster in the eyes and repeat, “Good to know that the grilled cheese sandwich exists, I’ll have to return and order that for a treat dinner. There are still many great options to order from but today I’m choosing to go lighter.” 

When the waitress came to our table, she explained that every dish was easy to share and luckily for me, my friends were totally up for that. Tip about sharing plates with friends: It allows you to order mostly spot-on nutritionally-sane items while you order 1-2 items to share that might be “off” your program but that won’t be more than a few bites. With shared plates, especially appetizers, you’ll likely only get a small portion anyway and I promise you that eating a bite or three of something rich/fried/etc will not make you gain weight immediately and ruin everything. (The trick is keeping it to a bite or three.)

So what did we eat, you ask? Let me go plate by plate:

Seared ahi tuna with French feta, avocado, apple jicama slaw. It was to die for. The tuna was absolutely fresh, clean and meaty and went so well with the slightly sweet, tangy and crispy slaw. I don’t usually like feta but this one was softer in texture and taste, it didn’t have that bite that firm feta has. Lean protein: check. Veggies: check. Healthy fats: check. The bonus: The tuna was about a 4oz serving so this could have easily been eaten as a main course for one person (with maybe a little bit of a starchy carb thrown in or fruit for dessert at home).

Angry shrimp with a spicy garlic sauce, grana padano polenta. This was incredibly spicy in the best way (but you have to like spicy). The shrimp were large and meaty and covered in this spicy tomato garlic sauce while the polenta — which was soft and creamy thanks to the grana padano cheese — helped put the fire out. Lean protein: check. Veggies: I’m not counting the spicy tomato garlic sauce as a veggie just as I wouldn’t count tomato sauce on a pizza as a veggie so nope. Healthy fats: Debatable. I personally don’t count cheese (and likely heavy cream) as a healthy fat but fats are definitely involved in this dish so you want to keep an eye on the portion. Tip: I like to try to stick to a 1/2-ish cups of starchy carbs per meal, including when I dine out for a “regular” meal. Knowing what else was coming up for us, I decided to take it easy on the polenta (I had about a tablespoonful). I ate it really slowly and made sure to enjoy every bite and I didn’t feel sad about it.

Which brings me to another tip: Take your time! Get lost in conversation! Don’t eat your meal as if you haven’t eaten in days! Taste your food. Don’t take your next bite until you’ve swallowed the current one. When you want to lose weight and portion control is something you struggle with, slow down. Put. The. Fork. Down. You’ve probably heard this so many times but it bears repeating: It takes your body 20 minutes or so to register that you’re full. And you’ll want to stop at around 80% full. So take your time. I’m not saying give yourself tiny helpings because that might freak you out. Serve yourself a “normal” amount and if you eat slowly, you’ll be surprised that you very well will be leaving food on your plate (which you can promptly ask to be but in a to go box or taken away).

Mussels in a coconut milk and curry broth (and two pieces of toasted bread). This was not on the menu, it was a special. And it was SO good. The mussels were fresh and meaty and the broth was to die for. Tip: If you really want to enjoy a whole lot of different foods at a restaurant, don’t eat the bread. The bread, while it might be tasty and is usually handy for sopping up sauces, will both fill you up before you’ve gotten to the best parts of the meal and will act as a conduit for calorie-dense stuff (butter, usually) that isn’t even the main attraction. Then you might continue eating FAR past your 80% fullness. For the most part we spooned up the yummy broth with spoons and mussels shells. Between the 5 of us sharing, we ate 1/4 of the bread. 

Wood Roasted Mushroom Pizza with alfredo, gruyere, roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions. Yep. THE TRAINER EATES PIZZA. There were five of us and 8 small slices. We ate all but one slice. There was luckily just a little bit of alfredo, the rest was dough and veggies. Lean protein: Nope. Veggies: Some but not enough to count so nope. Healthy fats: Nope, but fats were involved.

Wood-fired Brussels Spouts. So simply done, with just a drizzle of olive oil as it went into Ten Mile House’s own wood-fire oven. While there were some veggies in the tuna dish, we all felt like we needed an extra side of veggies and let me tell you that this side was enormous (which is SO AWESOME). They were really, really good.

Other dishes that could have fit the bill:
The Prime Burger, bunless with a side of any of their veggies sides for an extra $2 instead of fries (sides include grilled summer veggies, chilled asparagus or Brussels sprouts). Protein: check. Veggies: check. Healthy fats: Fats naturally present in the beef, check…
Salmon Lettuce Wraps: lightly smoked salmon, avocado, baby heirloom tomatoes, marinated summer vegetables, tarragon aioli (on the side), Bibb lettuce. Protein: check. Veggies: check. Healthy fats: check.

Overall, I’d say the food was really good for a low-key, casual dinner with a surprising amount of dishes to order from and stay on top of your goals. The restaurant is family-friendly and the vibe is great. I'll be back (maybe for the crispy grilled cheese next time).

Hey, readers! I'm adding a new series on the blog! As you may know, I LOVE food and dining out and think that sometimes I train hard just so I can devour delicious food everywhere I go. I would rarely suggest a client completely stay away from dining out because that would be super hypocritical. That said, I also make sure clients understand that when they make the choice to dine out, they need to ask themselves if the food they order lines up with the goal they're trying to achieve. I KNOW it is possible to watch your weight AND have a social life and I want to prove it! So starting today, I will be highlighting an Evanston restaurant every month where locals can dine on food that not only tastes fantastic but also won't completely derail all of the work they've put into eating healthy at home and training at the gym!

To kick this new project off, I chose an Evanston business that brings restaurant-quality meals right to your door. Obviously, a meal-delivery business is not a restaurant but since ordering delivery is SO easy to do - and is where a ton of people fall off their nutrition plan - I thought it worthwhile to demonstrate that there is a nutritious way to do take-out! 

Cooked, owned and operated by Chef Jona Silva and his wife Erin, was founded in 2014. The company's purpose, as you'll read below, is to help its "members" live their most full lives. I was introduced to the company by my client Ruth and since then have gotten a lot of other clients - and myself - hooked on the incredibly yummy meals (seriously: absolutely delicious). Now, I love to cook and pride myself in making nutrient-dense meals but I'm not afraid to admit that sometimes I'd rather spent my time with friends than meal prepping for the week. 

So without further ado, read all about Cooked below!

Can you explain what your purpose is and how that translates into the way you put meals together?
My purpose is to empower people to be present in their everyday life. We live in times when there exist many things that demand our attention. By providing tasty and nutritionally balanced meals, I hope to help people have more time to spend in some of their other priorities, either spending time with their family, having time to get a workout during the day, focus in their business etc. My meals are in a way like an insurance policy, something to fall back on the weeks that you do not have time to cook for yourself, but also do not want to sacrifice your health and the impact in the environment.

How do you or your family meal prep for the week? 
During the day while I am at work my wife prepares lunch for the kids, sometimes they come visit at the kitchen and have lunch with me. Dinner time however it is a  nice ritual, either my wife or I prepares the dinner, we lite candles etc, and as a family we sit down and enjoy that time together.

Do you ever hit “writer’s block” with cooking or just get bored with food? If so, how do you get out of that rut?
My problem with cooking is the opposite, I want to continue creating new dishes every week! This is only a problem because of the time and resources you have to dedicate to that, and also our "members" like to revisit dishes that they like. They often ask for a dish to be repeated. 

What is your favorite treat?
I don't really have a favorite treat in particular. Because of my upbringing I sometimes crave some authentic cuisines: Either Mexican, French, Spanish, Moroccan. When that happens I either hit a taco spot in Rogers Park, a Bistro downtown or make it myself.

What do you think the most versatile vegetable is?
One of the most versatile vegetables, and also one of the most underutilized, is cauliflower. You can make a salad by just grating it and adding herbs, lemon and salt. You can steam and blend it with cashew to create a silky and reach cream. You can grilled and use it as a steak that you can serve with a chimichurry sauce. There are several uses for this humble vegetable.

What are the top 3 reasons you hear people don’t cook for themselves?
#1: Lack of time
#2: They don't know how 
#3: They live alone and they don't like cooking for themselves

What is your most popular dish?
The dishes that are more popular are the dishes which fit the weather the best. For example on a snow day a braised chicken dish would sell tons while ass soon as we have a couple of nice days, salads start going out the door.

What are the top three things everyone should have in their kitchen?
A heavy saute pan with a lid, a French skillet and a blender. You can make almost anything with those three.