Very Late March 2011 News Roundup & Blog Updates

NEWS from NEW HAVEN:

Temperatures have been cool, and a cold wind has been blowing off the water, but the sun has been shining brightly and the skies have been blue for days now — finally! Everyone’s thoughts are turning to Spring and being outdoors.

The March Critical Mass bike ride took place last Friday, and the Smart Cycling Handbook (see more below) was introduced yesterday. But what should have been joyful events for New Haven’s bicycling enthusiasts were tainted by grief.

The cycling community and everyone whose life Mitchell Dubey touched are still reeling from his death last Thursday night. The popular Devil’s Gear Bike Shop service manager, punk rock musician, and straight edge vegan  was shot in the chest while sitting on a couch in his New Haven home, in the presence of his housemates. It appears that the home had been targeted for a robbery. According to the most recent reports, a ringing cellphone may have startled the armed killer. No suspect has been apprehended.

Friday’s Critical Mass ride was dedicated to Mitch, and the somber ride took a route which passed his home in Newhallville. On Sunday evening hundreds of friends from near and far gathered on the plaza outside the Devil’s Gear to grieve and to remember Mitch in the presence of his family.

A memorial concert featuring bands with which Mitch was associated will be held at Toad’s at 6 pm on Sunday, April 3 in an all-ages, alcohol free show. $10 minimum donation. Proceeds will benefit the Dubey family.

Smart Cycling Handbook: A Handbook for New Haven Cyclists has been available on the web as a pdf for some time. Yesterday it was introduced in printed form at an event at the Devil’s Gear Bike Shop. The handbook was developed the City’s Street Smarts campaign, in partnership with bicycling advocates, law enforcement officials, and local leaders. Dana Barnes (Yale SPH ’11) began this project while serving as a summer intern in the New Haven Department of Transportation, Traffic & Parking. The handbook is designed to promote cycling in New Haven while promoting safety and traffic education. The comprehensive 48-page guide addresses topics including: reasons to bike, hand signals, ordinances, proper fit for equipment, trails and parks, and how to get involved in the bike community. It’s all in there. You can access the complete guide here. According to literature distributed at the event by the advocacy group Elm City Cycling, out of every city on the East Coast, New Haven boasts the second-highest percentage of residents who walk or bike to work, but has the highest number of motorist/bicycle accidents of any city in Connecticut.

NEWS from ALL OVER:

Back in December [blog post of 12/27/10] I spoke of college classmate Dr. May R. Berenbaum, editor of the cookbook Honey, I’m Homemade, whose proceeds benefit the University of Illinois Pollinatarium — the first freestanding science outreach center in the nation devoted to flowering plants and their pollinators. May was just awarded the prestigious John & Alice Tyler Prize. According to information available at the Tyler Prize site: “Berenbaum has studied the ‘arms race’ that exists between plants and the insects that feed on them, particularly with regard to the chemical and genetic changes that plants make to keep insects from eating them and that insects make to overcome plant defenses.  Berenbaum's study of this perpetual conflict has uncovered the genetic underpinnings for the theory of coevolution, and in making these discoveries, she has transformed chemical ecology itself.” Past Tyler Prize recipients include American biologist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward O. Wilson, primatologist and animal conservationist Jane Goodall, and conservation biologist Paul Ehrlich. Honey, I’m Homemade is just one of six books, 40 book chapters, over 200 letters and papers published in scientific journals, and more than 100 articles and editorials for non-scientific publications which May has written. Her list of honors is impressive, but perhaps the most telling is that May's name has appeared on the “List of Excellent Teachers” for at least 29 semesters since she began teaching at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1980. Congratulations, May! 

My playlist: 38 artists have donated tracks to the benefit album Songs for Japan available on iTunes for $9.99. All proceeds go to the Japanese Red Cross. FYI, not every song on this album is destined to remain on my personal list, but I’ve labeled several with 5 stars.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Sunday, April 3

6:00 PM: Benefit for Mitchell Dubey, Toad’s Place, New Haven. $10 minimum donation.

Friday, April 22

Earth Day

Saturday, April 30

Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride [more in my 3.23.post].

Saturday, April 30

National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. Visit this site for a location near you.

That’s it for today. Please remember to return for Freebie Friday. I’ll have something awesome for everyone who cooks or considers cooking.

Meatless Monday: Diners Beware Part 3

Those of you who join me regularly on Meatless Monday know that I’ve been taking a break from my usual posts to provide you with nutrition information for restaurant chains. Last week the list was Fast Food/Take-Out. This week it’s Restaurants (defined by table service). There are many regional restaurant chains, and I know I’ve missed some. But this list will give you an idea of what type of fare the chains are serving up.

There was a bit of good news in this category. Eat ’N Park, a chain in Pennsylvania  and Ohio, sources many of its ingredients from local farms. You can read testimonials from family farmers here. 

If you look carefully you will find some reasonable choices in many of these listings, particularly in sub-categories with titles like “Healthy Choices.” In general, though, if the fat or calories don’t get you, the sodium will. And do read very carefully to determine how many servings are in a portion and whether the nutritional data is for portion, serving, or piece.

As a point of reference, please keep this info in mind. A moderately active young woman requires approximately 2,000 calories per day. The American Heart Association recommends that everyone limit daily sodium consumption to 1500 milligrams (less than 3/4 teaspoon of salt), and that the aforementioned woman limit her saturated fat to 20 grams or less, and her total fat to between 50 and 70 grams per day. Most of these menus are using the older 2300 milligrams a day guideline for sodium intake.

RESTAURANTS:

99:

http://www.99restaurants.com/resources/pdf/99_AllergenInfo.pdf [Sodium is off the chart; calories and fat not looking too good either.]

Applebee’s:

http://www.applebees.com/downloads/Applebees_Nutritional_Info.pdf [Check out the under 550 Calories  and WeightWatchers offerings, but watch the sodium.]

Bertucci’s:

http://www.bertuccis.com/uploads/nutritional.pdf

Buffalo Wild Wings: 

Nutrition info is not available on their site. Some info, minus sodium and saturated fat is here: http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/buffalo-wild-wings/

Chili’s:

http://www.chilis.com/en/nutritional%20information/chilis_nutrition_menu_generic.pdf [Watch the sodium and saturated fat.]

Cracker Barrel: Does not make this information available. 

[Read more here: http://www.crackerbarrel.com/about.cfm?doc_id=5 Among other things the site states: “While we are unable to give any exact calorie or fat content information, the following choices may help you in your selection…” Hmmmm… Won’t be going back there.]

Denny’s: 

http://www.dennys.com/LiveImages/enProductImage_900.pdf [There are a few surprises here, particularly in the Senior Menu, one of them being that you are a senior if you are 55! Watch those Scrambles and Skillets!]

Eat ’N Park:

http://www.eatnpark.com/pdfs/Nutrition.pdf [FarmSource is Eat ’N Park’s local purchasing program in which the chain partners with more than 20 farms and dairies in the areas of Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Northern Ohio. Read more here.] 

Golden Corral:

http://www.goldencorral.com/menu/ [It’s all available here, but the complete menu is sub-divided into 5 categories.]

Longhorn Steakhouse:

http://www.longhornsteakhouse.com/pdf/2010LongHornSteakHouseNutrition.pdf

Olive Garden:

http://www.olivegarden.com/menus/printable/NutritionInformation.pdf [Watch the salt and remember to add; for pizza, toppings are listed separately.]

Outback:

http://www.outback.com/menu/nutritionselection.aspx [Calculator for individual items] For a complete list: http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/outback-steakhouse/ [No listing for saturated fat or sodium]

Perkins:

http://nc.perkinsrestaurants.com/PerkinsNC/ [Calculator for individual items] 

For a complete list: http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/perkins-restaurant/ [No listing for saturated fat or sodium]

Rainforest Cafe: No listing on the site.

Go here for a listing of most facts: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/nutrition-facts-calories/rainforest-cafe [No listing for saturated fat or sodium]

Red Lobster:

http://www.redlobster.com/health/nutrition/Nutrition_Facts.pdf [Watch anything Alfredo.]

Ruby Tuesday’s:

http://www.rubytuesday.com/assets/menu/pdf/informational/nutrition.pdf [Note the Smart Eating Choices. But remember that appetizers are shown by the serving. If you plan to eat the whole thing, multiply by 4!]

Texas Roadhouse:

Does not make the information available. 
Read more here: http://www.texasroadhouse.com/contact-us/

T.G.I. Friday’s:

Does not make the information available. 
Read more here: http://www.tgifridays.com/contactus/faq.aspx 

A limited amount of information is available here: http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/tgi-fridays/

Uno Chicago Grill:

http://www.unos.com/nutrition.php [Not a complete menu listing. But you can search for items meeting criteria such as “less than 500 calories,” “less than 750 mg. sodium,” or “vegetarian.” It’s all here, you just have to look for it. BTW, I checked out the vegetarian burger, and see that I need to multiply everything by 2 because 1 burger is 2 servings! Read carefully!]

Besides the nutritional shortcomings, another thing to consider is the sourcing and sustainability of the ingredients purchased by the chain, particularly the proteins. Other than what I’ve told you about Eat ’N Park, I’m not prepared to tackle this question, at least not yet.

Have a good week. I hope I haven’t ruined it for you. But you can’t save the planet if you’re not around… Next Monday I promise a new topic. And look for me on Freebie Friday when I’ll have a nifty tool or two.

I try to blog on food or food issues each Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Freebie Friday 3.25.11

Worthy Things to Do, Listen To, or View that Won’t Cost You a Dime

TGIF. Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday. Food/Eating is the theme. Once again it’s a three tip Friday. 

• First up is the National Institutes of Health’s Portion Distortion Interactive Quiz. You may have heard that portion sizes in restaurants have become larger over the past 20 years. Once you take this short, 2-part quiz you should have no remaining doubts about just how much Americans have “biggied up” in the last two decades. Along with the new calorie counts, the answer section lets you know how much exercise it would take to burn up the difference in calories. Part I starts with a bagel and ends with a turkey sandwich. Part II covers coffee, muffins, pizza, and more. 

• Next is the Eat Well Guide which allows you to find good food wherever you are — at home or on the road. Find sustainable food options by entering a keyword, zip code, or city/state. You can use Eat Well Anywhere to help plan a road trip allowing you to eat good food along the way. The Eat Well Guide is a program of the GRACE Communications Foundation. 

• Finally, I offer up The Meatrix, the first in a trilogy of animated shorts inspired by The Matrix. In the first episode Moopheus introduces Leo the pig to the reality of The Meatrix (the factory farm), “the lie we tell ourselves about where our food comes from.” The second installment covers the dark side of dairy farming, and the third, meat processing facilities. Be warned that these shorts are not for young children. The site is rich in content for further education and action steps. The Meatrix is a project of the GRACE Communications Foundation and Free Range Studios.

TGIF. Be sure to visit again on Monday for my third and final installment on the nutritional content of fast food. Have a great weekend!

FYI Why a piñata? Just like a blog link, until you open it, you won’t know what’s inside.