A 'Fowl' Proposition

The Nutrition Action Healthletter occasionally releases their list of the 10 foods we should never eat. May I share one common entree for your personal edification? Thank you.

Ruby Tuesdays "Fresh Chicken and Broccoli Pasta" appears appealing until you read the ingredients. It is described as white meat, steamed broccoli, penne pasta, tossed in Parmesan cheese sauce and then baked with a covering of Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese. Ah, ha! They had me till they got to the Parmesan cheese sauce. Wisconsin Cheddar cheese is the finest in the world, but it is still fatty. Be prudent.

Brace yourself against something solid for when you hear about the fat content of the perceived 'healthy dish'? I mean, how much damage can heavy cream and saturated fats oozing across the dining room floor cause?

The dish the Center for Science in the Public Interest refer to the entree as 'Angioplasta' contains a mind-blowing 2,060 calories with 128 grams of artery detonating saturated fats. The article goes on to say that since the fat is mostly dairy, about 60 to 70 of those fat grams are probably saturated. http://www.cspinet.org/nah/index.htm

The last thing I want to do is hurt Ruby Tuesdays reputation and bottom line. Order the dish, but tell the waiter to hold the cream sauce and cheddar, and ask for grated Parmesan and coarse black pepper. Now, you've got a less than lethal dish and Ruby Tuesdays retains a happy customer. A win-win. Hot pepper flakes get your blood going so if you're on date, OO-La-La dude or dudette.

There are millions of health-savvy chefs in America doing outstanding jobs of teaching customers as well as employees how to enjoy vegetables from the Universal Apothecary. Except that guy that tosses vegetables in duck fat before he roasts them. A foul proposition not quacked up to what it could be.

To Your Blossoming Health,
Chef Wendell