Breakfast: The Most Important Meal of The Day!

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Chef David

A Better Breakfast

Watching Your Weight?

Eating a healthy breakfast will actually help you shed those pounds!  It’s a common misconception that skipping breakfast will help you lose weight.  When you skip breakfast, it’s like you’re letting your body sleep in instead of getting your metabolism up and running.  When you make up for a skipped breakfast later in the day, it’s as if you’re yanking the sheets off of your metabolism.  So for the rest of the day, you’re consuming calories—potentially binging on the wrong foods, since you’re starving from missing breakfast—and since your metabolism got off the wrong side of the bed, it’s being lazy in processing those calories.

Breakfast Ideas

Eating any sort of breakfast is better than eating no breakfast, but you shouldn’t make McDonalds breakfast or Dunkin’ Donuts part of your weekly meal regiment.  Eating a breakfast high in sugar and fat will seem satisfying immediately after, but you will become hungry again very quickly.  In keeping with a standard breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal schedule with small snacks in between, you want your breakfast to keep you full for at least 3-4 hours.

Just like any other meal, you want a variety of foods to make up your breakfast, including: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein, and dairy.

Here are some easy breakfast recipe ideas that take traditional breakfast foods and turn them into a healthy start to your day:

  • Eggs are great – egg whites are better.  If you’re not skilled in separating the egg yolk from the white by hand, brands like Egg Beaters sell egg whites in cartons that you can pour directly in a pan for scrambling.  Add some chopped onions, peppers, and spinach for added nutrition and flavor variety!
  • Gobble, Gobble, Gobble.  Go for the turkey sausage and bacon instead of the regular pork varieties.  Watch your nutrition labels here, though.  You can find pork bacon in lean varieties that are sometimes lower in sodium and fat than a regular turkey product.  When you do opt for turkey meat, make sure it’s the lean meat variety.
  • Choose a healthy breakfast cereal!  Cereal is one of the most common breakfast food choices in America, but there are a few things to watch out for with your flakes, crisps, and puffs.
  1. Make sure you’re eating a whole grain cereal like Kashi Cereal or Fiber One Cereal – both not only contain whole grain, but fiber and protein as well (two nutritional elements that help to keep you full).
  2. Don’t get too sweet.  Look at the sugar content on your cereal box, because you want to select a breakfast cereal where the sugar makes up for 25% or less of the total calories per serving.
  3. Watch your pour!  Most people grab their cereal box and a bowl and pour until it’s full.  Meaning, you’re likely eating enough for multiple people.  Check the serving size on the box, and be conscious or actually measure that amount when filling your bowl.
  • All About Oatmeal.  Opt for steel cut oatmeal, or plain Quaker Oatmeal rather than the sugary, flavored, microwavable oatmeal packages.

Your options are endless when it comes to eating a healthy breakfast, but the first place to start is to have all your breakfast ingredients for various breakfast dishes always on hand.  So go out, grab a grocery cart and join the breakfast club!

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Meatless Mondays

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Chef David

What is Meatless Monday?

Meatless Mondays are the latest phenomenon to hit the US.  What is Meatless Monday?  It is exactly what it sounds like: Mondays without any meat consumption!

Participants vow to remove meat from their diet for a full twenty-four hours.  Benefits are health-related, economical, ecological, and more.  Don’t believe us?  Read on for more!

Why Should I participate in Meatless Mondays?

If you’re skeptical as to how and why Meatless Mondays are beneficial, you’re not alone.  Before you write it off, let us share with you the advantages of practicing Meatless Mondays!

Health Benefits of Meatless Mondays

Thanks to the information from www.meatlessmondays.com, we know that on average, Americans consume eight ounces of meat every day.  And do you know what?  That is forty-five percent more than what the USDA recommends!  In other words, we’re eating too much meat for our own good.  By cutting meat just one day per week, those numbers go down, evening out our weekly meat consumption to something our bodies can better handle.  At the same time, it reduces your risk of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, and other chronic preventable diseases.

Environmental Benefits of Meatless Mondays

You might be thinking, how can Meatless Mondays help the environment?  Simple.  Less meat demand means less need for cattle, livestock and other animals.  Less livestock means less need for deforestation of rainforests and wetlands to make room for grazing.  Less livestock also means less need for manmade greenhouses to produce feed.  Did you know that the meat industry is responsible for almost one-fifth of manmade greenhouse gas emissions?  Also, approximately 1,800 to 2,500 gallons of water are needed for just one pound of meat.  Less livestock means less water consumption, too.  Phew, that’s a lot of consumption for something as seemingly harmless as a steak dinner.  Want more facts?  Visit www.meatlessmondays.com.

Economic Benefits of Meatless Mondays

It’s no secret that when perusing through the grocery stores aisles, pastas are usually less expensive than pork chops.  The same thing goes for green beans and ground beef.  On average, meatless entrees cost less than meat-featured entrees.  Of course, these are all short-term cost savings.  However, in the long run, Meatless Mondays can cost less, too.  How, you ask?  It has been reported that seventy-percent of our healthcare spending is used to treat chronic preventable diseases. These same chronic preventable diseases are linked to over-consuming meat products, among other things.  If we reduce this risk, we spend less in healthcare nationwide.

What Can I Eat on Meatless Mondays?

Food service establishments around the world have delicious, vegetarian-inspired cuisine, and it seems the more time goes on, the more meatless options we find.  For example, we have an array of meatless options, such as vegetable fajitas, tortellini with butternut squash, mushrooms & three cheeses and penne primavera alfredo.

Where Can I Find More Information on Meatless Mondays?

For any more information on the ever-increasing trend of Meatless Mondays, all you have to do is visit www.meatlessmondays.com.  Plus, they have even more great stats and figures on the benefits of trimming the meat in your diet.

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Why Host a Company Picnic?

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Chef David

Need some convincing that a company picnic is right for you? Perhaps you haven’t yet come across the right reason for your company to join the movement. Let us help. Just in case one isn’t enough, here are five things a company picnic can do for you and your staff.

1. Company Picnics Recharge the Batteries The lull of the holiday season is over. The mad rush to finish all of your end-of-the-year requirements is complete. Your co-workers have had ample time to rest, but for some reason or another you’re all still feeling anxious and stressed. The perfect solution? A little outdoor company-wide fun. Recharge your batteries with a company picnic.

2. Company Picnics Jumpstart Employee Appreciation Even if you’re not planning on having a picnic for a few months, planning in advance is a nice way to hype up the event around the office. Looking for an April celebration? Perfect, now’s the time to plan. Leak the date. Tease co-workers with some of the fun activities they have to look forward to like great food and a big raffle.

3. Company Picnics Promote Exercise Promote exercise? Yes! A company picnic is a great incentive to promote company-wide exercise. All you have to do is have a “big” event during the picnic. It could be as simple as a potato sack race or obstacle course, or as challenging as a 5K run. In the weeks leading up to the event, encourage training. A little competition always gives that extra incentive, so by offering some kind of prize to the winner or winning team, you will probably get more people to train on their own.

4. Company Picnics Encourage Camaraderie If you’re tired of employees walking past each other in the mornings without so much as a “Hello,” well, maybe that’s not entirely their fault. Have they had the opportunity to get to know each other on a more personal level? After all, water cooler-talk only goes so far before everyone has to turn around and go back to their desks. By incorporating a casual company event, such as a picnic, into company regimes, co-workers let their guards down in a relaxed, informal atmosphere. After all, employees who work and play together, stay together.

5. Company Picnics Support a Cause Companies that support causes other than themselves are companies that form bonds within their organizations and within their communities. Company picnics often double as benefits for employees and for a cause close to heart. Organizing a company picnic around a particular cause is a great way to get employees across all departments working together to raise money or donations, while simultaneously incorporating the community, too.

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Flank Steak, “Nibblers Style”

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Chef David

Chef David’s latest featured recipe is his “Nibblers Style” Flank Steak.

We use Certified Angus Beef© Flank Steak which is a very lean cut of meat and is recommended to truly achieve Flank Steak “Nibblers Style”.

Ingredients

1 piece certified angus beef© flank steak

1/2 cup pineapple juice

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 cup canola oil

Directions

1.  Mix ingredients together to create Nibblers special marinade.  Marinate flank steak for at least 3 days.

2.  Grill to perfection.

3.  Enjoy this as is, with a little horseradish, fresh chopped salsa or a nice red wine sauce.

 

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The Nibbler

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Chef David

Check out our new monthly newsletter under the “Newsletter” tab on the home page

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Tambi’s Catersource Experience

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Chef David

Phew and wow! What a trip to Vegas I had for the Catersource Convention. There was so much to do, many classes and so many people.   I was amazed at all the learning experiences one could have to help our company and clients, be the best we can be!

You could take a class from dawn to day break and see hundreds of others hustling and bustling to their next “adventure” in each class room on 3 different floors.

I would say the main things that stuck out for me would be:
1. Take something to a tasting the customer says they always use…such as…sandwiches. If the client says they only do a certain thing bring items that pertain to their use.

2. Always be aware of the celebrations for each month, such as…April is Volunteer month…jump on that and send your clients an email that sparks an interest in ordering for their volunteers for that month.

3. I loved the 4 C’s philosophy of one of the teachers for a successful salesperson: Curiosity, Commonality, Communication and Connection.  Last but not least always remember we are the answer to our customers needs and we must be prepared for their questions, concerns and wants to be fulfilled at any given time.

I learned quite a bit and was happy to come back with the realization that the relationship I have with my customers is awesome, they truly are the best and I am fortunate enough to get to speak to them on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

Also, I am so glad that I work with a group of people that is extremely connected to each other as a team.   A lot of the classes I attended helped reaffirm what I already knew, that Nibblers is a very well run business and the employees are all about the customer and making them happy.

On a more personal note had a great time spending time out of the office with co-workers and eating dinner one night at Bobby Flay’s restaurant! The food was delicious, the atmosphere relaxed and the company even better.  I highly recommend a visit to his Mesa Grill restaurant in Caesar’s.

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Catersource 2011

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Chef David

Executive Sous Chef Robert along with Corporate Sales Team Tambi & Jennifer are in Las Vegas this week for the national catering convention “Catersource”.  There is education, seminars and cool new food and service ideas.   We can’t wait to see what they bring back, Robert already called last night excited about some new food ideas!

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Produce Freeze Alert

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Chef David

…An excerpt from our vendor’s weekly report.

…You may have seen media reports on the worst freeze in 60 years that has wiped out entire produce crops in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States over the last week. The impact across the key growing areas in northwestern Mexico has been catastrophic:

• 85 percent to 100 percent of cucumber crops lost
• 80 percent to 100 percent of green bell pepper, and roma, round and grape tomatoes crops lost
• 85 percent to 90 percent of zucchini and yellow squash crops lost

In southern Arizona, the freeze has destroyed up to 50 percent of fresh herbs, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, spinach and spring mix components.   Prices of cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and other produce have doubled to quadrupled in the past week. Further complicating matters, a late-December freeze in Florida had already reduced tomato, pepper, squash and bean supplies up to 50 percent.   We should begin to see supplies increase somewhat in the next 3 to 4 weeks as production ramps up in Florida and Mexican growing areas. By late March and early April the industry should be largely back to normal, unless there are additional freezing temperatures……”

As always Nibblers Catering will provide the finest and freshest available items while maintaining our standards and pricing. Certain items may have a presentation change as we work through this availability challenged period.

Thanks for your understanding and continued support.Chef David Eicher C.E.C., Executive Chef/Owner Nibblers Catering

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Chef’s Recipe: Greek Chicken Feta

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Chef David

Greek Chicken Feta Photo
Ingredients
4  chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, sauteed in seasoned flour
1 cup Supreme Sauce (*see below)
1 Large Diced Tomato
1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
8-12 Kalamata Olives, pitted
1 TBS. fine chopped parsley

  • Saute chicken in olive oil o medium heat until done
  • Put Supreme sauce on chicken, tomatoes, cheese & olives
  • Place in oven, cook 350 for 10 minutes
  • Sprinkle with parsley

Supreme Sauce
At home to save the steps we do here, use 1 can cream of chicken soup, 1/2 cup heavy cream and 1 lemon squeezed

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Online Ordering

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Chef David

We are currently hard at work setting up our online ordering system. It will be for registered clients and feed directly into our catering software. We will be testing it with select clients before making it available to all. Call Nibblers Catering office at (602) 266-8100 if you are interested.
Thanks

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