Monday 8/17

Grilled Chicken Cacciatore, Buttered Fettuccine, Cauliflower
Soup: Boston Clam Chowder

Cacciatore means “hunter” in Italian. In cuisine, alla cacciatora refers to a meal prepared “hunter-style” with onions, herbs, usually tomatoes, often bell peppers and sometimes wine. Cacciatore is most often made with braised chicken or rabbit. The Italian American community has adopted it as a favorite. Today I am making it with a grilled chicken breast a serving of which will give you 160 calories, 3.5 Grams of fat (1 gram saturated), 85 mg of cholesterol and 530 mg of sodium. I’ll be using the wonderful-tasting and low-sodium stewed tomatoes I use everywhere, and the end product will have about 650 mg of sodium per serving, close to 0 fat and not enough calories to speak of. As a reminder, the DASH diet daily parameter for sodium is 2 grams or 2,000 mg. Boston clam chowder is the white version that is made with cream. I use 2% milk instead and leave out the bacon that is usually rendered at the start. I use Better Than Bouillon ham base, so you get bacon flavor without all the saturated fat and cholesterol. You can buy Better Than Bouillon Soup bases right down at Gene’s grocery store! Look for the “Chef Steve’s Grab Good” label in the aisle! The chicken, sauce and cauliflower are gluten-free, but the soup and pasta are not.

Tuesday 8/18

Summertime Braised Beef Stew, Gold Potatoes, Baby Carrots
Soup: Tomato Soup with Tortellini

I am going to try a warm-weather version of a beef stew. The cube steak I start with has 189 calories, 12 grams of fat (5 saturated), 65 mg of cholesterol and 58 mg of sodium per serving. The cube steaks are seared in a cast iron skillet, deglazed with red wine and then braised in a beef stock with carrots, celery and onions. To make the stew lighter, I am thickening with cornstarch rather than a heavy oil-based roux. It will be served over gold potatoes. The soup is meat-free (except for Better Than Bouillon soup bases), oil-free, dairy-free and relatively low in sodium. You can buy Better Than Bouillon Soup bases right down at Gene’s grocery store! Look for the “Chef Steve’s Grab Good” label in the aisle and look for a video of me making this tomato soup on the same page! For a one-cup portion, which is about twice what you can fit in a bowl of soup, the tortellini has 240 calories, 3.5 grams of fat (2 saturated), 25 mg of cholesterol and 330 mg of sodium. Everything today is gluten-free, including the soup without the tortellini.

Wednesday 8/19

Sweet & Sour Chicken, Brown Rice, Green Beans, Egg Rolls
Side: California Roll
Soup: Chicken & Corn

This is absolutely the healthiest version of sweet and sour chicken you will find just about anywhere. Usually, chicken for sweet and sour comes right out of the deep fryer. I use a par-fried chicken breast product in chunks and finish it in our fancy-pants oven that simulates frying. It starts out with just 3 grams of fat (1.5 grams saturated) and 50 mg of cholesterol and some of that drips through the screen we bake it on. It does have 680 mg of sodium. Brown rice is a good source of non-meat protein and packs a powerful fiber punch as well! As a reminder, the DASH diet suggests keeping sodium under 2000 mg a day and getting at least 30 grams of fiber a day. Yale New Haven Health says that the average American gets only between 10 and 15 grams of fiber a day! We have two egg rolls. The smaller one is pork and contains some textured vegetable protein. The larger egg roll is all vegetable with no meat whatsoever. Chinese restaurants all deep-fry their egg rolls in oil, making the final fat count something you probably don’t want to know about. We bake them here, so our fancy air-frying oven allows us to keep the fat count way down! Even so, it’s safe to consider egg rolls as a treat with regard to sodium. The California roll is a healthy food option. The surimi, or imitation crab, has a fair amount of sodium, but I only use about half a portion on an entire roll. One portion of the California roll will give you about 150 mg of sodium. Corn is not native to Asia. The Portuguese introduced it to Asian countries in the 16th century and it was quickly adopted and fused into Asian cuisine. Chicken and corn soup can be found on Asian menus everywhere, even at traditional restaurants. Mine is a healthier version, thickened with corn starch instead of an oil-based roux. The rice, beans and soup are gluten-free.

Thursday 8/20

Baked Potato Bar
Soup: Jalapeño Popper Chicken

We serve baked potatoes topped with meat and bean chili, broccoli cheese or plain. We fill 1/2 of our 12-foot salad bar with an assortment of baked potato toppings, including cheddar and Swiss cheese, sour cream, salsa, red onions, bacon, tomatoes, olives, broccoli, beans and wheat berries, plus more! In the soup, I will use what Jalapeño Poppers are known for: Jalapeños and cream cheese. I will blanch the Jalapeños and toss the water to reduce the spiciness in the peppers. The soup will definitely feature the flavor of Jalapeño, but not the full extent of its fire! It’s a cream-based soup, and I will use 2% milk instead of cream and Better Than Bouillon ham base instead of bacon. There’s no way to avoid using an oil-based roux to thicken the soup, so it will contain a small amount of oil, which will increase calories. You can buy the Better Than Bouillon Soup Ham base I use right down at Gene’s grocery store! Look for the “Chef Steve’s Grab Good” label in the aisle! The jalapeño popper chicken soup is not gluten-free, and for the soup topping on the potato, the chili is gluten-free, but the broccoli cheese is not.

Friday 8/21

Steamed Salmon or Baked Cod, Fresh Asparagus, Steamed Gold Potatoes
Soup: Steak Soup

The salmon is simply steamed with a little Smart Balance, salt and pepper. The cod is baked, not fried and is VERY low in sodium coming in at under 20 mg per serving! The potatoes and asparagus are also steamed, making this a super healthy meal option no matter what fish you choose. The steak soup is for those who don’t eat fish. It’s actually a stew and is a meal in itself! If you are watching fat and sodium, you will have to make room for the soup in your diet, though. The soup and the cod are not gluten-free.

Open for dine-in or carryout weekdays from 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Due to supply shortages for some products, menus listed may change.

Full hot lunch (includes one cold side) – $7.99
Just entree – $3.99
Just vegetable or starch – $2.50
Pre-packaged side salad – $2.50
Full Salad Bar (unlimited trips, includes soup and roll) – $11.99
Children’s Salad Bar (8 and under, unlimited trips, includes soup and roll) – $3.99
Children’s Full Meal (8 and under) – $3.99
Senior Salad Bar (65+, unlimited trips, includes soup and roll) – $5.99
Senior Full Meal (65+) – $5.99
Salad only (unlimited trips) – $9.99
Soup only (unlimited trips) – $3.00
To-Go/One Trip Salad Bar – $7.99
Other sides priced specifically.

Chef Steve’s community health partnership with Gene’s Heartland Foods makes finding exciting, healthier ingredients a breeze. Look for Chef Steve’s Grab Good labels on the ingredients he selects at Gene’s. Scan the QR code for instant access to Recipes, Pro Tips from a Registered Dietitian, and How-To Cooking Videos. It’s never been easier to cook healthy and tasty meals.

With Chef Steve’s Grab Good, making healthy lifestyle changes is not just easy, it’s a breeze!