You are Here

Year: 2019

2019 Health Diet Keto Vegetarians

How to stick to the Mediterranean, keto, or Whole30 diets at The Cheesecake Factory

5 min read

March 29, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC Fact: Virtually everyone loves The Cheesecake Factory. It’s a family, friends, and date spot beloved by many—even Drake. That’s why there’s one at all the cool, fancy malls and the wait for dinner is usually nuts. Another fact: It has the War and Peace of menus, which is to say that it’s ginormous. The Cheesecake Factory’s menu is 21 pages and 250 items long. Besides the usual categories like salads, lunch specials, and desserts, there’s also healthy-sounding sections called “Super” Foods and Skinnylicious. The options are overwhelming enough—and if you’re following a healthy eating plan such at the Mediterranean diet, ketogenic diet, or Whole30, narrowing down what works with your needs is even more overwhelming. Well, consider this your handy little cheat sheet. To help navigate the endless menu options and zero in on the healthy ones, I enlisted integrative and functional dietitian Nour Zibdeh, RD, for help. “The main thing to keep in mind with The Cheesecake Factory that most of the meal portions on their main menu are really big, which is fine if you’re sharing with someone, but ultimately too many calories to be healthy to eat all in one sitting,” she says. “That said, there are some healthy picks on the menu, but the key is knowing what you’re going to order before you go. Otherwise, you could get overwhelmed in the moment and order something that isn’t exactly healthy.” On that note, here’s the ultimate guide for what

Read More

2019 Health

What is xanthan gum and why is it in everything I eat?

4 min read

March 28, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC When I check the nutrition label on the back of a newfound snack, I sometimes feel like the child protagonist in a horror movie who slowly opens a haunted jack-in-the-box. Will the impossible-to-pronounce ingredients be worthy of ominous music? A blood-curdling scream? OK, so that’s a tad bit melodramatic, but chances are that I won’t recognize at least one of the elements of the food I’m currently chewing. That’s true of xanthan gum, a food additive that makes a cameo in many baked goods, frozen foods, dressings, dairy and meat products, and even pet food. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), xanthan gum is a carbohydrate made by the secretion of the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris (I know, cute), which is then harvested with an alcohol and ground into a fine powder. It’s approved for use in both organic and “made with organic” foods as a stabilizing and thickening agent. And its texturizing superpowers are part of why it’s so ubiquitously found in, well, almost everything you eat. Obviously, most people aren’t into the idea of food additives, since many are associated with inflammation and other potential health issues. However, xanthan gum appears to be the least offensive of all of them—it’s even in products that you’ll find at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s). “[Xanthan gum] has been shown in studies to be safe for consumption, however, digestive issues have been noticed at high quantities,” says Rebekah Blakely, RDN, registered nutritionist for

Read More

2019 Health

The surprising social event where introverts thrive? Phone-free parties

5 min read

March 28, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC My raven-haired, rock-goddess friend is highly social and keeps her social media thoroughly documented with glittering adventures. So I was gobsmacked when her most recent birthday party invite involved a no-phones policy, like some sort of Kardashian wedding. “So tomorrow everyone has to put their phones in a box upon entry,” she texted. “And I’m bringing art supplies and everyone can draw their memories.” I read the text again, then a third time, then read over the text that said she was setting up a tip jar for phone check. No phones? No social media? Tip jar? As the consummate introvert, this had real nightmare potential. Listen, I get the need for a digital detox, but the last time I went to a party sans phone was my 6th grade graduation dance. I wore a heinous Starburst-colored lace shirt, harbored crushes on anime characters, and rocked a deeply unfortunate frizzled bob cut. I was peak cringeworthy in a way that even the writers of Pen15 couldn’t dream up. All of that combined with my crippling social anxiety made me feel #blessed when the dawn of cell phones gave me a shield to hide behind at any all social gatherings. So why go back now to the dark ages now? Well, the no-phones birthday party turned out to be one of the most introvert-friendly gatherings I’ve been to in a while. Allow me to paint you a picture of all the reasons why (rather

Read More

1 … 578 579 580 581 582 … 789