What I ate in a week at restaurants: The Modern Rules

 

It is officially summer, and I am starting to enjoy the sunshine, especially after the long spell of the winter weather, it feels nice to step out and to see sun outside my front door. For me during the summer months I do like to be outside with friends having a meal. I have been fortunate to do this over the last few weeks and was able to capture what I have been eating. I wanted to blog about this to share with you that you can eat healthily whilst eating out, and it is all about knowing how to get the best nutritional value whilst eating outside.

So I start off with one of the meals I had the other day, which was an all day brunch at a place called Mildreds: Mildreds

This is a 100% vegan restaurant, and I have been there twice before so it is great that I can be able to blog about this. They serve a range of meals, from breakfast through to dinner and deserts. I tend to go for their breakfast meals, due to the time that I can get there. On this occasion I had the weekend brunch, which consisted of scrambled tofu, baked beans, sausage, roast tomato, spinach, mushroom, potatoes, with sourdough toast. I always try to start the day with a healthy breakfast, trying to get as much nutrients as possible in one meal. So you will notice that I always opt for the full English breakfast. So let me break down the nutritional content in this meal:

•  Tofu-  great alternative for Eggs, as it is made from soya. It is an antioxidant which can help to protect the heart, including supporting to improve the immune system. It is low in saturated fat, and calories.

Baked beans- one of my favourite items, and have written highly of this special item on my previous posts(Beans)

·         Roast tomato- like tofu this is an antioxidant which has extra nutritional benefits. A handful of this can count towards one of your five a day. They contain Vitamin A, which helps to improve our vision, especially at nighttime. Vitamin C which supports with the improvement of the immune system. Finally, they contain Vitamin E, similar to vitamin C helps with the immune system, but also supports with heart health and the improvement of the blood cells.

·         Spinach – a very popular superfood, spinach is packed full of Vitamin A, which supports with the growth and development of the body, including the heart and lungs. It is also packed full of fibre.

·         Mushrooms- Another of my favourite vegetables are mushrooms. I wrote a post about mushrooms in my risotto recipe here on this link: Mushrooms

mMushrooms are a great source of Vitamin D, which help to improve the bones, teeth and keep the skin healthy. They are packed with fibre, and a handful of this can count towards one of your five a day.

·         Potatoes are packed full of energy which we need for the day. A quick tip would be if there is an option to have sweet potatoes to go for this instead, as they contain a higher amount of fibre than regular potatoes and can help to reduce the chances of having high cholesterol.

·         Sourdough toast- This is not something that I tend to mention in my blog post, as they can be expensive to purchase in the shops, never less a fantastic alternative to wholemeal/wholegrain bread. Sourdough contains fibre , but also folate, which is part of the Vitamin B family. Folate is particularly important for expectant mothers, as this can help to reduce neural tube defects towards the foetus.

So you can see in this particular meal the range of nutrients that the weekend brunch has. This is so beneficial for my body, and it can help me to kick start my day in a positive manner. Oh I forgot to mention that I have water with my meals, as I try to consume at least 1.5 litres of water every day. I have written a post about the benefits of water here 

water: water

The second restaurant I went to this week was a place called Rhythm Kitchen in East London. This is a popular west Indian restaurant and has chains in other places across London. I have been eating west Indian meals since childhood and was aware of the kind of food available at the restaurant. I was interested to try the fish of the day, as I am aware of the other meals, like curry goat and rotis. So I asked the staff the type of fish served as part of “fish of the day” and was told that it was Sea Bream. I have not tried this fish before and was keen to give this a go. It was served with Plantain, peppers, onions, carrots, and okra. This meal by far is one of my favourites from the restaurant. The sea bream tasted so good, with the flavouring from the okra, peppers and others. So let me use this opportunity to explain from a nutritional perspective why I picked this meal:

·         Sea Bream- a type of oily fish which contains omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 is not made in the body and can only be sourced from food. Omega 3 supports with heart health, but also protein, which helps to build and support with new cells in the body.

·         Okra- a great vegetable packed full of nutritional benefits, including Vitamin A (for the immune system) but also contains magnesium. Magnesium helps to improve the strength of bones and teeth, supports with the regulation of the blood sugar levels, as well as supports with the immune system. Okra can count towards one of your five a day.

·         Plantain – again a wonderful vegetable packed full of nutritional benefits. They contain fibre which supports with the movement of the bowel, potassium which helps to regulate the nervous system, as well as to help with supporting the heart. They also contain Vitamin A and C. Finally, these little vegetables can count also towards one of your five a day.

·         I had this with sweet potato fries instead of the regular fries because as I explained previously sweet potatoes is a better choice, due to the higher fibre content.

Rhythm kitchen is a great restaurant to go for, as they have a range of meals for omnivores and vegetarians, have a look at their menus on their website link here: Rhythm Kitchen

So I hope this two reviews from these two restaurants have been a great starting point to show to you the kind of items to go for when eating out. Now that summer has arrived, and more celebrations take place during this period, we can be able to get out and actually enjoy the sunshine!!