Since one of the top resolutions is to be healthy, we want to introduce another Food for Thought blog category - “We Recommend” - with an article that is on topic and quite insightful. Our “We Recommend” category will appear whenever we read, view, hear or taste(!) something we think is worth sharing with all of you.

Recently published as a “Cranky Consumer” column in the Personal Journal section of The Wall Street Journal, this article tests the calorie claims of “light” menu items in several popular restaurant chains:

Low-Cal Meals in a Supersized World
by Suzanne Barlyn (WSJ: Jan 10, 2008; Page D2)

Now, we know that the reality is that even if you bring home a regular supply of Let’s Dish! meals, you’ll still likely end up going out to dinner every once an a while. I found the article very eye-opening because of the disparity between what I thought was a “sure thing” for healthy eating - and the reality. It also reminded me that I have to think hard about those quick choices I make on condiments or extras - they can certainly add up.

But, most of all, and I’ll freely admit that I’m biased, I read the article and thought - “Gosh, I’m glad I have my ‘dished’ meals to know that I AM eating and serving healthy food.” Sometimes it’s just nice to eat real meals with wholesome ingredients - and that’s exactly why we opened Let’s Dish! in the first place. We wanted to eat better. I wanted my kids to know that meals were made and enjoyed at home. I wanted to emulate what I experienced growing up: dinner together with my family every night when food was more a side dish to the time together discussing our day and our lives. And, as a working mother with two very young ones, I needed a new option for getting dinner on the table; I didn’t feel comfortable with my takeout or quick restaurant choices and making it myself each night was just…well, let’s say…unrealistic.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s fun to take the kids out everyonce and a while, but on the whole, if I have to navigate the complexity discussed in this article, I’m come right back to my own freezer-ful of Let’s Dish!. We may not come with a cozy booth, all-you-can-drink iced tea and a giant 18 inch menu, but having fourteen to twenty healthy, homemade meals to choose from each month is just fine with me.