At Aladdin Cafe, we love a good meal and enjoy seeing others savoring Middle Eastern food and vegan food. We also understand the benefits of eating healthy.

Managing a healthy diet isn’t about limiting food or staying thin. It’s balancing that pizza with foods that maximize energy, improve mood and minimize health risk. What we eat has a significant influence on not just our physical but our emotional and mental well being.

Healthy choices doesn’t necessarily mean giving up foods. It means being aware of what goes in our bodies. We know it’s not as easy as it sounds. We love to eat as much as the next guy. But we also think about healthy eating, such as adding one salad a day to our diet. You’ll find once you get in the habit of making healthy choices, you’ll see the results and be more conscious of making healthy choices.

Here are a few tips to help with that.

Get in the habit of reading labels. Manufacturers know most consumers don’t. Consumers have no idea of the huge amounts of sugar and unhealthy fats these companies put into packaged foods.
Eat more foods with fewer trans fats. It doesn’t always have to be fried chicken. From time to time, go with grilled fish seasoned to taste. Be aware of the refined carbs you ingest. These are infamous contributors to risks like heart disease and so many of us consume them beyond healthy boundaries.

We spend too much time concerned with calories, obsessively counting them to the decimal point so that we can eat a donut. We’ve come to believe that’s healthy, when truthfully, denying ourselves regular portions of food isn’t always the best option if you haven’t been advised by a doctor. Instead of counting calories, simply make healthier choices. Look at foods in terms of variety, freshness and color. Avoid processed and packaged foods.
This cannot be stressed enough: drink water. Water is natural and flushes the system of all the toxins and waste that otherwise gestate. Low energy, headaches and consistent lethargy can be symptoms of dehydration. On top of this, many people often see thirst as hunger and end up eating unnecessarily. If you find yourself hungry — especially if you’ve eaten within the last two hours — drink a glass of water and see if the desire passes.

Be aware of your mood after you eat. Consumption of junk food might feel satisfying, but it can drain you of energy and make you uncomfortable and nauseous. Healthy foods won’t do this. Aladdin Cafe is all about healthy, fresh and premium quality meals. Whenever you eat with us, you make a healthy choice.

If you are looking to stay fit and healthy, then you probably know the importance of having well-balanced meals at lunchtime. However, most of us lack the option of healthy food, with many of us resorting to highly processed or unhealthy fast food. Aladdin Mediterranean Restaurant in San Diego, California is one of the few restaurants in the area that understands the importance of having healthy dietary options when it comes to a healthy diet.

Meals at lunchtime are significantly important because the type of food you eat during this time will have a direct impact on your overall health. Eating unhealthy food such as processed and greasy food predisposes you to lifestyle diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Studies have found that skipping meals during lunch time to lose weight will ultimately have the opposite effect for a majority of people. Having healthy, balanced meals during the day is more effective for weight loss and improving overall health. The meals at Aladdin are prepared with this in mind and the chefs are always looking to add healthy options to the menu.

Aladdin’s main offering is Middle Eastern food, which is one of the main dishes that make up the famous Mediterranean Diet. These types of food normally consist of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and other foods rich in calories and healthy fats. The food at Aladdin is also specially prepared with healthy herbs and spices instead of salt, which helps manage blood pressure.

Many nutritionists emphasize the importance of having a healthy lunch that offers a balance between the five major food groups: lean proteins, grains, fruits, vegetables, and dairy. At Aladdin Cafe, the menu is designed to accommodate these food groups to ensure you eat healthily. One of the menu items at Aladdin, the famous hummus topped with either lamb or chicken shawerma, offers the largest proportion of healthy food groups in the restaurant. The meal incorporates beans tahini, fresh lemon and garlic, olive oil, and chicken or lamb. When served with one of Aladdin’s freshly made in-house salads or desserts, this meal is bound to leave your taste buds thoroughly satisfied.

Apart from the hummus, Aladdin also offers other options for a healthy lunch. You can choose from different types of wood-fired pizzas, exotic rice plates, sandwiches, and up to twelve different types of entrees. These can be accompanied by lentil soup, herbal tea, or a variety of regular or sugar-free drinks for refreshment.

Aladdin also serves healthy vegetarian food for customers that have specific dietary restrictions. The restaurant also prepares vegan food on request, with the chefs at Aladdin always keen to ensure vegan and vegetarian meals are healthy. If you would like to deliveries made at home or for your office, Aladdin offers catering services to ensure you can still enjoy a healthy lunch outside its premises. Corporate catering is also offered for clients that would like to have meals served during meetings or other corporate events.

When planning your meals, always ensure to eat a healthy, balanced diet for meals during lunchtime.

To start off 2017 on the right culinary mood, the chef of Aladdin Mediterranean Restaurant in San Diego recommends Chicken Tika Kebab, a fusion dish that is not only delicious but also very interesting in terms of its origin.

Chicken Tika Kebab is perfect for a healthy lunch or a light dinner enjoyed during the spring and summer months. This meal consists of two chicken kebab skewers served with fresh basmati rice, vine-ripe tomatoes, hummus, Lebanese salad, pita bread, and a side portion of garlic sauce. The kebabs are white meat chicken tenders marinated in a tika, also known as tikka, sauce and carefully broiled to a crispy and golden perfection.

The History of Chicken Tika Kebab

Although the word kebab comes from an Arabic term used to describe Persian recipes that called for grilling chunks of meat, chicken or lamb on skewers, cooking instruments to make kebabs dating more than 1,500 years BC have been found by archaeologists in Greece. Even philosophers and authors from Ancient Greece mentioned this method of cooking in their scrolls; therefore the origin of kebabs is certainly Mediterranean.

Turkish historians acknowledge that kebabs were popular in the royal courts of the Persian Empires; they were subsequently adopted by many Mediterranean cultures as a breakfast or lunch dish to enjoy with pita bread.

The chicken tika marinade happens to be popular in the United Kingdom, precisely in Scotland. In the 1970s, a restaurant that specialized in Indian and Pakistani dishes came up with the marinade by accident. A diner ordered a chicken curry, a dish that had already become popular across the UK by the 1960s. The diner complained that the curry was too dry; the chef fixed up the dish with tomato soup as well as a few spices and the result was an amazing combination.

After the accidental tika invention, Indian and Pakistani chefs in the UK started to experiment with a chicken marinade that included yogurt, tomato and other spices. The chicken was baked tandoori-style, covered with an elaborate masala sauce, and served over rice.

Chicken Tika in San Diego

Although the original tika recipe can be considered to be a British dish, the chicken tika kebab of Aladdin Cafe is a Mediterranean variation that puts the chicken tenders on skewers after they have been marinated. Other Aladdin Cafe meals prepared with the tika marinade include lamb kebab and shish kebab.

Since this is a Mediterranean-inspired dish, it can be enjoyed with iced tea, lemonade, a frosty lager style beer, blush wine, or Pinot Noir.