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.

or years, healthy eating has been associated with tastelessness, dullness, limited choices and everything that is boring in terms of food consumption. This is the biggest reason why choosing healthy foods is not that encouraging back in the old days. Added to the temptation of sumptuous dishes, sweet treats and manufactured food choices that send our taste buds to the clouds, eating healthy seemed too far from being a good choice.

However, there are still ways to make healthy eating a more exciting endeavor, especially for the sake of your kids and teens. Here are some tips you can follow:

Expanding Your Choices

Limited choices when it comes to healthy eating is a myth that can easily be busted by searching through the internet. There are countless healthy recipes available that you can try at home. All you need is some patience in learning the cooking techniques and you are set to a wide array of food choices with varying tastes and textures.

Adding Colors and Designs

Colors and designs make every meal look tempting. Add more color and design to your dishes and it will turn a healthy food from boring to exciting. This is especially effective for children of young ages. Combining colors of greens, reds, yellows and other colors will make every meal and interesting and enjoyable one.

Work on Food Presentation

Remember, visuals is very important in enjoying your food. Experiment on different ways of serving your food by using different methods, variety of serving materials, and other techniques to make them more tempting. Add garnishes and food decors like carvings and shaping to add an awesome touch to every meal.

Associate Eating Healthy With a Good Experience

During a good sunny day, eat at the lawn picnic-style with your family or take them to the park and have lunch in there. Most of the time, eating is not mainly about the food but chiefly on the experience that you are having while sharing that meal with friends or family. You may also look for restaurants that serve a healthy menu once in a while for a change in scenery.

There are still a lot of ways to make healthy eating a more exciting experience, you just need to be creative about it.

A diet filled with Middle Eastern food, similar to a Mediterranean diet, incorporates the flavorful foods of the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. This food is conducive with a health diet, as it keeps the body healthy by being heart healthy and staving off many chronic diseases.

Middle Eastern food emphasizes the use of fish, olive oil, whole grains, legumes, and vegetables. Vegetarian food is often enjoyed, as it is heart healthy and strong flavors can be showcased. Because cholesterol and saturated fat are only found in foods that are animal-based, Eating vegetarian or vegan food is very health-conscious. Heart-healthy fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids in fish and olive oil are healthy sources of fats.

For example, Tabouleh is a superfood that incorporates healthy olive oil with a refreshing mix of bulgur wheat, fresh onions and tomatoes, mint, lemon, and salt. This is a perfect dish for corporate catering as it is a crowd pleaser that can easily go along with any entree meal.

Baba Ghanouj is also great for catering, as its light and fresh consistency pairs well with wood-fired pita bread. Baba Ghanouj is a fresh blend of baked eggplant, fresh garlic, tahini, and lemon. Eggplant is especially good for your health, as it is a great source of dietary fiber, copper, and vitamin B1. It also has manganese, niacin, vitamin B6, potassium, vitamin K, and folate. Its phytonutrients include nasunin and chlorogenic acid, which are vital to overall health.

Following a Middle Eastern diet is also beneficial to brain health, cognitive function, and overall mortality. Studies have shown a Middle Eastern diet has been able to have an effect on the prevention of Parkinson’s, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s in 1.5 million people. For lunch, you might enjoy an Aladdin Mediterranean Chicken Salad with homemade lemon and olive oil dressing, with a wood fired pita on the side. For dinner, try some falafels, which is a vegetarian delight, and a Koufta Kabob to add some additional protein to your day.

There are many varieties of food available to help you stay healthy while eating Middle Eastern food. The options are endless for your taste and the taste of others. If you are putting on a corporate catering event, impress your guests by including a healthy menu for them to enjoy that will keep them energized throughout the day. Encouraging your guests to eat healthy vegetarian and vegan foods is a great way to have them experience new flavors that they will want to go back for more.