Yogurt Headache

I hear yogurt is healthy. I read in Men's Health several years ago that one of the keys to burning the all-important stomach fat is daily yogurt eating. Something about complex cultures – beats me. I think it could be true, but maybe just since yogurt looks and feels more filling than it is. Or I suppose it could be a happy medium between the scientific and the psychological.

Whether yogurt is or is not good for us, it's important to differentiate what I consider healthy yogurt from non-healthy. Yogurt can be very high in fat and it can be fat free, and taste nearly similar. Again, it's the crazy cultures, but I see no reason why not to buy the fat free variety. I can't see how eating the equivalent of a complex custard daily is gonna help along the waistline.

Then there's the sugar part – that's the trickier part. Every yogurt seems to have a lot of sugars in it, making most yogurts more suspect on the health aspect. Some just are too sweet, but even plain, non-fat yogurts have quite a bit of sugar. Still, nearly any flavor will have more sugar than a plain variety. Fruit helps flavor without as much corn syrup, but often fruit is placed into an already-sweet yogurt. The best would be plain yogurt with as little sugar as possible, with fruit mixed in. Of course if you're fine with plain, that's got to be the healthiest, despite still having those sugars buried beneath the taste.

The best one I've found? Dannon Light & Fit. Ok so it uses a little artificial sweetener, but at 60 calories, 0 grams of fat, more potassium than sodium and only 7 grams of sugars (some of which have to come from the fruit inside), it's the best-tasting healthy yogurt and healthiest, good-tasting yogurt that I've found. So why make it a part of my breakfast every day? Hey, Men's Health could be right. If not, at least I did the research to find the healthiest yogurt out there first. So the downside can't be bad.

Nigiri Hour

It is a rare confluence, especially in an overpriced urban area, to find high quality sushi, expertly made, that is also a good deal. I would go into the reasons for why, but that would certainly bore you. Besides, I've discovered DC's version of that rare confluence, so it does not matter. Just go to Cafe Asia near 17th and Eye streets NW, between 4 and 7:30 PM for their happy hour sushi and drinks.

It's as simple as you can imagine. During those hours, all Nigiri (pieces) are $1.25. Yes, nigiri. The cleanest and most exquisite form of sushi. The pieces that most places have no problem charging two to three times that price for. And they are delicious at Café Asia. Not too thickly cut, very flavorful (not fishy) and very visually appealing as well. Simply put, it is highly excellent sushi for an obscenely low price. I got 11 pieces of my favorites (tuna, shrimp, white fish) recently for $14. Most places you'd be lucky to get 5 pieces of their choice and a California roll for $20 in the sushi dinner. Here, you make your own sushi dinner – for less. Any nigiri on their menu – tuna, salmon, white fish, yellow tail, eel, octopus, squid, shrimp, mackerel and more – same price, every day during happy hour. And something tells me they probably do a large portion of their dinner service during happy hour by design. It gets me coming there.

So you're probably thinking by now that Cafe Asia must be some sort of hole in the wall, a little sushi joint that is slightly suspect. Thus the good prices. Well that couldn't be farther from the truth. Hey it's not Morton's, but it is a big, open New York style restaurant, immensely spread across three terrace-like floors. The wait staff is friendly and quick. And the bar and happy hour drink specials ($3 glasses of wine, $2 bottled beers, $2.50 draft Kirin and others) add to its appeal as well.

The bottom line is, Cafe Asia sushi has some of the better sushi I have had in DC. Clean-cut, tasty and fresh. And it’s definitely the cheapest too. So, know when to go – and enjoy exactly how much and what types of sushi you're in the mood for. Go nuts!

Check out my review of this place in even more detail at Menuism.com!

Bottom Ten Trans

We are all aware of foods that have a lot of fat. That's not always bad though. Obviously, we don't want too much of any kind of fat, but unsaturated fats including polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats should actually be a part of most healthy diets. They comprise most of the fat found in extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, nuts and avocado.

Then there are saturated fats – those are pretty bad. Anything that is too cheesy, too creamy, too meaty, too oily, too fatty and often, too crispy, is probably going to have a sizeable amount of saturated fat. There is a recommended daily limit for saturated fat, and it's not high. But I don't think it would harm anyone to be well below that limit.

Then there are trans fatty acids, or trans fats. You've heard me talk about those bad boys before. There is no USDA recommended daily limit for trans fat. That's right – it's zero. The organization so conservative in its food estimates that it recommends nearly twice as much sodium per day as most studies reveal is healthy, recommends absolutely no trans fat. And yet, that fat remains showing up in foods we buy from stores and order from restaurants – be they out in the open (0.5 grams or more per serving) or hidden (under 0.5 grams per serving). Today I'm going to throw out ten trans-fat-laden foods that you may not have known about. I sure didn't before too long ago and am sure glad I do now – so I can NOT buy them and NOT order them and encourage you all to follow suit.

1. Sprinkles

Example: all

Remedy: Use nuts instead – or sugar!

2. Flour tortillas

Example: Nearly every one I’ve seen

Remedy: Hawk the ingredients of different ones you see and use plain corn tortillas in the mean time.

3. Store-bought frosting and icing

Example: all – I’ve looked, just for fun. It saddens me that using this used to be the norm.

Remedy: Make your own! It won’t be healthy but at least it won’t have up to 5 grams of trans fats per serving.

4. Hot cocoa mix powder

Example: Swiss Miss and most others

Remedy: Traditional Nesquik powder

5. Hard shells for tacos

Example: Ortega Hard Taco Shells (Yellow or White)

Remedy: Use corn tortillas and harden them yourself in the oven or even by frying in your own oil.

6. Crackers

Example: Saltines, Ritz

Remedy: Kashi TLC (Tasty Little Crackers)

7. Microwave popcorn

Example: Orville Redenbacher’s

Remedy: Smart Balance Microwave Popcorn

8. Peanut butter

Example: Jif

Remedy: Any Natural PB – just peanuts and salt

9. Any ice cream with chunks of cookie dough or brownie, even low fat versions

Example: Blue Bunny’s no sugar, reduced fat Bunny Tracks

Remedy: Blue Bunny’s no sugar, reduced fat cherry vanilla

10. Whipped toppings

Example: Even “fat free” ones like Cool Whip

Remedy: Good old Reddi Whip

Dishonorable Mentions: Girl Scout Cookies, Fortune Cookies, Muffins (even bran muffins), Fig Newtons

Remember, look at the ingredients to get the real story. If you see “partially hydrogenated,” “hydrogenated” or “shortening” there IS some sort of trans fat in there, potentially being hidden from you and others in the nutrition facts.