Can you believe that (at least to my knowledge) there were no trash cans at the Berkeley Green Picnic last week? Yes, everything that was served and served in was compostable, so there were only compost bins. This was a great controlled environment which contrasts greatly with the real world, even the still somewhat unreal world of Downtown Berkeley.

Bringing composting to the real world is one of the things that the Amanda’s team is working hard on. What we’ve realized is that most people don’t really understand composting. It’s new, different, and maybe a bit scary. Once you get a hang of it though, it can actually be rewarding. We’re hoping to make composting a “feel good” experience.

We’d love to hear about your experiences, scary or fun with composting. Please share them here with a comment.

With a resounding “wow, these are the bomb”, the Amanda’s team unveiled our Freshly Sliced Raw Organic Apple “fries” for Earth Week on Wednesday. We participated in the Green Picnic on UC Berkeley’s Memorial Glade where we joined other organic and local producers, including Saint Benoit yogurt.

If you missed the Green Picnic, you can come by the Berkeley City College at 2050 Center Street this Sunday from 12-5 to try our Raw Organic Apple “Fries”.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on a new PLoS Medicine Journal study showing that the life expectancy increase isn’t experienced by all in the US. In fact, “for 20 percent - 1 in 5 - of all American women, the trend in rising life expectancy from 1980 to 1999 stalled or reversed”! This increase in female mortality is “primarily because of chronic diseases related to smoking, overweight and obesity, and high blood pressure”. The study emphasized the “a widening gap between the health haves and have-nots in the United States, and the study shows that whether the life expectancy news is good or bad has a lot to do with where a person resides.”

This new report reinforces a driving passion behind wanting to start a feel good fast food restaurant, one that makes it easier for everyone to eat better on a daily basis. In order to do this, the food must taste great, be familiar, affordable, and accessible.

The release of this article also coincides with my own personal experience - the passing of my grandmother, Jane, a generous, patient, faithful, thoughtful, kind woman full of grace. While she did make it to the age of 88, her lifestyle was limited by her obesity and adult-onset diabetes. My grandmother raised two daughters and worked until she was 75. She was a strong, busy woman who I know would have benefited from a feel good fast food restaurant. She will always be an inspiration to me - an example of how to treat other people, and a reminder to treat my own body well.

If you are trying to lose weight or simply keep a healthy lifestyle, it appears that there are now more options for eating well. Whether low in calories or in fat, “healthier” meals and snacks are becoming easier to find. However, according to David Zinczekno and Matt Goulding of Men’s Health’s blog “Eat This, Not That“, meals and snacks that are considered to be a healthier option may actually be unhealthy.

For example, fruit smoothies are typically perceived as a healthy alternative to sodas and high sugar frappuccinos, but as Zinczenko points out, smoothies often have lots of sugar and high fructose corn syrup which essentially makes one smoothie a 600 calorie snack. A similar example is turkey burgers. While ordering one at a restaurant may seem to be the better, leaner option, it turns out that a restaurant’s turkey burger is more likely to be an unhealthy 850 calorie dish as it often contains turkey meat that is high in fat.

It’s apparent that these examples reveal how it is important for an individual to be truly aware of what he or she is eating. By making more of an effort to personally double check what the ingredients of an item are, the greater the possibility of truly maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

We’ve been reminded that we have neglected to mention some of the other healthier fast food restaurants around the country and in our own backyard. It’s hard to keep up with all of these.

Smart Alec’s on the famous Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley was one of the first to serve air-baked fries and started out over 10 years ago as a purely vegetarian restaurant. It has since added meat to its menu. Read more about Smart Alec’s on its yelp reviews.

It makes me wonder whether Zen Burger, a new vegetarian burger place in New York City will make a similar transition. Read the yelp reviews for Zen Burger and let us know what you think.

Another chain to look out for is Evos, which seems to have learned from this blog and calls itself “Feel Great Fast Food”. You can read yelp reviews on the Nevada location here. Healthy Fast Food Inc., a franchisee and area developer for the Evos concept with 5 locations went public with gross proceeds totaling $5.1 million. Currently in Florida and Nevada, Healthy Fast Food is planning development in several other states, including Arizona and California. Evos USA Inc., also a public company trading on the pink sheets, is the concept’s franchisor. So, several opportunities for investors to buy into this healthy fast food movement!

Health.Com has released a list of the the healthiest fast-food restaurants in the
nation.

Here are some of the restaurants that made the list:

1. Noodles & Company
Noodles & Company has a great selection of noodles, from Asian to Mediterranean.
2. Chipotle
Chipotle serves healthy gourmet burrito that have meat that are
naturally and antibiotic-free.
3. Cosi
Cosi is home to tasty hearth baked entrees from sandwiches to smores

What do you think about these restaurants?

I’m so excited to share with the Feel Good Fast Food community that our restaurant, Amanda’s, will be opening this summer in Downtown Berkeley.

Last week we received approval from Berkeley’s Landmark Planning Commission and got our building permits, so we have started construction!

I have to say that most of the Berkeley city representatives have gone out of their way to be helpful and encouraging of our business. Perhaps because they’ll have a great new restaurant just a block from their offices. Thank you to them!

I’m so pleased with the way our architects, contractor, and the city representatives have been working together.

In this month’s issue of Entrepreneur Magazine, one article discusses the relationship between eating habits and employee productivity. According to James O. Hill, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado, Denver, healthier eating habits contribute to higher employee productivity and lower health-care costs.

But how exactly can healthier habits be incorporated into employees’ every day lives? James O. Hill shares his suggestions. First, he explains that employers should become a good role model to its employees by also maintaining healthy habits. In addition, employers should help their staff meet their healthy goals in ways similar to what Jim Barrett of Med Advantage does. Barrett encourages his employees to bring their own food and provides a large kitchen for them to store and prepare their own meals during their breaks.

And while its true that one of the healthiest habits an individual can have is to make your own meals and not always eat out, it is often not the most convenient. Perhaps if there were more better-for-you quick service restaurants, one could have the convenience of eating out while still being healthy and productive. Overall, this article highlights how being healthy has a variety of impacts. In this case, it’s employee productivity and the negative impacts of poor eating habits.