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Protein and Weight Loss – The Basics

Whey Protein and Weight Loss – The Basics

Introduction

Consuming an adequate amount of high quality protein while on a weight loss program is critical to success. Protein can help reduce cravings, enhance calorie-burning, and preserve muscle – all key elements to a rewarding weight loss program.

There is a large abundance of information on protein and weight loss. Most of this information seems far too technical and confusing. This article is intended to provide the basic, essential information that you need to know about protein if you are on a weight loss program or are thinking about going on a weight loss program. I address the critical issues in this article including the benefits of consuming protein, how protein can help you, and when, what kind, and how much protein you should consume while on a weight loss program.

Benefits of Whey Protein During a Weight Loss Program

Consuming enough protein through your diet while on a weight loss program can have a dramatic effect on the effectiveness of that program. A study of 32 women and 95 men who replaced two meals with a 15 gram whey protein supplement each day for six months showed the effectiveness of protein on improving weight loss. Although 15 grams is a small amount of protein, the results were still very positive. On average, during these six months participants lost 20 pounds while cholesterol and triglycerides – key health parameters – also improved.

Getting adequate protein can help to lose fat instead of muscle, increase calorie burning, and keep you feeling full rather than starving and struggling to maintain your diet. In addition, protein also helps to improve muscularity, build HDL (“good”) cholesterol, improve antioxidant function, support blood sugar metabolism, and improve immunity.

During weight loss, our bodies can easily lose a lot of muscle mass and even bone mass due to the restricted calorie diets. You can largely prevent this from happening by eating more protein while on your weight loss program. If you consume an adequate amount of protein while losing weight you can do your best to make sure that you are losing fat as opposed to muscle. This redistribution – less fat and the same or more muscle – will result in a shapelier and more ideal body figure.

Consuming protein can also enhance calorie burning – improving the results of your weight loss program. Protein can directly benefit muscle function and health – including improving calorie burning by muscle which enhances your weight loss regimen. A high protein, low carbohydrate diet helps to burn more calories when the body is converting protein to glucose. Therefore, to maximize the effectiveness of your weight loss program’s ability to enhance calorie burning, consume plenty of high quality weight protein.

The third and arguably most immediate benefit to consuming whey protein during weight loss is its ability to improve your feeling of fullness or satisfaction after eating. Whey protein is helpful in improving your brain’s feeling of satisfaction after eating; there are elements in protein that regulate appetite, a benefit derived only from consuming a high amount of whey protein. Research has even hinted that whey protein might be more effective at satisfying hunger than carbohydrates or fats.

In a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, participants reported greater weight loss and less hunger when on a higher protein diet. Protein appears to act like an appetite suppressant resulting in less binge eating between meals. An especially important time to eat protein at breakfast, this will help you control cravings for starches and sweets throughout the day.

Protein has innumerable benefits for the body and it is especially important for dieters on a weight loss program. Consuming an adequate amount of whey protein will help you preserve muscle mass, enhance calorie burning, and improve your feeling of fullness – all of which will lead to a more successful weight loss program.

How Whey Protein Helps Weight Loss

This is not meant to be a technical article about the bodily processes that create the benefits listed above through consuming whey protein. But, I will mention a few basic items to provide a bit of background information about how whey protein helps weight loss.

Protein is comprised of amino acids. Scientists have found that branch chain amino acids are the most important amino acids. If you consume enough of the right kind of protein, you will get a lot of leucine – one of the most important amino acids – which can activate a slow metabolism and improve your body’s ability to lose weight. Leucine can signal your muscle and help prevent muscle loss during weight loss. Therefore, with adequate amounts of this amino acid, your weight loss will come from fat instead of muscle.

Additionally, protein helps ensure that you are making quality HDL (“good” cholesterol) at an ideal rate. A high protein diet can help to lower triglycerides and support HDL formation. Both of these results will help weight loss.

Nitrogen, contained in protein, is preferred by the body; therefore protein is more likely to be converted to carbohydrates rather than fat. This uses up energy and helps us burn more calories. Protein is the main metabolic activator of the liver. When your liver is working in an optimal state, you can dramatically increase your metabolic rate much more than through carbohydrates or fat.

In conclusion, the body has specific processes for using the protein you consume. For the most part, these processes result in favorable outcomes superior to the consumption of carbohydrates and fat – hence the popularity of high protein, low carbohydrate, and low fat diets.

When, What Kind, and How Much Whey Protein to Consume

Now that you know the benefits of consuming whey protein while on a weight loss program and a bit about how it works you need to know when, what kind, and how much whey protein to consume. With the over-proliferation of information available on these topics, I will only provide the essential information for you to evaluate your protein supplementation needs while on your weight loss program.

When is the best time to consume whey protein?

The body has varying needs for protein throughout the day. There are basically four main times that are optimal for consuming protein: in the morning, before a workout, after a workout, and before going to sleep. The last option, before going to sleep, is not ideal for those on a weight loss program because you should not really be eating anything for a few hours prior to going to sleep. Protein, although not as bad as fat, is still calories that you should avoid eating too late while on a weight loss program. Eating protein at night is likely only necessary for those involved in strength training who want to minimize protein breakdown while sleeping.

So, we are left with three choices. Consuming some protein before a workout can be beneficial for energy (good a couple of hours before working out). Right after a workout your body goes into a stage of growth and recovery, having the amino acids that make up the protein is key at this point. But, the most important time for consuming protein is at breakfast or first thing in the morning.

In the morning, your body has just gone through a full night of not having food and your protein levels are low. A high protein breakfast wakes up the liver and gets it active. A high protein breakfast can increase your metabolic rate by 30 percent for as long as 12 hours – equal to the calories burned during a 4 mile jog. In a recent study, individuals who ate a high protein and high carbohydrate breakfast lost nearly 23 pounds on average in the first 4 months of an 8-month study. Those who ate the high protein and high carbohydrate breakfast reported having fewer carbohydrate cravings and felt less hungry, especially before lunch. Even eating just two eggs for breakfast instead of consuming the same amount of calories from carbohydrates has been shown to boost weight loss by 65%.

To summarize, breakfast is the ideal time to consume protein when on a weight loss program, but before and after workouts are also good times. Having a high protein breakfast is needed to maximize the benefits of your weight loss program.

What is the best source of protein?

Protein is contained in a lot of foods, but you need to be careful while on a weight loss program because many of the sources of protein are high in fat. Some of the highest sources of good protein are animal and dairy sources including cottage cheese and red meat. Other sources include eggs, chicken, pork, nuts, vegetables, and seeds.

There are two kinds of protein: complete and incomplete. Soy and animal proteins are called complete proteins because they contain all of the essential amino acids. On the other hand, plant products, including vegetables and nuts, are called incomplete because they do not contain all of the essential amino acids. Your body needs complete proteins, but that does not mean you cannot get what you need without eating meat or soy products. If you are a vegan or vegetarian, eat a combination of plant proteins that complement each other such as rice and beans to make sure you are getting all of the amino acids your body requires.

You want to look for protein sources that are low in fat and calories, yet are nutrient-rich. Sources of animal protein are usually higher in fat than plant-based sources. But, there are lean complete proteins such as seafood, lean beef, egg whites, and skinless chicken. Other protein sources that have a lot of protein and are low in fat include beans, nuts, and seeds.

Here are some good sources of protein and their approximate protein content (in grams):

• 3.5 oz roasted chicken: 27g
• 3 oz broiled ground beef: 21g
• 3 oz roasted ham: 18g
• 1 large egg: 6g
• 4 ounces milk: 4g
• ½ cup low-fat cottage cheese: 14g
• ½ cup cooked kidney beans: 7g
• 1 cup vegetables: 4g
• 1 ounce nuts: 7g

One easy way to get the best benefits from protein without any fat is to use high quality whey protein. The best whey proteins used advanced filtration techniques to remove saturated fat, cholesterol, and lactose while leaving all the protein molecules intact.

Another consideration when choosing a protein source is the absorption rate of that source. The better a protein is absorbed by the body the higher it’s “Biological Value” (BV) the protein source is said to have. The following are some of the BV’s of a few of the popular sources of protein:

• Whey isolate: 110-159
• Whey concentrate: 104
• Whole egg: 100
• Fish: 83
• Beef: 80
• Chicken: 79
• Casein: 77
• Soy: 74

When compared to whey concentrate, casein, fish, eggs, beef, and chicken, whey protein isolate has a superior absorption rate – you are getting more protein for less consumption. Not all protein sources are created equal, but you can get a lot of good protein from a variety of sources. The greatest value (price and quality) in protein are products that contain a combination of whey protein isolate and concentrate, these sources both have a superior absorption rate and low fat content. But, you should still be eating a variety of sources of protein while on a weight loss program.

How much whey protein do you need?

Researching the answer to this question will provide you with a barrage of apparently contradictory recommendations and “facts” regarding how protein your body actually needs. Everyone – even the government – seems to have a very opinionated answer to the simple question of how much protein do you need in your diet? But, nobody really knows the true answer at this point, we are only able to speculate and draw logical conclusions from the mountain of data and research available.

The RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for protein is 56g for men and 46g for women. RDAs are published by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Science, that establishes goals for healthy persons. The RDA is the “average daily intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (approximately 98 percent) healthy individuals”. But, ideal protein intake is probably higher than these suggestions during weight loss as long as carbohydrate intake is decreased. The RDA does not take into account the amount of protein needed to preserve muscle during weight loss and facilitate fat burning.

There are many, often contradictory, methods for calculating your daily protein needs. Therefore, I will present two methods, one simple and one calculated, for determining your approximate daily protein needs.

Simple Method

Formula: your weight (in pounds) x 0.7

This means that a 200lb person would need 140g of high quality protein per day and a 140lb person would need 98g of high quality protein per day. This method is simple, easy, and requires no additional information other than your weight.

Calculated Method

Formula: (BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) x Activity Level Indicator x 0.2)/4*

The Calculated Method takes into account your BMR which is an indicator of how many calories you burn at rest. This gives a personalized component to calculating ideal protein consumption that weight alone does not give. For example, two people may weigh exactly the same, but have two completely different metabolic rates meaning they should probably be consuming two different amounts of protein each day.

The activity level indicator is an additional component to personalize the protein calculation based on your activity level. The following are the indicators:

• Mildly active (exercise 3 or less times per week for 30-60 minutes): 1.25
• Moderately active (exercise 4 to 6 times per week for 30-60 minutes): 1.50
• Highly active (exercise daily for 60 minutes for more): 1.75

Example: a 140 lb highly active person with a BMR of 1250 would need to consume 109 g of protein each day ((1250 x 1.75 x 0.2)/4* = 109).

*The amount of calories must be divided by 4 to get the accurate amount of protein in grams because there are approximately 4 calories per gram of protein.

Conclusion

To summarize, protein is critical for those on weight loss programs. Getting adequate amounts of protein can help you feel full and satisfied throughout the day, help you burn more calories, and help preserve muscle while you are losing additional fat. Consuming high quality whey protein coming from a variety of sources is ideal for a weight loss program.

Author Information:

Matthew Clark, VP of Operations, Lifetime Health Weight Loss

www.LifetimeHealthWeightLoss.com

www.WeightLossProtein.com

About the Author

Matthew Clark

VP of Operations, Lifetime Health Weight Loss

www.LifetimeHealthWeightLoss.com

CEO, Owner, Weight Loss Protein

www.WeightLossProtein.com

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New Food Product Hits & Misses | 12 Nov 2008

Experience the Best of Top Shelf Mexican Cantina

Do you live in Arizona but are looking to experience some tasty Mexican cantina? Well you are in luck! Top Shelf Mexican Cantina is now located in Phoenix, Mesa, and Peoria offering their tasty delights to the local community and as well catering their hearts out to satisfy everyone’s taste buds.

With Top Shelf Mexican Cantina you can stop worrying about deciding your meal plan for your big family reunion and have them do your entire meal plan at a great price. They not only use some of the freshest products around to make all their food, but they also put the love and care into each meal plan to make it the best Mexican cantina you’ve ever had. It’s like eating your own mother’s cooking, minus the nagging to set the table.

Don’t find yourself being wrapped into those fast food restaurants for your best Mexican experiences when you can have truly astounding and tasty Mexican from Top Shelf Mexican Cantina. Their family friendly restaurants are prepared to cater to all your expectations and give you the options to satisfy all your families’ taste buds whether it’s spicy or sweet, they got it.

When you eat in at one of the local restaurants throughout Arizona you will have a great menu that has been combined with even better pricing. You can experience some astounding Mexican dinners and also some light and healthy meals, so if you are on one of those pesky diets we got something for you.

Take a look at some of the meal options you can have while dining in at Top Shelf Mexican Cantina:

• Two Beef/Chicken Sour Cream Enchiladas
• Green/Red Chili Burro, Beef Tacos
• Lite Santa Fe Fajita Salad
• Chimichangas

The options seem endless so you are guaranteed to find something for the whole family to enjoy. The children have even been given their own menu that includes some of the best Mexican options and also they’ve incorporated some regular meals that every child loves so there is no fussing from your little ones while you enjoy your meal.

For all those sports lovers you can enjoy some of their tasty Mexican food while you also enjoy some of the best sports on television. Each night you can come in and watch the games on their large televisions and enjoy a few pints of beer with your friends. If that doesn’t satisfy you enough adventure down to one of their locations in Arizona on a Friday night and belt out a tune. Each Friday Top Shelf Mexican Cantina they do Karaoke Night for all those that are ready to sing a song whether you are good or not.

It seems that this restaurant is not only great for the family, but it’s even a great option for making your plans for a night out with friends. Incorporate a great meal plan and some fun and you are bound to have the time of your life at Top Shelf Mexican Cantina every night of the week.

About the Author

Check out their website at Top Shelf Mexican Cantina

The College Student’s Guide to Food

You have made it through freshers week at university or college relatively unscathed. So what’s the next hurdle in student life? Well trying to feed your self on a budget can be a daunting prospective never mind actually cooking. The main advice is eating is essential! You may think that you can survive on booze and coffee but eventually you’ll be ill.

Food  for many of you  will be something that you have just taken for granted. You come home from school/college/work and there is a dinner waiting for you, you get up in the morning and there is cereal in the cupboard and milk in the fridge. So feeding yourself may come as a bit of a shock when you first arrive at University or College. You may think you can get by with biscuits and take-away but, depending on how flush you are, you will eventually run out of money and have to cook. But, fear not, because the following pages contain some fantastic advice on how to eat on a budget.

Shopping
Students pride themselves on knowing where to buy the cheapest beans, bread and margarine. You may think students eating beans on toast is a bit of a cliché but this is just about the cheapest way to fill yourself up.
Look for “value”, “smart price” or “no frills” ranges they don’t taste quite as good as the leading brand but they don’t cost anywhere near the same.
Find out when your local supermarket closes! Because just before it closes they will be selling off stock that expires that day on the cheap. Also get to know where the “specials” are in your local and buy these as often as you can.
It pays not to be too fussy when it come to food. Don’t go shopping with a set idea of what you want to eat, make a list of the basics you need and then be flexible with the rest buy what is cheap! That way your diet is varied.
Utensils

Jamie Oliver may have a kitchen full of pans, knives, funky crockery, whisks, spatulas, mandolins and blowtorches but students don’t & you don’t need them!

You can get by with a heavy frying pan, a saucepan, a stirring spoon, a spatula, a chopping board, a sharp knife, a bread knife, 2 big plates, 2 sets of cutlery, 2 large mug (large enough for serious cups of coffee or for a whole can of soup), 2 large wine glasses, 2 pint glasses, a salt grinder and a pepper grinder. This shouldn’t cost much, well within your student budget

Basics: Having these things in you cupboard all the time will mean you can always make a meal in a hurry!

Flavourings: Sugar, salt (preferably sea-salt), pepper (as in peppercorns), garlic, chilli powder, coriander, mixed herbs and stock cubes (selection).
Consumables: Rice, pasta (shapes and spaghetti), bread, potatoes, onions, tinned tomatoes, tinned beans, tinned spaghetti, tinned soup, tinned tuna, tinned anchovies and tinned meat.

Fresh stuff: Carrots, cabbages, mushrooms, tomatoes, lettuce and courgettes.

Fridge stuff: Cheese, margarine, Philadelphia, orange juice, beer, wine, vodka

Freezer stuff: Pizza, pies, chicken and frozen veg.

Cooking
Buy a good cookbook! Jamie Oliver’s “Happy days” book is full of simple, comforting and quick dishes that are ideal for students, But unless you are Jamie Oliver or Delia Smith, start off with simple dishes and gradually learn what works and what doesn’t.

Some flavours naturally go with some meats, chicken and lemon for instance  but some combinations really don’t work  beef and lemon is a good example of a revolting combo!

Pasta is a freshers and students staple and goes with almost anything and is cheap and quick, but you will end up Over dosing on it!
If it doesn’t go with pasta then it will go with rice!
Meat is expensive, so use lots of veg, which is also good for you, to bulk out your meals.

Soups can make very good pasta sauces or bases for stews.
Salads are very easy, very quick and very healthy. Also if you’re a fresher with culinary or artistic flair they can look like you’ve been slaving over them for hours.

Roasting meat is a very good way of cooking food. It allows you to put your dinner in the oven and then retire to a comfy chair with a bottle of whatever but be careful not to get too drunk and forget the food is in the oven!

If any meals are included in the price of your accommodation try to get to them. If the food is bad then get it changed if they only serve breakfast till 8 o’clock then get the times changed. You are paying for a service so make sure the service works for you!

Finally, whatever your approach to cooking and eating at University, try new things. There will be people from all different backgrounds, regions and countries and they will be eating all manner of different things. Try them! University and college is a learning experience and not just in the academic sense.

And finally students have come across, as you will, some incredibly bizarre eating habits at University and college. Here are some of the strangest.

A student who ate this everyday and nothing else! 1 bowl of corn-flakes, semi-skimmed milk, a roast chicken, salad, hallumi cheese and diet coke he ate this for 3 years without change!

One girl fresher who ate only apples, biscuits and crisps for an entire first year

The student who lived on cuppa soup and lived.

About the Author

To learn about marriage, palmistry marriage lines, what is palmistry, quarterback facts, quarterback tips , football quarterbacks and other information, visit the Knowledge Galaxy website.

Tips For Making Delicious Yorkshire Puddings

Once an obscure peasants’ food, Yorkshire pudding has risen to the rank of a traditional Sunday dinner dish. These days it’s even something of a gourmet item, as presented by chefs like Delia Smith and James Martin. Not too shabby for a simple savory dish made from nothing but the most basic ingredients. Its popularity speaks for its tastes, but there’s more to making a great Yorkshire than you might realise.

The Ideal Yorkshire Pudding?

As with any common, traditional dish, opinions vary on what makes the best Yorkshire pudding. Most fans can agree on a few essential qualities, though. While it should puff a bit, it shouldn’t be quite as high or light as, say, a popover. The inside should be soft, but not soggy, and the underside nice and crisp.

Originally Yorkshire pudding was served before the roast in the hope that people would fill up on that first, so the meat would go a bit further. But there’s an even better reason to eat it first, while it’s still piping hot. Straight out of the oven, the pudding is light and puffy, and the bottom is still satisfyingly crisp. As it cools, though, it tends to fall and get soggy on the bottom.

Popular Variations

Yorkshire pudding batter consists of flour, eggs, and milk, and is traditionally baked in the drippings from roast beef. Some cooks, however, enhance the flavor with herbs like parsley, sage, thyme, and rosemary. If you decide to experiment with herbs, use a light hand at first to avoid overpowering the flavor of the pudding and drippings.

While you can spice up your pudding with different ingredients, it’s the cooking technique that really makes the difference. These days you can buy pudding mix and even frozen Yorkshire puddings, but making it from scratch gives you more control over the process, so the outcome is usually better.

Yorkshire Pudding Cooking Tips

If there’s one thing that’s critical to making a delicious Yorkshire pudding, it’s temperature. This is not a delicate souffle that’s going to burn if it gets a degree too hot. High temperatures are a must. First of all, the cooking fat and the pan for the pudding must be hot before you add the batter. The fat should be smoking slightly and the batter should sizzle as it hits the fat in the pan.

What’s more, the pudding needs an oven temperature of about 225 C to cook properly. The trouble with this is that it’s too hot for the roast beef, so you don’t want them in the oven at the same time. One way around this is to remove the roast when it’s partially cooked and turn up the oven heat to cook the pudding. The pudding won’t take long and the roast will stay hot and continue to cook if covered.

Getting Yorkshire pudding to turn out just right takes a bit of practice, but there’s nothing complicated about it. Whether you’re planning on roast beef for your next Sunday dinner or you’re just in the mood for some old-fashioned comfort food, try making this pudding from scratch and you might be surprised how well it turns out.

About the Author

You will find a traditional
Yorkshire pudding recipe
and many worldwide recipes at http://yorkshirepuddingrecipe.co.uk Yorkshire is the largest county in England and a great place to visit. The UK Smart Guide offers masses of information for travelers in the UK including
places in Yorkshire
.

Top 10 Tips for Cutting Costs in Your Foodservice Operation

With the economy affecting all of us, ongoing cost control through careful spending is becoming priority #1. According to Jeff Breeden of Cook’s Direct, “Many of the restaurant owners and foodservice managers that we talk to everyday are telling us how the number crunching in the kitchen is now critical to controlling costs and staying afloat during these rough times.” Here are ten easy tips to help you cut costs in your kitchen.

Create a Sales Plan and Budget

For every business goal, you should have a plan. To effectively manage kitchen costs, you need a good plan in place that balances sales projections with expenses. Although going through this process is tedious, the outcome can save you hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. But to be effective, you must measure actual costs and revenues and compare these to your budget on a monthly basis. For every area that is over budget, it’s time to dig into the account and analyze why costs are too high. In some areas, costs may be under budget. Understanding why costs are under budget is as important as digging into those that are over budget.

Good fiscal management is the key to any successful business. A good business plan evaluates your expenses, sets a budget, and helps you to trim costs where necessary and most appropriate. It will also help you understand the mechanics of your business. Being in tune with each area of your operation will lead to great profitability.

Tip #1: Prepare a business plan with forecast and budget for food purchases, restaurant equipment and supplies, and repairs or services. Compare your actual expenses against your budget for each area on a monthly basis to identify overspending in any specific area before it becomes a serious problem.

Review Your Ingredients

When kitchen costs start to soar, it’s time to check out the ingredients being ordered by the chef. Trying to offer too many kinds of foods on a menu unnecessarily increases your food costs. You’ll find that keeping the ingredients on hand for a larger than necessary menu is expensive. It also makes it more difficult to use up certain food ingredients while they are still fresh, potentially causing an increase in food waste.

Tip #2: From Bob Agrast of Menorah Park Center for Senior Living in Beechwood, OH: “Track your food purchases by components. You purchase multiple categories of products from companies such as Sysco. If you track your purchases as we do, it is easy to dissect your spending and find cost trends. We track by splitting out the following minimum categories: Meat, poultry, seafood, produce, milk, pop, bakery, wine. Groceries are subdivided further to track nutritionals and thickened juices etc. You can track as many as you are able to do. Once separated it is easy to watch your purchases monthly to see if you are spending more in any particular category. If you are, you are then able to delve in to finding what may have caused the spike in purchases in the category. It may be justified, maybe not, but you at least know where to begin searching for food cost problems. The same technique can be performed with repairs and non-food expenses.”

Make Portion Control Your Priority

Small changes in portion size can create big payoffs or negative results to your bottom line. If your portions are too large, or even just more than your customers expect, you’re throwing money away.

To better understand the impact, consider this example. Your operation serves sandwiches with ¼ lb of deli meat and you serve 50 of these each day. Few people can tell the difference between 4 oz. (¼ lb) or 4-½ oz, so let’s imagine that your servers are measuring the meat, but aren’t focused on accuracy and tend to go heavy rather than light. If there’s an extra ½ oz. of meat on a sandwich, they probably can’t tell, but that ½ oz at 50 sandwiches a day ends up being almost 11 lbs of deli meat at the end of one week. That’s 568-¾ lbs by the end of the year. If you’re paying only $5 per pound for that meat, you’ve just given away $2,843.75, one sandwich at a time. Now think of that with more expensive ingredients or in bigger quantities! You get the idea.

Tip #3: The right portion control utensils can bring consistency to your kitchen and ensure that portion sizes are perfect. Proper portion control serving utensils and portion control scales can ensure consistent portions every time, even with a change in staff.

Review your Extras to See Where you Can Save

Atmosphere and extras are a great way to impress customers, but when money is tight it’s time

to cut back. Review the extras with staff that aren’t needed and that aren’t a part of your customer service. If it isn’t adding any customer value, then reducing usage or cutting it altogether can improve costs.

Tip #4: Document everything that is considered an extra from the garnish on the salad plates to the replacement kitchen supplies like covers on the trays during the holidays. Put a dollar figure on each extra and consider which options will create the biggest impact. Finally, call a meeting with staff members, especially those who interact with customers, and brainstorm for ideas to lessen costs but still maintain customer satisfaction.

Take a Look at Your Garbage

How much of your inventory is going to waste? Inventory orders should coincide with the seasonal traffic of your restaurant or operation. Make sure inventory is ordered with the least amount of overstock waste.

Tip #5: From Bob Agrast of Menorah Park Center for Senior Living in Beechwood, OH: “Work your boxes at least two times a day. Your boxes (walk ins) are the greatest collector of waste because unlike the storeroom, the items in your coolers have a short shelf life and the clock is ticking. It is not just about proper sanitation when you check your walk ins and other coolers. Check for overproduction. Decide how to reduce overproduction. What to do with leftovers? How can they be recycled or recondition? Leftover turkey becomes turkey chili. Left over baked fish can be turned into delicious fish cakes served with remoulade sauce. It should also be the policy that nothing is thrown out without the manager or chef’s approval. Leftover rice can become tomato rice soup, or turn it into spectacular rice pudding. Leftover product would then be compared to the production sheet records so that adjustments may be made the next time that menu is served.”

Avoid Over-Staffing in Your Kitchen

Just like the seasonality of your business should be reflected in your purchasing, make sure that you’re staffing appropriately for busy times as well as slower times of the day. Cross training of employees can also lead to improved productivity in your kitchen by having one person handle two roles during slower times.

Tip #6: When customer traffic is down, use all available staff to prepare foods in advance. You can have employees cook and freeze roasts, slice them and prep for barbecue at a later date or prepare and freeze batches of lasagna. All these things can be done well in advance so that you optimize labor.

Reduce Energy Consumption and Start Saving Money

Restaurants and other foodservice operations are one of the highest energy consumers, using roughly 2 ½ times more energy per square foot than used in other commercial buildings. Energy dollars are often wasted in the form of excess heat and noise generated by inefficient appliances, heating ventilation and air conditioning systems, lighting and refrigeration. Investments in ENERGY STAR equipment can help restaurant owners and foodservice managers improve the performance of their operation while reducing energy costs. Restaurants that invest strategically can cut utility costs 10 to 30 percent without sacrificing service, quality, style or comfort while making significant contributions to a cleaner environment. ENERGY STAR has a variety of certified equipment that saves utility dollars. Some of the equipment certified by ENERGY STAR includes fryers, hot food holding cabinets, commercial solid door refrigerators and freezers, and commercial steam cookers, commercial dishwashers, and commercial ice makers.

Tip #7: If you can’t replace your equipment today, you can still reduce your utility expenses by regularly cleaning and maintaining your existing equipment. Make it a habit to clean the coils on your refrigerator monthly or de-lime your steamer periodically. To learn more tips, take a look at Ten Tips to Save Money and Energy in Your Commercial Kitchen from Cook’s Direct.

Minimize Waste by Ensuring Food Stays at Proper Temperature

Maintaining your walk-ins and any warming and holding equipment ensures you aren’t wasting money on spoiled food. A good way to watch for inventory spoilage is to check food temperatures at least every two hours to make sure it never enters the food Danger Zone. For prepared foods, like soups and buffet items, check the internal temperate frequently to ensure it maintains a minimum of 140o Fahrenheit.

Tip #8: Have your equipment serviced regularly to make sure it’s calibrated and running at peak efficiency.

Save on Utility Bills through Reduced Water Usage

Reducing your water usage doesn’t just save you money in the water bill. It saves you money in your electric, gas, and sewer bills as well. Utility companies read your water meter to calculate your monthly sewer bill. They estimate that most of your water goes down the drain, so reducing water usage also saves on sewer costs.

Regardless if your water heater runs on gas or electric, reducing the water usage will reduce the amount of money needed to keep that water heated. Using energy efficient products like a steamer or dishwasher will increase the savings even further. They use less of both water and electricity than their standard counterparts, so when you buy an ENERGY STAR qualifying dishwasher, you are reducing your water and electricity bills.

Tip #9: Replace older faucets with newly developed models that conserve water without compromising performance. You can find a list of endorsed products on the official Green Restaurant Association web site.

Work with your Suppliers

Whether it is seasonal produce from local growers or clearance products from your equipment and restaurant supply vendor, let your suppliers work for you. By developing relationships with your suppliers, you can often have them do the leg work for you to get what you need at the best value. As you develop a relationship, a good supplier will get to know your business and your needs. They can advise you on upcoming opportunities for you to save money through smart planning and buying.

Tip #10: Use the internet to do some quick and easy price research to ensure you’re suppliers are working for you. Websites like Nexttag.com or Shopzilla.com can help you compare market prices so you feel confident when negotiating with your suppliers.

About Jeff Breeden and Cook’s Direct:

Jeff Breeden is active in the Foodservice Industry through his work at Cook’s and as a member of NAFED (National Association of Food Equipment Dealers). During the past 12 years, he has held a variety of roles including new product development, national account sales, and brand development. In his current responsibility as Chief Merchant, he utilizes his experience and expertise to find innovative equipment and supply solutions to meet the evolving needs of restaurant and institutional foodservice operations. Cook’s Direct provides a full range of commercial kitchen solutions including all types of kitchen supplies and heavy duty restaurant equipment to correctional facilities, institutions and other large foodservice operations across North America. The company was founded over 10 years ago and is known for its innovative products, strong customer service and expert knowledge of institutional kitchen operations.

Inquiries can be sent to:

Jeff Breeden, Chief Merchant

Cook’s Direct

800-956-5571

http://www.cooksdirect.com/

About the Author

Cooks Direct

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Dried Herbs Are Easy To Use And Taste Great

If you enjoy cooking but your time to work in the kitchen is limited, you will want to look for ingredients that do not require a great deal of preparation before they can be added to a dish.  In this case, dried herbs and herbal extracts are the way to go.  When you purchase dried herbs, all of the processing and preparation has been done for you, so all you need to do is measure out the quantity of dried herbs that you wish, and add it to your recipe.  Dried herbs also offer an intensified herbal flavor, so that smaller quantities are needed as compared to their fresh counterparts in order to achieve the same flavor in the dish.

Many home cooks are very busy, and thus tend to choose quick meals for weeknight dinners.  You would likely decide to make a recipe that only takes twenty to thirty minutes of preparation and cooking time, whereas anything over that might get relegated to a weekend night when you have a bit more time for cooking.  For any occasion, you can select dried organic herbs and herbal extracts for their ease of use and potent flavor to dress up any dish from any cuisine you desire.

When you buy herbs bulk you are saving money and ensure that you have the quantities you need on hand.  This is true if you live somewhere you cannot grow any herbs of your own.  Many locales have warm summer temperatures, but when winter rolls around, the temperatures drop too far down to be able to sustain plant growth, and the plants die.  If you were expecting to use those herbs during the winter but the weather has killed them, a better option is to purchase dried organic herbs and herbal extracts.  

For the home cook who will buy herbs bulk, purchasing larger amounts can be less expensive than smaller quantities.  Because the organic herbs in their dried form are more concentrated in flavor than similar fresh herbs, you will use less and thus save money with the dried variety, but without compromising flavor.  

You will also want to consider appropriate storage when you buy herbs.  Bulk herbs may be stored in smaller containers that are airtight and kept on a dark shelf.  If properly stored, they can last for a year or longer and maintain their taste.

When you are ready to buy herbs, bulk herb processors are online and offer a huge variety of herbs with the convenience of shopping at home on your personal computer.  Not only can you stock up on the herbs you regularly use, but you can take advantage of new and different herbs from around the world, to wake up your palate and brighten your food.

About the Author

Anne Harvester writes about– dried herbs

Does anyone do cooking in one day for the whole week? I am looking for some good recpies.?

Easy to cook, looking for recipes with chicken, pork, beef. Soups, stews, casseroles. Anything that is good for quick and easy weeknight dinners. Thanks.

this will be very good and quick.
Creamy Chicken on Linguine
Tender strips of chicken sauteed in oil, butter and garlic are arranged over hot pasta and topped with a sumptuous sauce of cream, milk, onions, scallions and Parmesan cheese for an elegant dish that’s dinner “party” perfect.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (16 ounce) package linguini pasta
1 onion, chopped
1 cube chicken bouillon, crumbled
1/2 cup water
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup milk
4 green onions, sliced diagonally into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
In a large saute pan, heat oil, butter and garlic over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until juices run clear. Remove chicken from pan let cool and slice diagonally into long strips. Reserve oil in pan.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions on package. Drain.
Reheat oil in pan, add onion and saute, stirring often, until onion is soft but still white. Add bullion cube and water; bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for approximately 10 minutes. Stir in cream, milk, green onions and Parmesan cheese.
Place pasta in a bowl, layer chicken slices in a decorative pattern over pasta, pour sauce over top of chicken and around pasta. Garnish with parsley or any herbs you desire. Serve immediately.