Adur restaurant wins an Eat Out Eat Well award for their super healthy menu

A Shoreham restaurant has won a gold award for producing healthy, tasty food produced locally.

Cafe Artisan has been given a five-star hygiene rating and full marks for offering  healthy menu choices which are lower in sugar, salt and fat after an inspection by Adur District Council’s food hygiene inspectors.

And now the restaurant has become the first to join Adur and Worthing Councils’ new healthy eating project called Eat Well.

Under the scheme restaurants awarded top marks by our inspectors will donate a tasty recipe to local residents as part of a campaign to encourage healthy eating. Alongside the recipe a nutritional therapist will explain the benefits of some of the ingredients.

Wendy Anderson, Environmental Health Practitioner and project lead for Eat Well said, “We want to capture people's imagination about food and ingredients. We’d like to see people cooking and eating the good stuff, not simply because it’s healthy but because they enjoy it. For example, choosing a mango over a Mars bar because they love the taste.

“It’s not about the latest diet fads but about inspiring people to eat good food all the time because when the body is in a good place nutritionally you function better.”

The restaurants joining the healthy eating project will be those given an Eat Out Eat Well award which is only awarded after visits by food hygiene inspectors like Wendy at Adur and Worthing Councils.

Cafe Artisan owner Ian McWhirter said he was delighted to receive his gold award and to be the first to contribute a recipe to the Eat Well project. Cafe Artisan’s recipe is for pomegranate and quinoa salad.

“Our food is not cheffy. It’s locally sourced, locally produced fresh produce with low food miles,” he said, “I am dedicated to serving healthy food and it’s great that the council are behind us. Healthy eating is becoming a national food movement.”

Ian received his award  from Executive Member for Health & Wellbeing, Cllr Dave Simmons, who said, “Congratulations to Cafe Artisan on achieving the gold award for Eat Out, Eat Well. It’s important to encourage people to eat well when they are out and about in Adur.”

Notes to Editors:

This month’s recipe is attached

Photo - Left to right: Cllr Dave Simmons, Ian McWhirter.

Further information on Eat Out, Eat Well can be found at http://www.eatouteatwell.org/pages/index.cfm

Eat Well star recipe

Cafe Artisan  Quinoa Salad

This quick and easy salad is bursting with colour and flavour, perfect for a simple supper with friends. Why not serve with warm pitta bread and hummus for an extra kick of protein.

Preparation time: 20 mins

Difficulty: EASY

Vegetarian/Vegan

Ingredients:

Diced tomato

Cucumber

Red onion

Bell peppers

Lemon Zest

Cooked quinoa

Fresh Coriander

Fresh mint

Fresh Dill

Pomegranate

Method

• Cook the quinoa according to the pack instructions and leave to cool
• Combine the diced tomato, cucumber, onion, bell peppers & lemon zest & quinoa
• Mix in the fresh herbs
• Squeeze over some fresh lemon juice and pile into a generously sized bowl
• Sprinkle with some pomegranate seeds for extra colour & garnish

Nutritional Benefits of this Recipe  

Emma Walder - Nutritional therapist

This dish not only tastes great, it’s bursting with nutritional goodies.

Pomegranate is a good source of fibre and contains vitamins A, C and E, iron and other antioxidants. The bright, pinky-red colour hints at the wonderful benefits of this fruit. The vitamin C helps with the absorption of the plant source iron. Pomegranate juice is also delicious.

Fresh Mint is good for the digestion

Fresh Coriander is High in vitamin K - responsible for blood clotting and carrying calcium around the body, so it’s good for the bones too.

Quinoa - “Keen -Wa” has twice the protein content of rice and is packed with vitamins and minerals. It contains all eight essential amino acids so it's a great protein source for vegetarians and vegans. The Aztecs grew and ate this special grain every day for its nutritional benefits. It also contains good amounts of calcium and trace minerals.