Are you yearning to dine out but can’t seem to find healthier options that actually taste good? Your taste buds will be delighted to find a variety of fresh and tasty options during Blue Zones Restaurant Week, Feb. 24 - March 1. Throughout the week, dozens of Blue Zones Project Approved™ and participating restaurants across Fort Worth will highlight their Blue Zones-inspired dishes and menu items at special prices and discounts. Everything from grain bowls to veggie curries to flavor-packed soups. Visit BlueZonesRestaurantWeek.com for a complete list of restaurants and specials.
What exactly is a Blue Zones-inspired menu item? In short, it’s a dish that uses plant-based, non-processed ingredients. A more detailed explanation requires that it meet the Blue Zones Healthy Dish Guidelines, which are derived from the diets of the world’s longest-lived people in the original Blue Zones areas. To warrant a Blue Zones Project thumbs up, a menu item must:
- Feature plant-based foods (vegetables, beans, whole grains, fruits, nuts, tofu, quinoa, tempeh, seitan, plant-based meat substitutes);
- Include at least one vegetable;
- Not include fried foods of any kind; sautéing at low temperatures is acceptable;
- Use 100 percent whole grain pastas, pizzas, tortillas, breakfast cereals, and other flour-based foods;
- Use brown rice instead of white;
- Use 100 percent whole grain or sprouted-grain breads instead of white bread, with the exception of sourdough;
- Omit butter, or substitute olive or canola oil;
- Contain fewer than six teaspoons of added.
There are additional criteria, but you get the idea. And if you think any of these requirements make for a bland or unappealing meal, think again. During Blue Zones Restaurant Week, you’ll have dozens of opportunities to see for yourself how delicious eating with a plant-slant can be. Participating restaurants include: Black Cat Pizza; Boulevard of Greens; Branch & Bird; Buffalo West; Café Modern; Clean Juice; Cuisine for Healing; Freshii; Grand Cru Wine Bar & Boutique; Great Harvest Bread Co.; HG SPLY Co.; Juice Junkies; Los Vaqueros (Northside); Neckter Juice Bar; Oliva Italian Eatery; Pho District; Roots Coffeehouse; SPICE; Taco Heads; Thai Select; The Bangkok; The Table Market & Culinary Studio; and Zoës Kitchen (Waterside and Westbend).
While you’re there, be sure to tell your server you’re there for Blue Zones Restaurant Week when ordering to ensure that you receive the special discount. You’ll also want to snap a picture of your meal and share it on Facebook or Instagram. Tag Blue Zones Project Fort Worth -- @BlueZonesProjectFW for Facebook, @BZPFortWorth for Instagram – and include hashtag #BlueZonesRestaurantWeek. You could win a restaurant gift card or a copy of Dan Buettner’s new book, “The Blue Zones Kitchen.” Two random winners will be selected each day.
Happy plant-slant eating!