Vegetarian Paneer Tikka Masala at Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Vegetarian Paneer Tikka Masala at Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

I tried vegetarian paneer tikka masala from Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California for lunch. I liked it and think the Indians also consider food as medicine like the Chinese do. 

I used the recipe from www.indianhealthyrecipes.com to find basic information about paneer tikka masala. Paneer is Indian cheese. Tikka means “grilled.” In this recipe, marinated and cubed Indian cheese is grilled before bein added to the masala gravy. Paneer Tikka Masala is a Northern Indian dish that was originally made with chicken. 

Restaurants grill the paneer cheese after marinating it. The marinade is made with yogurt, ginger garlic paste, red chile powder, garam masala (curry powder), turmeric oil, salt, and lemon juice. Avatar Indian Grill may not use this exact recipe, but it is probably a close approximation when you taste Avatar’s paneer. 

The masala gravy is made by sautéing onions, tomatoes, and cashews with turmeric, garam masala (curry powder), and red chile pepper flakes. This cooked mixture is added to a blender and mixed till smooth. This mixture is cooked again with the addition of onions, green pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, garlic ginger paste, and water. The masala is allowed to cook until thickened. 

While the masala gravy cooks, you grill the marinated paneer cheese. You add the grilled tikka cheese to the masala gravy along with cream before serving it with basmati rice and naan flatbread seasoned with black nigella seeds. 

The spices in paneer tikka masala are especially good for you along with the vegetables and the cheese (with the exception of people with allergies). I used information from Johns Hopkins Medical School, Rochester University, and BBC Good Food websites to put together the nutrition information for ingredients as they appear above: 

-ginger – eases morning sickness, cuts down on constipation and bloating, and contains antioxidants that remove free radicals that can cause cancer 

-garlic – reduces heart attack risk -red chile flakes – contain Vitamin C which is an antioxidant that removes free radicals from the body that can cause cancer  

-turmeric – is an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory that also helps prevent degenerative eye diseases  

-lemon juice – is a an antioxidant 

-onions – contain vitamin C, antioxidants and B vitamins for the metabolism

-tomatoes – contain vitamin C, an antioxidant 

-cashews – contain protein and antioxidants 

-bell peppers – contain vitamin C, vitamin B6 which forms red blood cells, and promotes bone health  

-cardamom – aids digestion, balances blood sugar levels, and lowers blood pressure 

-cinnamon – is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory 

-cloves – contain antioxidants 

-paneer cheese – contains protein and calcium 

The delicious vegetarian paneer tikka masala at Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California is a community asset for flavor as well as health. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Target's Santa Fe Salad as a Combo Meal by Ruth Paget

Target’s Santa Fe Salad as a Combo Meal by Ruth Paget 

All by itself Target’s Santa Fe salad has 260 calories in its single-size serving bowl. 

The Santa Fe salad comes with iceberg lettuce, sweet corn, lime marinated chicken breast, carrots and red cabbage, mixed corn tortilla strips, and corn tortilla strips with a chile pepper flavored salad dressing. 

I make this salad part of a combination meal that I do at home. I add slices of roasted red pepper preserved in oil to the salad. I also eat one or two slices of sourdough toast and a homemade probiotic yogurt with the salad. 

I like this little Californian combination meal. It is light and might appeal to people looking for a fast and healthy lunch, so they can do errands. 

You can also buy all the food to make this combo meal at Target.

By Ruth Paget, Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Hi-Tech Pizza at Domino's by Ruth Paget

Hi-Tech Pizza at Domino’s by Ruth Paget 

I have always like Domino’s for innovating to provide expanded and better service. 

When I lived in downtown Detroit in the 1980s, I loved Domino’s for delivery, which no one else did there except for expensive caterers. 

These days I have the Domino’s app and like getting deal offers by text message. You can sometimes save $5 to $10 per offer, so the deals are worth checking out, especially if you are on a tight budget. 

The online ordering has a feature that allows you to easily split the pizza order in half, which I do. I like pepperoni and cheese on one side of the pizza and mushrooms and cheese on the other side. The app has a handy feature for adding extra mushrooms and red pepper flakes to go on the pizza. (Red pepper flakes contain Vitamin C, an antioxidant that removes free radicals that can cause cancer.) 

Once your order is placed, you can watch it progress along a status bar from prepping, baking, quality control to delivery. 

Once in delivery status, you can watch your driver’s progress to your home on a map on your phone. The driver can also text you along the way, if any issues come up. Most drivers use the text messaging to let you know when they have arrived. 

The app allows you to opt for contactless delivery or traditional delivery where the driver will hand the pizza to you. 

All of this technology has allowed Domino’s to provide a very accurate delivery window of about 10 minutes, which is important for both catering and individual homes. 

Using the app has reduced stress for me in ordering Domino’s pizza and getting delivery. 

Domino’s technology might be useful for other food outlets as well. 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Vegetable Coconut Curry at Avatar Grill in Salinas, California

Vegetable Coconut Curry at Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget 

Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas, California near Natividad Hospital serves vegetarian and meat-based dishes to the entire Salinas community thanks to delivery. 

I recently tried vegetable coconut curry made by sautéing onions and bell pepper with garlic, ginger, garam masala (curry powder), turmeric, and coriander. Once this mixture has simmered a few minutes, 

Avatar Undian Grill adds sliced cauliflower, broccoli, squash, peas, carrots, mushrooms, coconut milk, and maybe chicken broth to the pan and simmers everything for about half an hour. 

The delivery food arrives hot just as if it had just left the pan. 

I ate this savory curry over saffron rice with warm naan flatbread studded with cardamom bread. 

For something quick, healthy, delicious, and reasonably priced, Avatar Indian Grill in Salinas has some for almost everyone it seems on their exhaustive online menu. 

Bon Appétit! 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Winchell's for Donuts and Sandwiches by Ruth Paget

Winchell’s for Donuts and Sandwiches by Ruth Paget 

Winchell’s Donut House has three locations in Salinas, California. It is part of a chain with 170 stores plus locations in Guam and Saipan, the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific, a U.S. Commonwealth in the Western Pacific according to its website. 

Loyal customers in Salinas know that the stores are open 24 hours a day and serve bagel sandwiches in addition to large, puffy donuts. 

I have a recommendation for a combination meal at Winchell’s: 

-1 plain donut topped with dark chocolate frosting 

-a toasted bagel turkey sandwich (see review below) 

-an iced bitter coffee with cream 

Winchell’s does delivery in addition to being open 24 hours per day, making it a convenient option for lunches at work. 

I tried one of their toasted bagel sandwiches recently and thought it would be a good Friday treat lunch. The sandwich comes with about ¾-inch of turkey slices, 2 crispy bacon strips, pepperjack cheese, avocado slices, and a mustard-mayonnaise. 

I think avocados make everything taste better and liked this sandwich. I also like crispy, salty bacon, which made this sandwich double delicious. 

A bitter and creamy iced coffee is just the thing to enjoy after a hearty sandwich like this. 

Winchell’s donuts are always good with coffee, too, especially when you buy them by the dozen. 

Bon Appétit! 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Vegetarian Fast Food at Sonic in Salinas, California by Ruth Paget

Vegetarian Fast Food at Sonic by Ruth Paget 

Soccer moms in Salinas, California value Sonic Drive-In for its extensive and reasonably priced menu of bacon cheeseburgers, chili hot dogs, and a myriad of shake flavors. 

Buried within the Sonic menu are also two vegetarian combo meals that you have to order separately, but they are lurking there to serve as a vegetarian meal even for the Mediterranean Diet with a once-a-month dessert of a vanilla shake with real whipped cream. 

These are the two menus I proposed for vegetarians at Sonic Drive-In: 

Vegetarian Menu 1 –  

-Grilled cheese sandwich with added mustard 

-fried onion rings 

-Diet Limeade 

-vanilla shake 

Vegetarian Menu 2 – 

-Large Pretzel 

-Fried Mozzarella Sticks with Marinara dipping sauce 

-Fried onion rings or French fries 

-Diet Limeade 

-Vanilla Shake 

Both of these menus are reasonably priced and delicious. If you want to avoid the expense of burgers for a crew, these vegetarian meals might be for you at Sonic Drive-In in Salinas, California. 

Bon Appétit! 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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Citrus Chicken at El Pollo Loco by Ruth Paget

Citrus Chicken at El Pollo Loco by Ruth Paget  

El Pollo Loco, the chicken meal chain, is not a spicy, deep-fried version of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The chicken at El Pollo Loco is citrus-marinated and fire-grilled. The side dishes differ from Kentucky Fried Chicken for the most part, too. 

My family recently tried El Pollo Loco at one of their Salinas locations in Westridge Mall and ordered a 12-piece family meal. We had a choice of sides and ordered stewed pinto beans, Mexican rice made with chicken broth and tomato juice, and macaroni and cheese. Broccoli was an option, which we will order as an additional side next time for its high amount of vitamin C. 

I used the USDA.go, WebMD.com, and National Institutes of Health websites to find nutrition information for our El Pollo Loco meal that we ordered: 

Chicken 

-potassium 

-iron 

-vitamin B6 

-magnesium 

-protein 

Pinto Beans 

 -fiber 

-potassium 

-iron 

-vitamin B6 

-magnesium 

Mexican Rice 

-protein 

-vitamin C 

-vitamin A 

Macaroni and Cheese 

-fiber 

-calcium 

-magnesium 

-iron 

The nutrition information for broccoli shows why we should add it to our order next time: 

Broccoli 

-potassium 

-fiber 

-vitamin C 

-iron 

-vitamin B6 

-magnesium 

-calcium 

-protein 

I used the USDA.gov, medlineplus.gov, and National institutes of Health websites to identify what the nutrients in our El Pollo Loco meal do for the body in the order that they appear above: 

-potassium helps your nerves function and muscles contract -iron is used in the body for growth and development.

-Iron is used by the body to make hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to all parts of the body 

-vitamin B6 is important for normal brain development and for keeping the nervous system and immune system healthy 

-magnesium is important for protein synthesis, muscle and nerve function, blood glucose control, and blood pressure regulation 

-protein is used to repair and cells and make new cells in the body 

-fiber moves waste through the digestive tract 

-vitamin C protects cells against free radicals that cause cancer 

-vitamin A boosts helps fight against night blindness 

-calcium helps build strong bone 

In addition to all this good nutrition, El Pollo Loco offers an online loyalty program to its customers as well as catering based on its regular menu. 

El Pollo Loco is a nice option to have for weekend meals that taste like a parent grilled it in the backyard. 

Bon Appétit! 

By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France

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