Across eastern Asia on Feb 12, 2021, people will be celebrating Chinese New Year, ushering in the year of the Ox. For the growing Asian population of South Florida, this year’s celebration will be subdued compared to previous years.
Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year because it’s based on the lunar calendar and often called the Spring Festival. It’s the most important holiday in several Asian countries including China, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Philippines.
Spring Festival is when extended families come together and celebrate the beginning of the new year. Gifts are often exchanged and parents often give red envelopes filled with money to children. Lavish dinners with many dishes symbolizing unity and good luck are served. New Year’s rituals span two weeks, so you will often find businesses in east Asia taking a long vacation during this period.
In the US, you will find many of the traditional celebrations, such as dragon and lion dances and the hanging of red lanterns in many China towns across the country. But this year, this is expected to be more subdued, and many families will be celebrating at home.
The Ox from the Chinese Horoscope symbolizes someone who is honest and hardworking. As we all recover from a difficult 2020, I hope the spirit of the Ox imbues us with the strength to take on the recovery, and leads to a prosperous 2021.
November is National Diabetes Month, and the Center for Disease Control reports that 29.1 million people, diagnosed and undiagnosed, are challenged with this disease in the United States. As a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE) I focus on wise food choices throughout the year. As the holiday season unfolds, I want to give people the tools to eat well and wisely.
In planning menus and choosing items from those often served at holiday meals, diabetes can afflict the meal planner as well as those dining at the table.As the host or hostess, it is important to include options for those who may have challenges with what some folks dismiss as “just a little sugar.” In putting together a menu of traditional dishes, which tend to be carbohydrate heavy, remember that to control diabetes it is essential to manage carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrates are necessary nutrients that are the fuel for energy— however if diabetes is a factor, carbs must be monitored. Carbohydrates are starches, sugars, and fiber. Now let’s look at some of the dishes typically found on the Thanksgiving menu.
Michelle Stewart
Snacks and Appetizers:
These often include cheese and crackers, dips, or cocktail-size frankfurters. Good- for-you options to substitute are fresh vegetables in place of salty snacks such as chips or pretzels. Limit the cheese, which can be high in fat and calories, and ditch the baby frankfurters for lean lunchmeat rolled in lettuce leaves.
Side Dishes:
Folks do love potatoes — mashed, scalloped, or sweet. It is not the potato itself that gets the bad rap; it’s the additions of butter, cheese, milk, sour cream, and other goodies. If making potatoes, opt for low-fat milk or plain Greek-style yogurt in place of cream and sour cream. If sweet potatoes are on the list, cut back on the amount of butter, sugar, and marshmallows. Sweepotatoes are a real power food, but if pairing the sweets with the previous list, the power punch is knocked out! Include roast or steamed green vegetables, baked squash, and a tossed green salad.
Now turkey stuffing is in the side-dishcategory — this too can be more wholesome if you use a little less butter or margarine, use sodium-reduced broth, and whole grain bread or brown rice, depending on the type of stuffi ng you are making.
Main Dishes:
Turkey is the star attraction on most tables, however, it can also be joined by ham or roast beef. These are protein foods without any carbohydrates. Limit servings to 3 to 4-ounce portions. If turkey is your main-dish choice, go for roasted turkey and not deep- fried. Choose turkey breast and remove the skin. If gravy is on the must-have list, limit to a couple of tablespoons or half a ladle of gravy.
Dessert:
I know this is where so many slip up. Don’t deny yourself dessert, choose half-size portions, forgo caramel, chocolate, and whipped toppings. If eggnog is in the picture, pour a juice-size glass or make the beverage your dessert in place of cake or pie.
These are some of the tools and guidelines for good and healthy eating during the holidays. Diabetes is serious but by making wise choices as the host or guest, folks can eat well, enjoy the season, and keep well-being goals in sight.
Take Away: You can enjoy seasonal holidays by making good choices to eat well and manage the Diabetes challenge.
While food truck festivals may be temporarily out of fashion due to the pandemic, many local trucks have regrouped, revamped, and are re-energized.
While restaurants were shuttered during Phase I and partially shuttered during Phase II here in Florida, the nature of food trucks allows them more flexibility tocontinue operating.
Rob Adler, (aka “The Weekend Concierge”) and founder of the websites Weekendbroward.com and FoodTrucksFortLauderdale. com promotes live music and local events with food trucks.
He says, “Food trucks are micro-businesses that are easy to start up, but have presented a challenge during the pandemic. There are still business opportunities in catering events or in “on-consignment,” but these can be economically risky because you don’t know how much food to purchase in advance.”
“Food trucks should be your mobile ad for a catering business or restaurant,” he says. “You need to be creative and make the right connections. Very few trucks can survive with only weekend events.”
“You can’t just park on the corner and think people will flock to your truck,” he says, noting that before the pandemic hit, 500 food trucks were registered between Miami and West Palm Beach. “You have to be a hustler.”
According to a recent economic census, 5,970 food trucks were operating nationwide in 2018, nearly double the 3,281 in 2013. The average sales per food truck establishment was $226,291, with average sales per employee at $86,212.
Along with California and Texas, Florida was in the top three in food truck sales in 2017 registering $98.3 million.
With numbers like this, it’s no wonder that buying, owning, and running a food truck is an appealing prospect to many.
Transplanted New Yorkers Peggie Ann Blain and her financé Bruno Maxino (aka Chef Max) have been running Bruno’s Catering Food Truck in the tri-county area for the past eight years.
Adler is their agent and Blain says, “Rob is a well-loved guy and very popular with the food truck set. He has a heart of gold and we all love and respect him.”
With an eclectic menu, “international meets New York flair,” it’s a selection anyone from any walk of life can taste and enjoy, says Blain.
Their signature dish is one Chef Max created – a griot burrito, combining flavors both from Haiti and Mexico with pulled pork, slaw vinaigrette, and black rice drizzled with a homemade 15-way honey mustard BBQ sauce.
In 2018 they won an award for the best food truck at the iHeartRadio awards for serving the freshest “eats on the streets.”
As part of their reinvention, Blain and Maxino plan to open a brick and mortar location on NE 13th St. in downtown Ft. Lauderdale.
They have provided catering to many essential hospital workers during the pandemic, including at Broward Health Medical Center and JFK Hospital in West Palm Beach.
Likewise, Coconut Creek residents Daniella and Michael Jaimes are first-time food truck operators. Owners of American Limo, they had the opportunity to branch out and purchase a new food truck and planned to start their Burger Town operations in mid-October.
While their specialty is Colombian burgers made with a pineapple sauce, onion, bacon, and a variety of dipping sauces, they will offer regular American-style cheese and bacon burgers as well as hot dogs and quesadillas.
Another specialty is their Colombian sweet corn, known as maicito, served with mozzarella cheese, potato sticks, and sauces.
“We will start with the basics and branch out from there,” says Danielle Jaimes.
Another husband and wife food truck team is the Mediterranean-themed Tornado Food owned by Natalia Navarro, a former medical office manager originally from Argentina and her husband Achraf Zariat, a former fl ight attendant for Tunisair.
The two met and married locally and decided to launch a business together.
“We wanted to be entrepreneurs,” says Navarro. “We had a restaurant in Miami that we closed due to the pandemic.”
With some financial assistance and $3,000, they were able to start their first food truck selling a tornado potato – a spiral cut potato on a stick fried to a golden brown and fully loaded with cheese sauce, bacon, etc.
Chef Max
Their specialty is the home-made potato along with lamb, chicken, or shrimp gyros. They make all their sauces, including hummus and tzatziki sauce.
They also operate a second truck offering mostly American style food, including Aloha hotdogs (hotdogs topped with pineapple, red onions, jalapeño, and a sweet ansour sauce), Tornado Mac & Cheese, and shredded beef sandwiches.
Pre-pandemic, they’ve traveled throughout the state to many events, including the NASCAR event in Homestead, Balloon Festivals such as the hot air glowing balloon festival in Orlando, Car and Coffee in West Palm Beach, and the Facetime. Lauderdale Air Show.
However, what Navarro says really draws the crowds is their “Dragon Breath,” a 16 oz. cup of giant fruity puffs, blasted with liquid nitrogen and covered in chocolate syrup, a favorite for kids who can blow out dragon breath, which sells for $10.
“The kids love it,” says Navarro. “Sometimes there are more than 50 kids in line, with no end in sight.”
“Food trucks are no longer a novelty,” says Navarro. “We’re two hard-working immigrants trying to make a living and doing our best. It’s a lot of work, but we’re happy.”
