Is Your Fish Really Fresh

Have you enjoyed some of our fish lately and wondered why it is so outstanding, leaving your tastes buds screaming for more? We take pride in the way we handle our fish, which is by flash freezing. This process can taste fresher than the "fresh" fish you could get at your local bistro. Most fresh fish spends one to two weeks in the cold chain before it even reaches your plate. Our fish is processed within 4 hours of harvest and frozen using state-of-the-art Japanese belt freezing systems.

What is flash freezing?

• Flash freezing is used in the food industry to quickly freeze perishable food items. Products are subjected to temperatures well below freezing causing the water inside the foods to freeze in a very short period without forming large crystals, thus avoiding damage to the cells, otherwise known as freezer burn. 

Why buy flash frozen products?

• Quick freezing fish seals in nutrients so it is often fresher than "fresh" fish.
• Fish and seafood begins to decline in quality immediately after being caught, so freezing fish as soon as possible retains quality and seals in freshness.
• "Fresh Fish" can often take up to a week to reach a store. Often time, flash Frozen products are frozen at sea within hours of being take from the water. 
• Flash freezing insures that ice crystals within both meat and seafood are extremely small. This reduces water absorption and destruction of the cells. End result is better quality meat and seafood. 
• Enables the consumer to purchase a high quality food product no matter where they live. Proximity to the food source is not an issue. 
• It is impossible for bacteria to multiply on frozen food. 
• Freezing naturally locks in nutrients and vitamins with no need of preservatives.

Environmental benefits of frozen meat and seafood

• Keeping flash frozen products on hand limits the trips to the grocery store. This reduces your carbon footprint. 
• A full freezer uses less energy than an empty one.
• Longer shelf life results in less wasted food.
• Air freighting unfrozen food has a huge negative environmental impact.

Cinco De Mayo Steak Burritos

It is the beginning of May which means Cinco de Mayo is in a few days. This is a widely celebrated holiday in the United States. For those of you who are planning on celebrating Cinco de Mayo this Sunday here is a great steak burrito recipe you can use to spice up your party.

Makes: 4 servings

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup fresh salsa

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup instant brown rice

1-15 ounce can of black beans-low sodium rinsed

12 ounces strip steak, trimmed and thinly sliced crosswise

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil

4-8 inches whole wheat tortillas 

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup prepared guacamole

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

PREPARATION

1.) Combine salsa and water in a saucepan; bring to boil. Stir in rice, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in beans, return to simmer and cook, uncovered, continue to stir occasionally until the rice is tender and liquid is observed. 

2.) While step one is simmering. Sprinkle your steak with fresh pepper, heat oil on medium-high in a large skillet, and steak and stir occasionally until brown and cooked through. 

3.) Assemble ingredients onto a tortilla, add equal amounts of cheddar cheese, guacamole and fresh cilantro. Roll up tortilla into a burrito.

For all of you steak lovers we have a steak lovers special that is crazy to pass up.

The Importance Of Family Dinners

To most adolescents (and even some parents), there's nothing more out-of-date than dinner with the family. Instead of sitting down with boring parents and annoying younger siblings, they'd prefer to load their plates, scurry away and separate themselves in their own rooms to eat. With the fast growing pace of technology in today's world it is hard to get kids to sit down with the family when they could go to their own room and plop down with their IPad or laptop. Evidence shows that this destructive behavior must come to a stop.

According to TLC's "How Stuff Works", the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University researched the benefits of family dinners and found clear results. Specifically, researchers compared the responses of children who reported having family dinners fewer than 3 times a week to those who have family dinners 5 or more times a week. The study concluded that children who enjoy frequent dinners with their family are far less likely to develop substance abuse problems. If a child has family dinnertime on a regular basis, he or she is:

• half as likely to try cigarettes or marijuana
• one-third less likely to try alcohol
• less likely to have friends who drink alcohol or use marijuana
• more likely to say they will never use drugs

We would like to encourage families to get back to dining together. To motivate you to do so, we have decided to run a family dinner photo contest! The winner of this contest will receive a $25 Better Than A Bistro Gift Card. Please see the link below for more information.

Better Than A Bistro Family Dinner Contest

Better Than A Bistro Can Help Your School Raise Money!

 

Click here to check out the Fundraising Opportunities available with Better Than A Bistro

Free Dessert For Easter