Interesting observation...

It has been established that I got my perfect meal from Flame Broiler, which is located in Sherman Oaks. It has also been established that when it comes to healthy meals, Sherman Oaks also beats out Panorama City/Arleta. Is it a coincidence that Sherman Oaks is a higher class community whereas both Panorama City and Arleta are working-class communities? I don't think so. More often than not, one's quality of life is defined by where she lives. Where one lives determines her access to resources, and her access to resources basically determines the quality of her life. For example, my journey to find the "perfect meal" revealed that the Panorama City/Arleta area did not have many places that offer healthy alternatives, whereas in Sherman Oaks I was able to eat at three restaurants that offered all natural, healthy dishes. A resident of Panorama City or Arleta has less healthy options compared to a Sherman Oaks resident, as seen in my results. 
I have lived in Panorama City for 11 years and I have yet to see a restaurant or food joint that offers healthy alternatives...there is a reason for this. Healthy and nutritious food comes at a high price; organic and all-natural products are more expensive to produce because farmers do not use any pesticides or artificial substances to induce the growth of crops. So naturally, the nutritious food is more expensive than the processed stuff (Healthy Food > Processed).
Seeing as that Panorama City is considered a working-class, with some areas on the lower end, neighborhood, it is no surprise that the availability of healthier restaurants is practically zero- most of the residents would not be able to afford the more nutritious food. Instead, there are numerous fast food chains like McDonald's, Carl's Jr., Del Taco and In-n-Out that offer not-so-healthy food at cheap prices that every resident can afford. 
These unfortunate trends lead to higher rates of obesity in working-class neighborhoods (Obesity Rates in Working Class Neighborhoods). 

Across the pond in Britain, obesity has been linked to social class. Bob Holman, who works on projects in socially-deprived areas in Britain said that, "This [Obesity] is not rocket science. Poor health is a well-known feature of deprivation. Mothers are not daft and they do know fat and crisps are bad for children but they can't afford the alternative. The Government has to give them the means. Initiatives are not going to change anything unless you've got the cash in your pocket. If you buy a salad at Sainsbury's, it's still very expensive. (Poverty and Obesity)" When people do not have access to better food due to location and financial limitations, they have no other choice but to eat what they can afford- sadly, what is usually affordable is the fattening junk one finds at the local fast food place that only proves to be unhealthy. 

So here it is- in addition to finding my "perfect" meal, I also discovered the sad truth that where a person lives ultimately determines the quality of his life. Working class neighborhoods like Panorama City and Arleta have a lower prevalence of healthy eateries because eating healthy is not cheap- people will obviously opt to eat the $1 burger rather than the $8 organic crepe if it means they save money. So no demand for the healthy stuff equals no healthy resturants. Sherman Oaks, on the other hand, has more healthy alternatives because as a higher-class neighborhood, its residents are able to afford to eat right; people willing to pay more for nutritious food equates more healthy eateries. 

FINAL RESULTS!

I added up all the scores for each area and found the average. Here are the final results!

Panorama City/Arleta: 

• Price = 9.2
• Health = 6.5
• Taste = 8.7

Sherman Oaks:

• Price = 8.8
• Health = 9.5
• Taste = 9.3

So while the Panorama City/Arleta area won out in the price criteria, Sherman Oaks comes out the winner for both the health and taste aspects of a meal!

Overall winner: Flame Broiler. I believe I got my perfect meal at Flame Broiler. For $5, I was able to enjoy a healthy and satisfying bowl of chicken, beef, steamed veggies, and brown rice AND a drink. Flame Broiler definitely delivered on all three requirements- price, health, and taste!

Day Six for a Mediterranean fix.

Sixth and final stop? Massis Kabob inside the Sherman Oaks Fashion Square. 

Massis Kabob offers traditional Mediterranean cuisine of meat kabobs and jumbo gyros. As stated on their menu, Massis Kabob does not use any MSG, preservatives, or additives. All of the food is natural and the meat is char-broiled, never fried. 

I am usually a "chicken" gal because I always stay on the safe side and stick to my chicken, but on that particular day I felt a little daring and ordered the Lamb Kabob plate. It came with a side greek salad, pita bread, and roasted tomatoes. So I happily had my daily servings of protein, veggies, and starch all on one plate. Let me just say, everything was delicious and healthy! Lamb is actually a good red meat because only 36% of its fat is saturated, and is a great source of zinc and iron (Lamb Nutrition). The tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and olives were all so fresh and crunchy! I did not eat the pita bread and instead ate the rice, which was arguably the most "fattening" thing from that meal; the rice was long-grain white rice. The rice was fluffy and steamed, so there was no added oil or butter used to give it flavor. This meal was ALMOST perfect...its price was the downfall. A whopping $8.25 without a drink. Maybe I should have just got the chicken kabob for only $6.95........ just kidding. I definitely got my money's worth!

Price- 8

Health- 9.5

Flavor- 9.5

Day Five for the crepe hype.

Fifth stop? Crave Cafe on Ventura Boulevard. This cute, little cafe is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and offers omelettes, crepes, salads, and paninis with prices from $5-$10 (Crave Cafe). What I enjoyed about their menu was the fact that under each major item there were several options and combinations- for example, one can make their own omelette and choose their desired meats, veggies, and cheese. Since I was craving the good old crepe, I decided to build my own crepe! I ordered mine with chicken, mushrooms, spinach, and provolone cheese. Crave has a crepe combo deal that entails a soup or salad, and a drink. So I upgraded my order and got a lentil soup with a green tea as my beverage for $10. 

Beautiful looking plate, right? My crepe also came with a fresh side salad of mixed greens, heirloom tomato, and sliced cucumber. My crepe was fluffy and light; the filling was tasty. The chicken was cooked perfectly and my veggies were slightly crunchy- just the way I like them. It was definitely a satisfying meal...and certainly a big one as well. The crepe was large, to say the least. I was not a big fan of the cheese inside; the crepe itself was not greasy at all, but the cheese just made it a reasonably heavy meal. 

Price- 8.5

Health- 9

Flavor- 9

Here is a filling from yours truly :)

Ingredients

• 1 cup of chicken breast cut into chunks
• 1 cup of sliced button mushrooms
• 1 cup of frozen spinach
• 1/2 a cup of sliced red bell peppers
• vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Pour one tablespoon of vegetable oil in a sautee pan. Once hot, add the cooked chicken chunks along with the mushrooms. Sautee for about two minutes just to warm the chicken through and cook the mushrooms. Next add the frozen spinach. Sautee for another 3-4 minutes. Add the bell peppers and continue to sautee for two minutes. Make sure not to overcook any of the veggies in order to retain the crunch. Season with salt and pepper. 

Good for 2-3 crepes, depending on the size. 

On a side note, I also enjoyed some desert. AH! I know I should have been stuck to my healthy crepe, but I could not resist a desert one! Shh, this is our little secret.

Day Four calls for fun in a bowl!

Fourth stop on my food journey? Flame Broiler on Van Nuys Boulevard. I came across this place by accident actually. I was initially there (at the plaza Flame Broiler is located at) to get some frozen yogurt at Yogurtland with my best friend. But Flame Broiler's "$5 meals" deal caught my eye! Plus, they claim to be a "healthy choice". Right off the bat two of my three criteria points were already fulfilled.

Normally, a regular bowl of either chicken, beef, chicken & veggies, beef & veggies, half & half, or the works (a combo of everything) would cost a little bit over five dollars. However, since Flame Broiler was having a $5 meal deal, I was able to get get both a regular bowl and a drink as well. I got a regular bowl of The Works, and so did my friend.

The Works was a lovely bowl of chicken, beef, steamed veggies and brown rice. Yes, brown rice. To my surprise, I was given the choice of either white or brown rice. Since I am health cautious, I opted for the nutty brown rice as the nutritious starch of my meal! Brown rice is considered very healthy because since only the hull is removed, brown rice grains retain more vitamins and minerals like manganese and selenium (Brown Rice); manganese keeps bones strong (Manganese) and selenium allows for the thyroid to produce thyroid hormone (Selenium ). I had my protein which was broiled, my veggies that were steamed, and my good starch all in one moderately-sized meal. (I know it looks like a lot of food in the picture, but it is only because I decided to separate my meat from the rest of the bowl.) Flame Broiler never fries and only cooks organic food (Flame Broiler)!

According to Flame Broiler's "Healthy Facts", my bowl was 631 calories. This may sound hefty, but the suggested daily calorie intake for a woman my age and my weight/height is 2030 (Calorie Calculator).  When divided by three- assuming I eat three meals a day- I am allowed 677 calories per meal. So that means with my meal from Flame Broiler, I actually had 43 calories left over. 

Normally I would provide an alternative recipe, but so far, I think Flame Broiler has offered me the "perfect meal"!


Price- 10
Health- 10
Flavor- 9.5

Wish me luck!

Since I have eaten at three restaurants in the Panorama City and Arleta area, it is time for me to head on to Sherman Oaks! 

Day Three cures my Mexican Craving.

Third stop? El Pavito Veloz on Roscoe Boulevard. I always saw this restaurant on my way home from school with their crazy deals painted on the windows. After two years of simply passing by it, I finally got to try their Mexican cuisine. Luckily I came in and it was still lunch time, so I was in for a deal! There were two nice gentlemen who handed me the menu and a little booklet of coupons for my next visit, which I thought was very nice of them to do so. I opened the menu and was reasonably surprised at the prices...nothing over $8. If I remember correctly the most expensive item was a dish called Pazole, which is a Mexican speciality that highlights maize. In addition to being "cheap", most of the items had names I was definitely unfamiliar with- I only knew what a burrito, tamale, and taco were. I ended up ordering their combination burrito that had Mexican rice, grilled chicken, salsa, black beans, and guacamole. Yummy, right? And it was only $5.95!

I could not finish everything, so this is result- I probably had half of the burrito left. Let me tell you, I was full. Very full. But very satisfied. I got my daily servings of protein from the chicken and black beans, veggies from the salsa and guacamole, and starch from the rice and tortilla.

But- there is always a but- I was ridiculously full. This burrito was such a heavy meal I could not even stand up for a good twenty minutes. Although I am unsure of how many calories this particular burrito was, generally chicken burritos of the same features are a whopping 900 calories!!! (Chipotle Nutrition Facts Calculator) 

The guacamole itself constitutes for 150 calories! It is the avocado, I tell you! Despite the fact avocados are a good for the eyes by preventing cataracts and muscle degeneration, they are definitely high in fat content. (Superfoods!) And the flour tortilla is already 290 calories. WOW, I'm pretty sure I gained about 5 pounds at that sitting. Sigh.

Price- 10

Health- 6.5

Flavor- 9

As disappointing as it was to consume half a day's worth of calories in one sitting, I was able to find an alternative recipe for a much healthier chicken burrito. This recipe calls for carb-cautious flour tortillas instead of the regular one, brown rice rather than white rice, and there are no beans or guacamole. Automatically, roughly 420 calories are already knocked off. Amazingly, this chicken burrito still has protein, veggies, and the right starches. 

Ingredients

1. Mission Flour Tortillas Carb Balance 
2. Tyson's Fajita Chicken Strips 
3. Fresh Express Shreds
4. Pico de Gallo
5. Shredded Taco Blend Cheese
6. Great Value Brown Rice
7. Cumin, Garlic Powder, Creole Seasoning, Chili Powder

Directions

Heat a skillet thats been sprayed with 0 calorie olive oil.
You want to boil the brown rice first. I like mine kind of mushy so it'll take longer to boil, but you need to put it on at least 20 minutes before you start the Chicken Strips which don't take long. I season my rice with the Zatarain's Creole Seasoning till it taste good for me. I recommend you do the same.
Get a skillet. Put your Chicken Strips in there with the Pico de Gallo. The strips I have are aleady cooked but I put in the skillet in order to give them some color. Make sure you put the cumin and chili powder in here. The recipe calls for 1sp of each but the choice is up to you since it doesn't add calories to the entire mix. The chicken doesn't take any longer than 15 minutes for me, but if you're using uncooked Chicken, then of course you'll end up cooking your chicken first.
While this is going, get the amount of cheese and lettuce you're going to use and set it aside. We trying to have everything finish at the same time so we get everything in the tortilla as hot as possible.
Put the tortillas on a piece of aluminum foil and put it in the oven to warm. Don't cook them or they'll get too hard. If you don't have a warm setting, set it around 200 and watch them. It shouldn't take any longer than 3 minutes.
At some point, the rice, chicken, and tortilla should all be going around the same time. When your chicken is almost done, get your tortillas out and prepare them to be fill.
With the tortilla open up in front in you, put the chicken and pico de gallo in first, then the rice is next, cheese, and last but not least, lettuce. This needs to be put in the middle of the burrito and take into account that you have to roll this when you get finish, so putting too much might cause the tortilla to break. Kind of pack it down a little bit and roll it tucking in the ends as you go. Once you're done, set it on its side where the tortilla closes, and then do the second tortilla the same way.
Number of Servings: 2

(Spark Recipes)

Day Two calls for some Japanese food.

Second stop? Sakura on Woodman Avenue in Panorama City.

Sakura is a Japanese restaurant that is conveniently located just a couple of blocks away from my house- at most, a five minute walk. I took my friend, Randy, along with me (as you can see in the above picture). We were seated towards the back of the restaurant next to the fish aquarium, and handed both the regular menus and combo menus by a nice Japanese woman. They offered a variety of sushi rolls, and combination plates that had shrimp tempura, gyoza, chicken terriyaki, and a size salad; prices for the sushi rolls ranged from $4.95 to $8.95, and the combination plates cost anywhere from $8.75 to $12.50. Randy and I went the traditional route and just got a chicken terriyaki with shrimp tempura combo that cost a good $10.50 and the Woodman Roll which was priced at $7.50- the Woodman Roll, appropriately named after the street Sakura is located on, is a sushi roll of spicy tuna and avocado, then topped with a sweet and spicy sauce. The chicken terriyaki was delicious! The meat was perfectly cooked, and it was not over-sauced so I felt like I could eat more of it without worrying about the extra baggage of excess sauce. I enjoyed the Woodman Roll as well, although I will say it was on the spicy side. However, I was disappointed with the shrimp tempura- mine were limp, greasy, and flavorless. I even had to press my napkin against the shrimp's batter in order to pick up the unnecessary oil. On a lighter note, the combo plate also came with a side salad, which I will say I appreciated because it provided the much-needed veggies to the meal. Sure, there was avocado in the roll but avocados are so rich.

Price- 7.5

Health- 7

Flavor- 8.5

Here's a shrimp tempura recipe from my mother! 

Ingredients-

• 1 lb of large shrimp
• 1 cup of corn starch
• 1 cup of seltzer water (cold)
• 1 egg
• 2 cups of panko bread crumbs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Vegetable oil

Directions-

Devein the shrimp and clean properly.

In a large mixing bowl, add the corn starch, seltzer water, egg, and salt & pepper to taste.

On a large plate, pour the panko bread crumbs.

Pour shrimp into the tempura batter, and then coat them in panko bread crumbs.

Deep fry in vegetable oil about 3 minutes or so.

My mom uses a combination of corn starch and panko bread crumbs to achieve that CRUNCH instead of the usual flour. By omitting the flour, the shrimp tempura does not absorb as much oil. Panko bread crumbs are known to stay light and crispy, which is what shrimp tempura should be as well! Also, panko adds great flavor and texture. (Panko Bread Crumbs)

Day One with some Chinese fun.

First stop? Wong's Kitchen on Osborne St. in Arleta.
My older sister suggested I check this place out. According to her, Wong's Kitchen has "super cheap and yummy food!" I heard the words "cheap" and "yummy", and I was already hooked. So after my friend and I bought a couple of things form the Target down the street, we headed to Wong's with our empty stomachs and pocket change (Okay, not really "pocket change", but whatever cash we had on us.). We were greeted by an elderly woman who seated us next to the door. I usually do not like sitting next to the door, but her hospitality allowed me to excuse it for just that one time. She gave us these yellow, almost orange-colored, menus and I was practically shocked at the prices I saw! The pictures are a little blurry, but everything on the front page cost less than six dollars. The items ranged from vegetable chow mein, to chicken chop suey, and even sweet and sour ribs. Wong's even offered lunch combinations at a great deal- for example, pork chow mein, egg foo young, and pork fried rice was only a mere $3.95! Although  I was starving, the lunch combinations were just way too much food for me to handle. So I opted for shrimp chow mein that only cost $4.55! My friend ordered a quart size of bar-b-q pork fried rice for $3.75! Great deals, right? Definitely.

That's the shrimp chow mein I managed to down in a whopping 25 minutes. The plate of crispy egg noodles, succulent shrimp, and steamed carrots and broccoli was simply scrumptious although a little greasy. As I sat there while my friend finished up her fried rice, I began to get slightly dizzy. I assumed maybe I just ate too quickly...and then I remembered I did not request to cook my food without MSG.
MSG, monosodium glutamate, is used to enhance the flavor of food- it is commonly used in Chinese food, canned foods, and processed meats. It causes a wide range of reactions in certain people, such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, sweating, and even chest pain. (Monosodium Glutamate)
Unfortunately, I am one of those "certain people" who are affected by MSG; I experience dizziness and nausea if I consume it. I was so satisfied with my meal until this happened, sigh.

So final grades?
Price: 10
Health: 6
Taste: 8.5

Here is a better, more healthier alternative! Less grease, and no MSG used.

• Peanut oil is used, which is an excellent source of fiber, protein, and magnesium. It is considered a "good fat" that protects us from cardiovascular disease, lowers cholesterol and helps improve both blood and brain activity. (Peanut Nutrition) 
• Instead of using salt to flavor the food, soy sauce is used instead. Although it is high in sodium, soy sauce is also a great source of protein since it is made from legumes. Soy sauce is known to protect us from cardiovascular disease and cure diarrhea. (Soy Sauce Nutrition)

Ingredients

• 16 oz shrimp, peeled & deveined 
• 2 carrots, sliced thin on diagonal 
• 5 stalks celery, sliced thin on diagonal 
• 1 large onion, sliced thin
• 1 medium portabello mushroom, sliced 
• 2 tbsp grated ginger root 
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 cup Progresso chicken broth 
• 2 tbsp peanut oil 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1-2 tbsp corn starch 
• 3 tbsp white wine

Directions

Mix broth, wine & soy sauce into the corn starch. Set aside.
Add the peanut oil to a hot wok. Add garlic, ginger, onions, celery, and carrots. Stir fry quickly until onions are just turning soft. Then add shrimp and mushrooms. Stir fry until shrimp begin to turn pink. Then add the cornstarch, water & soy mixture. Mix well and stirring occasioinally, until the shrimp are thoroughly cooked and the sauce thickened. Serve over brown rice.
Makes 6 to 8 servings. Nutritional info based on 6.
Spark Recipes

One more thing!

Okay, maybe two more things. I forgot to mention another component to my "journey"- I am staying local and looking for my perfect meal in my hometown of Panorama City; to make it a little more convenient for myself, I am joining Panorama City and Arleta together just to give myself more options. And just for kicks, I have decided to compare my findings in Panorama City/Arleta to my findings in the neighboring city of Sherman Oaks!

A little background information on the two areas:

• Panorama City/Arleta: Panorama City is located in San Fernando Valley and is historically known as the first planned city by Henry J. Kaiser. The demographics show that the majority of the residents are of Latino background (seen as "Other" in the chart), followed closely by Asian/Pacific Islander. Income levels show that the median income is roughly around $35,000 (Panorama City Demographics). Arleta, originally a part of Pacoima, shows similar statistics, as seen in the second set of pie charts (Arleta Demographics). 

• Sherman Oaks- Although Sherman Oaks is only a mere 6.6 miles away from the Panorama City/Arleta area, it displays very different demographics- the majority of the population is white (Sherman Oaks Demographics), and the median income is a little over $60,000 (Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Profile).

Allow me to introduce myself.

Why hello there, Cyber world. I am relatively new to this blogging business, but so far so good. I have yet to experience any kind of system failure (Please tell me that is not possible with blogging!) Anyway, my name is Erika and if you look to your right, you'll see that I am a freshman at Cal State University, Northridge. I figured I would create this blog in order to document my "journey" as I look for the "perfect" meal. Yes, I am indeed on the prowl for the perfect meal! As a college student, I am always on the hunt for a quick meal, and although I am aware that "perfection" does not exist, as long as a meal fulfills the three golden requirements, then it will be just perfect for me.


THE three simple, but very important requirements:

1. Of course my ideal meal must be of an affordable price! In the current condition of our economy where California in particular is experiencing a 12.4% unemployment rate, saving money is definitely important. Any opportunity I have to save a couple of extra bucks will be taken. I am aiming for under $10.
2. Nutrition also plays a part- my perfect meal must be healthy! Like I said, I'm a freshman in college...and I am well are of the "Freshman 15". There is just no way I can afford to put on fifteen more pounds, so eating the healthy way is the only way I can go! But what is "healthy" or "nutritious"? I am definitely no physician or expert, but according to webmd.com, a healthy meal must focus on fruits, veggies, whole grains and avoid saturated fats, sugars, and salt. 
3. Last, but not least my meal must be of impeccable flavor! Self-explanatory. I mean, come on- who, in their right mind, doesn't like good tasting food?!

I understand that my above requirements will conflict with one another- healthy and nutritious meals don't come cheap, nor do yummy-tasting ones. However, I am determined to find a meal that fits my idea of perfection that fulfills each and every requisite reasonably :)


*I will "grade" everything based on a 1-10 scale just to make things easier for myself, and every one else.