Spinach or kale … grilled or fried?
When it comes to the war on weight, you have to load up on as much food information and consume as much knowledge as you can hold. Helping Nashvillians navigate nutrition, NourishWise … a local company founded and led by Jason Denenberg … works with local restaurants to decode their menus.
Denenberg’s other ‘day job’ is as director of entrepreneurship for Launch Tennessee, which provides seed capital and support for start-ups. Currently, he oversees nine regional businesses at various stages in their evolution. He noted, “The three basic questions that any entrepreneur should ask before starting a venture are: What is the problem that needs to be fixed? How can we fix it? How can we all make money doing this?”
Denenberg believes NourishWise fits the criteria by offering an innovative, entrepreneurial solution to a growing societal problem: how to eat in restaurants and not ruin your diet or eating plan.
The idea is to provide a local model here, saturate Nashville’s growing foodie scene, and then raise capital to move into other markets. The tone is informational without being ‘preachy.’ In fact, the website notes, “Our goal is to provide an accurate tool to help you make proactive decisions for healthy eating while at restaurants. But if today is hamburger and french fries day, go for it! We won’t tell anyone, and we’ll be here for your next restaurant visit.”
Finding the Sweet Spot
Denenberg said, it’s all about helping people find the sweet spot and realize there isn’t one right food plan that fits every person … but there is an opportunity to provide people with the tools to make the best decision for themselves on any given day.
The NourishWise team of registered dieticians and licensed nutritionists isn’t afraid to take on popular trends, either. A recent blog post by Tim Olszewski, MS, RD, LDN, who heads up the company’s business development, was titled “Death to Kale and the Demonization of Foods.”
Olszewski wrote, “Let’s take kale for example. In isolation, kale is great. However, kale isn't the silver bullet that will turn around a diet, help someone lose a lot of weight, or eliminate a variety of health complications. Its advantages are that it is easy to grow, very versatile, and has pleasant nutritional benefits.
“Upon a closer look, though, kale isn’t a whole lot different from, say spinach. … They are pretty much equal, but what I do know is that spinach tends to cost less than kale. Also, I don’t see a lot of spinach snacks covered in oil and salt, dried out, and promoted to be healthy. It’s all about perspective.”
How it Works
If you’ve ever stared dejectedly at a restaurant menu to see if anything could fit with your eating plan or notion of ‘healthy,’ NourishWise can open up new horizons. “The concept came from our own foodie frustration,” Denenberg noted, of trying to decipher any nutritional clues on menus. “We knew that there had to be a better way to marry our love of eating, technology and healthy living.”
NourishWise partners with restaurants that then submit their operating recipes to the company for a nutritional/caloric evaluation that will give diners more accurate tools to make smarter choices when ordering. Diners sign up for free at the NourishWise.com site and receive weekly updates with information about local food options and delicious choices that fit dietary needs and preferences.
An email from mid-July broke down four healthy ‘must eats’ in Music City with calorie, total fat, protein and carb information on popular menu items from Blue Coast Burrito, City Fire, Deg Thai Food Truck, and Juice Bar. Another missive outlined four great options at Sole Mio, including the deliciously spicy Scegli Penne Arrabbiata, which comes in at 370 calories and 6g of total fat. Currently, NourishWise is working with more than 18 restaurant partners including The Perch, Wild Iris, Puckett’s Grocery & Restaurant, Taziki’s, Jonathan’s, Eastland Café, The Standard and 1808 Grille, among others.
Nutritional analyst Lindsey Joe, RDN, LDN, said, “For me, working on the NourishWise mission means an incredible opportunity to positively impact the fuel (food) decisions of my friends, family and community. Everyday I work with individuals and groups who express one food frustration after another only to be left feeling defeated about this seemingly unattainable ‘healthy lifestyle’ we're bombarded with 24/7.”
Through her work at NourishWise, she continued, “I can help relieve and relax some of those worries about making a ‘wrong’ choice for someone's health and wellness goals. That means so much to so many who fight with food decisions each and every day.”
