7 Characteristics Associated with Long Life (and How to Cultivate Them)

Source: Mark’s Daily Apple

Our mission is simple: to make it easier for people to eat well.  However, this  interesting read reminds us all that there is much more to longevity than food and fitness alone.  So just let us take care of the food part, we’ve got you covered – always!

Cooking With Cicadas: No Weirder Than Eating Cheese?

Source: The Salt

As billions (yes, billions) of cicadas begin to emerge after 17 years in hibernation, some are getting ready to feast.  These harmless, yet noisy critters that will apparently out number humans 600 to 1, will give us East Coast Americans an opportunity to expand our palets with local insect cuisine.  Of course we’re all about locally sourced food, but I don’t think we’ll be serving up any kale & cicada salad anytime soon.

Everybody’s Into Tea Now, Apparently

Source: Gawker

When the CEO of Starbucks is making statements like, “We now intend to do for tea what we have done for coffee,” that has got to indicate something huge.  With the acquisition of Teavana, Starbucks is preparing to slingshot into the global tea market with a new lineup of premium teas.  Could tea become the new coffee?  Perhaps before answering that question, visit our 350 Hudson Street location and give our new line of locally produced, artisinal iced teas a try.  This line was launched in collaboration with Jennie Ripps at the Teaologist – check them out if you have a minute and want to jump on the tea bandwagon!

Vertical ‘Pinkhouses:’ The Future Of Urban Farming?

Source: The Salt

Vertical farming is a new trend that will potentially shape the future of urban food centers.

For a Better Smoothie, Just Add Chia

Source: New York Times Well

Turns out there’s a lot more to chia seeds than just adding water and watching it grow (remember those commercials for Chia Pets?) Chia seeds have a ton of health benefits.  These seeds are the richest plant source of Omega-3, helps weight loss, hydrates, reduces blood pressure and studies even show that it can control blood sugar.  Now that the temperature is rising it makes perfect sense to cool down with one of our smoothies or shakes – make sure to add a heaping spoonful of Chia Seeds.  ”Ch-Ch-Chia!”

Down with the clown: Third graders stand up to McDonald’s junk-food marketing

Source: Grist

Check out the letter that 9-year old, Hannah Robertson, sent to McDonad’s CEO.

Farmacology: Agriculture’s Rx for Good Health

Source: Civil Eats

“Reconnecting with the soil is one of the most basic ways we can support our bodies to heal and stay healthy.”

photo: SF Gate

Hi everyone.  Hope that you’re all having a good week.  Here’s our weekly list of the best articles about food and healthy living that we came across.

6 Things to Know About the Fats in Avocado

Source: Fooducate

We’re big fans of the fruit and its associated benefits.  At our newest location at 350 Hudson Street, we’ve added a half avocado as a side option.  You can’t go wrong with “healthy fats” and avocados consist of both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat.  Stop in and grab an Apple Avocado Smoothie or some of our house-made Guacamole.

 The Roving Runner: The New York Botanical Garden

Source: NY Times Well

It’s finally time to get off of the treadmill and take your jog outdoors with this lovely Spring weather that we’ve been pining for.  This is the perfect opportunity to explore new areas and take in what nature has to offer.

More Studies Confirm: Soft Drinks Increase Diabetes Risk

Source: Fooducate

“Just one can a day increases your chance of diabetes by 20 percent.”  This is an alarming statistic if you really think about it.  Although it might be a bit arduous to kick your soda habit, finding some healthier alternatives is certainly in your best interest for the long run.  The issue at hand is that the soft drink big whigs spend lots of dollars on advertising and getting us all hooked at such a young age, so much so that soda consumption just becomes routine.  In recent news, Coca-Cola made the decision to expand its calorie labels by putting the amount on the front of the can and bottle. But what about sugar – shouldn’t that be emphasized as well?

How a public school in Queens went vegetarian

Source: Grist

This school is the first in New York (perhaps even the country) to make the gradual switch to an all-vegetarian menu.

The Foodist’s Plate

Source: Summer Tomato 

“Half of you plate should be filled with vegetables.”  This is an interesting read that strays from the recommended USDA MyPlate.  Leave the fruit off of the dinner plate and incorporate a lot more vegetables cooked in natural, minimally processed oils.  We’re huge fans of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and well, vegetables (if you couldn’t already tell).

New FERN Story Looks at Antibiotic Resistance in Livestock

Source: Civil Eats

Is Eating Too Little Salt Risky? New Report Raises Questions

Source: The Salt

This is a rather informative article that questions whether a diet that is low in sodium is actually good for us.  A lot more research is required in order to decipher how very low-sodium diets may be harmful.  All in all – moderation is key.

Foraging the Farmer’s Market

Source: Huffpost Healthy Living

‘Tis the season for farmer’s markets!  In short the five tips are as follows: go in with a plan, get more bang for your buck, be adventurous and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

We’re back with a few links this week that we hope you’ll enjoy and as always, we’d be delighted to hear from you as well – have any thoughts, opinions or suggestions for article? Let us (as well as your fellow readers) know in the comments section.

Banish Winter with the Taste of Spring

Source: The New York Times

With the slow transition into the new season, we have a lot to look forward to. “And after the hard work of winter, a little effort spent celebrating the (imminent) arrival of spring feels pretty good.”

Top 10 Most Underrated Health Foods

Source: Summer Tomato

You can find a ton of beans & lentils and root vegetables on our menu.  We certainly appreciate the wonderful benefits of these items.  What are some of your favorite ‘underrated’ health foods?

Taco Bell: By 2020 Some of Our Food Will Be Healthier

Source: Fooducate

This quick, yet highly informative article correlates with two articles we had shared in our previous post.  All of the major fast food chains have been spewing new, ‘healthy’ menu items left and right.  Why is Taco Bell waiting 7 years to ring the bell with items that are lower in calories, total fat and sodium?

Farmers Market Update: Back in Action

Source: Summer Tomato

‘Tis the season for farmers markets!  It’s about that time, you should see more of these markets setting up shop after the long winter months.  The one featured in this particular article is located in San Fran, however, all of these enticing pics are enough to make you want to get out and search for a market in your very own neighborhood.

Sleek Hydroponic Unit Lets You Grow a Garden in Your Kitchen

Source: Tree Hugger

Urban farming from the comfort of your very own apartment.

Strawberries should not be growing in the Arctic Circle, and yet here they are

Source: Grist

Climate change, global warming…industrialized food production?

Hi, there! If you’re an Online Ordering customer, you may have noticed that we reorganized our menu a little last night. Not to worry – all of the same items are there, they’re just located in slightly different places (some of them at least).

The point of doing this is to simplify the menu a little and to require fewer clicks to get around (or taps, if you’re on a tablet or smartphone). Hopefully this makes things easier for both mobile and desktop users (once you learn the new structure).

Here’s a quick breakdown of how the new Online Ordering menu is organized:

Build Your Own

No change to this section. Just click on the Build Your Own link and make a plate like you normally would.

Picnic Pints

No change here either. Exactly the same as it was.

Soups

This is just our soups now…no more chips or spreads in this section.

Chips & Snacks

This is just bagged chips and spreads in dipping cups for now, but we’ll be adding some new items here in the coming weeks and months.

Baked Goods  & Sweets

Just our same old baked goods for now, but we’ll be adding new items here as well pretty soon.

Cold Pressed Juices

This is just our 4 cold pressed juices now.  Fresh-squeezed juices have been moved to the Bottled Beverages menu.

Healthy Shakes

This is just our 16oz quality shakes and smoothies now.

Bottled Beverages

This is all of the bottled drinks you can find in the cooler, aside from our cold pressed juices.  This includes both housemade and third party drinks.

Breakfast

No change to this section. Breakfast is only available at our 275 Madison location.

…

Anyway, hope this helps if you’re a little confused today. We apologize for being a little annoying, but we think this new organization will easier for everyone long-term!

Anyway questions? Please post away in the comments below.

Beyond Meat Chicken Free Strips

Happy Spring, everyone! We’re really excited to be back after a bit of a blog-posting hiatus – it’s been about 9 months actually since we last posted our ‘Links We Dig’ series. Though it’s typically a bad idea to stop something like this once you have started it, we believe it was the right thing to do at the time.

Around July of last year, business really started to pick up. It was really important for us, being a small company with limited resources, to divert our bandwidth away from the blog posting and really focus all of our efforts on the restaurants themselves. Thankfully it’s been a really rewarding 9 months, and we have never been this excited about what the coming years will bring for Dig Inn and our customers – major growth lies ahead! So thanks for being patient with us, and we look forward to getting back to sharing and conversing with all of you.

As a re-introduction to the series, ‘Links We Dig’ is a weekly posting rounding up our favorite articles and blog posts for the week. This is an excellent way to pick up some tips on how to eat well and live a healthful lifestyle. Our goal is to make this as practical and engaging as possible.

We want to hear from you as well – have any thoughts, opinions or suggestions for article? Be sure to let us (as well as your fellow readers) know in the comments section.

The Future of Meat is Vegan, Says Bill Gates

Source: Fooducate 

This is a quick high level article about the projected global demand for meat rising as our population grows -
global demand for meat is expected to double every few decades to the point where it will no longer be sustainable. We are big supporters of the veggie movement and we expect to do our part to see it continue. That being said, as the author concludes, why does this mean we need to ramp up the industrial production of faux meats made from vegetables? Can’t we just eat vegetables as vegetables? Strange thought we know…

Your Guide to Natural Sweeteners

Source: Well + Good

If you’re trying to lay off the chemical baggage associated with sugar substitutes, this is a helpful and informative guide.  From time to time we get questions about any sweeteners we use.  We never use any refined sugars and you will never find any processed ingredients in our dishes.  We’re fans of agave nectar as well as maple syrup (all natural, 100%). Coconut sugar is a tough one because it has a pretty significant impact on taste – kind of like molasses.

9 Wellness Rules of Exceptionally Healthy People

Source: Well + Good

Healthy people are happy people, a direct correlation between good health and peace of mind.

Drought That Ravaged US Crops Likely to Worsen in 2013

Source: Grist

The estimated cost of this year’s drought will be greater than the economic damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. Is drought becoming a way of life in the southwest and midwest US? Rooftop farming may become increasingly vital. Unfortunately all of this amounts to higher food costs for consumers.

Fast Food Companies Are Out To Manipulate You—By Adding “Healthy” Menu Options

Source: Blisstree

Has anyone seen BK Lounge’s new veggie burger advertisements? They have had the veggie burger on the menu for years! Recently all of the big whig fast food chains have been focusing on convincing us that its newest menu options are ‘healthy’ – oh right, so be sure to wash down these items with a super-size Diet Coke and you’re set to be the epitome of health? We still think its pretty important to eat real food as opposed to it’s industrially produced, preservative infused counterpart.

Five Tips for Launching an Urban Garden

Source: Civil Eats

In the spirit of April Fools’ Day, check out these popular foods that might just be fooling you and not only on April 1st…

Mediterranean Diet Shown to Warn Off Heart Attack and Stroke

Source: New York Times

It’s a great thing that we’re such huge fans of Extra Virgin Olive Oil here!  A good read on the virtues of the Med Diet.

Spring is finally here and we’ve (almost!) made it through the snow, freezing temps and general grossness that comes with winters here in the Big Apple.

Spring is an exciting time for us New Yorkers as the warm weather brings so much out of hibernation – we get to dust of our running shoes, pick up a game of flag football, witness the spring flowers in bloom and finally break out those tank tops and miniskirts that we picked up at last years’ sample sale.

For us here at Dig Inn, Spring brings the beginning of the local growing season which is really fun and exciting for us. It’s also a great time to hit Chef Daniel up for favors as you’ll never find him in a better mood! Good times indeed.

Although we’re ahead of the curve this year (first local crops won’t likely be ready for harvest until early May), we are going to be introducing our Spring Menu this Monday, March 25th. That’s right, we’re rolling out 4 new Fresh Sides today at all 5 of our restaurants.

Here’s a quick rundown with pics and particulars, just to get your taste buds going:

Red Lentil & Edamame Salad

Red lentils, edamame and roasted carrots with golden raisins, fresh mint and lemon tossed with Extra Virgin Olive Oil dressing (as you may recall, we’re huge fans of EVOO, here’s a reminder why).

Vegan.  Allergens: soy.  Calories: Small 122, Big 183 *

Orecchiette (\ō-ˌrā-kē-ˈe-tā\) & Sliced Radish

Organic whole wheat Orecchiette pasta with grape tomatoes, sliced red radish, arugula, rBGH-free feta cheese and our maple dressing.

Allergens: dairy, gluten.  Calories: Small 78, Big 117 *

Roasted Carrots & Cherries

Roasted carrots with bing cherries, fresh parsley and lemon-thyme dressing.

Vegan.  Allergens: none.  Calories: Small 48, Big 73 *

Roasted Bok Choy

Roasted bok choy with sweet & sour carrots, toasted peanuts and coconut dressing.

Vegan.  Allergens: peanuts, tree nuts, soy.  Calories: Small 44, Big 67 *

What’s going away?

In order to make room for the delectable dishes, we are removing the following Fresh Sides from the menu.  Sad to see your favorite dish go?  No need to worry, the most popular items from the winter menu will likely make a come back next year!

• Organic Wheatberry Salad
• Roasted Green Beans w/ Almonds & Potatoes
• Organic Whole Wheat Orzo & Arugula Salad
• Maple Glazed Carrots w/ Parsnips & Figs

 All about local

If you’ve read some of our past blog posts, you’d know that we source locally as much as possible.  Unfortunately due to this unseasonably cold weather as of late, seeding/planting season is a bit later this year.  We’re all about emphasizing the fact that our ingredients are indeed local, so perhaps you’ve noticed this term missing in the descriptions above.  Don’t worry, as soon as local produce becomes available we’ll certainly update you guys.  Here’s the tentative time table:

• Local spinach, parsley, mint: mid-April
• Local radishes: end of May
• Local bok choy: 1st – 2nd week of May
• Local grape tomatoes – not until summer!
• Local carrots – next year? It’s a tough one here in the northeast and we’re still working on it.

Stay tuned as we’ll talking a lot more about the farms with whom we are working this year, and why they deserve our support.

Try ‘em today

We’re real excited about these new dishes and sure hope that you are as well.  Stop by your local Dig Inn or order online to give them a try today.  Don’t forget to head back here to let us know what you think in the comments section.

Enjoy!

* Note that fill nutrition info for each of these dishes as well as the rest of the items on our menu can be found on the nutrition page of our website.

Roasted Winter Vegetables

Cauliflower, carrots and kale roasted and dressed in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, roasted garlic and spices.

Vegan.  Allergens: none.  Calories: 149 for big serving, 99 for small.*

Maple Glazed Carrots w/ Parsnips & Figs

Roasted carrots and parsnips glazed in 100% Grade A Vermont maple syrup and black mission figs with fresh lemon thyme.

Vegan.  Allergens: none.  Calories: 174 for big serving, 116 for small.*

Roasted Green Beans w/ Almonds & Potatoes

Green beans, slivered almonds and baby Yukon potato medallions roasted and tossed with olive oil, mustard, oregano and other spices.

Vegan.  Allergens: almonds.  Calories: 137 for big serving, 92 for small.*

Roasted Beets w/ Lentils & Wisconsin Goat Cheese

Roasted beets with green lentils and hormone-free Wisconsin goat cheese tossed in a lemon dill vinaigrette.

Allergens: dairy.  Calories: 123 for big serving, 82 for small.*

What’s going away?

In order to make room for these awesome new dishes, we had to remove the following Fresh Sides from the menu. Don’t fret – the most popular ones will be making a come back next year!

• Roasted Fall Vegetables
• Moroccan Carrot Braise
• Spaghetti Squash
• Curried Cauliflower Salad

Give ‘em a try today

We hope you’re just as excited about the new dishes as we are. Stop by your local Dig Inn or order online to give them a try today. Be sure to head back here to let us know what you think in the comments section.

Enjoy!

* Note that full nutrition info for each of these dishes as well as the rest of the items on our menu can be found on the nutrition page of our website.

We’re excited to announce that beginning this Friday, December 14th, we’ll be launching a new program called “Casual Friday’s” – a Fridays-only menu featuring dishes that are more indulgent than that which you typically find on the menu.

Casual Friday’s is an idea that we have been kicking around for some time. We kept getting requests from customers to offer some more indulgent dishes alongside our existing seasonal menu – they were asking for the same quality we offer in terms of ingredients and preparation, but some more decadent, comfort-food style options.

If you stop by any one of Dig Inn’s 5 locations today or any Friday going forward, you’ll get a taste of the first three dishes to make the cut. Please note that these dishes are available in-store only and in limited quantities – once they’re all gone, you’ll have to wait for the next Friday. So try to get there early!

Below you’ll find some pics and descriptions of these new Friday-only items. Enjoy and hope to see you at Dig Inn sometime soon!

Mac ‘N’ Awesome

Organic whole-wheat pasta, rBGH-free grass fed cheddar, local butternut squash & fresh chopped parsley.

3.5 oz serving: 159 calories, 9.34 g fat, 260 mg sodium

Black Truffle Mashed Potatoes

Local baby yukon potatoes, roasted mushrooms & black truffle oil. No dairy.

4.5 oz serving: 180 calories, 9.9 g fat, 213 mg sodium

Not-So-Creamed Spinach

Creamed spinach Dig Inn-style, made with coconut milk, caramelized onions & organic turkey bacon. No dairy.

3.5 oz serving: 98 calories, 7.41 g fat, 331 mg sodium

Now that we have updated the nutritional information, it’s important for us to emphasize that these 3 menu items are still of Dig Inn quality, despite being a bit more indulgent. How you ask?

• The fat in the Black Truffle Mashed Potatoes is derived from Extra Virgin Olive Oil. As you may already know, we’re big fans of EVOO here, and you can read more about why in one of our past blog posts: What Kinds of Cooking Oils Do You Use?
• The Mac ‘N’ Awesome is made with organic whole wheat pasta and organic turkey bacon (no nitrites)! The Hudson Valley Milk used is no-rBGH (no artificial hormones) – great stuff, sweet as cream.
• The spinach is creamed with coconut milk. Coconut is considered a good saturated fat because it contains lauric acid, which is beneficial for maintaining your cardiovascular health.

We’ve got some great news for those of you who order from us via our online ordering website – we just rolled out a brand new Dig Inn Online Ordering Loyalty Program!

Now online ordering customers can earn free meals just like in-store customers. Our online program is based on point values, which is a little different than our in-store punch card system. Here’s how it works:

• You earn points on purchases of all Big and Small Plates (both Build Your Own and Chef’s Suggestions).
• Big Plates earn 6 points, Small Plates earn 4 points.
• Pickup orders earn DOUBLE POINTS (12 for a Big Plate, 8 for a Small).
• When you rack up 80 points, you’ll earn a FREE Small Plate.
• Or you can hold out for a FREE Big Plate, which you’ll earn when you rack up 120 points.

And that’s pretty much it. Please note that you can only earn points for 1 plate per order (just like our in-store rewards program) so you and your friends may want to place your orders separately instead of as a group (just FYI).

Also, please note that our online ordering loyalty program is completely separate from our in-store loyalty program.

This means that online points cannot be swapped for in-store punches unfortunately. We hope to connect the two programs at some point, but we’re keeping them separate for the time being.

How to see & redeem your reward points

You can see your current number of reward points on both the Order Now tab and the Rewards tab of your account page.

On the Order Now tab, when you earn enough points for an award, a button will appear that will allow you to redeem them, which will look like this:

This button will send you to the Rewards tab, where you can choose to redeem your points and obtain a promo code. You’ll see this message right below your points, as you see in this image:

You can also see your current number of rewards points on the Rewards tab, like you see in the image above. When you reach 80 points, you’ll have the option of redeeming your points for a Free Small Plate. Or you can hold out and wait until you reach 120 points, which you can redeem for a Free Big Plate.

When you redeem your points, you’ll be given a promo code that you can enter when you checkout (copying and pasting it is usually the easiest way to do this). This promo code can be found in the “Rewards ready to be redeemed” section of the page, like you see below:

We’ve included instructions below the promo code (see the “How to use your promo code” section) to make it more clear on how this works. Please note that only 1 promo code can be used per order (if you’ve saved up more than 1).

Earn points for referring friends

You can also now earn 12 points for referring a friend! After you submit an order online, you’ll see a new “Refer A Friend” section on the Thank You page. You can refer 1 friend per order, and you’ll earn 12 Rewards Points when your friend places their first order.

We hope you’re as stoked about this new loyalty program as we are. Now get out there and start earning some free food!

(Click here to order online if you just happen to be hungry now.)

Have any questions for us?

Please let us know in the comments below, and we’ll get back to you right away.

If you, too, suffer from food allergies, we just made it a lot easier to avoid items that contain common allergens by providing an Allergen Filter on our online ordering website. This filter allows you to select allergens and then highlights your selections on the menu (in red) so you know to avoid them.

You can reveal the Allergen Filter by clicking on the new “Show Allergen Filter” button just above your order summary.

Here’s what the filter looks like when it’s revealed:

Clicking on one or more of the allergens will cause them to be highlighted both in the filter:

And on the menu itself:

So, taking a step back, here’s what it’ll look like:

Note that you are able to select multiple allergens at a time like we’ve done above.

Hopefully it’s pretty obvious how it works, but if you have any questions, please let us know in the comments. We hope you find this new feature as useful as we do!