8/23/2009 6:00:00 AM
Healthy, tasty fare
at Fit Fresh Cuisine offers
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| Sarah Mattison, a registered dietician, plans the menu at Fit Fresh Cuisine. |
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Kurt Gutknecht
Fitchburg Star Editor
"Eat it. It's good for you."
Forget that nagging admonition from your parents.
At Fit Fresh Cuisine, the food is definitely good for you - and you won't need any encouragement to eat.
The restaurant, which opened in May, is a bit off the beaten track, located in a plebian building in a commercial area of the city. The building's exterior belies the restaurant's airy, contemporary setting, distant (at least in ambiance) from Hybrid Fitness, which is located in the same building. .
Sarah Mattison, a registered dietician, who owns and operates Hybrid Fitness with her husband, Ryan Berndt, and others, opened the restaurant in May. The restaurant is an extension of her commitment to nutrition, fitness - and good taste.
"Everything on the menu is good for you," Mattison said. The fare emphasizes fresh ingredients, as well as some ingredients not often found on conventional menus.
For example, breakfast (served from 6 to 10 a.m.) includes a veggi frittata (organic red, yellow and orange peppers, onion fresh basil and organic eggs served with a seasonal fruit cup) and a power parfait (whole grain granola, flaxseed, non-fat yogurt and seasonal fruit).
Lunch and dinner offerings, served from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., include grilled salmon over Caribbean quinoa (with cranberries, mango and cilantro) and luau salad (spinach, red onion, avocado, pineapple, papaya and mango served with grilled chicken and tangy citrus dressing).
The menu includes a synopsis of the nutritional merits of every item, information that's usually relegated to small print or an obscure location.
Mattison traces her love of fresh ingredients to her parents' garden and orchard in Verona.
One of her concoctions - My Big Phat Greek Slider - was selected as the most unique entry in this year's Taste of Madison, which will be held Sept. 5 -6. The Slider (very lean turkey, feta cheese, spinach and a special blend of ingredients, topped with a Greek yogurt sauce) will be sold during the event, along with the restaurant's Kick'n Chicken and Cookie-riffic Ice Cream Sandwich.
The restaurant also caters meals and is offering a five-day-a-week meal plan; customers can pick up meals daily or every other day and "just eat what's in the box," Mattison said.
She said other nutritional programs provide a similar service, but don't emphasize fresh ingredients.
"Several customers asked for the service. They're too busy but want to reach their weight and nutritional goals. We take all the guesswork out of eating," Mattison said.
Interns from the UW-Madison dietetics program work with Mattison. Fit Fresh Cuisine also provides meals to UW-Madison athletes through a voucher system with the Athletic Department.
Mattison also provides nutritional assessments for clients, developing weight-management meal plans based on their dietary preferences and health concerns.
Fit Fresh Cuisine, 2881 Commerce Park Drive, Suite A, Fitchburg, 276-8074 (phone), 276-8087 (fax), www.hybridfitness.org.
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