Healthy food that tastes great in Geneva

The few times I do eat fast food, it is easy to tell the calorie count and salt intake must be enormous. How much so, one can never be quite sure.

Paul Chaudury has the answer front-and-center at his anti-fast-food restaurant called Fresh D'Lite in the Geneva Commons. The first thing you see when walking into the 2,700-square-foot location is a nutrition chart for the menu items — calories, fat grams, saturated fat, sodium and fiber.

So, let's pretend you couldn't care less about that — and it is obvious many Americans fall into that category. Not being concerned about what's good for you and what isn't shouldn't stop you from visiting this Geneva eatery that offers burritos, sandwiches, salads and soups.

The food tastes great and, ultimately, that is what Chaudury has to bank on.

“This is my first restaurant, but my background is in the corporate world as a global nutritionist for Sara Lee and Con-Agra,” Chaudury said. “But we don't want to preach about nutrition here, we just want people to know that everything is made from scratch, it is good for you, and it has a great taste.”

If the fajita beef burrito I ate is any indication, this place should enjoy as much fanfare as any Chipotle — and it would be no accident.

“The menu items follow what is offered at Chipotle or Panera, it's just that our calorie and sodium counts come in at about a third of those places,” said Chaudury, who relies heavily on food research data he has collected, plus feedback he gets from customers.

“There is always the fear that someone would categorize you as a health food restaurant, and that the food doesn't taste as good,” Chaudury added. “We have figured out how to get the taste even better and almost all of our customers have rated it very high.”

Chaudury knows his restaurant will be popular with those who are conscious about fitness and health because he has had backing from health facilities already, but he is confident that most anyone will find the food very tasty and affordable.

Some hip action

If you are a local high school basketball fan, you probably recognize the fellow in the most recent television advertisement for Delnor Hospital.

It's former Geneva coach and player Tim Pease singing the praises of his hip replacement surgery at Delnor.

As proof of the wonderful job Delnor did, Pease expresses the joy of being able to get back on the golf course and still have a fairly solid game. He does express a wish that surgeons could have fixed his golf slice, but don't we all wish that?

Rich farming history

You don't want to lose a connection to this area's rich agricultural legacy. Laura Rapach, a fifth-grade teacher at Davis Elementary in St. Charles must certainly agree with that assessment.

Rapach was recently named a finalist in the 2010 Illinois Farm Bureau's “Ag in the Classroom” teacher of the year honor.

Rapach is active in participating in tours and workshops at the Kane County Farm Bureau — and passing that knowledge along to her students.