One of the healthy, low-calorie meals from Tangerine Food Co. features zucchini over rice.
Writer: Wini Moranville
“We’ve all gotten fat!” said Cherry Madole, bluntly and with a laugh, adding that stress-eating during these times has taken its toll on her and some of her staff at the Tangerine Food Co.
She and her team figure that others in our community may also have lost sight of their plans to eat well during these past 10 months. That’s why they now offer an enticing weekly menu of five meals plus one soup, all coming in at the 300- to 550-calorie range.
Tangerine is a local caterer that, in better (i.e., non-COVID) times also runs the Des Moines Art Center’s restaurant (they plan to resume that gig someday). Currently, they’re staying in the game with Tangerine To Go, which offers takeout and delivery options for at-home dining.
A new menu debuts each week. Order by today (see this week’s menu), and the food can be either picked up (at Mainframe Studios, 900 Keosauqua Way) or delivered (for a $10 delivery fee) on Friday. You can order the entire five-meal menu for $70 per person. Or pick and choose among the five options for $15 to $17 each. (Note that you get a price break if you order the whole five-entree shebang.) Meals are ready to reheat in the oven; they can also be frozen.
Recently I tried a few of the low-cal entrees. The fettuccine with chicken and vegetables sounded a bit humdrum, but when I opened the container, I knew I was in for a treat. Shards of moist chicken studded a windfall of sweet peppers, fennel, red onion, mushrooms and asparagus—fresh veggies that somebody sourced, diced and expertly cooked for me. All that, served in a delicate garlic sauce over whole-wheat fettuccine, for only 400 calories. I was equally impressed with the sesame salmon with bok choy as well as a maple-mustard ham steak with sherry-raisin sauce and cauliflower rice (low-carb crowd, take note).
Because every meal plan needs a few indulgences now and then (at least, I think so!), Tangerine also offers regular (not-low-calorie) options. I’ve got this week’s order in for braised beef and mashed potatoes as well as their Beef Cowboy Chili, alongside the 375-calorie herb-crusted cod with zucchini and carrot noodles and lemony couscous. At the last minute, I threw in a Winterberry Cocktail (oops).
Find out more at Tangerine Food Co.’s online ordering site.
