Seal of good (culinary) health

Maybe it’s just me being a foodie nerd, but I’m always excited when I see new advancements in the culinary world, particularly when it comes to making food healthier.

So I was especially interested in a recent Time article about Michelin star-winning chef Jeremy Bearman leading the charge in developing a new set of nutritional standards. Known as SPE, short for the Latin phrase sanitas per escam meaning “health through food,” the voluntary standards focus on using local and seasonal ingredients, and combining them in ways that make the most of their nutritional value.

In simpler terms, it means that chefs like Bearman are creating dishes that combine salty ingredients with potassium-rich ingredients to counteract the impacts of salt on blood pressure, among other nutrient-focused pairings. They are using ingredients that are fresher and gentler on the environment. And they are drastically reducing or eliminating all the cream, butter and fat that make dishes taste so dang good without sacrificing great flavor.

Thanks to a newly created certification program, chefs can submit their recipes to be reformulated to meet the nutritional criteria. And while these changes are taking place primarily in high-end restaurants, perhaps it’s an early step toward change that could eventually trickle down to eateries that serve the masses.

To read the complete article, check out the July 16 issue of Time magazine or, if you’re a subscriber, visit the website at: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2118513,00.html.