Eating well is a topic bandied about the dinner table in an increasing number of homes today.

It’s a subject that’s also first and foremost on Cheryl Forberg’s agenda at the moment. Not only is the Napa resident the consulting nutritionist for NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” Forberg is intent on bringing “guilt-free gourmet” to wine country restaurants.

To that end, Forberg, a trained chef, registered dietitian and author has been chatting up local chefs in an effort to incorporate healthy cuisine into local restaurant menus.

On a recent weeknight, she was holding court at N.V., the downtown Napa restaurant owned and operated by chef Peter Halikas — giving diners her thoughts on ways to enjoy foods that promote both healthy lifestyle and weight loss. Halikas had prepared a menu incorporating recipes from Forberg’s book, “Stop the Clock! Cooking: Defy Aging — Eat the Foods You Love.”

First and foremost, Forberg maintained, is the need for everyone to eat breakfast daily. Otherwise, the body tends to store up fat to compensate for skipped meals, she said.

“I tell the contestants on the (reality) show it’s important to eat three meals and two small snacks — or five small meals — every day, and that fruit and vegetables should be a large component of each,” she said between courses.

In planning those menus, Forberg says it’s important to include protein in all five meals and vegetables should be at least half of what is consumed at each.

“Exercise is also a must,” she advises. “You need to burn off more calories than you take in (if weight loss is a goal),” she added.

Portion size is another important factor in achieving and maintaining healthy weight, says Forberg. “Measure out a half cup of cereal and you’ll never have to measure again. One of the problems we have in this country is eating too large portions.

“And the quality of the calories is every bit as important as the quantity of the calories.”

Chef Halikas told diners it’s easy to maintain flavor as one moves into the realm of healthy cooking.

For example, for the evening’s dessert, the chef prepared a chocolate-caramel pudding. Halikas took Forberg’s recipe one step further, using agave nectar as the sweetening agent. As a result, the pudding measured 0.5 grams of fat per serving, with a modest 120 calories, but only 5 from fat. (Agave nectar can be purchased at Vallerga’s and local health food stores, Forberg said.)

White foodstuffs, maintains Forberg, are to be eliminated from the diet at all costs — including white sugar. “This nectar is from the agave cactus and has lots of antioxidants. It has nutritive value, unlike sugar.”

On a mission

It’s possible to slow down the aging process by making smart food choices, Forberg details in her book.

She suggested a diet rich in lean proteins, such as chicken and fish, and “lots of Omega-3,” which can be found in plenty of seafood — sardines, herring, mackerel, tuna and salmon, to name a few — as well as in some plants, such as flaxseed.

Complex carbohydrates, whole grains, fruits and vegetables and “no white stuff — flour, rice or sugar” — are what the healthy diner should be eating daily, Forberg noted.

Her intent is to launch a healthy dining program in the Napa Valley by asking restaurant chefs to offer “guilt-free gourmet” dishes on their menus.

“I think most chefs would be willing to incorporate what I call healthy cuisine into what they are already doing,” she added.

She will focus on local organic ingredients, whole grains and vegetables when meeting with local chefs interested in hearing what she has to say.

In addition to putting together menus with Halikas at n.v., Forberg said chefs at Bistro Don Giovanni, Angele and Uva in Napa have expressed interest. “And I’m just getting started,” she added.

“I agree that flavor comes first when you are dining out or dining at home,” Forberg concluded. “But your food should be healthy at the same time.”

Halikas has provided Register readers with his recipe — Zucchini-wrapped Goat Cheese with Yellow Lentil Vinaigrette — and Forberg’s dishes come from her cookbook.

They included Asparagus with Sauce Romesco; Spring Roll with Plum Sauce;  Seared Salmon with Tat Soi and African Groundnut Stew, and Chocolate Caramel Pudding.