Fast Food Advice March 24, 2008

McDonalds. Pizza Hut. Dairy Queen. Wendy’s. Quiznos subs. Tim Hortons.

Is your mouth watering yet?

Fast Food restaurants offer some tasty choices and old time favourites. And we KNOW it’s unhealthy, yet we continue to indulge. Not all fast food is bad, but as with everything, the key is moderation and sensible choices. It doesn’t mean you can only pick from the “light favourites” menu (I for one am against paying $7 for a bowl of lettuce) but rather be aware of what you are eating. Here are some tips on making healthy decisions.

 1) Don’t get that Coke!

Sodas are bad news. They rot your teeth, contain no nutrients, and can actually leave you more thirsty! When ordering your drink, opt for juice, the diet soda or even better, water!

2) 39 cents to Supersize is not worth it

Supersizing might seem like a great deal (value for your money) but it packs on more calories. Most regular combo meals are sufficently filling. If you want to supersize, share with a friend!

3) Nutritional Information

Most fast food places offer mini booklets of the nutritional information of their foods. They are often lying around the counter – if you don’t see one, ask for one! Another great resource is the websites for the restaurant. Most, if not all, of the restaurants offer an interactive Nutrition calculator. You choose your customized meal and the website calculates the nutritional information for you! Let’s analyze some classic fast food meals….

McDonald’s: Big Mac, Medium Fries and Coke = 1,100 calories. 46g fat.

Pizza Hut: 6″ Personal Size Pepperoni Pizza = 650 calories. 26g fat.

Subway: 6″ Chicken and Bacon Ranch Sub = 560 calories. 30 g fat.

Dairy Queen: Small Oreo Blizzard = 600 calories. 20 g fat.

4) No I don’t want fries with that.

Some places offer you a choice of sides, not just fries. Baked potatoes, soups, side salads = healthier options!

5) Hold the Sauce

Sauces, especially creamy ones, contain loads of calories! These sauces are used heavily when only a small amount is actually required for the taste (this includes salad dressings!!!). Try to have your sauce on the side and pour it on yourself.

food labels exposed! January 17, 2008

after watching this video, i realize i need to carry around an accurate digital scale… and read food nutrition labels with a critical mind. check it out!

According to Dr. Oz January 17, 2008

Hi!!! So I was on the Oprah website and I saw Dr. Oz (I looooove Dr. Oz!!!) and this is what he had to say about the five foods to avoid.

Take a peak!!!!

The first ingredient to avoid is hydrogenated oil, which often masquerades as partially hydrogenated oil. Dr. Roizen says we should also eliminate sugar and high fructose corn syrup from our foods. “We eat 63 pounds of [high fructose corn syrup] a year, which puts 33 pounds on the typical American,” he says.

Enriched flour is the fourth ingredient to avoid. “[Enriched] means they took all the good stuff out and put a little back,” Dr. Roizen says. In 1960, Americans didn’t use enriched flour, but today we consume 63 pounds a year, he says.

The fifth offenders are white foods—including bleached flour. The only white items you should have in your fridge are egg whites, cauliflower and fish, Dr. Roizen says.

Your favorite snack foods won’t advertise their artificial ingredients—Oprah’s medical experts say you have to read the small print for yourself!

This mean for S & F today we are going to clean out our fridges and get rid of all these “bad” foods….and say bye bye to rice, potatoes, chips, pasta….and OHHHHHH MAN….I guess anything that we looove. Just keep in mind that ofcourse we will never be able to really cut out anything- but instead we are going to try eating things in moderation.

Wish us luck!!!

F&S

http://www.oprah.com/health/yourbody/slide/20061102/yourbody_20061102_350_202.jhtml