Eat Out Eat Well

Shopping, Cooking, Baking

Blizzards, Hurricanes and Menu Choices

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Apples, apples, and more apples. NYC farmer's market in the snow.

The weather forecast is all doom and gloom:  a foot and a half of snow, or torrential rain with 60 miles an hour wind gusts. Rush to the supermarket and, it seems, along with everyone else who lives in your town or city, buy bread and milk and then lots of other stuff.  You need to be prepared for the apocalypse — which in many cases doesn’t happen — and, unfortunately, sometimes does.

The weather comes and forces you to be housebound. Eventually you start going stir crazy, have to get out of the house. Maybe you have lost power.  So,  you venture out to eat.  Perhaps not during the height of the storm, but right afterwards.  The trick is to find someplace that is open and has power.  Wow — you find one.  Hmmm . . . what to order?  Gee, the fresh fish of the day sounds great.

Fresh fish? If there’s a foot and a half of snow, the snow plows are struggling to clear the main roads, the local waterway is iced over, trains and buses are running on limited schedules if at all, the airports are empty because there are no flights in or out, and even professional sports teams have cancelled their games, how is that “fresh” fish getting to your local restaurant?

A moment to analyze the menu is in order.  The chef may have a whole bunch of stuff languishing in the freezer in the back.  Okay, it may be fine, but it’s certainly not fresh.  And those leafy vegetables and berries — if the delivery trucks can’t drive through the streets, how did they get there?

If the chef ordered enough food before the storm and the restaurant’s business was way down because customers didn’t want to fight the weather, what happened to the unused food?  Restaurants are in business to make money.  Unsold food taking up space in the refrigerator and freezer does not bring in the bucks.  So, does the unused food appear in the days after the storm in a frittata or stew? Soup, cassoulet?   Of course, the frittata, stew, soup, or cassoulet  may still taste great, or maybe not.

Exercise some thought — and in some cases caution — when you make those menu choices during, or just after, blizzards, hurricanes, monsoons, and mudslides, and especially power outages!  Does grilled cheese and tomato soup sound good?

Supergood and Superbad Superbowl Food

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Superbowl cookies

Superbowl:  football, commercials, halftime show, and food!

It’s amazing how food has become associated with football — from tailgating to the food for the game — which of course culminates in the Superbowl party.  There are plenty of choices and anyone can eat well — and even have room for an indulgence — if you have a plan and don’t get sidetracked by the array of very caloric and usually very fatty foods.

This list is just to point out some examples of potential pitfalls and some saving graces. Stick with grilled meat, veggies, baked chips rather than fried if you must have them, plain bread rather than biscuits or cornbread. Go for salsa and skip the guacamole.  Turkey, baked ham, and grilled chicken are better choices than wings and fried chicken.  Try fruit for dessert.  Alcohol adds calories and dulls your mindful eating.  If you drink, intersperse each drink with water or club soda.  Take care of yourself and still have fun.  You’ll like yourself even more on Monday.

Enjoy the game. The SocialDieter would love to be watching the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets.  There’s always next year!

Examples of food often found on Superbowl party tables:

Tostada with guacamole:  2 pieces (9.3 oz), 360 calories, 23g fat, 32g carbs, 12g protein

Salsa:  1 tablespoon 4 calories, .04g fat, 1g carbs, .2g protein

Nacho flavored tortilla chips, reduced fat:  1 oz, 126 calories, 4g fat, 20g carbs, 2g protein

Nacho flavored tortilla chips:  1oz, 141 calories, 7g fat, 18g carbs, 1g protein

Potato chips:  1oz, 152 calories, 10g fat, 15g carbs, 2g protein

Potato chips, reduced fat:  1 oz, 134 calories, 6g fat, 19g carbs, 2g protein

Raw baby carrots:  1 medium, 4 calories, 0 fat, .8g carbs, 0 protein

Pizza with cheese:  1 slice (1/8 of a 12” pie), 140 calories, 3g fat, 20g carbs, 8g protein

Pizza, pepperoni:  1 slice (1/8 12” pie), 181 calories, 7g fat, 20g carg=bs, 10g protein

Grilled chicken breast:  one 4.2 oz breast, 180 calories, 4g fate, 0 carbs, 35g protein

KFC Fiery hot Buffalo wing:  one 1oz wing, 80 calories, 5g fat, g carbs, 4g protein

KFC extra crispy drumstick:  one 2oz piece, 150 calories, 6g carbs, 11g protein

Chili (Wendy’s, with saltine crackers):  8 oz, 187 calories, 6g fat, 19g carbs, 14g protein

Wheat bread:  1 slice, .9 oz., 65 calories, 1g fat,, 12g carbs, 2g protein

Italian combo on ciabatta (Panera):  1 sandwich, 1lb. 7 oz, 1050 calories, 47g fat, 94g carbs, 61g protein

Subway 6g of fat or less turkey breast & ham on wheat sandwich:  8.3oz, 296 calories, 4g fat, 48g carbs, 19g protein

Chocolate chip cookie:  2-1/4” from refrigerated dough. 59 calories, 3g fat, 8g carbs, .6g protein

Chocolate ice cream, Cold Stone Creamery:   5oz (like it), 326 calories, 20g fat, 33g carbs, 5g protein

Apple:  medium, 95 calories, .4g fat, 25g carbs, .5g protein

Want To Save Close to 100 Calories at Lunch?

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sandwichLunchtime.  What will it be?  Maybe a sandwich – it’s nice outside – good day to eat on a bench in the park.  Salad is way too messy.  Sandwich or a wrap is the way to go.

Lots of choices for the sandwich filling:  ham, turkey, roast beef, cheese, tuna, grilled veggies . . .

Lots of choices to wrap around the protein:  rye, wheat, white, roll, wrap . . .

Lots of stuff to put inside along with the protein: lettuce, tomato, onion, sprouts, olives . . .

What’s going to give your sandwich a pop of flavor and hold it all together  . . . mayo, mustard, ketchup, oil and vinegar???

Here’s where you can save close to 100 calories – without sacrificing flavor. My math is not fuzzy.  Note that all calorie counts are for a tablespoon.  In my experience, it’s awfully easy to use at least a tablespoon, if not more, of mayonnaise on a sandwich – and pretty tough to use that amount of mustard (you’re far more likely to use closer to a teaspoon).

Calories per tablespoon:

  • Dijon mustard:                                                     12
  • Yellow mustard:                                                   9  (1 packet, 3 calories)
  • Deli mustard (Grey Poupon):                           15
  • Honey mustard:                                                   around 30 (check brand)
  • Spicy brown mustard (Gulden’s):                   18
  • Classic yellow mustard (French’s):                  0  (yep!, it’s water and spices)
  • Dijonnaise (Hellman’s):                                       15
  • Ketchup:                                                                  15  (1 packet, 6 calories)
  • Russian dressing:                                                 54
  • Mayonnaise:                                                          99 (1 packet, 86 calories)
  • Light mayonnaise:                                               49
  • Fat free mayonnaise:                                           13
  • Tartar sauce:                                                          74
  • Relish, sweet:                                                         20  (1 packet, 13 calories)
  • Horseradish:                                                           6
  • Vinaigrette:                                                            43
  • Olive oil:                                                                  119
  • Butter:                                                                     102

To save calories:

  • Experiment with different kinds of mustard and relish
  • Swap the mayo for mustard
  • Swap the mayo for ketchup
  • Swap the Russian dressing for ketchup or relish

These are some small swap-outs that you can learn to do routinely – they become a mindless way to save calories.  Of course you could also walk or run a mile in the park instead of sitting on a bench eating your slimmed down sandwich.  The mile will burn off around 75 to 100 calories (depending on your weight and speed)– the same amount you might save with some of the swap-outs suggested above.

The Dirty and Not-So-Dirty Dozen

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Fresh Fruit Stall

Fruit and veggies are the friends of SocialDieters and healthy eaters. Unfortunately there’s something other than nutrient value and delicious taste to bear in mind: pesticide contamination.

Sometimes known as the dirty dozen, the following lists of fruit and vegetables show the 12 most and least contaminated by pesticides (rankings compiled by the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group, EWG).

Whatever you do, don’t stop eating nature’s delights, just be aware, eat a varied diet, do a little washing, maybe some peeling, and buy organic when you can – especially for the 12 most contaminated foods.

EWG took into consideration how people typically wash and prepare produce (for example, washing apples and peeling bananas). Washing and rinsing produce may reduce pesticides but does not eliminate them. Peeling reduces pesticide levels but valuable nutrients are tossed along with the peel. For more information go to www.ewg.org.

The twelve worst foods (starting with the most contaminated):
1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Sweet Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Lettuce
9. Imported Grapes
10. Pears
11. Spinach
12. Potatoes

The twelve least contaminated foods (starting with the least contaminated):
1. Onions
2. Avocados
3. Frozen Sweet Corn
4. Pineapples
5. Mango
6. Frozen ‘Sweet Peas
7. Asparagus
8. Kiwi
9. Bananas
10. Cabbage
11. Broccoli
12. Eggplant