Eat Out Eat Well

Takeout, Prepared Food, Junk Food

Buy Me Some Peanuts And Cracker Jacks

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Baseball season is in full swing.  What accompanies a visit to the stadium – food, of course!

Oh, the food!  Oh the calories!  Hang on – this post is not about ignoring the good time food.  Of course, there are always healthy food options:  you can bring your own or be scrupulous in making healthy choices. And, there are now many more gourmet options available (but usually still loaded with calories). But honestly, do you think that most people really want to eat low calorie foods when they’re at a ballgame? No way.

So what do you do when you’re at these places with food vendors about every 20 feet hawking dogs, ice cream, and beer?

There Are Ways And Then There Are Ways

If you’ve got a will of iron, I guess you could ignore the food and drinks.  But if you’re like most people and you’re tempted at every turn, you can try to minimize the damage without taking out the fun.  If you know you’re going to be having a stadium or food court meal, do some thinking, planning, and learning.  The best choices are not always the obvious ones.

Do you need both peanuts and popcorn?  Can you make do with a regular hot dog instead of a foot-long?  Can you keep it to one or two beers instead of three?  Can you choose the small popcorn instead of the jumbo tub?

Make Your Best Choice

Here’s some info to help you make your best choice.  Just a heads up – we’re not talking about the most nutritious choice because given these foods, quality nutrition is not front and center.  You can, however, enjoy your day and make the best caloric choice (with a nod to fat and sugar content) and still eat traditional ballpark and amusement park food.

  • Cotton Candy: Nothing but heated and colored sugar that’s spun into threads with added air. Cotton candy on a stick or wrapped around a paper cone (about an ounce) has around 105 calories; a 2oz. bag (common size) has 210. A lot of sugar, but not a lot of calories – albeit empty ones.
  • Cracker Jack (officially cracker jack, not jacks): candy-coated popcorn with some peanuts. A 3.5oz stadium size box has 420 calories but does have 7g  protein and 3.5g fiber.
  • Hamburger: of beef with a bun has about 490 calories — without cheese or other toppings which up the ante.
  • Grilled Chicken Sandwich, 6oz., 280 calories – not a bad choice.  6oz. of chicken tenders clock in at 446 calories.  Barbecue dipping sauce adds 30 calories a tablespoon.
  • Hot Dog: Most sold out stadiums can sell 16,000 hot dogs a day. A regular hot dog with mustard has about 290 calories: 180 for the 2oz. dog, 110 for the bun, zilch for regular yellow mustard. Two tbs. of sauerkraut adds another 5-10 calories, 2 tbs. of ketchup adds 30, and 2 tbs. of relish another 40. A Nathan’s hot dog racks up 320 calories; a foot-long Hebrew National 510 calories. Hot dogs are usually loaded with sodium.
  • Pizza: Stadium pizza is larger than a usual slice, about 1/6 of a 16-inch pie (instead of 1/8) making it about 435 calories a slice.
  • Super Nachos with Cheese: A 12oz. serving (40 chips, 4oz. cheese) has about 1,500 calories!!! Plain French fries look like a caloric bargain by comparison.
  • French Fries: A large serving has about 500 calories. A serving of Hardee’s chili cheese fries has 700 calories and 350 of them come from fat.
  • Potato Chips:  One single serving bag has 153 calories (94 of them from fat).
  • Peanuts in the Shell: What would a baseball game be without a bag of peanuts? Stadiums can sell as many as 6,000 bags on game days. An 8oz. bag has 840 calories; a 12oz. bag has 1,260. Yes, they have some protein and fiber.  But wow on the calories.
  • Soft Pretzel: One large soft pretzel has 483 calories – giant soft pretzels (7-8oz.) have about 700 calories.
  • Draft Beer: A stadium draft beer, 20oz. cup (the usual size), has about 240 calories. A light draft saves you 60 calories.
  • Coca Cola:  A 12oz can has 140 calories –- and close to 10 tsp. of sugar.
  • Helmet Ice Cream: Your team’s mini-helmet filled with swirly Carvel, 550-590 calories.
  • Souvenir Popcorn: At Yankee Stadium a jumbo size has 1,484 calories and a souvenir bucket has 2,473 calories.

What Do You Know About Jellybeans?

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Do you think a bag of jellybeans should come with a warning label: “STOP NOW or you’ll keep eating until they’re gone?”

Seriously – it’s pretty darn hard not to love those little nuggets of sweetness that come in multitudes of colors and flavors and get stuck in your teeth!

Of the 16 billion jellybeans that Americans eat at Easter, many of them are hidden in Easter baskets and plastic eggs. If all the Easter jellybeans were lined up end to end there would be enough of them to circle the earth nearly three times.

Where Did Jellybeans Come From?

The gummy insides of jellybeans are thought to originate from the centuries old treat, Turkish Delight.  Jellybean outsides are just like the colored hard candy coating, developed in the late 17th century, for the Jordan almond.

The modern jellybean became popular during the American Civil War when Boston’s William Schraft encouraged citizens to send candy to Union soldiers.  Jellybeans were the first bulk candy and they became one of the staples of the penny candy that was sold by weight in the early 1900s. Because of their egg shape, which can be taken as representing fertility and birth, they became popular as Easter candy around 1930.

Standard jellybeans come in fruit flavors but there are now a huge number of flavors — some goofy, some sophisticated — like spiced, mint, gourmet, tropical, popcorn, bubble gum, pepper, and cola.  They also come in a sugar free version (seems weird, but true – don’t you wonder how many chemicals are in those?).

Do You Eat Them By The Handful Or Pick and Choose?

Do you eat your jellybeans one at a time, or do you gobble them up by the handful? What about colors and flavors – do you pick out your favorites or just eat them altogether?

  • 70% of kids aged 6–11 say they prefer to eat Easter jellybeans one at a time
  • 23% say they eat several at once
  • Boys (29%) are more likely to eat a handful than girls (18%)
  • Kids say their favorite Easter jellybean flavors are cherry (20%), strawberry (12%), grape (10%), lime (7%), and blueberry (6%)

What’s In The Hard Shelled Nugget Of Sweetness?

Jellybeans are primarily made of sugar and also usually contain gelatin (Jelly Bellys don’t), corn syrup, modified food starch, and less than 0.5% of citric acid, sodium citrate, artificial flavors, confectioners glaze, pectin, carnauba wax, white mineral oil, magnesium hydroxide, and artificial colors (takes some of the fun out of them, doesn’t it?).

Originally, there was just the traditional jellybean, which has flavor only in the shell. In 1976, the Jelly Belly (Goelitz) Candy Company introduced gourmet jellybeans. Unlike traditional jellybeans, Jelly Bellies are smaller and softer than the traditional kind and are flavored both inside and outside. Jelly Belly makes about 50 different flavors of gourmet jellybeans.

Calories in jellybeans:

Even though they may give you Technicolor insides, jellybeans are fat free.  On average:

  • 10 small jellybeans (11g) have 41 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no protein, and 10.3 grams of carbs
  • 10 large jellybeans (1 ounce or 28g) have 105 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no protein, and 26.2g carbs
  • 10 Jelly Bellys have 40 calories (4 calories a piece), or about 100 calories in a single serving (25 beans) 

Some Jelly Belly Jellybean Trivia

  • Jelly Bellys were invented in 1976. They were the first jellybeans to be sold in single flavors and to come with a menu of flavor choices.
  • It takes 7 to 21 days to make a single Jelly Belly jellybean.
  • Very Cherry was the most popular Jelly Belly flavor for two decades until 1998, when Buttered Popcorn took over. Very Cherry moved back into the top spot by only 8 million beans in 2003.
  • Jelly Bellys were the first jellybeans in outer space – they were sent on the 1983 flight of the space shuttle Challenger by President Reagan.
  • Jelly Bellys don’t contain gelatin and are suitable for vegetarians, but some strict vegans may have issues with the beeswax and shellac used to give them their final buff and polish.
  • Jelly Belly jellybeans do not contain any wheat, rye, barley, or oats in the basic recipe. The modified food starch used to manufacture them is cornstarch and all ingredients are free of dairy.

Kosher Jellybeans

Teenee Beanee jellybeans and Just Born jellybeans are Pareve & O/U; Jelly Bellies are certified OU Kosher.

Food and the Super Bowl

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Super Bowl Food Trivia

Super Bowl 51 is this Sunday. Even though professional football — as we know it – has been around since 1920, the first Super Bowl only dates back to January 1967.

Super Bowl Sunday certainly has the trappings of a holiday both in the US and in many expat communities. It’s the most watched annual television program in the US and ranks second (Thanksgiving is first) as the day for most food consumption. Over 20 million Americans attend Super Bowl parties and half of all Americans say they would rather go to a Super Bowl party than to a New Year’s Eve party.

It’s amazing how food has become associated with football — from tailgating to food for the game.  Think of all the hand to mouth munching on chips, dips, and wings; a swig or two or three; a cookie here and there.  And then there’s the “real food” at halftime – or maybe there’s pizza first followed by a selection of subs. By the end of the game do you have a clue about how much – or even what — you have popped into your mouth?

Super Bowl Food Facts

  • About one in twenty (9 million) Americans watch the game at a restaurant or a bar.
  • Americans double their average daily consumption of snacks on Super Bowl Sunday, downing more than 33 million pounds in one day.
  • The average Super Bowl watcher consumes 1,200 calories. Overall, potato chips are the favorite munchie and, in total, account for 27 billion calories and 1.8 billion fat grams — the same as 4 million pounds of fat or equal to the weight of 13,000 NFL offensive linemen at 300 pounds each.
  • Nearly one in eight (13%) Americans order takeout/delivery food for the Super Bowl. The most popular choices are pizza (58%), chicken wings (50%), and subs/sandwiches (20%). Almost 70% of Super Bowl watchers eat a slice (or two or three) during the game.
  • The amount of chicken wings eaten clocks in at 90 million pounds or 450 million individual wings. It would take 19 chicken breasts to get the same amount of fat that you usually get from a dozen Buffalo wings.
  • On Super Bowl Sunday we eat an estimated 14,500 tons of potato chips, 4000 tons of tortilla chips, and eight million pounds of avocados. Five ounces of nacho cheese Doritos is equal to around 700 calories. You’d have to run the length of 123 football fields to burn them off.  You’d have to eat 175 baby carrots or 700 celery sticks to get the same number of calories.
  • According to 7-eleven, sales of antacids increase by 20% on the day after Super Bowl.
  • Pizza restaurants love Super Bowl Sunday – it’s their busiest day of the year, according to the National Restaurant Association. Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, and Domino’s sell twice as many pies as they do on any other day. Domino’s expects to sell 11 million slices.
  • The Hass Avocado Board predicts that over Super Bowl weekend approximately100 million pounds of guacamole will be eaten – and approximately 14,500 tons of chips are used to scoop it up.
  • About 2 million cases of beer are sold every year for Super Bowl – which might explain why 6% of Americans call in sick for work the next day.

Pizza: 7 Calorie Saving Tips

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PizzaGraphic7Tips

 

If your mouth waters at the thought of melted cheese and pepperoni on thick or thin crust, take comfort that you’re not alone:

  • American men, women, and children eat, on average 46 slices of pizza a year.
  • 94% of Americans eat pizza regularly
  • In the US, 61% prefer regular thin crust, 14% prefer deep-dish, and 11% prefer extra thin crust
  • 62% of Americans prefer meat toppings; 38% prefer vegetables
  • 36% order pizza topped with pepperoni

Good Food or Junk Food?

Pizza can be pretty good food – both in calories and nutrition. On the other hand it can be pretty lousy – both in calories and nutrition.

It’s difficult to estimate the number of calories and fat grams in a slice of pizza because the size and depth of the pies and the amount of cheese, meat, or other toppings vary enormously.

Here’s the good news: pizza can be a healthy food choice filled with complex carbs, B-vitamins, calcium, protein, vitamin A, and vitamin C and calorically okay if you choose wisely and don’t eat more than your fair share.

The not so good news:  the amount of fat, calories, and the variation in portion size. If your mouth starts to water at the thought of golden brown crust and cheesy goodness — here’s the downer: that luscious slice of pizza that should be about the size of two dollar bills – not the size of a small frying pan or a quarter of a 12” circle.

7 Ways To Build a Better Slice of Pizza

  1. Order thin crust rather than a thick crust or deep dish.
  2. Resist the urge to ask for double cheese — better yet, go light on the cheese or use reduced-fat (2%) cheese (if they have it).
  3. Ask for a pizza without cheese but topped with veggies and a little olive oil. You can always sprinkle on a little grated parmesan for flavor; one tablespoon has only 22 calories.
  4. Instead of cheese go for big flavors from onion, garlic, or olives but use them somewhat sparingly because of the oil.  And don’t forget anchovies  – a lot of flavor for minimal calories.
  5. Choose vegetable toppings instead of meat (think about the fat content in sausage, pepperoni, and meatballs) and you might shave 100 calories from your meal. Pile on veggies like mushrooms, peppers, olives, tomatoes, onion, broccoli, spinach, and asparagus. Some places have salad pizza – great if it’s not loaded with oil.
  6. Order a side salad (careful with the dressing) and cut down on the amount of pizza.  Salad takes longer to eat, too.
  7. If you’re willing (and not embarrassed or grossed out), try blotting up the free-floating oil that sits on top of a greasy slice with a napkin. Blotting (it’s easy to do this on the kind of hot slice where the oil runs down your arm when you pick it up) can soak up a teaspoon of oil worth 40 calories and 5 grams of fat.

Deep Dish, Hand Tossed, Thin Crust?

Check out the difference in calories for the same size slice (1/8th of a pie) between the classic hand-tossed pizza, the deep dish, and the crunchy thin crust for the same toppings. Then check out the difference in calories for the toppings.

Domino’s 14 inch large classic hand-tossed pizza

  • America’s Favorite (Peperoni, mushroom, sausage, 1/8 of pizza): 390 calories
  • Bacon Cheeseburger (Beef, bacon, cheddar cheese), 1/8 of pizza: 420 calories
  • Vegi Feast (Green pepper, onion, mushroom, black olive, extra cheese, 1/8 of pizza): 340 calories

Domino’s 14 inch large ultimate deep dish pizza

  • America’s Favorite (Peperoni, mushroom, sausage), 1/8 of pizza: 400 calories
  • Bacon Cheeseburger (Beef, bacon, cheddar cheese), 1/8 of pizza: 430 calories
  • Vegi Feast (Green pepper, onion, mushroom, black olive, extra cheese), 1/8 of pizza: 350 calories

Domino’s 14 inch large crunchy thin crust pizza

  • America’s Favorite (Peperoni, mushroom, sausage, 1/8 of pizza: 280 calories)
  • Bacon Cheeseburger (Beef, bacon, cheddar cheese), 1/8 of pizza: 310 calories
  • Vegi Feast (Green pepper, onion, mushroom, black olive, extra cheese), 1/8 of pizza: 230 calories

Mall Pizza: There’s A Range 

  • A slice of Sbarro’s Low Carb Cheese Pizza has 310 calories and 14 grams of fat.
  • A slice of Sbarro’s Low Carb Sausage/Pepperoni Pizza has 560 calories and 35 grams of fat.
  • A slice of Sbarro’s Fresh Tomato Pizza clocks in at 450 calories with 14 grams of fat.
  • Any of Sbarro’s “Gourmet” pizzas have between 610 and 780 calories a slice and more than 20 grams of fat.
  • A slice of Costco Food Court Pepperoni Pizza has 620 calories and 30 grams of fat.
  • “Stuffed” pizzas are even worse—790 calories minimum and over 33 grams of fat per slice.

Girl Scout Cookies: here’s the original recipe

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Girl Scout Cookies

Chris Rock nudged the Oscar audience into buying $65,243 worth of Girl Scout cookies. Most of us don’t buy our cookies in an audience full of theater royalty, but rather from Girl Scouts who have set up tables on sidewalks, in front of stores, who have rung your doorbell, online, or from parents selling them at the office.

But, no matter when or where you buy them, the Thin Mints, Samoas, Trefoils, Tagalongs are still the cookies we know and love.

The Original Girl Scout Cookie

Even though Thin Mints account for about 25% of Girl Scout cookie sales, the thin chocolate wafers bear little resemblance (other than being cookies) to the original Girl Scout cookie.

The first Girl Scout troop was organized over a hundred years ago (March 12, 1912) in Savannah, Georgia. Selling cookies as a way to finance troop activities began as early as 1917 when they were sold in an Oklahoma high school cafeteria as a service project.

Girl Scout cookies were originally baked in home kitchens with moms as the “technical advisers.” In July 1922, The American Girl Magazine, which was published by Girl Scout national headquarters, printed a cookie recipe that had been distributed to the Council’s 2,000 Girl Scouts. The approximate cost of ingredients for six- to seven-dozen cookies was estimated at 26 to 36 cents; the suggested sale price was 25 or 30 cents for a dozen.

In the 20s and 30s the simple sugar cookies that were baked by Girl Scouts and their mothers were packaged in waxed paper bags, sealed with stickers, and sold door to door.

The Original Recipe

The Original Girl Scout Cookie Recipe (circa 1922)

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • Additional sugar for topping (optional)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

Cream the butter and the cup of sugar. Add the well-beaten eggs, then milk, vanilla, flour, salt, and baking powder. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Roll out the dough, cut into trefoil shapes, and sprinkle sugar on top, if desired.

Bake in a quick oven (375°) for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown. Makes six- to seven-dozen cookies.

Present Day Girl Scout Cookies

For present day cookie recipes, check out the websites of the two licensed Girl Scout cookie bakers: ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers, and on www.pinterest.com/GSUSA. For a list of specific cookie ingredients go to Meet the Cookies.

Why is my Trefoil called Shortbread and my Samoa a Caramel deLite?

If you’ve ever wondered why your cookie may be called Shortbread instead of Trefoil, it’s because the two bakers call them different names. The cookies have a similar look and taste but the name and recipe vary with the baker. Both companies call their chocolate-mint cookie, Thin Mint. I guess you can’t mess with the gold standard!

The cookies, all of which are kosher, are sold by weight, not quantity. The size and number of cookies in the package varies with the baker, but both are displayed on every package. The cookies are sold for different prices in different areas of the country with each of the 112 Girl Scout councils setting their own price based on its needs and its familiarity with the local market.