Takeout, Prepared Food, Junk Food

Can You Save Calories Eating A Ham And Cheese Sandwich Instead Of A Salad?

May 14, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Somehow we’ve embraced the idea that salads are always a light and healthy choice. Sometimes they are – but all too often they aren’t.

Listen to lunchtime orders and you hear salad, salad, salad – and an occasional sandwich. Sometimes the sandwich is the clear winner in terms of calories and fat. For instance, a ham and cheese sandwich ranges from 350 to 450 calories depending upon how much ham and cheese there really is – and whether it comes with mustard or mayo (and, of course, not fries or chips). And sometimes the salad is a better choice — depending on what goes into it. Check out the following nutritional facts for salads.

The Green Base

The green stuff that’s the base for most salads isn’t the problem. Most greens are very low in calories and pretty nutritious.

1 cup shredded Romaine: 8 calories, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram protein, 0 gram fat
1 cup of Arugula: 6 calories, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram protein, 0 gram fat
1 cup raw spinach: 7 calories, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram protein
1 cup chopped kale: 32 calories, 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of protein, 0 gram fat

Where’s The Problem?

Answer: Hidden in high calorie add-ons and dressings.

Generally, at least ¼ of a cup (frequently more) of dressing is added to a tossed salad. A ladle of creamy dressing has about 360 calories and 38g of fat (a cheeseburger’s worth).
Tuna, macaroni, and chicken salads, the holy grail of delis and salad bars, are loaded with mayonnaise, which is loaded with fat. ½ cup of chicken salad has around 208 calories, 16g of fat; tuna salad has 192 calories, 9g fat; tuna pasta salad has 397 calories, 9g fat; macaroni salad has 170 calories, 9g fat. (Remember, ½ cup is pretty small.)
Then there’s cheese. A ¼ cup (a ¼ cup serving is really small) serving of shredded cheddar has 114 calories, 9g fat; blue cheese has 80 calories, 6g fat; feta has 75 calories, 6g fat.
Croutons and Crispy Noodles: ¼ cup of plain croutons has 31 calories, 0g fat; 1 serving of McDonald’s Butter Garlic Croutons has 60 calories, 1g fat; ¼ cup of crispy noodles has 74 calories, 4g fat
Dried cranberries: ¼ cup has 98 calories, 0g fat
Nuts and seeds: ¼ cup sunflower seeds: 210 calories, 19g fat; chopped walnuts: 193 calories, 18g fat
Avocado, ¼ cup: 58 calories, 5g fat
Bacon bits, 1 tablespoon: 25 calories, 2g fat
Bread (often used to sop up leftover dressing): 1 piece of French bread, 82 calories, 1g fat; 1 dinner roll, 78 calories, 2g fat. Dressing sopped up by the bread or roll: lots of extra fat calories!

This tip is part of the “lose 5 pounds in 5 weeks” challenge. Read more about the challenge here and post how you’re doing on Eat Out Eat Well’s Facebook page.

Chinese Food And Lots Of Calories Can Go Hand-In-Hand

May 2, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Are you going to have Chinese food? Do you think you’re getting off easy because of all of the vegetables? Think again.

There are 466 calories in a cup and a half of beef and broccoli stir-fry (and about a day’s worth of sodium). One cup of fried rice has 333 calories. If you also have a vegetable spring roll to start for 63 calories and three fortune cookies to end for about 100 calories, your meal comes in at around 1000 calories. You could share this meal and save 500 calories.

Another thing to think about – are you sure that you aren’t eating more than the portion sizes shown here? The amount of food that arrives on your plate or in a take-out box is often considerably larger than a standard portion.

You could be tallying many more calories than you think. Next time you have Chinese take-out, haul out your measuring cup and measure how big the portion is that you just plopped on your plate. You might be horrified.

This is Tip #7 of “The Five”– lose 5 pounds in 5 weeks by decreasing calories, increasing activity, or a combination of the two. Post your progress on Facebook.

The Easy Way To Lose 5 Pounds In 5 Weeks

April 26, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

“The Five” Challenge

Did you wake up this morning feeling like an extra five pounds of fat attached itself to your body — and you have no idea how it got there? Maybe there’s only four pounds if you challenged yourself to eating a bit differently and moving a bit more during Week #1.

Take “The Five” Challenge and safely lose a pound a week the easy and healthy way – and in a manner that will help you to keep the weight off.

Why Five?

We take in energy through food (calories in) and expend energy through our bodies’ metabolic processes and through activity (calories out).

About 3500 calories equals one pound of body weight so you’d have to eat around 3500 calories less than your body needs to lose one pound. Since we’re all unique, each one of us gains, loses, and processes calories at our own unique rate.

Even with our unique variations, choosing 3500 calories as a weekly target when you’re trying to lose weight is reasonable and doable. Taking in 500 calories a day less than your body needs and/or using up more calories through activity will help you to lose approximately one pound in a week (7 days x 500 calories = 3500 calories or approximately one pound). Do this for 5 weeks and you will have lost around 5 pounds.

Remember – that’s 500 FEWER calories and/or MORE activity than what you normally would eat or do.

“The Five” Challenge In A Nutshell

It’s as simple as this:

decrease your energy intake by 500 calories a day

expend 500 calories a day more than you usually do

use any combination of the two that adds up to 500 – for instance, eat 250 calories less and move around for 250 calories more than you usually do – or you could eat 350 calories less and burn 150 calories through activity.

Do this seven days a week for five weeks and you should be around five pounds lighter. Everyone is different – we all calculate calories and activity differently and everyone loses weight at a different rate. But, if you hop on the challenge you certainly will see some results and you’ll be building great new habits.

The Specifics

Every day I’ll post a calorie saving tip on EatOutEatWell.com that focuses on eating behaviors, food selection, or ways to burn calories through activity. I’ll also tweet and post the tip on Facebook, and Pinterest.
Everyone eats out — whether it’s for a snack or a meal — I want to encourage you to Eat Out and Eat Well. Many of the tips are geared toward helping you when you eat in restaurants, amusement parks, ballparks, barbecues, airports, at parties, on vacations, or at work.
When deciding which tip(s) to use, choose the ones you think will work for you and that will fit into your daily life without much difficulty or stress.
Do one thing for seven days, or for all 35 days (great for habit formation), or try something new everyday. The choice is yours, but take a chance and do something. Those “a little too tight” clothes in your closet will fit much better.
Post what you choose to do on Facebook. Also post if you’re struggling. There’s a community out there to help.

Week #1:

Tip #1: What’s your coffee (or tea) pleasure? How many cups do you drink and are they small, tall, grande, vente or extra large? What else do you put in the cup along with the coffee or tea?

Here’s some facts – use them to decide how to moderate your coffee/tea calories. The calories below are for 1 tablespoon. My guess is that most of us pour at least two to three tablespoons of milk or cream into our coffee, not just one. Add up the calories and multiply them by the number of cups of coffee or tea you have a day. It’s not at all far fetched to be drinking 500 calories of coffee or tea when it’s made with extras.

Brewed coffee, grande (16 oz), black: 5 calories
Brewed tea, (16 oz): 4 calories
Heavy cream, 1tbs: 52 calories
Half-and-half, 1 tbs: 20 calories
Whole milk, 1 tbs: 9 calories
Fat-free milk, 1 tbs: 5 calories
Table sugar, 1tbs: 49 calories
Bailey’s Irish Cream, 1.3 ounces: 121 calories

Remember to post on Facebook and to share the challenge with family, friends, and coworkers.

Really, How Many Calories Are In That Piece Of Candy?

October 29, 2012 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

It might help a bit with Halloween candy mooching if you have some information about the calories in those seemingly innocent little mini bars of candy. A lot of adults care — some don’t — and most kids could care less about calories.

One night of candy overload isn’t going to break the bank. You won’t gain ten pounds and neither will your child(ren). You and they might feel lousy after so much sugar, your concentration may not be the greatest, and you might be sluggish and irritable. But, your pants will still fit and your sunny personality will see the light of day – if the candy indulgences don’t become a frequent occurrence.

A treat is only a treat if it happens once in a while. If it’s a common occurrence it far too frequently becomes an expectation or a habit.

Calories in Halloween candy (Source: fitsugar)

1 treat size (fun size)	Calories	Fat (g)	Sugar (g)
Snickers	71	3.6	7.6
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup	88	5.2	8
Reese’s Caramel Cup	100	5	11
Reese’s Nutrageous	95	5.5	7.5
Milky Way	77	2.9	10.2
Butterfinger	85	3.5	8.5
Almond Joy	91	5.1	9.2
Milk Duds	40	2	6.3
M&Ms	90	4	11.5
Peanut M&Ms	93	4.7	9.1
Nestle’s Crunch	51.3	2.7	5.6
Peppermint Pattie	47	1	8.6
Kit Kat	73	3.7	.67
Dots	70	0	11
Skittles	80	.8	15
Jelly Belly Jellybeans	35	0	7
3 Musketeers	63.3	2	10
Milky Way	75	3	10
Hershey’s Bar	66.7	4	7.7
Take 5	105	5.5	9
100 Grand	95	4	11
Nerds	50	0	12
Whoppers	100	4	13
Mike & Ike	50	0	9
SweeTarts	10	0	2.4

The Chinese Takeout Container Is Really An American Oyster Pail

October 11, 2012 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

You can probably find Chinese take-out food in white containers with wire handles in just about any part of the United States and in many other parts of the world.

Although those folded white paperboard containers immediately signify the type of food that’s inside, their derivation is, well, American.

It’s Really An Oyster Pail

The Chinese takeout container was patented in Chicago, on Nov. 13, 1894, by Frederick Weeks Wilcox. He created a “paper pail” from a single piece of paper that was creased into segments and then folded into what was, hopefully, a leak-proof container with a wire handle on top. The support folds were on the outside — creating a flat inside surface which made it pretty easy to slide food smoothly onto a plate.

The whole idea was based on an oyster pail – a wooden pail used to transport oysters. The paper oyster pail was developed when oysters, which were very popular and used to be more plentiful and less expensive than they are today, were shucked by an oyster seller when they were purchased. The raw oyster meat was then taken home to be used in cooked dishes. Because shucking oysters requires some amount of skill to avoid badly cut fingers, having someone else do this was a good thing. So, after the oyster seller wrestled the shells open, the dripping oyster meat that was removed had to be transported in something. The paper oyster pail proved to be an inexpensive and sanitary way to do this.

Takeout Food Becomes Popular

After the Second World War, Americans developed a huge interest in prepared food that could be picked up from restaurants and heated up at home. Because it’s tasty, a little different, pretty cheap, and travels well, American Chinese food became very popular.

The Adaptable White Box

When oyster availability started to decline and Chinese takeout food started to become popular, the nearly leakproof, durable, disposable, inexpensive, and available oyster pail was quickly adopted for “Chinese take-out.”

And, for good reason. The design of the box is multi-purpose. It usually self-closes with a tab and because of the way the box is folded, it allows some steam to escape from hot food. If you’re careful, you can remove the flaps, unfold the sides, and use the container as a flimsy plate.

Over time, some adjustments have been made in the boxes that make them more suitable for the modern-day kitchen: you can find microwave-safe cartons that use glue instead of wire along with dye free and unbleached environmentally friendly varieties.

But, one thing has not changed. As most takeout food lovers know, one of the best things about the uniquely shaped box is that with the long reach of chopsticks you can still eat right out of the container.