Eat Out Eat Well

Takeout, Prepared Food, Junk Food

What Do You Get When You Buy A Low Calorie Or Reduced Fat Product?

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What does low fat or reduced calorie really mean?

With the holidays rapidly approaching many of us are starting to scan recipes and plan menus – which means grocery shopping.  It also means trying to balance out the excess calories from holiday meals with some “lighter” fare – which also may mean grocery shopping.

Walk down the aisle – just about any aisle – in the supermarket and the labels on packages are plastered with claims of low fat, no fat, low this, low that, and extra lean.

What a dilemma!  Sounds great, all of this reduced fat and light or “lite” food – but what does it really mean?  Does light mean that the butternut squash soup is light as a feather or that it is lighter than the pea soup?  Does reduced calorie mean that the chocolate mousse has half the calories of the “regular” mousse or that it’s ten calories less?

Unfortunately, the answers are not always what they seem to be.  For instance, according to the FDA, a food is allowed to be labeled fat free if a serving contains less than 0.5 grams of fat.  So, something could have 0.4 grams of fat and still be called fat free.

Be Aware Of Definitions – And Check The Nutrition Labels

Definitions of Some Common Terms Used On Food Packages

  • Fat-free = less than 0.5 grams of fat per serving, with no added fat or oil.
  • Low fat = 3 grams or less of fat per serving.
  • Less fat = 25% or less fat than the comparison food.
  • Saturated fat free = Less than 0.5 grams of saturated fat and 0.5 grams of trans-fatty acids per serving.
  • Cholesterol-free = less than 2 mg of cholesterol per serving and 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving.
  • Low cholesterol = 20 mg or less of cholesterol per serving and 2 grams or less of  saturated fat per serving.
  • Reduced calorie = at least 25% fewer calories per serving than the comparison food (the “regular” version of the same food).
  • Low calorie = 40 calories or less per serving.
  • Extra lean = less than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per 100 gram serving of meat, poultry, or seafood.
  • Lean = less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 g of saturated fat, and 95 mg of cholesterol per 100 gram serving of meat, poultry, or seafood.
  • Light (fat) = 50% or less of the fat in the comparison food.
  • Light (calories) = one-third fewer calories than the comparison food.
  • High fiber = 5 grams or more fiber per serving.
  • Sugar-free = less than 0.5 grams of sugar per serving.
  • Sodium-free (salt-free) = less than 5 mg of sodium per serving.
  • Low sodium = 140 mg or less per serving.
  • Very low sodium = 35 mg or less per serving.

It’s a good idea to read labels, know what you’re getting,  and choose wisely.

Are There Veggies In Your Veggie Burger?

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I had a Portobello mushroom burger the other day.  The burger was a whole Portobello cap – not ground up stuff that always leaves me wondering what exactly is making up the brown burger shaped thing that I’m eating.

Don’t get me wrong – I like veggie burgers – I just don’t like unidentified mixtures described as a veggie burger.  That could mean a whole range of ground up veggies – perhaps the ones left over from last evening’s dinner.  It could also mean almost no veggies and a whole lot of fillers and non-meat protein additives to give the burger some bulk and to make the patty stick together.

Veggie Burgers Are Everywhere

You can find veggie burgers everywhere – Burger King has a BK Veggie Burger and the frozen food aisle is loaded with them.  But are they healthier than a hamburger or turkey burger?

A regular, not a whopper, monster, or even a large size hamburger eats up a big chunk of the  recommended daily limit of 15 to 30 grams of saturated fat (depending on caloric intake).  Most veggie burgers have none to one gram of saturated fat – without the bun, cheese, mayo, etc.

Most veggie burgers weigh 2.5 ounces and have 70 to 170 calories. A “standard” meat patty is three ounces after cooking (a quarter pound of uncooked ground beef yields a 3 ounce burger). A patty made from ¼ pound of ground chuck has 193 calories, 12 g of fat (4 saturated).  Obviously, the size of the burger and the type and leanness of the meat affects its nutrition content.

Why Eat A Veggie Burger?

Some people eat veggie burgers rather than traditional hamburgers to cut calories and saturated fat, to boost their dietary fiber intake, to cut back on red meat, or for the convenience of being able to cook a frozen veggie burger in a couple of minutes.

BUT — know what you’re eating.  Shockingly, not all veggie burgers are mostly veggies.  The ones with more soy and some oil produce a more burger like texture and the ones with more grains and vegetables are less meat-like.  However, based on the ingredient lists shown below – you should question how many vegetables you are getting.

Where’s The Veggies?

Boca Burger: 120 calories, 5g fat (1.5 saturated), 380 mg sodium, 6g cars, 5g fiber, 14g protein

  • Ingredients: water, soy protein concentrate, reduced fat cheddar cheese (pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese culture, slat (no typo this is from their website), enzymes, annatto (color), vitamin A palmitate, wheat gluten, corn oil, contains less than 2% of methylcellulose, hydrolyzed corn protein, wheat gluten and soy protein, slat, caramel color, cheese powder (cheddar cheese, milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes), cream, salt, sodium phosphate, lactic acid, dried onions, yeast extract, natural flavor (non-meat), sesame oil, disodium guanylate, disodium inosinate, browned in corn oil.

Boca Grilled Vegetable Patty: 80 calories, 1g fat, 300mg sodium, 7g carbs, 4g fiber, 12g protein

  • Ingredients: water, soy protein concentrate, red bell peppers, corn succhini, green bell peppers, onions, wheat gluten, contains less than 2% of asiago cheese (pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, potassium sorbate as a preservative, low-moisture part skim mozzarella cheese (cultured pasteurized part-skim milk, salt, enzymes), dried garlic, methylcellulose, salt, caramel color, dried onions, autolyzed yeast extra ct, natural flavor (non-meat), spice, dextrose

MorningStar Farms Grillers Vegan Veggie Burgers: 100 calories, 2.5g fat, 4g fiber, 12g protein  (from website, I couldn’t find sodium count)

  • Ingredients: water, textured soy protein concentrate, corn oil, contains two percent or less of autolyzed yeast extract, vegetable gum, natural flavors from vegetable sources, maltodextrin, soy fiber, salt, carrageenan, potato starch, onion powder, caramel color, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, konjac flour, sunflower oil, sesame seed oil, soy sauce (water, soybeans, wheat, salt), concentrated onion juice, ascorbic acid, vinegar powder, citric acid, aspartic acid, modified corn starch, malic acid, succinic acid, tartaric acid, lactic acid, wheat flour, soy lecithin

BK Veggie Burger (as described on their website):  A Morningstar Farms Garden Veggie Patty, garden crisp vegetables, whole grains, and spices all topped with lettuce, red ripe tomatoes, ketchup, creamy mayo, served on a sesame seed bun

  • Nutrition: 400 calories, 16g fat (2.5 saturated), 1020 mg sodium, 43g carbs (8 sugar), 22g protein

BK Hamburger: flame-broiled beef patty, crunchy pickles, yellow mustard, ketchup, sesame seed bun.

  • Nutrition: 260 calories, 10g fat (4 saturated), 490 mg sodium, 27g carbs (6g sugar), 13g protein

Enough said!!!  Come back on Friday for some choices for veggie burgers with a few more veggies in the mix!

Are you Eating Sugar When You Think You Aren’t?

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What Are Carbohydrates?

They are the sugars, starches, and fiber we eat. Carbohydrates (carbs for short) are carbon dioxide combined with water and,  except for fiber, are transformed by your body into blood sugar, mostly glucose,  the body’s basic fuel.

An enormous number of foods contain carbs. They’re the main energy source for your body and the main source of calories in just about every culture’s diet. They have four calories per gram, the same as protein. Fat has nine calories per gram.

Which Foods Are High In Carbs?

Which of these foods contain lots of carbs:  fruit juice, table sugar, nonfat milk, bananas, blueberries, hamburger buns, multi-grain bread, pumpkin pie, popcorn, scones, corn, Hershey’s kisses, honey, sweet potatoes? If you chose them all, bingo!

Does It Matter What Kind Of Carbs You Eat?

Yes and no.  Yes for nutrition, no for calories because regardless of the source, the calories per gram are the same whether they come from chocolate or oranges.   Since most carbs are broken down into glucose does it really matter which kind you eat?  Or, said another way, is the energy in a teaspoonful of sugar (does it really help the medicine go down?) any better or worse than the same amount of carbs in peas, potatoes, or pepsi?

If You’re Looking For A Simple Answer – It’s Complex

Most carbs come from plant based foods:  fruit, veggies, grains, and legumes (lentils, peas, beans, peanuts). The only animal based foods with lots of carbs are dairy products.

The Two Basic Types Of Carbohydrates

Simple carbohydrates are sugars like the glucose and fructose in fruit and some veggies; the lactose in milk; and the sucrose from cane or beet sugar.  Table sugar is pure sucrose. Sugars added to many processed foods such as soda and baked goods account for a large portion of the simple carbs we eat and are the main reason that sugar makes up 16% of all calories Americans consume (it was 11% twenty years ago.) A third of the added sugar that we eat comes from soda.


Complex carbohydrates are chains of simple sugars.  They are primarily starches and the fiber found in plant foods. Foods rich in complex carbs include things like grains and grain products (bread, pasta), beans, potatoes, and corn.

Simple Or Complex – Which Is Preferable?

The answer isn’t totally straight forward.  A lot of foods high in sugar, especially the ones with added sugars, qualify as “empty calories,” or foods that have lots of calories and few nutrients. Complex carbs usually carry along a suitcase filled with nutritional extras. Dairy products and fruit both contain simple carbs, but because of the other nutrients they contain they play an important part in a healthy diet.

When you choose carbohydrate foods, pick the ones with complex carbs. Try to eat  fruit and veggies with fiber — the fruit is better than the juice. Whole grains (think brown rice instead of white, multi-grain bread instead of sandwich buns) are more nutritious than refined grains because they still have the bran and the germ, parts often removed in refined grains. Because of this they are digested more slowly and have a more even effect on your blood sugar.

Because of their fiber content, the same is true for vegetables and beans.  Refined carbs or simple sugars are digested rapidly and often cause your blood sugar to spike, or elevate quickly, and then drop  — which can leave you feeling tired, irritable — and craving more sugar to get your blood sugar levels back up again.

Animal Crackers: Giraffes And Tigers But Crackers Or Cookies?

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The Red (or yellow or blue) Box With The String

Remember that cute little red, yellow or blue box with the string on top and tiny little animals on the front and back?  After you open the box and the heavy waxed paper inside you’re rewarded with crunchy little animal crackers, usually in the shape of animals you find at the circus or the zoo.

How Long Have Animal Crackers Been Around?

In the late 1800s, biscuits called “Animals” were imported from England to the United States and in 1871 Stauffer’s Biscuit Company baked their first batch stateside.

Barnum’s Animals (Crackers), named for P. T. Barnum who ran the circus, the “Greatest Show on Earth,” were first made in New York City in 1902 by the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco).   Barnum, an amazing self-promoter, had absolutely nothing to do with the labeling on the box and he never got a cent for it.

The famous string appeared when Nabisco designed the box to look like a circus wagon cage and then attached a string so it could be hung as an ornament from a Christmas tree.  It sold it for 5 cents a box. As we know, the package was such a success that it remains a year round treat – 40 million are made a year — although not at the same price!

Are They Crackers Or Cookies?

The crunchy little animals resemble crackers because they are made with layered dough.  But, because the dough is sweetened they have a cookie taste and consistency.

Over the years, 54 different animals have been represented. The most recent, chosen by consumer vote, is the koala. It beat out the penguin, the walrus and the cobra.  Some other animals are  tigers, cougars, camels, rhinoceros, kangaroos, hippopotami, bison, lions, hyenas, zebras, elephants, sheep, bears, gorillas, monkeys, seals, and giraffes.

Are They Good – Or At Least Okay for You?

The little box with the string contains about two servings.

  • Each serving (about 17 crackers) has 120 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 22 grams of carbs, 1 gram of fiber, and 2 grams of protein.
  • The ingredients are:  enriched flour, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, soybean oil, yellow corn flour, partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil, calcium carbonate, baking soda, salt, soy lecithin, artificial flavor.
  • Although trans fat is not listed in the nutrition facts, the ingredients contain partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil (partially hydrogenated means trans fat).

When a product contains less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, the FDA requires that the content be listed in the package’s Nutrition Facts box as “0g”. When a label shows 0 grams trans fat per serving and lists a “partially hydrogenated” vegetable oil (such as soybean or cottonseed, among others) in the ingredients, the product may contain up to 0.49 grams of trans fat per serving.

Other companies do make organic and/or whole grain animal crackers and should you be concerned about ingredients these would make a better choice.  Unfortunately, they do not come in the classic box with the string which, at least for my sons, was part of the allure.

Free Food Is Everywhere

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You arrive for an early morning meeting.  Front and center is a platter loaded with bagels, danish, and doughnuts just waiting to be eaten –and to be washed down by copious amounts of coffee.  For so many this is the early morning pick-me up – and the beginning of a blood sugar roller coaster ride.

If you didn’t have time to grab some, have no fear – if all the platters aren’t picked clean the remnants will surely end up in the snack room next to the birthday cake (it’s always somebody’s birthday) or the leftover cookies from someone’s party the night before.

Perhaps you shop at Costco on the weekend.  At least three tables will be manned by someone offering you samples of hot pizza, luscious cheesecake, or tooth-picked pigs ‘n blankets just waiting to be quickly and neatly popped into your mouth.

Maybe you then make a stop at the cleaners, the tailors, the veterinarians, or the hair salon.  There it is – the giant bowl piled high with freebie candy.  You can dig deep for the kind you like – Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, mini Snickers, or Tootsie Roll pops.  You name it — it’s usually there for the taking.

Going to a wedding that night?  How do you escape the platters of salami, cheese, mini quiches, and then the desserts covered with icing, whipped cream, and powdered sugar?

What’s The Problem With Free Food?

Nothing if you don’t care about calories, how nutritious your food is, and how you are going to feel after indulging on an overload of sugar, fat, and salt.  I do know many  “starving” students who have fed themselves on free food.  The question is:  did they ultimately benefit from the hit to their bellies with no impact on their wallets?

Occasional dips into free food are probably not going to really hurt anyone in reasonable health.  But, on a consistent basis there is certainly a downside to your health.  There could me a more immediate concern, too.  A whole bunch of non-nutritious (junk, processed, and high calorie) food eaten right before a time when intense concentration and focus is necessary (translation:  exams and presentations) could certainly have a negative impact.

Most of us find it pretty darn hard to ignore “free food,” the food that’s just there for the taking. It’s everywhere – and we have become accustomed to valuing cheap calories.  Think about it:  when was the last time that you resisted the peanuts, pretzels, or popcorn sitting on the bar counter?  What about the breadbasket – that’s usually free, too.

We don’t have to eat any of this stuff.  But we do.  Why?  Some of us have trouble passing up a giveaway – even if it might be cheap, processed food.  Some of us see it as a way to save money – even with possible negative health consequences.  And a lot of us use “free” as an excuse to eat or overeat junk food or the sweet, salty, fatty foods that some call addicting.

And what about those calories?  Just because it’s free doesn’t mean the calories are, too.  It’s all too easy to forget about those calories you popped in your mouth as you snagged a candy here and tasted a cookie there.  Yikes.  You could eat a day’s worth of calories cruising through a couple of markets and food stores.

Things To Think About Before The Freebies Land In Your Mouth

You might want to come up with your own mental checklist that, with practice, will help you evaluate whether or not it’s worth it to you to indulge.  If you decide to taste the salami and have a cookie and a piece of cake, at least you will have made a mindful decision with consideration of the consequences rather than mindlessly indulging.  Ask yourself:

  • Is it fresh, tasty, healthy food?  It might be if you’re at a wedding or an event, it’s probably not it it’s being handed out at the supermarket or sitting in a large bowl at the cleaners.
  • Is it clean?  Think about this – how many fingers have been in the bowl of peanuts or have grabbed pieces of cheese or bunches of cookies off of an open platter?
  • Do you really want it – or are you eating it just because it’s there?
  • Is it loaded with fat, sugar, and salt adding up to mega calories that significantly impact your daily caloric allowance?  Every calorie counts whether it’s popped in your mouth and gone in the blink of an eye or savored more slowly and eaten with utensils off of a plate.
  • If you fill up with the non-nutritious free food, are you skimping on the good nutritious stuff later on because you are simply too full to eat it?
  • If you eat some free food, does it open the flood gates so that you continue to indulge? Loading up on simple sugars – the kind found in candy, cookies, cake, and many processed foods – causes your blood sugar level to spike and then to drop – soon leaving you hungry once again, and pretty darn cranky, too.

You Do Have Choices

You don’t have to eat food because it’s free.  No one is forcing you to make some more room on the platter.  Beware of the cascading effect.  If you allow yourself to sample the candy, pizza, cheesecake, popcorn, or pieces of cookie, are you giving yourself permission (perhaps in disguise) to overindulge in food you might not ordinarily eat?  If cost is an issue, there are many ways to find and cook nutritious food at a lower cost.  If you plan to indulge make sure you do it mindfully, not mindlessly:  build it in.  Eat a lighter lunch and don’t go shopping or to an event when you’re starving.  That’s almost a certain ticket to chowing down on almost everything in sight.