Eat Out Eat Well

Takeout, Prepared Food, Junk Food

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?

Chocolate Hearts . . .

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During the week before Valentine’s Day, about 1.1 billion boxed chocolates, that’s about 58 million pounds of chocolate candy, will be sold in the United States.

A pound of milk chocolate contains 2300 calories, 140 grams of fat, 270 grams of carbohydrates, and 31 grams of protein. Although a lot has been reported about the heart healthy benefits of chocolate, especially dark chocolate, it is important to remember that it is still a high calorie, high fat treat.

But, a treat is something that is associated with pleasure, and on Valentine’s Day, often with love.  To celebrate the occasion perhaps it’s just fine to enjoy a piece or two.

Love Those Candy Hearts . . .

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“Be Mine,” “Kiss me,”  “Sweet Talk.” The brightly colored hearts with the familiar sayings have been a Valentine’s Day treat since 1902. Their manufacturer, NECCO, the New England Confectionery Company, in business since 1847, expects to sell more than 8 billion candy conversation hearts this year.

The original candies with printed sayings were called “motto hearts.”  The sayings have been updated over the years with new ones added periodically. The candy is quite popular — NECCO sells out of their hearts,100,000 pounds a day, in six weeks.

NECCO has introduced new flavors and sayings for 2010. New flavors are strawberry, green apple, lemon, grape, orange, and blue raspberry and new sayings include “Tweet Me,” “Text Me,” “You Rock,” “Soul Mate,” “Love Bug,” and “Me + You.”

Although you’d be hard pressed to call them nutritious, they are fat free, sodium free, and a caloric bargain at about 3 calories apiece for the small hearts and about 6 calories apiece for the larger “Motto” hearts.

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

Drive Thru Diets: Say What?Drive Thru Diets: Say What?

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fast foodSo here’s the dilemma: you’re stuck in an airport or an Amtrak station – it’s late at night and you haven’t had any dinner.  You’re starving.  Look around.  What’s open to grab a bite of food?  You guessed it fast food, fast food, and more fast food.

Or, you’re driving your kid and a bunch of teammates home from a hockey game – or soccer game – or lacrosse game – that they played in the middle of nowhere.  The kids are hungry, and so are you. What’s available at rest stops and off the nearest exit? Fast food, fast food, and more fast food.

“Can eating fast food help you lose weight?” That’s the question asked in an article in The New York Times.  Some of the fast food chains have started offering reduced fat, low calorie, and/or lighter items on their menus.  We all know about Jared and Subway (Subway now has Fresh Fit subs as well as other low calorie options), but other restaurants have jumped on the moving train.

According to the article, Taco Bell has a Fresco menu which has seven items, including burritos and tacos, with less than 9 grams of fat; Starbucks has panninis that are 400 calories or less; Dunkin’ Donuts has egg white sandwiches; and Quiznos lists menu items that are 500 calories and under. Other name brand fast food places offer grilled chicken and other lower fat items.  And people are choosing to make these foods a routine part of their diets – some in an attempt to lose weight.

So, is this good or bad?  Can you make a habit of dieting on fast food?

Experts have mixed reactions ranging from good, bad, and no way!

Even though the calorie count of these foods may be low, in almost all cases the sodium levels are way too high. And, do you really know how nutritious they are?  What additives are there? Where did the food come from?  Most fast food outlets receive their portion controlled, seasoned, and probably frozen protein sources like chicken and burgers from a central processing facility with explicit instructions on how they are to be prepared.

In his book, The End of Overeating, David Kessler explains how our bodies get addicted to sugar, fat, and salt. Food vendors want to sell food and so they cater to these tastes by adding these ingredients to their food.  We may not know what’s been added, we only know that it tastes good and eventually we begin to crave the food. So, does this create a slippery slope:  eat fast food and consequently crave it?

Asked a slightly different way:  Is fast food always bad and to be avoided at all costs?

Probably not — although some may disagree. Will occasional fast food lunches or dinners spell disaster? Not likely.  If you do eat a fast food meal can you make some choices that are better calorically than others?  You bet.

Bottom line, the SocialDieter has been stuck in airports and train stations late at night and has driven her three sons to many games.  She knows that there are times when the choice is fast food or fast food.  It’s comforting in those instances to have choices that are grilled — maybe with some vegetables — rather than fatty, fried, and sauced with a side of fries.  Sure there may be a lot of sodium and  probably other additives, but an occasional meal isn’t going to break the bank.

Making fast food a regular part of your lifestyle may be asking for trouble. Building a diet around foods that are fresh, delicious, healthy, nutritious, additive free, and easily available is key – but note the words fresh, nutritious, additive free, and healthy.  Are these descriptive of a steady diet of fast food?

What do you think? Is the occasional fast food meal okay to have?  If you do eat fast food, what menu selections are the best?