Eat Out Eat Well

Takeout, Prepared Food, Junk Food

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.

Calorie Counts: Can You Trust Them?

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Ever wonder if you can really trust all of the numbers written on the label of your frozen chicken with vegetables and rice or next to the burger description in your local fast food emporium?


Well, it turns out that you’re right to wonder.  The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/health/12calo.html)  reported on a Tufts study (http://www.adajournal.org/article/S0002-8223(09)01679-4/abstract) that evaluated the accuracy of calorie counts of 29 typical under 500 calorie quick-serve  and sit-down restaurant foods and 10 frozen complete meals bought in supermarkets.

The calorie counts of the restaurant foods averaged 18% more than stated and the calorie counts of the frozen foods averaged 8% more than stated. These were average numbers:  some restaurants under reported caloric content; some choices had up to 200% more calories than stated; and in some there were no real inaccuracies.

When some free side dishes were added to entrees they boosted the inaccuracy of the total stated calories to 245%.  This highlights the nasty little fact that all too often we forget to add the calorie count of those side dishes – which are often over the top in calories and fat – to the total calorie counts of our meals.

All of the variations fell in the 20% margin that the FDA allows for packaged food (although it doesn’t specify maximum overage for restaurant meals they also fell within the 20% margin).

It’s easy to understand how there can be variation in restaurant food – a longer pour of oil, a little more of a schmear of cream cheese on the bagel – it’s often in the hands of the preparer.  Prepackaged food produced under factory control is a little more difficult to understand and obviously accounts for overage of only 8% versus 18% (there’s some speculation that since food companies are heavily penalized for underweighting they may add a little more volume, and therefore calories, to protect against this possibility).  And, as a Tufts researcher points out: 5% excess calories daily for someone eating 2,000 calories a day could mean a 10 pound weight gain in one year.

What to do?  Be mindful and aware. If it looks to good to be true, it probably isn’t.  Translation:  If it’s swimming in oil, arrives with a big pat of butter melting on top, it’s smothered in melted cheese, or it’s gargantuan in size it’s probably not a low cal meal.  Trust your reaction and stick up for yourself.  If you don’t get what you ordered or what’s described, bring it back and ask for it to be prepared the way it’s supposed to be.

Theater Popcorn

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Is moving your hand from bucket to mouth, fingers clenched around salty, buttery popped kernels, scrounging for the napkins you forgot to grab at the concession stand, your movie theater habit?

images_clip_image001If it is, just know what you’re chowing down on.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a public advocacy group, bought multiple servings of popcorn from the three largest movie chains:  Regal Entertainment Group, AMC, and Cinemark, and had them analyzed in an independent lab.  

The results: you can get more than half a day’s calories and three days’ worth of saturated fat in one large popcorn bucket. 

A large-sized popcorn at Regal holds 20 cups of popcorn with 1,200 calories and 60 grams of saturated fat.  If you drizzle — or pump — on the buttery topping you can add on another 200 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat (in 1.5 tablespoons).  

Other stats:  a large popcorn at AMC has 16 cups, 1,030 calories and 57 grams of saturated fat.  A large from Cinemark: 17 cups and 910 calories, 4 grams of saturated fat (in both cases, before adding the buttery topping). 

Another concern: Regal and AMC pop their popcorn in coconut oil, which is about 90% saturated fat. Cinemark  pops in canola oil, which accounts for the lower saturated fat levels. 

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-11-19-popcorncalories19_ST_N.htm, http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-sci-movie-popcorn19-2009nov19,0,4003634.story

There’s no denying that movie popcorn tastes great.  Now that you know the nutritional content you can decide if the occasional bucket of popcorn fits into your overall diet.  Think about strategies – buy a small size, share with a friend.  If you’re going to indulge, what other fatty food can you cut back on?

Or:  do you really want the popcorn?  Is it the sight of the concession stand, the smell and sound of the popcorn popping, and your habit of associating movies and popcorn that makes you buy it?  Now that you know the facts you can make the choice that’s best for you.

You could also consider bringing your own.  Compare:

Calories, saturated fat, and sodium in movie theater popcorn:

Regal: 
      Small, 11 cups
Calories 670
Saturated fat 34 g
Sodium 550 mg

AMC: 
        Small, 6 cups 
Calories 370 
Saturated fat 20 g 
Sodium 210 mg

Cinemark: 
Small, 8 cups
Calories 420 
Saturated fat 2 g {canola oil}
Sodium 690 mg

Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest

Calories and fat in bagged popcorn:

Average of all brands (plain/ready-to-eat):  3oz. bag (9×5”)  Calories 480  Fat 24g

Cracker Jack:  3&3/8 oz. bag  Calories  410  Fat 7g

Calories and fat in microwave popcorn:

Average of all brands (popped): 

Regular:  1 cup  Calories 35  Fat 2g

Light:       1 cup  Calories 25 Fat  1g

Source:  The CalorieKing Fat & Carbohydrate Counter