Eat Out Eat Well

Travel, On Vacation, In the Car

What’s For Lunch At Amusement Parks?

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Boardwalk, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York

The Boardwalk at Coney Island

I spent most of Saturday at Coney Island.  It was an absolutely beautiful day and I was there for a birthday party.  What a fantastic idea.

We all had lunch at a Peruvian chicken place.  Chicken, rice and beans, plantains, and some French fries thrown in for good measure.  The chicken was marinated and roasted, the plantains sauteed in butter and brown sugar.  The rice and beans were just that — white rice and brown beans.

Given the other options, this was not a bad meal.  The chicken was very tasty and not fried.  The plantains were very sweet and the rice and beans were not greasy.  The French fries were crispy — but still French fries.  No green food or other veggies in sight.

Birthday cake:  Homemade and decorated with jelly beans.  Birthday girl:  Loved it.

The Alternatives

These are pictures of  what was mostly available.  Although all of these photos were taken on the boardwalk   at Coney Island (near the New York Aquarium), this kind of food is what can be found at many amusement parks.  Peruvian chicken was certainly the best food option in this case.  An even better one could be to bring your own lunch if you want to — otherwise, build this type of meal into your eating for the day.  Whichever choice you make, enjoy.  I certainly did.

What Button Do You Push On The Vending Machine?

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Are you facing a long car ride — punctuated by innumerable rest stops — this Labor Day weekend?  Many of the roads I  travel have “Welcome to Massachusetts or New Hampshire or Maine,” in front of a New England style structure with bathrooms and a line-up of vending machines.

What Number And Letter Button Do You Push?

Whether out of boredom or hunger when you’re confronted with a similar line-up, index finger ready to punch the letter and number of your chosen indulgence, what do you ultimately choose?

I have to be honest, I love vending machines – I have since I was a kid and spent a nickel to get cardboard packages of two chiclets of gum on New York City subway platforms.

Here’s a bit of interesting trivia. Around 215 BC, the mathematician Hero invented a vending type device that accepted bronze coins to dispense holy water.

In 1888 vending became economically viable in the US when the Adams Gum Company put gum machines on New York City’s elevated train platforms that dispensed a piece of Tutti-Frutti gum for a penny.

Today’s automated vending business is a $30 billion-a-year industry with around100 million people using 7 million vending machines each day.  Around 30% of the machines are in manufacturing facilities and slightly over 16% are on school and college campuses.

Best Selling Vending Machine Candy

According to an unscientific survey of 20 vending machine owners, when asked what their best selling vending machine product is:

  • 1 said Reese’s
  • 1 said Cashews
  • 1 said Mike n’ Ike
  • 1 said Smartfood White Cheddar popcorn
  • 1 said Stickers (“ cause kids can’t resist them)
  • 2 said Gumballs
  • 3 said Skittles
  • 10 said Peanut M & Ms

Peanuts In Our Candy

We Americans love peanuts in our candy. Out of the ten most popular candy bars sold in the US, five of them — Snickers, Reese’s peanut butter cups, Baby Ruth, Butterfinger, and Oh Henry! —  contain peanuts or peanut butter.  In most vending machines, about 25% of the dispensed food contains peanuts or peanut butter – a cautionary note for anyone with a peanut allergy.

Some Stomach Churning Info

Some stomach churning info and advice, in his own words,  from a bulk candy (machines that you often find in diners where you get handfuls of loose candy for a quarter) vendor’s blog:

The best selling bulk candy is peanut m&m’s, but you have to be careful because the m&ms can be very messy. “Imagine a hot summer day and your bulk vending machine is placed near a window . . . if that sun is beaming down on your vending machine those m&ms will melt and you will lose that location quick when the lady in the office gets chocolate on her hands and accidentally gets it on her blouse.”

On Mike n’ Ikes, his favorite bulk candy: “Man I have had a lot of success with these colorful tasty little bad boys.  Mike n Ikes do well in the winter and in the summer but just like the m&ms please be careful in the summer.

In the summer if your bulk vending machine is in a hot location the Mike N Ikes can stick together and become one big ball. To stop this from happening you can lightly spray the Mike N Ikes with Pam or your favorite cooking spray, and you shouldn’t have a problem in the summer time.”

On Gumballs:  Gumballs are your best friend and are by far the most profitable and are indestructible. “The only tips I can suggest on these gumballs are after a couple of months in your machine please check them by biting into a gumball every now and then.  Sometimes these gumballs get real hard and after that you are going to want to get rid of them.”

SocialDieter Tip:

If a vending machine calls your name, choose wisely.  There are good, better, and best choices to be made.  You can almost always find packages of nuts, or popcorn, or pretzels, or dried fruit.  Be careful of things with too much sugar, especially if you’re driving.  A big time sugar hit may give you energy from an initial blood sugar spike but more than likely it will be followed by a drop in your blood sugar levels possibly making you sleepy, grouchy, and hungry.

Eater Alert: Beware End Of Summer Gluttony

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It’s the week leading up to Labor Day weekend.  Not technically the end of summer, but it sure feels that way.

I don’t know about you, but for me the thought process seems to be:  “Oh heck, it’s the last week of summer, the holiday weekend is coming up, all of my family is going to be home, a lot of burgers, ice cream, picnic food – and then it’s nose to the grindstone” (even if it has been nose to the grindstone, as it has been for me, most of the summer).

Holidays And Vacations Often Mean Overeating

It’s the kind of holiday season mentality that starts around Thanksgiving and continues right through New Year’s Day when you swear you’ll never eat another carb again!

Or, it’s the “vacation” mentality, when all of your healthy eating promises become submerged in the deepest recesses of your brain.

Or, it’s the mentality that adds the “freshman 15 . . . or 5 . . . or 10,”  the freedom at last, away from home mentality where no food is off limits.

Four Weeks Of Overeating:  Changes That Last For Years

Some new research may make you think twice.  Amazingly, overeating for just four weeks can cause changes in body fat and weight that last for years. For four weeks people in a study limited their activity to 5,000 steps a day or less (considered a sedentary lifestyle) and increased their caloric intake by 70% (5000+ calories a day). For two years researchers periodically monitored body weight and composition in this group and compared it to another group that did not change its diet or physical activity.

How Much Weight Gain?

The overeater/under-exerciser group gained, on average, 14 pounds. Six months after they were allowed to go back to eating and exercising normally they lost, on average, 71 percent of the gained weight but only one-third of the group members had returned to within one pound of their initial weight.

After one year the overeaters were, on average,  3.3 pounds heavier than before their four week food fest. The normal eaters had no change in body weight.

The overeaters had more body fat and higher LDL (lousy) cholesterol levels one year after their four week binge.  After two and a half years, the overeaters averaged a gain of 6.8 pounds from when the study first started, but the normal eaters didn’t show any significant weight gain.

SocialDieter Tip:

Boy oh boy, the effects of gluttony are really hard to get rid of – even when those overeating habits are ditched for a healthy lifestyle.  Even short periods of overeating and under-exercising can have lasting effects and make it more difficult to lose weight and keep it off.  Keep that in mind around holiday time, vacations, and “let-down-your-hair” times leading up to holidays and vacations.  It’ll serve you well for years to come.

Some Summer Trivia: Key Moments In The Life Of Junk Food

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Junk Food Has Been Around For A While . . .

Quite a while, as a matter of fact.  It’s been around for centuries in all cultures and all over the world, but America has done one heck of a job coming up with a whole slew of varieties of junk food;  then branding, mass producing, and eating it. According to the New York Times, the history of junk food as we know it is an American back story interlaced with genius, serendipity,  and plain old cleverness.

Junk Food:  A Phenomenon That Changed America

Andrew F. Smith, author of the Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food includes soft drinks, ready made burgers, salty snacks, candy, and ice cream – foods with little or no nutritional value and/or high fat and calories — in his definitions of junk and fast food.  He sees junk food “as an incredible phenomenon that’s changed America, for better and worse.”

A Look Back At Some Favorites

From the New York Times

  • 1896:  Cracker Jack – America’s First Junk Food?

Yes indeed, according to Mr. Smith.  The molasses, popcorn, and peanut combo was first sold by street vendor brothers at  Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair.  They perfected it by 1896 and called their treat Cracker Jack.  They ultimately created a product that was, and is, salable and commercially viable and salable.

  • 1905:  Tootsie Rolls — The First Individually Wrapped Penny Candy

Originally manufactured in New York City,  their production changed junk food because they were the first individually wrapped penny candy. The chewy chocolate taste was — and still is — a bonus.

  • 1923:  Popsicle Patent

By accident, on a cold night in San Francisco in 1905, an 11 year old left a powdered soda drink on the porch with a stirring stick still in it. The next morning: frozen sweet stuff on a stick.  Years later, Frank W. Epperson applied for a patent for his discovery.  He initially called the treats Epsicles but his children called them Pop’s ’sicles.  Unilever now sells two billion of them each year in the US.

  • 1928:  Dubble Bubble, Stretchier Gum

Walter E. Diemer, an accountant for Philly’s Fleer Chewing Gum Company, fooled around trying to produce a gum base that could be blown into bubbles.  When he finally had a batch that was  stretchier and less sticky than most other gums, he sent 100 pieces to a candy shop and they sold out in one afternoon.

Fleer started selling the gum, calling it Dubble Bubble. Even though it became a global sensation, Mr. Diemer never received any royalties and retired from Fleer in 1970. He felt that he’d done something with his life by making kids happy around the world.

  • 1930:  Twinkies, Two For A Nickel

James A. Dewar, manager of a Chicago baking plant during the Depression, saw that shortcake pans used during strawberry season just sat around the rest of the year. He put them to use by baking little cakes injected with  banana cream filling, and called them Twinkies (inspired by a billboard that advertised Twinkle Toe shoes).  Price:  two for a nickel. Bananas were rationed during World War II so he replaced the banana cream with vanilla cream. Hostess now bakes 500 million Twinkies a year.

Do you have any favorite junk food trivia?

Gatorade, Powerade, Red Bull Or Water?

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It’s brutally hot and you’re sweating like a pig.  Was your run really a good idea?  Need something to drink – but what – water, Gatorade, Red Bull, Powerade?  Do you need just water or water plus other stuff?

Designed To Hydrate

Sports drinks, a combination of fluids, carbs, sodium and potassium are designed to replenish fluids and nutrients lost through sweating during exercise.  If you work out for more than an hour, or for very intensely for less than an hour they are the ideal during- and after-activity hydration drink. But, if your workout is of short duration or is low-intensity. a sports drink may not be your best choice.  If you’re just going for a brisk 20 minute walk or doing some other short or low intensity activity, water may be your best choice.

What’s In Them That You Probably Don’t Need For Less Intense Workouts

Two Things: sugar and sodium.

Sugar is a prominent ingredient because it’s a good way feed carbs to your working muscles. But, its an extra two to five teaspoons of added sugar you’re putting into your body for each 8 oz serving. Remember — most bottles contain at least double that amount, so double up on the sugar count, too. The American Heart Association’s recommendation is to limit added sugars to no more than half of your daily discretionary calories allowance which translates to no more than 100 calories per day, or about 6 teaspoons of sugar for most American women and150 calories per day, or about 9 teaspoons, for men.

Although sodium is helpful for higher levels of activity, most of us don’t need to add extra sodium to add to already high sodium intakes.

Don’t Confuse Energy Drinks And Sports Drinks

Energy drinks have a boost of caffeine which research says might enhance athletic performance. Because they have the caffeine equivalent of a cup of coffee, energy drinks like Rockstar, Monster, and Red Bull are also popular as everyday drinks.

Sports drinks generally have fewer calories because they generally have less sugar than energy drinks.  They do have sodium to help replenish what you’ve sweated out, and generally no caffeine.  Some sports drinks, called recovery sports drinks, have protein and may be marketed as recovery sports drinks. Use them when your activity lasts longer than 6 hours.

When Are Sports Drinks Helpful?

If you exercise at a high intensity for 60 minutes or more, fluids that supply 60 to 100 calories in 8 ounces help supply the calories necessary calories for continuous performance. During normal training it’s not necessary to replace sodium, potassium and other electrolytes you lose during exercise. But, if you exercise in extreme conditions over 3 or 5 hours — like during a marathon or a triathalon — you might think about drinking a sports drink with electrolytes.

SocialDieter Tip:

If you are exercising for over an hour or you’re really busting your butt for a shorter but more intense workout, think about a sports drink for hydration.  Here are some examples of drinks along with their calories, carbs, sugars, sodium, and potassium.  If your exercise time is short or not too strenuous, stick with good old fashioned water.

  • Powerade, Grape, 8 oz,, 50 calories, 14g sugars, 14 carbs,100mg Sodium, 25 mg Potassium
  • Gatorade G Berry, 8 oz , 80 calories, 21g sugars, 21 carbs, 160 mg Sodium, 45 mg Potassium
  • Propel Kiwi-Strawberry, 8 oz, 10 calories, 2g sugars, 2g carbs, 75 mg Sodium, 20 mg Potassium
  • Gatorade G2 Perform Low Calorie Orange, 8 oz, 20 calories, 5 g sugars, 5g carbs, 110mg Sodium, 30 mg Potassium
  • Sobe Lifewater 0 calories Black & Blue Berry, 8 oz, 0 calories, 6g carbs, 0g sugars, 25 mg Sodium, n/a Potassium
  • Red Bull Energy Drink, 8.4 oz, 110 calories, 28g carbs, 27g sugars, 100mg Sodium, n/a Potassium