eat out eat well

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

January 30, 2010 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

So 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?

Want To Save Close to 100 Calories at Lunch?

January 28, 2010 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Lunchtime. 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.

Theater Popcorn

January 14, 2010 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN 1 Comment

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?

If 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

Control Calories

January 13, 2010 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Americans eat out, on average, six times a week. I’ve read that statistic in many places and can’t argue with it. I often eat out a lot (more than six times a week if the truth be told) — for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and in all kinds of restaurants – diners, cafeterias, and places with tablecloths on the tables.

That’s my lifestyle, and having to be constantly vigilant about managing my weight, I had to learn how to control my caloric intake while eating out.

It’s certainly easier to control the portion size and fat and calorie content of your food if you cook it at home. In your own kitchen you know what you’re putting in your food. And you don’t have to put bread on the table if you don’t want to or do things like rinse your vegetables in oil to make them look fresh and pretty.

Restaurants love to use butter, oil, full-fat dairy, and higher fat meats. Their business is to make food that tastes good and to entice you to come back again. What goes into your food is, for the most part, in the hands of the preparer in the restaurant kitchen whose primary objective is not to keep the calories down (unless that’s the promise or the response to your request) but to get your food on the table.

But, you can learn ways to control your caloric intake when you eat out. You can easily make requests and small changes that put you in charge of the calorie count while still enjoying your dining experience.

I’ll be talking about additional strategies to use in future posts, but for now, here are some things you can do to cut the calories:

Learn the code words on the menu that signal the fattier and more caloric dishes
Be pleasantly assertive when asking to go “off menu” or to have food prepared in a specific manner – like grilled rather than pan fried
Be aware of mindless eating: olives on the table, peanuts at the bar, tastes of everyone else’s food
Learn how to eyeball portion sizes and commit to eating that size rather than cleaning your plate. Premeasure at home so you have a guide about how much, for example, 5 oz of meat looks like – or 4oz. of wine. Commit it to memory so you can eyeball portion sizes
Stay out of the breadbasket – and, if you do indulge, lay off of the butter, olive oil, and other dips
Practice trade-offs: if you’re going to have dessert eliminate the appetizer and vice versa
Check out the menu ahead of time and decide what to order so you are not tempted by the possible calorie laden “special of the day”
Rehearse these words so they become your habitual request:
- dry toast/pancakes/English muffin (no butter)
- dressing on the side (for salad)
- do you have skim/low fat milk?
- no whipped cream
- sauce on the side for entrees/vegetables
- may I have salad instead of French fries/onion rings?
- hold the mayo (try mustard instead)
- is the sauce tomato or cream based?

I’ll be posting frequently about additional strategies to use when eating out.

What are some strategies that you use to control your caloric intake in restaurants?

Why Do You Eat Out?

January 4, 2010 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Americans eat out nearly one of every four meals and snacks. We also spend almost half of our food budgets on dining out. http://www.allbusiness.com/medicine-health/diet-nutrition-fitness-dieting/5411015-1.html

Eating out takes many forms –the fancy white tablecloth restaurant, the fish shack with brown paper on the tables, the local greasy spoon, the sandwich from the deli eaten on the steps to your office, and every variety in between.

Why do we want to eat out – even during tough economic times? Why are we sometimes willing to spend money we know we really shouldn’t spend on a nice meal in a good to great restaurant?

Food is defined as any nutritious substance we eat or drink to maintain life and growth. Food nourishes. But what we eat and with whom we share our meals can also help define roles, traditions, and rules. Food is an important, even essential, part of religious observances for many faiths and cultures.

Food also inspires and romanticizes. Today’s generation has grown up on The Food Network – which is seen in ninety million households and internationally. Food reality shows crowd our TV screens and food is center stage on the silver screen. Food books are perpetually on the best seller lists.

Here are some of the reasons people give for eating out:

eating out with friends or family is a source of comfort and entertainment
it’s a nice change of pace
it’s a good way to impress someone
it’s a great way to have dinner with friends
it’s a good way to feed a large visiting family
it’s ideal for a first date
to eat what you wouldn’t normally cook for yourself
to get out and eat in an entirely different atmosphere
there’s no clean up
to have someone else cook a nice meal for you, something you may not be able to make or make as well
to relax and enjoy yourself and not do any dishes
to try something new
because I’m too busy/lazy
because I don’t want to cook
it’s convenient
the food is amazing

What are your reasons for eating out?