Eat Out Eat Well

healthy eating

Superbowl: Eating Or Watching Or Both?

By Leave a Comment

Seriously.  Hand to mouth munching on chips, dips, and wings.  A swig or two or three.  A cookie here and there.  And then there’s the “real food” at halftime – or maybe there was pizza first followed by a selection of subs.

By the end of the game do you have a clue about how much – or even what — you have popped into your mouth?

You may – or may not – be riveted to the TV screen rooting hard for your team, but you may also be going along for the ride – happy to be at a party where there’s plenty of food and shouting and enthusiasm – a classic set-up for mindless and distracted eating which is what can happen when there’s no “structured meal,”  a lack planning, and when you give into “head hunger” and “see it and eat it,” as opposed to actual physical hunger.

What Makes Us Eat Too Much?

Hunger doesn’t prompt most of us to overeat. Family, friends, plate size, packaging, lighting, candles, smells, distractions, environments, and feelings all do.    We make about 200+ food related decisions a day – like deciding between pizza or wings; a sandwich or salad; chocolate chip or oatmeal cookie; light beer or diet coke; kitchen table or chair in front of the TV.  That’s about 200+ daily opportunities to be mindful or mindless – and probably a whole lot more when faced with a flow of food and an exciting game.

Food And Football

 

It’s amazing how food has become associated with football — from tailgating to Superbowl parties.  There are plenty of choices for eating deliciously well if you are more mindful than mindless about your selection of food.

Stick with grilled meat, veggies, baked chips rather than fried, plain bread, a pita, or wrap 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.

Examples Of Potential Pitfalls And Some Saving Graces:

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 Hut cheese pizza:  1 slice (1/8 of a 12” medium pan pizza), 240 calories, 10g fat, 27g carbs, 11g protein

Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza:  1 slice (1/8 of a 12” medium pan pizza), 250 calories, 12g fat, 26g carbs, 11g 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, 0.6g 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

What’s on your menu?

GO GIANTS!

Remember to visit and Like MyFoodMAPs on Facebook.

 

 

Half And Half,Cream, Or Milk – What’s In Your Coffee – And What’s The Difference?

By Leave a Comment

Here’s what they have in common:  they’re all made from cow’s milk but with different percentages of butterfat.  Cream is the fat that naturally rises to the top of whole milk.

Heavy cream or heavy whipping cream (36-40% butterfat) doubles in volume and holds peaks when it’s whipped. It’s used for filling or decorating pies, pastries, and other desserts.

A lighter form of whipping cream (32% fat) and heavy cream (40% fat) are both good for toppings.

Half and half is light cream (10-18% butterfat) that’s made by separately pasteurizing milk and cream and then homogenizing equal parts together so they don’t separate. The best use for half and half is in beverages like coffee.  It doesn’t whip, it’s not great to use alone, and is not a good substitute for cream in recipes.

In case you spot these on menus or in the market: Clotted or Devonshire cream (55-60% fat) doesn’t need to be whipped. Usually imported, the thick, yellowish cream is made by heating unpasteurized milk until the cream sits on top, then cooling the milk and skimming off the cream.

Crème Fraiche (30% fat) is a thick and smooth heavy cream with a nutty, slightly sour taste.  Used as topping for fruit or pies, it’s made by culturing pasteurized cream with special bacteria.

The difference between whole milk, 2%, 1%, and skim milk has to do with the amount of fat.  Whole milk contains 3.25% butterfat.

How To Buy

Expiration dates are on the carton or bottle found in the refrigerated milk section.  Abide by the expiration date and store up to 10 days in the refrigerator. In terms of health, they all have dairy benefits (calcium, protein, vitamin D) but cream and full fat milk should be used sparingly because of high fat content.

Milk And Cream Nutrition

All information is for a one cup (8 ounce) serving.  For the creams, calorie counts are also given for a tablespoon measure for anyone who puts more like a tablespoon rather than a cup of cream in their coffee.

  • Heavy (also whipping) cream:   821 calories; 88.06g fat; 6.64g carbs; 4.88g protein (1tbsp=51 calories)
  • Coffee (table) cream also called light cream:  468 calories; 46.34g fat; 8.78g carbs; 6.48g protein (1 tbsp=29 calories)
  • Half & Half:  315 calories; 27.83g fat; 10.41g carbs; 7.16g protein (1tbsp=20 calories)
  • Whole milk:  146 calories; 7.93g fat; 11.03g carbs; 7.86g protein (1tbsp=9 calories)
  • 2% milk:  122 calories; 4.81g fat; 11.42g carbs; 8.05g fat
  • 1% milk:  102 calories; 2.37g fat; 12.18g carbs; 8.22g protein
  • Non-fat/skim milk:  85.8 calories; 0.4g fat; 11.9g carbs; 8.4g protein
  • Chocolate milk (whole):  208 calories; 8.48g fat; 25.85g carbs; 7.92g protein
  • Chocolate milk (lowfat):  158 calories; 2.5g fat; 26.1g carbs; 8.1g protein

 

Fried Food By Any Other Name

By Leave a Comment

French fries. 

Fried clams. 

Corn dogs. 

Fried dough.

Do you remember when you could eat all of these and still feel great?  Do you remember when you could eat all of these and not gain weight or have it show in all kinds of places you wish it didn’t?

A Staple Of The Standard Western Diet

Fried, fatty food has become a staple of the standard Western diet.

Don’t you see potato chips, French fries, fried chicken, fried mozzarella and fish sticks just about everywhere you turn?  FYI:  in terms of calories – fat, of any kind, has 9 calories per gram compared to protein and carbs at 4 calories per gram.

What Does “Fried” (Food) Mean?

Frying – or cooking food in hot fat over moderate heat –includes sautéing, stir-frying, pan-frying, and deep-fat frying. Sautéing uses the least amount of oil and the oil doesn’t cover the food as it’s being cooked.  Deep-fat frying uses the most oil and the food is submerged as it’s cooked.

Frying is actually called a dry cooking method because it’s done without water. Because of the high temperature and the high heat conduction of oil, food cooks very quickly.

When done properly, deep-frying shouldn’t make food really greasy because the hot oil heats up the moisture inside the food making the food steam from the inside out. If the oil is hot enough and the food isn’t in the oil for too long the oil that penetrates stays around the outer surface of the food and keeps the food’s moisture inside. But, if the food is cooked in the oil for too long, a lot of water is lost and the oil begins to penetrate the food.

The ideal temperature range for deep frying is 350°-375°F. If the temperature is lower than 325° oil will be absorbed into the food. Temperatures much higher than 375° can cause additional oxidation of the oil (which is not healthy) and produce dried out food. A cautionary note:  a number of restaurants reuse their cooking oil over and over which leads to decomposition of the oil and partial and unhealthy oxidation.

What’s The Problem With Eating Fried Food?

Long-term, a fatty diet has been implicated in a number of potentially unhealthy side effects. Short-term, a high fat meal can make you feel not so great.

Fried foods tend to slow down the emptying of the stomach causing you to feel full and bloated – or they move undigested through the intestinal tract too quickly, possibly leading to diarrhea.  They can also cause acid reflux and heartburn. Does the term “indigestion” come to mind?

Fried Foods By Any Other Name

On a menu, fried food is not always just called “fried” or “sautéed.”  Here are some other descriptive terms:

  • Pan-fried
  • Deep-fried
  • French-fried
  • Fricassee
  • Frizzled
  • Sizzled or sizzler
  • Browned
  • Crisped or crispy
  • And frequently, anything battered – which is then fried

Astonishing, But True

While we’re used to fried potatoes and fish and meat, it is astonishing what else has been fried. Incredibly, in 2006 fried Coca Cola won “Most Creative” at the State Fair of Texas.

A few more eyebrow raisers:

  • Deep Fried Oreos
  • Deep Fried Pickles
  • Deep Fried Pizza
  • Deep Fried Pop-tarts
  • Deep Fried Spam, Deep Fried Mars Bars
  • Deep Fried Cupcakes
  • Deep Fried Strawberries
  • Deep Fried Olives
  • Deep Fried Ice Cream
  • Deep Fried Jam Sandwiches

Do Restaurant Menus Influence What You Order?

By Leave a Comment

As you sit down at your table, the waiter hands you your menu.  You scan the pages with your eyes darting here and there. Where do they land?

Menus are one way a restaurant attempts to build trust with you and if the menu you’re looking at has a well thought out design, psychology is playing a major role.

The Menu Is Part Of The Brand

A restaurant’s menu is part of its brand and how it looks sends out subtle signals to the customer. A dirty menu may send a message that the kitchen is dirty. A bright, clean, well-designed menu probably means a clean, well-designed operation.

Menu design affects the bottom line, too. Thoughtful menu redesign can improve sales by an average of 2 to 10% — by subtly directing customers to order higher profit margin items.

Is It Your Decision What To Order?

Customers don’t really decide — on their own — what to order. If done right (from the restaurant’s point of view), a menu should lead customers to what the restaurant wants them to order. The trick is where the menu items are placed, the graphics, and the descriptions. For a four-page menu (including the front and back covers) the “position of power ” is above the center on the inside right page.

A menu item’s position on a list also affects sales. Human tendency is to remember the top two and the bottom item on a list. High profit margin and high appeal items get high profile spots.  Logic plays a role, too, like putting appetizers in the top left panel — a high-profile position the eyes get to first since appetizers are usually the first things people eat.

The font, the print size, boxes, and shading all help draw attention to an item. Menus need to be graphically exciting, but people have to be able to read them. Things like borders, illustrations, symbols and bold type also focus attention.

Although the same item may sell differently when it’s put in a different spot on the menu, servers play a major role in determining what customers ultimately order. A well-designed menu helps to steer people in the direction the restaurant wants them to go but it’s the servers who close the deal.


The Importance Of Words

Some words have more selling power than others.  “Roasted” or “cooked in our wood-fire oven” are more attractive than “fried.”  If the item actually is fried, describing it as hand-battered, which tells customers the item is fried without saying it’s fried, sounds better.  Making the descriptions of high-profit, high-quality items more appealing than others directs customers to them.

There’s most likely a continuum of appeal. What the restaurant really wants to sell should sound as delicious as possible. The other items should sound good and taste good —just not as good as the signature dishes.

Where Do The Numbers Go?

There’s an art behind the placement of prices on the menu and that placement is critical. Aligning prices in a straight column on the right leads customers to “shop-by-price” because despite mouth-watering descriptions, the eye tends to go straight to the prices.

Customers are savvy and listing menu items with the prices from most expensive to least expensive is something they quickly figure out. Experts recommend positioning the item’s price at the end of the description, in the same type and boldness, and without a dollar sign (even the dollar sign makes the customer a little more aware of the price) — an approach that helps the customer focus on the product rather than the price.

 

 

 

Sneaky, Sneaky Vegetables

By Leave a Comment

Some people just don’t like vegetables.  Some people even refuse to try certain kinds – sometimes on principle.  Although I believe that people should try things before they decide they don’t like them and, in general, I’m not in favor of sneaking stuff into food, I think there’s a big upside, for both kids and adults, to hiding veggies in other dishes.

What’s The Upside Of The Stealth Maneuver?

The reason to be subversive:  to increase the amount of vegetables (which most of us don’t eat enough of) for (1) health and for (2) calorie control.

There is science behind hiding veggies along with serving them solo. According to a recent study, when preschoolers were fed foods lightened up by adding hidden pureed vegetables they increased their daily vegetable intake between 50 and 73 percent. Amazingly, the kids said the foods had similar taste  whether there were no added vegetables or there was triple or quadruple added vegetable content. And, they ate 12% fewer calories eating food with the quadrupled vegetables compared to the food with no added vegetables.

The criticism is that kids won’t ever develop a taste for veggies on their own if you hide them  But, there’s no reason to favor one method over the other.  Try camouflaging veggies, but serve them in plain sight, too. Think of the deception as a healthy choice.

It Isn’t Just For Kids

There are plenty of adults who don’t eat enough veggies – or who don’t eat them at all. Certainly not a healthy strategy.  Research supports hiding vegetables in foods is good for adults, too. The hidden veggies increase fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.  And, what a bonus way to cut calories! Like the kids, adults find no significant differences in fullness or taste.

What To Do

The possibilities are enormous.  Try experimenting with recipes to find out what works best. Try adding grated, diced, mashed, or pureed vegetables to some dishes.  Or dump in a jar of already pureed baby vegetables.  There’s no reason adults can’t eat them, too.

To be really subversive, try to match the color of the added vegetable to the color of the food you’re putting it into.  For example, it’s hard to see pureed cauliflower in mac and cheese or some types of squash in meatballs, meatloaf, or meat sauce.

Some Easily Hidden Vegetables

These are some vegetables that have a high “sneaky quotient” – in other words, they combine nicely and go undercover pretty easily:

  • Carrots
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Zucchini
  • Green beans
  • Spinach
  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Squash
  • Tomatoes
  • Black/red beans
  • Peas
  • Chickpeas
  • Lima beans
  • Eggplant

Any other suggestions?