Saturday, March 21, 2009

Foods we eat too much of- Part I

I just read this great article on MSN.com about portion distortion. It names 8 foods that Americans tend to overeat: pizza, salad dressing, ice cream, burgers, white rice, potato chips, soda, and orange juice. I would have to agree that the typical portion sizes for these items are often 2-4 times the recommended "serving sizes," which are as follows:
pizza- 1 small slice
salad dressing- 2 tbs.
ice cream- 1/2 cup
burger- 3 oz.
white rice- 1/2 cup
potato chips- 1 oz. (about a handful)
orange juice and soda- 8 fl oz.

I would add a few more items to this list of foods that people eat way too much of. In fact, after some thought, I would add lots of items to this list! In this first installment, I'll discuss three:

Cheese. A serving size is one ounce, which is the equivalent of one slice or 1/4 cup shredded. However, most foods that contain cheese have at least twice this amount. Cheese is often portrayed as being a good source of protein and calcium, and therefore relatively healthy. I disagree. While small amounts of cheese can be incorporated into a healthy diet, one serving per day is more than enough. Cheese may have some redeeming qualities, but it also contains a lot of saturated fat. Plus, there are better ways to get protein and calcium: low fat yogurt and milk are prime examples.

Bread. A serving of bread is equal to one slice of store-bought pre-sliced bread (think Wonder). So, when MyPyramid recommends 6 servings per day, that doesn't mean 6 6" grinder rolls or 6 Dunkin Donuts-sized bagels. Actually, a Dunkin Donuts bagel would provide 3 servings and about 300 calories. This New York Times article rounds up the caloric content of bagels from various eateries, some of which provide up to 7 bread servings. Other ways people eat too much bread: mindlessly noshing on bread before dinner and devouring sandwiches on oversized hard rolls or foot long grinders. I don't care who you are, no one needs a 12 inch sandwich!

Pasta. Do I even need to explain this one? A food guide pyramid serving is 1/2 cup, about the size of half a baseball. Even the serving size on the box (which provides 220 calories)is only one cup. It would barely fill a typical coffee mug. Does anyone eat that much?? Not even close. And here's a bit of news for you: whole wheat pasta has the same number of calories. It is more healthful, ounce for ounce, but it has the same potential to lead to weight gain if eaten in the quantities that people tend to serve themselves.

More to come in a future post! In case you're wondering, there ARE some foods that we don't eat enough of. Among them, vegetables, fruit,whole grains, and unsaturated fats.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Toss this salad out and enjoy something else!


I'm not sure how, but in the minds of most people, salads have become synonymous with health food. Determined dieters proudly resist the tempting burgers and fries on restaurant menus and order the guilt-free salad instead. They often bring homemade salads to work with them for lunch, or order a salad from the office cafeteria, assured that they are making the best possible choice from a nutritional standpoint.

Sadly, the salad is just as likely to be the dieter's downfall as it is to be her road to success. With the wide array of high-calorie toppings that are likely to adorn otherwise innocent salad greens and the globs of dressing that smother them, it is not surprising that salads can often put even the heartiest of meals to shame when it comes to calorie and fat content.

Of course most people know by now that the chicken caesar salad and taco salad aren't as healthful as once thought. But even the truly healthy-sounding salads can pack a caloric punch. A perfect example of this is a salad featured in the Food section of the New Haven Register today: the Signature Salad at Eli's on Whitney in Hamden, CT.

The menu describes the salad's components: "Mesclun greens, candied walnuts, craisins, gorgonzola cheese and Granny Smith apples with a balsamic vinaigrette." Sounds harmless enough. But an analysis of the recipe outlined in the Register's article reveals that this salad, most likely ordered as an appetizer or part of a larger meal, contains 1130 calories, 99 grams of fat, 21 grams of saturated fat, and 45 grams of sugar. For the record, that's more than half the calories most people need to eat in a whole day and more than 100% of the daily recommendation for saturated fat. This salad also has as much sugar as 15 Starburst candies! It has twice as many calories and more than 2 1/2 times the amount of saturated fat as a Big Mac.

The main culprit here and in most salads is the dressing. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup per serving. HALF A CUP! The serving size for most salad dressings is 2 tablespoons. And most dressings, even the seemingly "light" vinaigrettes, have 70-100calories per tablespoon. But even without the dressing, this salad is still higher in calories than most fast food burgers. This is because Eli's uses large portions of three high-calorie toppings: blue cheese, candied walnuts, and dried cranberries.

My advice to anyone watching their weight: unless you really know what's in it, skip the salad and get something more satisfying instead. It will likely be better for you, too.