Salad Hall of Fame
Now that you’ve been warned of the greenest nutrition follies in the nation, here are seven salads worthy of their healthy reputation.
McDonald’s Premium Asian Salad with Grilled Chicken300 calories10 g fat (1 g saturated)890 mg sodium
Panera Classic Café Salad400 calories11 g fat (1.5 g saturated)270 mg sodium
Au Bon Pain Butternut Squash Salad280 calories6 g fat (4 g saturated)570 mg sodium
Jack in the Box Southwest Chicken Salad with Grilled Chicken Strips310 calories12 g fat (5 g saturated)840 mg sodium
Carl’s Jr. Charbroiled Chicken Salad330 calories8 g fat (3.5 g saturated)580 mg sodium
Denny’s Grilled Chicken Salad Deluxe290 calories10 g fat (5 g saturated)770 mg sodium
Arby’s Martha’s Vineyard Salad272 calories9 g fat (4 g saturated)609 mg sodium
Showing posts with label McDonalds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label McDonalds. Show all posts
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Secrets That Restaurants Don't Want You To Know
Secrets That Restaurants Don't Want You To Know Posted Mon, Sep 08, 2008, 7:00 pm PDT
81% of users found this article helpful.
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Restaurants have one major purpose: to stuff you with as much food as they possibly can. If they do that, they achieve their primary business goal, which is to lighten your wallet.
But while they’re doing that, they’re also using their best marketing tricks, craftiest numerical switcheroos, and most dastardly dietary stratagems to swap unhealthy, cheap ingredients for more expensive, wholesome ones. The result: bloated bottom lines — for their budgets, and for their customers. But we don’t want to let that happen to you, which is why we’ve spent the last two years researching all the ways restaurants try to sabotage your food choices. Below you’ll find a sampling of the fruits of our long labor: some of the new secrets the restaurant-chain gang doesn’t want you to know. They’re only a few of the many ways restaurants fatten up their customers for the sales slaughter. Heed the warnings and you (and your family) can make it through the drive-thru alive.
1. Baskin-Robbins doesn't want you to know that..... Sometimes a drink can have fruit in the title, but not in the cup. For instance, the top four ingredients in its Blue Raspberry Fruit Blast were Sierra Mist soda, water, sugar, and corn syrup. Since we first called the company out on this fruitless horror, Baskin-Robbins discontinued the Blue Raspberry Fruit Blast. The company also began listing all nutrition and ingredient information online. We call that progress. If you’re looking for a real fruit smoothie, visit Jamba Juice. Just remember to check those calorie counts, so you don’t over-indulge.
2. Papa John's doesn't want you to know that... Unlike rival chains such as Domino's, it has made little effort to introduce healthier options. After we goaded them on their slow pace of innovation, Papa John's did introduce whole grain wheat crust pizzas last May. Now, if only Papa would toss a thin-crust version into the mix and alter the recipe for sides like cheesesticks, which are loaded down with more than 2,900 milligrams of sodium!
3. Fuddruckers doesn't want you to know... The fat content of its 1-pound burgers. We contacted our local Fuddruckers restaurant and were told that the nutritional information was available on the chain's Web site (it's not). The corporate office later responded that providing such information would be "very extensive and timely." We're pretty sure he meant "very expensive and time-consuming." How's that for a Freudian slip?
4. Panera Bread doesn't want you to know that... The synthetic food colorings in its pastries have been linked to irritability, restlessness, and sleep disturbances in children. And British researchers found that artificial food colorings and preservatives in the diets of 3-year-olds caused an increase in hyperactive behavior. The same ingredients appear in fast-food items like mayonnaise, M&M Blizzards, and McDonald's shakes.
On Panera's Web site, you can track down calories, fat, sugar, and other nutritional numbers. If you look hard enough you'll find ingredient lists, too — and note that a few items still contain artificial coloring. Disappointing. If you want to cut out the artificial stuff entirely, head over to Chipotle: The restaurant uses no artificial colorings or flavorings. Just make sure you saw their burritos, which can have more than 1,000 calories, in half.
5. Chevy's Fresh Mex doesn't want you to know ... How its tortillas stack up nutritionally. The chain says it provides "nutritional information regarding calories, fat, protein & carbohydrates for some of our most popular items" — the chicken, steak, and shrimp fajitas, for example — on its Web site. But the numbers provided don't include the tortilla: an essential component typically bloated with fat and carbs. When we called a New York Chevy’s for more information, a server told us he couldn't find that info on the in-house menu, either, which would seem to be a violation of New York city regulations. He did direct us to the same misleading nutritional information on the company's Web site. Gee, thanks.
6. Applebee’s, IHOP, Olive Garden, Outback, Red Lobster, and T.G.I. Friday’s don’t want you to know ... The nutritional impact of their dishes. Despite the fact that we continued to pester each company, they all were mum about their nutritional information. So we had it nutritionally analyzed on our own. We may not be in this fix for long, however. New York City regulations that went into effect in July require all restaurants with 15 or more branches nationally to post calorie counts on their menus.
After tracking down every last dish, we can see what they were hiding: At Friday’s, no fewer than nine sandwiches and 10 appetizers topple the 1,000-calorie barrier; at IHOP, the “healthiest” entrée-size salad has a staggering 1,050 calories; and at Outback, even a simple order of salmon will wipe out 75% of your day’s caloric allotment.
For more restaurant industry secrets that will freak the weight right off of you, check out these other dubious restaurant secrets that are being hidden from you!
81% of users found this article helpful.
Post a Comment View All 76 Comments
Restaurants have one major purpose: to stuff you with as much food as they possibly can. If they do that, they achieve their primary business goal, which is to lighten your wallet.
But while they’re doing that, they’re also using their best marketing tricks, craftiest numerical switcheroos, and most dastardly dietary stratagems to swap unhealthy, cheap ingredients for more expensive, wholesome ones. The result: bloated bottom lines — for their budgets, and for their customers. But we don’t want to let that happen to you, which is why we’ve spent the last two years researching all the ways restaurants try to sabotage your food choices. Below you’ll find a sampling of the fruits of our long labor: some of the new secrets the restaurant-chain gang doesn’t want you to know. They’re only a few of the many ways restaurants fatten up their customers for the sales slaughter. Heed the warnings and you (and your family) can make it through the drive-thru alive.
1. Baskin-Robbins doesn't want you to know that..... Sometimes a drink can have fruit in the title, but not in the cup. For instance, the top four ingredients in its Blue Raspberry Fruit Blast were Sierra Mist soda, water, sugar, and corn syrup. Since we first called the company out on this fruitless horror, Baskin-Robbins discontinued the Blue Raspberry Fruit Blast. The company also began listing all nutrition and ingredient information online. We call that progress. If you’re looking for a real fruit smoothie, visit Jamba Juice. Just remember to check those calorie counts, so you don’t over-indulge.
2. Papa John's doesn't want you to know that... Unlike rival chains such as Domino's, it has made little effort to introduce healthier options. After we goaded them on their slow pace of innovation, Papa John's did introduce whole grain wheat crust pizzas last May. Now, if only Papa would toss a thin-crust version into the mix and alter the recipe for sides like cheesesticks, which are loaded down with more than 2,900 milligrams of sodium!
3. Fuddruckers doesn't want you to know... The fat content of its 1-pound burgers. We contacted our local Fuddruckers restaurant and were told that the nutritional information was available on the chain's Web site (it's not). The corporate office later responded that providing such information would be "very extensive and timely." We're pretty sure he meant "very expensive and time-consuming." How's that for a Freudian slip?
4. Panera Bread doesn't want you to know that... The synthetic food colorings in its pastries have been linked to irritability, restlessness, and sleep disturbances in children. And British researchers found that artificial food colorings and preservatives in the diets of 3-year-olds caused an increase in hyperactive behavior. The same ingredients appear in fast-food items like mayonnaise, M&M Blizzards, and McDonald's shakes.
On Panera's Web site, you can track down calories, fat, sugar, and other nutritional numbers. If you look hard enough you'll find ingredient lists, too — and note that a few items still contain artificial coloring. Disappointing. If you want to cut out the artificial stuff entirely, head over to Chipotle: The restaurant uses no artificial colorings or flavorings. Just make sure you saw their burritos, which can have more than 1,000 calories, in half.
5. Chevy's Fresh Mex doesn't want you to know ... How its tortillas stack up nutritionally. The chain says it provides "nutritional information regarding calories, fat, protein & carbohydrates for some of our most popular items" — the chicken, steak, and shrimp fajitas, for example — on its Web site. But the numbers provided don't include the tortilla: an essential component typically bloated with fat and carbs. When we called a New York Chevy’s for more information, a server told us he couldn't find that info on the in-house menu, either, which would seem to be a violation of New York city regulations. He did direct us to the same misleading nutritional information on the company's Web site. Gee, thanks.
6. Applebee’s, IHOP, Olive Garden, Outback, Red Lobster, and T.G.I. Friday’s don’t want you to know ... The nutritional impact of their dishes. Despite the fact that we continued to pester each company, they all were mum about their nutritional information. So we had it nutritionally analyzed on our own. We may not be in this fix for long, however. New York City regulations that went into effect in July require all restaurants with 15 or more branches nationally to post calorie counts on their menus.
After tracking down every last dish, we can see what they were hiding: At Friday’s, no fewer than nine sandwiches and 10 appetizers topple the 1,000-calorie barrier; at IHOP, the “healthiest” entrée-size salad has a staggering 1,050 calories; and at Outback, even a simple order of salmon will wipe out 75% of your day’s caloric allotment.
For more restaurant industry secrets that will freak the weight right off of you, check out these other dubious restaurant secrets that are being hidden from you!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Synthetic Food Dyes
This article below should really anger you as a citizen of the United States. Why are we being fed synthetic foods, while the British are enjoying products with real food dyes. More information obtained from the CSPI, Health Action Newsletter.
WASHINGTON—British consumers enjoy products made by General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft and McDonald's that are free of synthetic food dyes, but American customers lack such royal treatment, according to the October issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter. Despite evidence linking food dyes to hyperactivity and other behavior problems in children, companies continue to use the controversial dyes in American product lines while substituting natural colorings in the United Kingdom.
In the U.K., Fanta orange soda gets its bright color from pumpkin and carrot extract, but in the U.S. it comes from Red 40 and Yellow 6. Starburst Chews and Skittles, which are both Mars products, also contain synthetic food dyes in the U.S. but not in the U.K. Similarly, in the U.S., McDonald’s strawberry sundaes are colored with Red 40 but—amazing as it might sound—real strawberries in the U.K.
"British candy has all the sugar of American candy, and it’s certainly not health food," said Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, Nutrition Action’s publisher. "But as Halloween approaches, it's a shame that American kids trick-or-treat for candy dyed with discredited chemicals while British families have many of the same foods, minus the dyes."
Americans consume five times as much food dye as they did 30 years ago, according to data from the Food and Drug Administration. But in the wake of two British studies that found food dyes (and possibly the preservative sodium benzoate) impair the behavior of many children, the British government pressured companies to switch to safer, natural colorings and the European Parliament approved a warning label for foods that still contain the dyes.
In June CSPI urged the FDA to ban Red 40, Yellow 5 and six other synthetic dyes. The group wants parents of children sensitive to the chemicals to file reports online at http://www.cspinet.org/fooddyes, which CSPI will then forward to the FDA.
WASHINGTON—British consumers enjoy products made by General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft and McDonald's that are free of synthetic food dyes, but American customers lack such royal treatment, according to the October issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter. Despite evidence linking food dyes to hyperactivity and other behavior problems in children, companies continue to use the controversial dyes in American product lines while substituting natural colorings in the United Kingdom.
In the U.K., Fanta orange soda gets its bright color from pumpkin and carrot extract, but in the U.S. it comes from Red 40 and Yellow 6. Starburst Chews and Skittles, which are both Mars products, also contain synthetic food dyes in the U.S. but not in the U.K. Similarly, in the U.S., McDonald’s strawberry sundaes are colored with Red 40 but—amazing as it might sound—real strawberries in the U.K.
"British candy has all the sugar of American candy, and it’s certainly not health food," said Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, Nutrition Action’s publisher. "But as Halloween approaches, it's a shame that American kids trick-or-treat for candy dyed with discredited chemicals while British families have many of the same foods, minus the dyes."
Americans consume five times as much food dye as they did 30 years ago, according to data from the Food and Drug Administration. But in the wake of two British studies that found food dyes (and possibly the preservative sodium benzoate) impair the behavior of many children, the British government pressured companies to switch to safer, natural colorings and the European Parliament approved a warning label for foods that still contain the dyes.
In June CSPI urged the FDA to ban Red 40, Yellow 5 and six other synthetic dyes. The group wants parents of children sensitive to the chemicals to file reports online at http://www.cspinet.org/fooddyes, which CSPI will then forward to the FDA.
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