Book delves into lesser of fast-food evils
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- October
- 8
I was in Borders the other day and this book caught my attention, “Eat This, Not That! For Kids,” by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding. I quickly perused it and found some interesting tidbits about what better choices to make when dining at fast-food and chain restaurants, in addition to healthier buys at the supermarket. The book follows the bestseller, “Eat This, Not That!”
While the book doesn’t claim that fast-food is healthy, here’s what Zinczenko said in a recent USA Today article:
 …it comes down to the lesser of several evils. The average American driving down the highway doesn’t have any place that offers a wide variety of low-calorie, highly nutritious foods.
Our goal isn’t to advocate or legitimize any fast-food diet but rather to help families make the smartest decision possible in any given eating situation including the rather grim ones that many chain restaurants offer.
I don’t take Zyla to fast-food joints but I do occasionally throw frozen foods (Amy’s vegetable pot pies and burritos) in the cart, along with cereal bars and other processed snacks (animal crackers). My interest in the book was mostly fueled by the fact that seemingly healthy fare, like salads or grilled chicken sandwiches, can pack some serious calories, fat and sodium. Admittedly, I was more interested in it for me than my daughter.
For example, who would have thought that a roast beef sandwich at Subways has far less calories and fat than the tuna sub? The same can be said for a McDonalds quarter pounder and its premium grilled chicken club.
The Eat This Web site also rates kid-friendly eateries and it’s surprising to see the results. Cosi (that awesome salad and sandwich bar) scored a D- while Ben and Jerry’s a C +. Huh??? The ratings are based on calorie loads and apparently there are many single serving scoops under 250 calories than Cosi offerings under 500 calories. But one’s a meal and another, ice cream, so don’t think you can truly compare. Either way, the pepperoni pizza at Cosi has 911 calories. Yikes!!! Perhaps this book had something to do with Cosi suddenly offering a “Lighten Up” menu.
But my all-time favorite was Baskin Robbins Heath shake ringing in at a whopping 2,300 calories.
Check out the Eat This Web site for more interesting finds.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 1:59 pm by Marcela Rojas.
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