Monday, March 15, 2010

Eat this, Not that

Most of you have probably heard of the popular books, Eat This, Not That, but like many of my friends you may not have had time to actually read them. I am usually very health conscious when it comes to feeding my family. However, every time I read one of these books, I gain surprising new insights. Eat This, Not That, is a great resource to have (especially if your family eats out often). Unfortunately though, you may discover some information you just did not want to know. For example, the cheese fries at Outback contain 2,900 calories. That is more than the average person’s daily intake of calories! I will admit, I love cheese fries, but that may be just too many calories.

Did you know that there is an omelet at IHOP that has 1,890 calories (Colorado omelet)? That is the same as eating six Egg McMuffins! If you are at IHOP and want an omelet, opt for the Garden version that packs only 430 calories. Another fattening breakfast food is the donut. I’ve never figured out how donuts became a breakfast food, but Americans love them. If you must eat a donut, the book suggests that you opt for the glazed donut instead of the cake donut. The difference is 100 calories and 8 grams of fat!


When ordering a salad, we often get a false belief that the meal is good for us. More often than not, salads served at restaurants are far from healthy. Take California’s Pizza Kitchen’s Thai salad for example. This salad contains 2,238 calories! This salad not only has two types of dressing, but also fried wonton strips. Eating this salad would be equivalent to eating 6 pounds of grilled sirloin steak! Wraps are another food item that portrays healthy eating. However, with the large tortilla and added dressings, they are loaded with calories. T.G.I. Friday’s BBQ Chicken Wrap has 1,720 calories. On top of loading the wrap with fattening ranch dressing, Friday’s also include an extra scoop of mayo. According to the book, this wrap is equivalent to eating three Big Macs!


Tomorrow I will continue this post with some foods that are good for you. What crazy calories have you been consuming? It can't be as bad as the Caribbean Jerk Nachos I ate last weekend! Grab a latte, put up your feet, and join the discussion!

10 comments:

Krajcimama said...

My kids LOVE doughnuts - then again most kids do. :)

The problem is that it is nearly impossible for me to not eat one if they are here. My favorites are the double chocolate...I hate to think how many calories that is!

Unfortunately, I doubt there are any healthy choices at the doughnut shop...

Lisa said...

Sometimes it is shocking how many calories are in food especially when dining out. We try to look at online menus and nutritional information so we have an idea before we go.

Lori said...

That is so eye opening...almost 2000 calories in an IHOP omelet, gross! I'm in Colorado now, but when I lived in Florida years ago and I was a meat eater, I used to love to go to Outback Steakhouse. I wonder how many calories and fat a blooming oniion has. It sure was yummy but it even looked fattening. Looking forward to tomorrow's post.

Jen R said...

That book has a lot of surprises. I subscribe to their newsletter and I'm always shocked at how bad the bad foods really are. How can one meal be two days worth of calories? No wonder there is a weight problem! I really think these big restaurant chains need to be held accountable. Especially when they can't even make a healthy salad.

http://www.myinnerfoodzilla.blogspot.com

Shanilie said...

It is shocking the # of calories in some restaurant salads with dressing. My vice - cheese. I need it on everything :S

Joy said...

The Outback news makes me sad ... love those fries ~~ but not THAT much!

Thanks for sharing the great post. I'm looking forward to the 'good news' tomorrow!!
:)

Bibi @ Bibi's Culinary Journey said...

Great post. I've been very food conscious ever since my son was diagnosed with Type diabetes.

I never paid attention to restaurant foods and reading labels before and I was floored when I found out what I was feeding my kids while thinking that I am making the right choices for them and me.

Marice said...

thanks for this info sis but we all so love donuts! how can you resist that! :) ill cut on some probably but not this one heheh

oh thanks for the comment, did you grab the award? you deserved it too!

Marilyn (A Lot of Loves) said...

I knew salads were often bad for you when bought at a restaurant. I didn't realize that omelettes were that bad though. I guess it makes sense if I think about all the cheese and butter and meat in them. Yuck.

Tiffany said...

I have a copy of that book in the car so I can make healthy choices, but it's still hard because some days you just gotta have that bad item.

Tiffany
http://liferequiresmorechocolate.blogspot.com/