Eat This, Not That

I recently bought a book called Eat This, Not That by David Zinczenko. In one of the chapters, it lists which foods are relatively good for you and which are definitely not in many of the major food chains. Considering how I ate in college, I wish I had this book! Here are some interesting facts...prepare to blow your minds!

1) In Chipotle, the chicken burrito with black beans, rice, green tomatillo salsa, and sour cream contains 1,092 calories, 44 g of fat (19 g saturated fat), and 2, 323 mg of sodium. However, the same dish made into a bowl (the chicken burrito bowl with lettuce, black beans, green tomatillo salsa, and sour cream) only has a surprising 489 calories, 22 g of fat (9 g saturated fat), and 1,006 mg of sodium. I swear there's something sinister in the rice and the flour tortilla at that place.

2) At Jack in the Box, if you substitute a regular beef taco for the small fries in your meals, you will save 180 calories, 9 g of fat, 4 g of trans fat, and 28 g of carbohydrates. Of course, why not go the extra mile and just order a side salad?

3) At Chick-Fil-A, every sandwich (even their Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich) has less than 500 calories! Their secret: they use whole chicken breast meat and not pressed or formed meat. They also fillet and bread each of them by hand. If you must have fast food, Chick-Fil-A is the place to go.

4) Craving something hearty at Denny's? Get the country fried steak and eggs WITHOUT the hash browns (543 calories, 34 g of fat [12 g saturated fat]). It has a ton of protein and also has 200 less calories than the Grand Slam.

5) At In-N-Out, the double-double has 670 calories, 41 g of fat (18 g saturated fat), and 1,440 mg of sodium. If you turn that into a protein style burger, remove the cheese, and subsitute mustard and ketchup for that special sauce, you have just cut it down to 350 calories, 22 g of fat (11 g saturated fat), and 960 mg of sodium. Of course, a hamburger or even a cheeseburger is a lot healthier than the double-double. Just don't animal style anything!

6) At Panera Bread, whatever you do, DON'T order the Sierra Turkey Sandwich (840 calories, 40 g of fat [7 g saturated fat], and 2,080 mg sodium). How can a turkey sandwich have so much crap in it? It's the Asiago Cheese Focaccia and the chipotle mayonnaise.

7) You will have to bike 30 miles in order to burn all the calories in a large Chicken Carbonara at Quiznos (1,510 calories).

8) If you ditch the taco shell in your Chicken Fiesta Taco Salad at Taco Bell, you can remove 370 calories from that dish. That's fuckin' crazy!

9) At Wendy's, you can customize the hell out of anything! Try this...a BLT. Ask for a premium bun, 4 slices of bacon, romaine lettuce, tomato, and mayo. This sandwich only has 260 calories and 0.5 g of saturated fat! This is even less than the healthiest sandwich they have in their menu, the ultimate chicken grill sandwich.

10) The McDonald's Big Mac vs. the Burger King Whopper: Who wins? The BIG MAC. It has about 200 fewer calories and about half fewer grams of fat than its rival. Of course, it wouldn't hurt to just avoid BOTH chains.

*) This star is dedicated to what the book claims to be "The Worst Food in America." The winner...The Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing. This has a whopping 2,900 calories, 182 g of fat, and 240 g of carbohydrates. Even though this is designated as an appetizer and it should be shared with other people. Just the staggering numbers alone should be enough to avoid this dish at all costs. However, I know that many of you don't eat at Outback Steakhouse frequently, but we all have gorged on its illustrious Mexican cousin, the carne asada/carnitas/fried fish fries. Even if it doesn't reach the 2,900 calorie mark, by just knowing the ingredients of one of SoCal's most unique dishes, it must come pretty close.

Oh, how I love you, carne asada fries.

Next time, perhaps you should think about your food options. I'm sure I will.

That is all.