Beware of these Calorie Traps!

Healthy greens, colorful vegetables with a little dressing is healthy, right?  Yes but salads can be a nutritional nightmare concerning how much dressing is added. Salads, especially the dressing, are the calorie traps in restaurants. The normal recommendation for salad dressing is 2 tablespoons, while restaurants put on 2 ladles. 1 serving ladle is equivalent to 4 tablespoons!!! That’s 8 tablespoons of dressing on your salad. Now, 2 tablespoons is about the size of a ping-pong ball or even a shot glass. Imagine 4 ping-pong balls of dressing on your salad. That is a lot of dressing for your healthy greens. Here are some salad dressing options with their recommended portions.

Ranch Regular -148 calories, 15.6 g fat

Ranch Lite (low-fat) – 80 calories, 6 g fat

Ranch Fat-Free – 48 calories, 0.3 g fat

Creamy Italian – 110 calories, 12 g fat

Lite Italian – 50 calories, 5 g fat

Fat-free Italian – 20 calories, 0.3 g fat

Balsamic Vinaigrette – 90 calories, 8 g fat

Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette – 45 calories, 3.5 g fat

If the servings of dressing in restaurants were the recommended portion size, salads would be perfectly healthy. At a restaurant, your 8 tablespoons of salad dressing add quite a bit of fat and calories. The average person is recommended to keep their fat intake to 60- 80 grams a day. With that much dressing on your salad, you are getting most of your daily fat intake in one meal! You should have just ordered the hamburger!!

You can still eat salads and keep the dressing relatively light. You can ask for the dressing on the side; this way you can add the dressing yourself. You can even ask your server if the restaurant has any “lite” options to choose from. By choosing one of these options, you will actually be able to taste the greens and vegetables, not just the dressing. Salads can still be healthy if you know how to save yourself from its hidden calories.

Toys in Kid’s Meals

I applaud San Francisco for proposing legislation to ban toys in kid’s meals. I remember when I ate out when I was little, that I would want to have a toy with my meal. It is very luring.  According to an article in the USA Today, the food industry knows this.

Kids meals rank among fast food’s big sales catalysts. Nothing gets kids more excited about eating out than a kids meal with a toy. That’s what 36% of kids under age 6 say they like best about eating out, NPD reports. That compares with 16% who like the food best.

“Companies know it doesn’t work to advertise food to kids — they want the toy,” says Michael Jacobson, executive director of the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest.

 Young children want to get food that they can play with while they are eating and even when they are done. Kid’s meals are not the healthiest options on the menu either. I think that the food industry is using this knowledge unfairly. We should be teaching our children how to eat healthy. Fast food restaurants could easily switch fries for fruit and veggie cups or even decrease the portion sizes. If a toy was with a fruit cup, maybe the children would still want to buy the meal. I think that more cities should follow in San Francisco’s footsteps.

Calorie Counting and iPhone Apps

With all the technology out there today, it is nice to see the technology used to help people watch their consumption of foods. With most Americans buying smart phones, these apps will only help people stay on their weight loss goals or even make people think about weight loss. Most of these apps are for the iPhone but the Blackberry and Android are starting to come out will more apps as well.

Fast Food Calorie Counter (99 cents)

Finding a healthy choice at your local fast food joint can be a daunting task. Sometimes life’s craziness requires a quick stop at Mickey D’s, so download the Fast Food Calorie Counter app (99 cents) to help rein in the crazy calorie counts. With its wide selection of restaurants, you should have no problem finding a semi-healthy lunch on the road.

DailyBurn (Free)

This calorie, workout and weight tracker is a free iPhone app extension of a popular online fitness social network. Similar to Lose It!, which was made for the iPhone, DailyBurn tracks results from your daily workouts and keeps track of nutritional counts. DailyBurn is useful if you are looking for easy access to the service from your laptop or desktop computer. If you like DailyBurn, you should also check out its companion iPhone app FoodScanner (made by the same developer). Currently available for 99 cents, FoodScanner detects caloric and nutritional information by scanning food UPC barcodes with your iPhone.

Weight Watchers Mobile (Free)

I’ve used Weight Watchers online tools in the past, and they definitely worked for me. I used the Points system to track my daily food allotment and lost more than 10 pounds. After a while, I got bored with going online every day to track my food intake, but I would consider trying it again now that they’ve launched this handy mobile app. The app is free, but requires a subscription to Weight Watchers in order to use the tools.

CookWell ($1.99)

A cardinal rule of weight loss is to cook more at home, while eating out less often. If you aren’t the cooking type, check out the CookWell app. At $1.99, this app has everything the novice cook needs to start cooking well in the kitchen while moving closer to achieving any weight loss goals. The app includes a comprehensive tutorial that walks you through the basics, and keeps you coming back with daily tips and assignments.

Fresh Fruit (Free)

Lately, my number one weight maintenance mantra is eating the rainbow and choosing fruits of all colors. Luckily, I spent a couple years working at a Whole Foods Market so I know how to eat a kumquat and when guava is in season. If you aren’t so up on your fruits, get this free fresh fruit app and start impressing fellow shoppers in the produce section.

Women’s Health Slim Down Shopping List (Free)

While we are on the topic of becoming a better grocery shopper, check out the free Women’s Health Slim Down Shopping List. The app gives you the lowdown on more than 240 packaged goods that are healthy-diet worthy. It also doles out recommendations based on your performance goals. For instance, did you know that nutrient-heavy Vitamuffins promote weight loss? Me neither, but I do now.

Affirmations for Health (99 cents)

We all know that a good diet and workout regime can be instantly ruined by a bad day at work. So make sure to pamper your mental state whenever embarking on a new fitness and diet plan. I like the Affirmations for Health by Louise L. Hay, “I Can Do It” cards app. For only 99 cents, it peps me up and keeps me progressing on my journey to becoming the best I can be.

Lose It! (Free)

If none of these options sound appealing, you can always tap into this pioneering app. One of the most downloaded titles ever to emerge from the App Store’s Healthcare & Fitness category, Lose It! challenges you to set daily calorie intake and workout regimen goals, while providing the tools and motivational encouragement to meet them. If you don’t see a particular food or activity in Lose It’s database, no worries. The app invites you to add new recipes and training programs on the fly. Once you achieve your desired weight, go ahead and share your success with Lose It’s thousands of fans on Facebook.

All of these apps sound great. This is a positive step forward for the nutrition world as well as for consumers. Would you consider using these apps on your smart phone?