What If I Don’t Like My Menu?

September 27th, 2010

If you don’t like the automatic menu that FormulaZone creates for you, that’s OK! There’s lots of options, and with over 3,000 meals to choose from, we guarantee that there’s a menu that you will love!

The Menu Builder is the most flexible, powerful tool available anywhere. It’s just a matter of knowing how to use it!

There’s many things you can do, but we’ll start with the one that gives you the MOST control. And while it may take longer, it can be fun – and since you choose the recipes, it’s sure to create a menu that you love.

Whichever method you choose, be sure to check out the Tips & Tricks to help you get the most out of your menus!

Method 1: Hand-Pick Your Meals

This method, while it takes a bit more time, is the surest way to get a menu that you love. While there’s 12 steps below, they are fast and simple. We just like to be thorough when we explain how to do things!:

  1. Log in to FormulaZone
  2. On the left side list of links, click “My Plan”
  3. On the page that appears, near the top of the left-side links, click “Manage All Menus”
    • OK, minor detour: On this page, you can manage ALL of the menus that you’ve built and saved. You can edit them, adjust them, create new menus, and re-use them all from right here.
  4. In Manage Menus page, in the list of menus (highlighted in yellow) is a link “Click to Create New Menu”. Click that link.
  5. In the page that appears, enter the name of your menu (even just use today’s date!). If you want, change the start date and the menu length, then click “Save”.
  6. In the Build Menu page, note there are two sections. For this method, just click the “Manually” button.
  7. Now, you are in the Recipe Listing page, in “Menu Mode”. That means that when you find a recipe you like, you can add it to your Menu.
  8. Do a search of some kind to find a recipe that is appealing to you. I typically like to start with clicking one of the links such as “Top Rated”, or “Quick and Easy” under the type of meal I’m thinking of (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, etc).
  9. In the list of recipes, notice a couple of things:
    1. First, at the top of the page is a box that tells you taht you are Menu Mode, and how many breakfasts, lunches, snacks, and dinners you need to add.
    2. Second, in the list of recipes, there’s a new column on the far right titled “Add to Menu”. In that column are links titled “B”, “S”, “L”, “D” (B for Breakfast, S for Snack, L for Lunch, etc.).
  10. Peruse the list of recipes. (Clicking the column titles sorts the recipes, so for example clicking “Fav Of” will cause the list to start with the recipes that are the favorite of the most people. Clicking on “Rating” will cause the recipes with the highest ratings to be at the top).
  11. Once you find a recipe you like, click the appropriate letter in the far-right “Add to Menu” column to add it to your menu. For example, clicking “D” will add the recipe to your menu as a dinner.
    • Note: These links are also in the “View Recipe” page, so if you click on the recipe name to View it, you can add the recipe from that page as well
  12. Repeat steps 10 and 11 until your menu is built. At any time, you can click the name of your menu in the box at the top (where it says “You are in Manual Menu Mode”), and return to view the menu.

Method 2: Controlling the Automatic Menu Builder

This method is for those who want a bit more control over the menus, but don’t want to be bothered with hand-selecting all of the recipes.

Be aware that there’s TONS of power in the automatic Menu Builder, too! For example:

Did You Know that if you mark recipes as your favorites, you can have the automatic menu builder choose ONLY from your favorites? It’s the best of both worlds – it’s like hand-picking because you’ve said which recipes you like, but it’s faster because you let the automatic menu builder put them into your menu!

  1. Log in to FormulaZone
  2. On the left side list of links, click “My Plan”
  3. On the page that appears, near the top of the left-side links, click “Manage All Menus”
    • OK, minor detour: On this page, you can manage ALL of the menus that you’ve built and saved. You can edit them, adjust them, create new menus, and re-use them all from right here.
  4. In Manage Menus page, in the list of menus (highlighted in yellow) is a link “Click to Create New Menu”. Click that link.
  5. In the page that appears, enter the name of your menu (even just use today’s date!). If you want, change the start date and the menu length, then click “Save”.
  6. In the Build Menu page, note there are two sections. For this method, focus on the lower section titled “Automatic Recipe Selection Criteria”
  7. There’s four things you can control (five if you count the “Glycemic Index”). They are
    1. All or Favorites: Pick whether to choose from ALL recipes, your FAVORITE recipes, or only YOUR recipes
    2. Prep Time: Pick the maximum amount of time you’re willing to spend preparing the meal
    3. Cook Time: Pick the maximum amount of time you’re willing to spend cooking the meal
    4. # Ingredients: Choose the maximum number of ingredients allowed in your meal. Remember that spices such as salt, pepper, and things like water, etc. each count as an ingredient. This is just another way to control the complexity of the recipes, and how long they might take to prepare.
  8. Once you’ve made your choices, click the “Automatic” button. That’s it! You’ll be taken to your menu, where you can view and edit, or just print it out with your shopping list!

Tips & Tricks!

There’s lots of other things you can do with your menus. Lots! Here’s some things that will make a major impact on your menus:

  • Your Food Preferences will rule out meals from your menus

    • . But remember: Changing them AFTER you build a menu will NOT affect that menu. Any menu already built will stay exactly like it was. So, if you change your food preferences, you will need to either re-build that menu, or build a NEW menu to see the effect of those preferences.

  • Your Menu Preferences will affect the AUTOMATIC menus. It will affect how many snacks you have per day. Note that this DOES affect existing menus – BUT, if you build a menu with 1 snack per day, then change your Menu Preferences to 2 snacks per day, you’ll want to update your menu. It’s easy – just view the menu, click the “Build Automatically” link, and simply ignore the option to “Delete All Recipes” – instead, just click “Automatic”, and it will only ADD recipes, filling in any gaps you might have.
  • Hiding Recipes prevents them from ever appearing on NEW menus that you build. When you are in the List of Recipes, clicking “Hide” will eliminate that recipe from the list, and will keep it from ever being added to your menus.
  • Rating Recipes affects if a recipe shows up on your new menus, and how likely it is to show up. Rate it 2 or lower, and it will NEVER show up on your menu. The higher you rate it, the more likely it is to show up on a new automatic menu that you build.
  • Eliminate foods with certain ingredients quickly. While the Food Preferences page does a good job with certain types of allergies and requirements, you may need to eliminate all foods with avocado in them. It’s easy! Here’s how:
    1. Click on the “Recipes” link in the left-side list of links
    2. In the “Recipes” page, click on the “Search by Ingredient” link (near the lower right, just under “Power Search”).
    3. In the page that appears, enter “avocado” (or the name of the food you want to eliminate), and click “Search”
    4. When the list of recipes appears, you will notice that there’s a link at the top titled “Hide All of these Recipes”. Clicking that link will hide EVERY ONE of the recipes listed! And, as you read in an earlier tip, HIDDEN recipes do NOT show up in your menus.

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Huge Recipe Update

July 17th, 2010

We’re going through the recipes – every single one – and updating them.

One of the things we’ve learned is that there’s actually too many recipes, and it gets confusing. And, since there are so many, we’ve decided to thin out some of the older recipes that maybe aren’t so good, or good for you.

So as you are watching the recipe list, you may notice a couple of recipe names change, the ingredients get easier to understand, and possibly minor tweaks to the ingredients to make the recipe even better.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Seven Powerful Reasons to Get Active

July 1st, 2010

Summer’s here, and just like clockwork, more people are out walking, biking, and getting active. And for good reason.

Do you cringe at the idea of exercise? Do you feel like it might take too much time, is boring, or too much work? It doesn’t have to be a chore – and there’s a lot of excellent reasons to get active regularly.

Why exercise at all?  Check out these Reasons – and at the end, see a few easy ways to get active:

Reason #1: Burn Fat – Immediately.

This is obvious, but when your body works harder, it burns more fat.  Taking a leisurely walk burns 175 calories per hour.  Walk a bit more briskly, and you jump up to 250 calories per hour.  Walk with purpose (about 4 miles an hour), and you’re burning around 300 calories per hour (of course, it depends on how much you weigh).

Reason #2: Get Stronger.

Woman Exercising

Exercising makes your muscles work. And when they do, they repair themselves to be stronger. Stronger muscles make you feel stronger, lighter, and put a spring in your step. And don’t worry, unless you’re working out specifically to get bulky muscles, you won’t. It actually takes a LOT of effort to make your muscles bulky….

Reason #3: Get Firmer.

Stronger muscles are also firmer and leaner. When your muscles are firmer, you feel stronger, firmer, leaner, and more fit – because you ARE more fit!

Reason #4: Burn More Fat – All the Time.

This is one of the double-benefits of exercise that makes it so worthwhile.  Not only do you burn fat during exercise, there’s an added bonus: When you exercise, your muscles get stronger. And, when your muscles get stronger, they burn more fat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Reason #5: You’ll Sleep better.

The fact is that when you exercise, there’s all kinds of extra benefits, and sleeping better is just one of them.  Your body is more relaxed, and needs the rest.  These things together help you to sleep better.

Reason #6: You’ll Eat Better (maybe).

This one’s tricky – you have to pay attention on this one – because while studies show that people who exercise vigorously lose more weight, studies have also shown that people who exercise lightly tend to lose LESS weight than those that exercise vigorously – even less than people who don’t exercise at all.  Why? Because when you exercise lightly, you tend to feel like you deserve to eat a bit more.  But when you exercise vigorously, your mindset changes, and you want to eat better to make sure all that work isn’t for nothing!

Feeling Great

Reason #7: You’ll Feel better.

Who wouldn’t feel better when they were stronger, leaner, sleeping better, burning fat all the time, and eating better? Your mood will improve, you’ll have more self confidence, and you’ll have a brighter outlook on life.

Tips for Getting Active

Getting active can mean a lot of things. Simple things like parking away from the building and walking farther than you normally would, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, to more dedicated activities like going to the gym or doing P90x at home are all ways to get active. Of course the more effort you put in, the more results you will get – but don’t feel as though you can’t get active just because you don’t have time. You CAN get more active without spending more time. For example, just ramping up your housecleaning from leisurely to vigorous effort increases your activity and burns an extra 150 calories per hour. Carrying extra weight increases your activity and burns more calories – so something as simple as throwing a couple of heavy books in a bag and carry them with you when you walk will make a difference. Walking more, taking the stairs more, and using the hand basket instead of the push cart at the store all are simple things you can do right now to increase your activity.

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The Glycemic Index Revisited

May 15th, 2010

More and more focus lately is on diets as a way to combat heart disease, diabetes and cancer. In response to this, researchers are looking not only at calories and fats, but also the differences in carbohydrates.

Researchers noticed that blood sugars are affected by the way carbohydrates were digested. Slower digestion meant slower and more even release of blood sugars into the bloodstream. Faster digestion meant quicker release and spikes in blood sugars. These spikes trigger the release of more insulin.

Although proteins and fats may influence the rate at which carbohydrates break down into glucose (blood sugar), they do not break down into glucose. Only carbohydrates have a glycemic index.

Tests were developed to measure the Glycemic Index, which is just a measure of the rate at which carbohydrates break down into glucose. Jennie Brand-Miller, one of the world’s leading researchers in the Glycemic Index describes the testing process:

How is the GI measured?
The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of the power of foods (or specifically the carbohydrate in a food) to raise blood sugar (glucose) levels after being eaten. The GI values of foods must be measured using valid scientific methods. It cannot be guessed by looking at the composition of the food. Currently, only a few nutrition research groups around the world provide a legitimate testing service. Professor Jennie Brand-Miller at the Human Nutrition Unit, Sydney University has been at the forefront of glycemic index research for over a decade, and her research group has determined the GI values of more than 400 foods. (1)

The current standard GI ratings are:

High GI: 70 and above
Medium GI: 56 to 69
Low GI: 55 and under

The Glycemic Index Symbol Program (2)

The GI of foods has important implications for the food industry. Some foods on the Australian market already show their GI rating on the nutrition information panel. Terms such as complex carbohydrates and sugars, which commonly appear on food labels, are now recognised as having little nutritional or physiological significance. The WHO/FAO recommend that these terms be removed and replaced with the total carbohydrate content of the food and its GI value. However, the GI rating of a food must be tested physiologically and only a few centres around the world currently provide a legitimate testing service. The Human Nutrition Unit at the University of Sydney has been at the forefront of glycemic index research for over two decades and has tested hundreds of foods as an integral part of its program. Jennie Brand Miller is the senior author of International Tables of Glycemic Index published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1995 and 2002 .(2)

FormulaZone recognizes this current research and has adjusted its glycemic ratings in accordance with these standards. We continue to research and update our nutritional information as it becomes available.

Each ingredient that goes into making a recipe on FormulaZone lists a GI. Proteins and fats are listed as low GI, because they do not contribute to the GI of a recipe. (They are not medium or high). When you combine the protein (30) and the fat (30) with the carb (40) you are lowering the glycemic load of the meal. If you were to eat JUST a carbohydrate at a given meal, you may be eating High Glycemic, Medium Glycemic or Low Glycemic, depending on the carbohydrate’s GI that you are eating. By combining protein, fat and LOW GLYCEMIC carbohydrates in a meal, you are ensuring that you are eating a healthy LOW glycemic meal.

Taking that 40-30-30 balance a step further, combining GOOD fats, LEAN proteins and LOW glycemic carbohydrates ensures that you are eating the best combination of foods to contribute to your healthy lifestyle.

(1) http://www.glycemic index.com
(2) http://www.glycemicindex.com; http://www.gisymbol.com.au/

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There’s Food and Then There’s Food

April 10th, 2010

Let’s face it, we live in America, Land of Plenty. We have become used to convenience, and quick affordable food products. We are a busy society. But at what cost?

The food industry has created and conveniently packaged, what Michael Pollan calls “food-like-substances”. They look like food, and they even taste like food, but they are laden with chemicals, synthesized nutrients, and are often highly processed.

I recently saw an ad for a a new product which would increase your fiber. A yogurt and oatmeal granola with fruit. Okay… sweetened yogurt, sweetened granola and sweetened fruit. Why not just enjoy some thick rolled oats, some plain low fat kefir or Greek yogurt and some raw nuts and berries or dried raisins. Trust me, you’ll be surprised to actually taste the ingredients and not be overladen with sugar or high fructose corn syrup.

I also caught another news story about – believe it or don’t: Bacon and eggs for breakfast can set your body up to better metabolize fat throughout the day. Hook us in by telling us it’s okay to eat bacon and eggs. That yummy goodness comfort food should grab our attention. But what they really meant to say was start your day by eating a little good fat and it would set your body up to better metabolize fat. Egg whites, the protein and yolks, the fat (but also has a cholesterol component) and bacon, full of saturated fats may set your body up to metabolize fat, but at what cost? Did they stop to think about coronary artery disease? I’ll opt for an omelet with some avocado and salsa made with a dash of olive oil.

Food manufacturers love to target children. Hook the kids and they will unrelentingly bug their parents until they try the newest snack or lunch to pack. If you read the labels, most popular ones are high in sodium, artificial colors and flavors, high fructose corn syrup, and preservatives. How much harder is it really, to pack your child’s lunch with fresh veggies, fresh fruit or natural fruit leather, and some home grilled chicken strips or natural peanut butter and whole grain bread or crackers.

Make your meals from things you would have in your pantry, like pasta, chicken broth, peas, and sea salt. Do you have a bottle of powdered chicken, calcium silicate, sodium triphosphate or disodium guanylate in YOUR pantry? I didn’t think so, unless of course you are Nissin Foods, who are quick to point out that their product contains 0 g of trans fats.

Many of the food additives and “food-like-substances” are relatively new and we have no longitudinal studies available to assess the effect they have on the human body. We do know that obesity, heart disease, certain cancers and diabetes are on the rise in this country and are occurring in younger populations at an alarming rate.

If you want an adventure, try out “no barcode” shopping – shop at a farmers market. Go to a local artisan bakery and pick out a loaf of fresh baked bread. Visit a meat market and have the butcher wrap your chicken breast in a piece of butcher paper.

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Smart Shopping Tips to Help You Save Money

February 11th, 2010

We have had comments that “this is too expensive”, or “we can’t find an ingredient locally”. We’ve got some tips for keeping costs down:

Use the Weekly Supermarket Ad

One sure way to help control the cost of weekly groceries is to take a look through your supermarket’s weekly ad specials.

With pen and paper in hand, make a shopping list from all the specials they are running for the week:

  • Create your menu from those items.
  • Or, if you don’t make weekly menus, look for specific recipes featuring those items you have selected from the ad.
  • Or, use the Recipe Builder and create your own recipes from the featured items you have selected from the ad.

Woman Grocery Shopping

Take Advantage of the “Sale” Bins

Most grocery stores have a “Manager’s Special” bin in the meat department. Shop that bin for deals on meats up to 70% off! Most of the time you can freeze the food if you aren’t going to use it, and often you can use the meat right away in a Zone-friendly recipe.

Shop the Sales

Build your pantry of staples when you see the items on sale. When that spice, canned good, or staple goes on sale, buy extra (if you know you’ll use it).

Did you know?

You can select a “whole” cut of meat and have the butcher slice it for you. Many times the whole cut is cheaper than the sliced ones. You can buy a pork loin and have the butcher cut it into chops.

“Family sized” packaging is less expensive many times, and often freeze well.
If you use canned fruits and vegetables, stores will often run specials, so stock up on these if your family has favorites.

In the fresh produce section, seasonal items will often be much cheaper, so eat with the seasons to save a ton on your produce.

Make a HUGE Different – Manage Your Menus

If you take the time to manually manage your menu, you can really start to save.

Lets say chicken is on sale this week – build your menu so that many meals use chicken, and you’re eating food that’s less expensive.

Plus, with some simple combining and consolidating, you can save on virtually EVERY menu, regardless of whether food is on sale. Here’s how:
Problem: If your menu calls for ham for lunch one day, then a smoothie the next, and pre-grilled chicken the third day, and so on – you’re going to buy a package of ham (and not use the whole thing), a gallon of milk and protein powder (again, not use all of it), and some pre-grilled chicken (and not use it all) – you get the idea.
Solution: Manage that menu a bit. Use the same recipe for lunch on several days so that you use that entire package of ham (and more importantly, aren’t buying milk, protein powder, and chicken). If you don’t want the same recipe, at least use other recipes that use ham. You can do this easily by using the Search by Ingredient feature in the Recipe page.

Cook for Yourself

When a recipe calls for grilled chicken – buy raw chicken and grill it at home. You can grill up a batch and put it in the freezer (or fridge if you’re going to use it right away) and save a lot of money.

Substitute

When a recipe calls for avocado (yum!), you may choose to substitute another fat (mayo, olive oil – or even nuts, if it’s appropriate) that costs much less.

Have Other Tips?

Do you have other tips? Let us know! Send us an e-mail with your best tips – share them with other members and help them to save money also!

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Keeping Your 2010 Resolutions

January 2nd, 2010

Back in 2004 we wrote an article on keeping your New Years Resolutions, and you know what? The same things are relevant today. So check it out: Keeping New Year Resolutions. You’ll be glad you did!

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Learning How to Eat Well

December 31st, 2009

Our Most Common Requests

Many members ask if we can add this ingredient or that ingredient, or tell us that their brand of cottage cheese is not exactly like our cottage cheese.

Our ingredient database includes many generic foods to choose from. We also have added many specific foods that members have suggested.

Taking the Time to Learn

FormulaZone is a place where you can learn about healthy living and make a transition from reliance upon fast and convenience foods to preparing fresh whole foods. During that learning process you can learn to make subtle adjustments and understand that although a specific brand of a food may have a slightly different carb-protein-fat profile, close is okay. Obviously there is a distinct difference between non-fat, low-fat and full fat dairy products, but if you compare the labels of the store brand, Lucerne, Dannon, Yoplait, you will find that they are quite similar.

Many brands of products are specific to certain regions or certain grocery stores and are not widely available. So, again, the learning process, if the ingredient is not exactly the same, find one very similar and it is okay to substitute. I might buy Dave’s Killer Bread in Portland (a local company) but you might buy Orowheat from your local food chain. I simply compare my label with Bread, whole grain, in the database and see what’s close enough.

What? It’s not 40-30-30?

No recipe will be exactly 40-30-30, even if it says it is 40-30-30 because every time you measure and prepare something, measurements are not exact and can vary each time you make something, So the balance might be 39-31-30 one time and 42-27-31 the next time.

Giving You the Tools

Most people join FormulaZone to either lose unwanted weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle. Our goal at FormulaZone is to provide you with the tools to do just that. We understand that our members come from many backgrounds, but they ultimately have a common goal: To get healthy.

It’s Worth the Effort

There is no easy solution, but we hope that the learning process will get you to a place where you can understand how foods affect your health and how you can make good choices, hopefully reaching a place where you can eat less prepared convenience foods and more healthy whole foods.

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What Can We Learn from The Natives?

December 22nd, 2009

Meet the Natives

Channel surfing the other day I happened upon a Travel Channel program titled “Meet the Natives”.

The show profiles five members or an indigenous tribe in the Pacific on the Island of Tanna. They traveled to various locations in the US and were hosted by families.

The three episodes I watched revealed a lot about their views on food and nature. They were hosted in Montana, Illinois and New York City. More episodes will be aired in the future.

Why do we do that?

They wondered why we raked the grass and didn’t grow any vegetables on the plot. They were afraid that the snow would kill the plants and grass. The chief of the tribe was very concerned when his host family was about to roast a turkey that she bought from a store by first placing it in a plastic bag. He said the plastic would melt and poison him. She assured him that it was a special plastic and would not harm him. She offered to remove the turkey from the bag, but he said he would trust her. She then opened a can of yams and asked him if he recognized what it was. After he said he didn’t, she told him it was yams. Yams, a staple in his diet, were completely unrecognizable to him. He commented that we eat too much “dead” food, and was concerned that the yams were in a tin can. He told the host that he ate yams, but he harvested them from his garden and roasted them in a fire. The tribesmen also commented that we eat too much food when they were invited to a community dinner. They said this much food would feed his whole village for a long long time.

What can we learn?

I wonder what lessons we can learn from them. They live in a communal village, they are happy, self sufficient, and not any of them suffered from obesity that I could see. They ate fresh, whole, live food with a diet devoid of soft drinks, candy, chips, and fast food.

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Straight Talk About Fast Foods

November 1st, 2009

Let’s face it, most of us would say that Fast Food is convenient, fairly cheap and definitely has that satisfying taste. Unless you live in a void, you are bombarded by all forms of media, reinforcing these facts, and your kids are an easy persuader, too.

Are fast foods really as bad as the nutrition experts say they are?

Morgan Spurlock of “Supersize Me” fame would agree, while Jared Fogel of Subway fame would defend the Subway diet.

Are there some “good for you” fast foods out there? Can you trust the quality of ingredients and preparation practices?

Let’s look at a few popular fast food items:

Burger King Whopper Jr.:

According to Burger King:
“It’s a little WHOPPER® sandwich with a big taste. A flame-broiled beef patty topped with red ripe tomatoes, crisp lettuce, creamy mayo, ketchup, crunchy pickles, and onions-all on a toasted sesame seed bun.”

Want fries with that? Value Fries (small)

Food Calories Total Fat Sat Fat Protein Carbs 40-30-30
Whopper Jr 370 21 6.0 16 31 33-17-50
Small Fries 220 11 2.5 2 28 51-4-45
Total 590 32 8.5 18 59 40-12-48

Meal Cost: $2.00

Health Cost and 40-30-30 considerations:

  • High Glycemic
  • Not balanced
  • Over 500 calories with the fries

Plus, the meal defies these recommendations for health:

  • Consume less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fatty acids
  • Keep total fat intake between 20 to 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.
  • When selecting and preparing meat, poultry, dry beans, and milk or milk products, make choices that are lean, low-fat, or fat-free.
  • Limit intake of fats and oils high in saturated and/or trans fatty acids, and choose products low in such fats and oils.
Angry Whopper

How about an Angry Whopper and Large Fries? (Honestly I LOVE Angry Whoppers. A definite comfort food for me, but at what cost? (Plus it sits in my stomach like a rock and I feel awful the next morning):

“A ¼ pound* of flame-broiled beef topped with sizzling bacon, Pepper Jack cheese, deliciously spicy jalapenos, angry onions and our signature angry sauce. It’s the WHOPPER® that bites back.”

Food Calories Total Fat Sat Fat Protein Carbs 40-30-30
Angry Whopper 880 55 18 37 59 27-17-56
Large Fries 580 28 6 6 74 52-4-44
Total 1,460 83 24 43 133 37-12-51

Meal Cost: About $6.00

Health Cost and 40-30-30 considerations:

  • High Glycemic
  • Not balanced
  • Over 500 calories

And again, it ignores these important health recommendations:

  • Consume less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat.
  • Keep total fat intake between 20 to 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.
  • When selecting and preparing meat, poultry, dry beans, and milk or milk products, make choices that are lean, low-fat, or fat-free.
  • Limit intake of fats and oils high in saturated and/or trans fatty acids, and choose products low in such fats and oils.
Chicken Tendergrill, anyone?

Okay, I know they say eat chicken not beef, because there is less saturated fat. How about a Tendergrill™ Chicken Sandwich. This one actually comes close to balancing without any sides.

According to Burger King:
“You want chicken? You got it. You want a juicy grilled chicken filet on a corn-dusted bun, topped with crisp lettuce tomato? You got that, too. It’s called the TENDERGRILL® Chicken Sandwich.”

Want fries with that? Here’s an example with small fries:

Food Calories Total Fat Sat Fat Protein Carbs 40-30-30
Tendergrill™ Chicken Sandwich 490 21 4 26 51 41-21-38
Small Fries 220 11 2.5 2 28 51-4-45
Total with Fries 710 32 6.5 28 79 41-16-40

Meal Cost: about $6.00

Health Cost and 40-30-30 considerations:

  • High Glycemic
  • Not balanced
  • Over 500 calories with fries
  • Consume less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fatty acids.
  • Keep total fat intake between 20 to 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.
  • Limit intake of fats and oils high in saturated and/or trans fatty acids, and choose products low in such fats and oils.
Yes, but what about Salads?

Now, I know what you’re thinking. I’ve only given you the choice for a burger or a chicken sandwich. Why not a salad? Isn’t that a better choice?

Tendergrill™ Chicken Salad:

Season-ripe lettuce, cucumber, carrots, onions and tomatoes topped with grilled chicken, three kinds of cheese, and your choice of KEN’S® Salad Dressing. TENDERGRILL™ is the salad for grilled-chicken lovers.

Dressing options:
KEN’S™ Light Italian Dressing (2 oz) Cal:120 Fat:11g Sat Fat:1.5g Carb:5g Pro:0g
KEN’S™ Ranch Dressing (2 oz) Cal:190 Fat:20g Sat Fat: 3g Carb:2g Pro:1g
KEN’S™ Creamy Caesar Dressing (2 oz) Cal:210 Fat:21g Sat Fat: 4g Carb:4g Pro:3g
KEN’S™ Honey Mustard Dressing (2 oz) Cal:270 Fat:23g Sat Fat: 3g Carb:15g Pro:1g

Let’s see how the salad shakes out….

Food Calories Total Fat Sat Fat Protein Carbs 40-30-30
Tendergrill™ Chicken Salad 210 7 3 29 8 15-55-30
Croutons 60 2 0 1 9 62-7-31
Total NO dressing 370 9 3 30 17 25-45-30
Ranch Dressing 190 20 3 1 2 4-2-94
Total with Dressing 560 29 6 31 19 16-27-57

Right – I did not add dressing first. I then added Ranch Dressing (a favorite). I clearly need carbs to make it balance. Even if I use the Light dressing I am adding more fat than carbs. If I add the Honey Mustard I get the carbs (in the form of sugar), but I also get unneeded fat.

Cost: Varies

Health Cost and 40-30-30 considerations:

  • Not balanced
  • Over 500 calories with the dressing

Again, it dismisses these health suggestions:

  • Consume less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fatty acids.
  • Keep total fat intake between 20 to 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.
  • Limit intake of fats and oils high in saturated and/or trans fatty acids, and choose products low in such fats and oils.
OK, what about Subway?

To be fair, I’ll see how a Subway 6” sandwich would play out, and I’ll even add a salad for a choice:

  • Any sandwich can be made into a salad with chopped lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, green bell peppers, and olives.

Subway tells you up front (well in fine print):

“The following are the standard formulas for sandwiches, salads and wraps served at SUBWAY® restaurants. The customer can alter this formula by choosing different vegetables, condiments and breads. Standard vegetables include iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, green peppers, and cucumbers. (made on Italian or 9-Grain Wheat bread)”

What do these sandwiches look like, anyway?

Food Calories Total Fat Sat Fat Protein Carbs 40-30-30
6” Turkey Breast 280 3.5 1.0 18 47 64-25-11
Flatbread Turkey Breast 310 6.0 1.0 18 47 60-23-17
6” Tuna 530 30.0 6.0 21 48 35-15-49
New 6” Buffalo Chicken (I got these values from a different site. Subway did not have the nutritional info on their site.) 370 7.0 1.5 25 54 57-26-17
Turkey Breast Salad 110 2.0 0.5 14 12 39-46-15
Fat Free Italian 35

 0 0 1 7 88-12-0
Total w/ Italian 145 2.0 0.5 15

 19 49-39-12
Ranch 320 35.0 6.0 0 3 4-0-96
Salad Total w/ Ranch 430 37.0 6.5 14 15 13-12-74

When you go into a Subway they ask you:

  • What size
  • What kind of bread
  • What cheese
  • What veggies
  • What condiments

You are immediately in danger of altering the listed nutritional values. I am usually tempted to say, “Footlong, pepperjack cheese, ALL the veggies (which includes a fistful of olives), and a little oil and vinegar (no mayo of course).

After all isn’t the $5 footlong the better deal?

Meal Cost: Varies

Health Cost and 40-30-30 considerations:

  • Not balanced

And yet again, flies in the face of:

  • Consume less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fatty acids.
  • Keep total fat intake between 20 to 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.
  • Limit intake of fats and oils high in saturated and/or trans fatty acids, and choose products low in such fats and oils.
Some things to consider:

When you consider how you have to alter the “fast food” to make it fit and healthy, is it really “fast”?

How tempting is it to just eat the whole bun rather than throw away half of it? Besides – who wants to have the waste in the car, or maybe you drive a bit further and are still hungry, so you retrieve it from the bag and eat it.

Additions are really a dice roll. Subway lists an add-on of olives on a 6” sandwich as 3 rounds. I have NEVER seen an employee add 3 little pieces of olives to a 6”. How much is “just a little mayo”? . When you are going through a drive-through, how do you ask for “mayo on the side”?

What Fast Food Should Be…

Fast food to me is something made at home where I know EXACTLY what I am eating, which I can make in 5 minutes or less and put in a sack and take with me.

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