Eliminating the Guesswork
About Restaurant Food
What to Eat When You're Eating Out: What to Eat in America's Most Popular Chain Restaurants
Who knows what is healthy anymore?
In a nation where consumers spend tens of billions of dollars every year on weight loss products and services, almost anyone with a degree, a theory and a low body mass index seems to be hawking an answer to the obesity epidemic.
Market research firm Marketdata estimated that consumers spent $46.3 billion in 2004 on weight loss products. Their study concluded the market would top $60 billion in 2008. Put another way, that would be roughly $200 for every man, woman and child in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control, about one-third of Americans are obese. Round that up to 50% for people who simply want to shed a few pounds or who have eating disorders, and the numbers are still staggeringly high — reaching perhaps $400 per person per year.
As the spending grows, more market entrants look for a new twist on an old subject. Health complications such as heart disease, diabetes to the big one — shortened life span — are a driving force behind much of this spending. Yet as we reach for a second doughnut or enjoy a 10 ounce cut of meat for dinner, many Americans find themselves at a loss for what they can eat that is healthy.
Today's word is trans fats. Various foods have been vilified at one time or another, including milk, eggs, butter, red meat, alcohol and nuts. Low and no carb diets that thrust people into ketosis were the rage, even as a short term fix, but doctors, dietitians and government authorities all agree that the tandem of caloric intake and exercise are still the levers that generate a change in a person's body weight. For some, simply knowing that is no longer good enough as heart disease and diabetes have made low fat and low carbohydrate meals a must. As dietitian and author Hope Warshaw will tell you, the secret is that there is no secret.
Flipping Pages, Not Burgers
Warshaw's readers must be educated people who know what foods they can and cannot tolerate. For a diabetic, a simple item like a bagel might spike their blood sugar at night or in the morning, but be metabolized much better midday. A heart patient who denies themselves a certain treat while dining out only to splurge on empty calories later has only deprived themselves of the better treat. Which would you prefer: half of a homemade desert in a good restaurant or a couple of Twinkies you filch from your kid two hours after returning home?
What To Eat When You're Eating Out eliminates the guesswork about restaurant food. Some healthy sounding dishes won't work for you. Others that sound excessive might be okay in moderation. As Warshaw stresses everywhere in her books and terrific web site, the trick is in having a plan. She stresses smart common sense concepts that many agree with and few practices. For example, she'll remind you not to treat a restaurant as a special event, to have an idea of what you want to eat before going in (more on this in a minute) and practice good portion control. If you don't know proper portioning, she can help you get there and show you the consequences of making an incorrect choice.
One great example happened to me earlier this month. My wife brought home dinner from Subway. Knowing the whole Jared pitch and the company's focus on low-fat foods, she brought home a grilled chicken, double vegetables foot long sub.
She was stunned to later learn that the sub was indeed somewhat lower in fat than other choices — about 11 grams, not terrible for dinner. The other ingredients, notably the roll, pushed the other totals to 630 calories total and a whopping 95 carbohydrates with less than 10% fiber. The lesson: in this case, the choices weren't awful, but portion control was the enemy. Going for the 6 inch sub would have been plenty of carbs, but a much better choice for someone who still loves to eat bread.
Then there are the infamous gyros. How bad could they be for you if you skip the bread and sauce? At that point, they are just some portion controlled beef or lamb (or mix) and vegetables. Ah, but they're often prepared on a "cone" and often don't use high grades of beef. The result is that even a small gyro is usually more than 50% fat, an absolute reversal of what someone might think. There are even chain restaurants where the percentage of fat is 2 or 3 times the percentage of protein.
There are dozens of dietary hints as well as data that will scare anyone, not just someone intent on changing their eating lifestyle. Like those yummy rolls at Cinnabon? The company verified that the traditional Cinnabon most people order, while admittedly knowing they are indulging, is 813 calories and contains 32 grams of fat and an amazing 117 carbohydrates. Don't kid yourself with that net carb scheme concept either. 32 fat grams and more than 100 carbs is bad territory for anyone's snack, although someone eating breakfast in a restaurant could quickly reach the same numbers without realizing so.
Do as Warshaw suggests and share your treat with someone else, perhaps two someone else's in the case of a yummy, sticky cinnamon roll. Your sweet tooth will still be satisfied, yet you'll only take in 10 grams of fats and 30 carbs. The food still isn't healthy, but a life of deprivation is a life of delusion. If the cinnamon roll is your favorite, indulge sometimes and either don't eat it all (I'll bet it freezes for a long time and warms just fine on a cookie sheet) or share one.
How To Use The Book
Get familiar with the layout, how the data is presented, including the healthy choices options. More than once, I've been surprised. I have also been pleased that some of my restaurant favorites are deemed healthier than their counterparts. Others are simply the famous "heart attack on a plate" the CPSC once wrote about Fettuccine Alfredo. Warshaw's book exposes all of these issues and is intended as a reference. Published before many jurisdictions and firms began adapting trans fats restrictions, the book may be slightly dated only a year later.
Keep a copy in your car's glove compartment. The book is a bulky short paperback that weighs more than a pound and hardly something to slip in the back pocket of your jeans. Once in your car, however, you have real data at your fingertips if you find yourself at one of dozens of chain restaurants.
You can still eat somewhat healthy without resorting to the old iceberg lettuce and cucumber slice purgatory. You may even find a perfectly enjoyable meal once you grasp one of Warshaw's key concepts of portion control. For ten bucks, less than the price of a decent chain restaurant entree, you could be doing something yourself a big favor, even if you are the picture of health today.
The American Diabetes Association has endorsed the book and indeed sells it on their site. You can also find a copy at major booksellers, Amazon and Warshaw's own site. Yes, similar data is available on the web and is more easily updated, but unless you walk around with constant low cost web access, Warshaw's book is a good bet for your car or briefcase.
