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Maggie's Blog

The Best and the Worst

created at: 2009-07-10

 

I know that I love eating at restaurants that aren’t healthy for me in the least bit, and I can imagine you love to do the same thing. They taste good, and they’re quick why wouldn’t we like them? So I decided to look at these restaurants, and decide which foods we definitely should not eat, and which foods are the best to eat when we do go to them. I looked at Starbucks, McDonalds, Arbys, Jamba Juice, and Jimmy Johns.

Starbucks (compatible to Dunn Bros and Caribou)

What you should NOT have:

Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha w/Whip (iced or not)created at: 2009-07-15
    This drink is insane the numbers that come with it are high in the bad places and low in the best places. The numbers below are for the non-iced version.

540g  Calories                                     Overall this drink is a disaster. One way to be
170g  Fat Calories                              healthier at a place like this, is to ask for “light”
19g    Total Fat                                   drinks. Avoid Whip Cream, and blended drinks
12g    Saturated Fat            tend to be less nutritious
0g      Trans Fat.
50g    Sodium
80g    Carbohydrates
0g      Fiber
76g    Sugar
14g    Protein.

The best option available is...
    Old fashioned coffee. created at: 2009-07-15

It has 0 fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates, and sugar (unless of course you add some) The downside, there is also no fiber, it has 10g of sodium and very little protein. Coffee isn’t necessarily adding to your health, but it’s not drastically hurting it. (Plus it’s the cheapest thing on the menu!)

McDonalds (compatible to Burger King)

What you should NOT have:
McDonald’s nutrition facts are tricky. They give you the numbers on everything, but the proportions are all different. So I chose three things that you should avoid above everything at McDonalds.

1. Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese created at: 2009-07-15
    280g  Serving Size                            46g     Carbohydrates
    730g   Calories                                  3g       Fiber
    360g   Calories from fat                    47g     Protein.
    40g     Total Fat                                 9g       Sugars
    19g     Saturated Fat                  
    160g    Cholesterol                             There is almost nothing good about this one,
    1330g   Sodium(!)                         the best I can say about it, is the protein.
2. Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips (10 pc)created at: 2009-07-15
    442g     Serving Size                            92g     Carbohydrates
    1270g   Calories                                  0g        Fiber
    590g     Calories from fat                    77g      Protein.
    66g       Total Fat                                 0g       Sugars
    12g       Saturated Fat
    180g     Cholesterol                              The Sugar and Protein counts are
    3100g    Sodium(!)                     alright on this, and if you just get a 3 or 5 piece chicken strip meal, you’ll be alright, but this proportion is awful for you.

3. Deluxe Breakfastcreated at: 2009-07-15

    441g     Serving Size                           136g    Carbohydrates
    1220g   Calories                                  4g        Fiber
    540g     Calories from fat                    42g      Protein.
    60g       Total Fat                                 33g      Sugars
    17g       Saturated Fat
    480g     Cholesterol                              This is a horrible way to wake your
    1900g   Sodium        digestive system up. The sugar will put you on a sugar high you will inevitably crash from eventually, and this won’t make you feel good right away in the morning.

The best option available is...

    There really is no healthy option at McDonalds but the healthiest thing you can get is probably…
California Cobb Salad (without chicken)created at: 2009-07-15

    237g   Serving Size                            8g      Carbohydrates
    150g   Calories                                  3g       Fiber
    80g     Calories from fat                    1g       Protein.
    9g       Total Fat                                 4g       Sugars
    4g       Saturated Fat
    85g     Cholesterol                               The sodium doesn’t look so good on
    410g   Sodium                           here, and there are really no health benefits, but this is the least unhealthy item on the menu once you take away all of the sauces.


Arbys

    Arby’s is one of the “healthier” fast food restaurants out there. Their numbers don’t quite make it to McDonalds height, but there are still things to look out for.

What you should NOT have:

Italian Sub Roll created at: 2009-07-15
   
    286g      Serving Size                          49g      Carbohydrates
    800g      Calories                                  2g       Fiber
    486g      Calories from fat                    ?g       Sugar
    54g        Total Fat                               28g       Protein
    16g        Saturated Fat
    85g        Cholesterol                          The sugar content on every item
    2610g    Sodium                           has a question mark next to it, so we can’t find that fact out, but the only thing this sandwich has going for it is the protein. The sodium in here is threw the roof as are the calories from fat. Overall this sandwich is a horrible choice.

The best option available is...

Light Roast Chicken Deluxecreated at: 2009-07-15
    195g   Serving Size                            32g      Carbohydrates
    250g   Calories                                    4g        Fiber
    45g     Calories from fat                      ?g        Sugars.
    5g       Total Fat                                 23g       Protein
    2g       Saturated Fat
     40g     Cholesterol                             This at least has a little bit of protein and
    950g    Sodium                           fiber and the calorie count isn’t horrible, but it’s still nothing to brag about. The grams of fat is something they can be proud of though, overall this is the best option at Arbys.

Jamba Juice

What you should NOT eat:

Chocolate Moo’dcreated at: 2009-07-15
    634g    Serving Size                       156g      Carbohydrates
    634g    Calories                                  ?g      Fiber
    72g      Calories from fat                  16g      Protein.
    8g        Total Fat                             142g      Sugars
    5g        Saturated Fat
    27mg   Cholesterol                          In the fast food spectrum, Jamba Juice does
    379mg  Sodium                           pretty good. But when it comes to nutrition, it fails. There is still too much sodium, to many carbohydrates, and way to much sugar. But the large serving size gives a reason for that, but we shouldn't consume that large of a serving at once. The protein isn’t terrible, and it didn't list the fiber content.

The best option available is...

Berry Fulfilling Powercreated at: 2009-07-15
    798g   Serving Size                          76g      Carbohydrates
    350g   Calories                                  9g       Fiber
    9g       Calories from fat                   10g       Protein.
    1g        Total Fat                               55g       Sugars
    ?g        Saturated Fat
    5mg     Cholesterol                               There’s a little too much sodium in here,
    320mg  Sodium                           but other than that, this drink is doing good. It doesn’t have way to much sugar, and the calories aren’t the worst kind of calories. It’s a pretty “balanced” drink, at least for Jamba Juice.


Jimmy Johns  (compatible to Milios, and Herberts and Gerberts)

What you should NOT eat:

Italian Night Club (#9)created at: 2009-07-15
    421g            Serving Size                              77.21g      Carbohydrates
    974.69g       Calories                                       1.21g      Fiber
    ?g                Calories from fat                         46.53g      Protein.
    52.37g         Total Fat                                             ?g      Sugars
    14.46g         Saturated Fat
    114.55mg    Cholesterol                          The Sodium is really what gets you in
    2763.01mg   Sodium            these sandwiches in general. They’re all high in it. This one also has a high calorie count, but we don’t know how bad they all are because it doesn't tell us the calories from fat. The bread is what adds a lot of the carbohydrates, but the wheat bread in this sandwich does make it better.

The best option available is...

Totally Tuna (#3)created at: 2009-07-15
    335g           Serving Size                         57.08g      Carbohydrates
    502.32g      Calories                                  2.34g      Fiber
    ?g               Calories from fat                  21.14g      Protein.
    19.6g          Total Fat                                      ?g      Sugars
    3.74g          Saturated Fat
    28.5mg       Cholesterol                          The health facts of the sandwiches at  
    1131.48mg  Sodium             Jimmy Johns don’t have a huge range, but this one is definitely the healthiest, It has the last sodium, and the least amount of Calories. The Carbohydrates are at a smaller number as well. While this sandwich isn’t terrible for you, it’s also not great for you. It doesn’t have a lot of protein of fiber, so it’s kind of like the lesser of two evils.

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All of these things are very true, fast food is bad for you because it is made up of a lot of things that aren't neccesarily fair to call food.

But the point of this article was not to say "please go to fast food restaurants and feel good about yourself for eating 'the right thing'" It's here to tell people who are in a hurry, or who are low on money, what your best option is.

We can't stop people from eating fast food, but we can definitely help them eat it a little more responsibly.

 

But I definitely agree, it seems unfair that these places can call what they sell food sometimes.

It still isn't a good plan to eat fast food, even in moderation.  Most of it is completely devoid of essential micronutrients and contains overprocessed ingredients not even thought of as food 100 years ago (e.g. trans fat, highly refined sugar, bleached white flour, most vegetable oils, preservatives, additives, colors, artificial flavors, corn syrup, etc).   I rarely look at calorie counts, but instead focus on ingredients.  All calories, fat, carbs and protein are not created equal as they are derived from different sources.

Carbohydrates like high fructose corn syrup are not even on the same level as carbohydrates from whole grains and similar sources.  We guzzle and gulp down disproportionately massive amounts of corn products on a daily basis, though most people don't even give it a second thought.  Also, nearly all North American corn is grown from genetically modified seed and heavily sprayed with toxic pesticides such as atrazine.

Lastly, monounsaturated fats in nuts, olive oil and avocados are very healthy, as well as Omega 3 fatty acids found in fish.  Trans fats are not healthy at all and should never be consumed - they stick to your arteries like cement.  Saturated fats are bad for you in large amounts.  Monounsaturated fats are inflamatory and are not particularly healthy for your cardiovascular system, especially when oxidized (rancid) like they often are in most processed food.

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Maggie
Maggie
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