2007-02-04

Yes! Finally a website designed specifically for health food freaks like myself. All you have to do is enter your zip code, how many miles you’re willing to travel, price range and submit. A new feature that allows you to select possible cuisine types and venues is coming soon. Each result provides map quest directions and each restaurant’s nutritional information. CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE HEALTHY DINING FINDER!!!

To go along with the theme I found some very interesting dining statistics while browsing the web!

• Only 13.9% of diners strongly agree that they “more often go to restaurants where the menus highlight healthy offerings,” while 25.4% strongly disagree.
• More than 40% of diners age 41 or younger say they ordered appetizers with their dinner entrées, compared with 32% who chose a salad.
• Time at which 42% of consumers strongly agree that they already know whether they will prepare dinner at home or dine away from home. The older the respondents, the greater the likelihood their dinner plans will be set by this time.
• 21.2% Percent of diners who strongly agree that they like restaurants that provide nutrition information on menus, but a statistically equal percentage, 20.3%, strongly disagree about the importance of such information. 
• 33.1% Percent of respondents who say they have purchased more prepared, ready-to-eat meals from supermarkets in the previous 12 months than they did during the previous year.
• 22% Percent of Americans who strongly agree with the statement, “I go to restaurants because I prefer the taste of the food versus what I have at home.”

R&I’s 2007 New American Diner Study data are based on a representative sample of U.S. consumers,
weighted to match the population by gender, household income, race, region and age. In all, more than 3,200 respondents were surveyed.

Source

2007-02-03

The nation’s largest restaurant chain – - and world’s biggest seller of french fries – - has settled upon a new formula for its frying oil. Replacing its partially hydrogenated soybean oil will be a trans-fat-free frying oil made from canola, corn and soybeans, says spokesman William Whitman.

Due to serious supply concerns, the company is mum on when all its locations will have it.

Regardless of that new oil I will never be ordering McDonald’s fries EVER again in my life!

Source

2007-02-03

Nicole Richie was spotted in disguise getting some fatty McDonald’s. I wonder how she stays so freaken skinny eating that crap?

2007-01-31

My neighborhood Starbucks just introduced the new breakfast sandwiches this week. My curiosity struck and I decided to compare the sandwich from Starbucks to the same one at Dunkin’ Donuts.  The Starbucks sandwich contains 420 calories and 220 are from fat. The Dunkin’ Donuts sandwich contains 530 calories and 290 are from fat. So in conclusion the Starbucks sausage, egg and cheese on an english muffin is the better choice. However some of the other new Starbucks breakfast sandwiches actually have a lot less calories, CLICK HERE TO TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF.

2007-01-29

Everyone stoops to frozen food once in a while, whether it be chicken nuggets or onion rings. My boyfriend loves onion rings and I am constantly telling him to put them back at the grocery store. Well there is actually a healthier option for frozen onion rings now! Alexia Onion Rings are made from an all natural blend of sweet Spanish onions with a delicate Japanese style breading. They have a light and crispy texture and are bursting with real onion flavor. All natural almost takes away some guilt! To learn more about Alexia’s all natural frozen foods CLICK HERE and for more of AOL’s frozen food favorites CLICK HERE!

2007-01-22

Wow I can’t even believe this but here it goes. The Food Network channel is caught out for allowing subliminal messages during their programing. You will be shocked to find out which company is being advertised in these subliminal messages…

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT!!!

2007-01-13

The average American drinks 18 fluid ounces of soda each day! Drinking 18 fluid ounces each day adds about 225 calories to a suggested 2,000 calorie diet. Those 225 calories are all empty with no source of nutrients. Over the course of a month you are adding a whole 7,000 calories in soda alone, which equals out to a 2 pound weight gain.  In just one year drinking 18 ounces of soda each day could cause you to gain 24 pounds. Some doctors even speculate that soda is a leading cause of obeseity.  Keep in mind that sugar free beverages are not a better choice. These beverages contain artificial sweeteners made from cancer causing chemicals. Oh yeah, and artificial sweeteners are proven to make you crave real sugar MORE!

Wow this is really alarming. I don’t drink soda and I am constantly trying to convince people to stop! When I first started with my whole healthy diet thing a few years ago soda was the FIRST thing that I cut out and It made a HUGE difference. Eventually I began to cut out juices and sport drinks. For a while I was just drinking sweetened green tea untill I officially gave all that crap up and now drink water as my primary beverage. Sugary beverages actually make you retain water so that you appear bloated. Is drinking soda really worth it?

2007-01-08

Carb-free liquor. An increasing number of purveyors of everything alcoholic, from wine to beer to vodka, are trying to surf the low-carb wave. But alcohol has never been a carbohydrate, so carb-free defines all hard liquor. Most beer and wine contain some sugar (a.k.a. carbohydrates). Makers of the low-carb versions have tried to minimize sugar content, but they’ve not invented a diet drink: A five-ounce glass of the new low-carb One.9 Merlot has 125 calories, and typical red wine weighs in at 105. The solution: Let “low calories,” not “low carbs,” be your principal dieting mantra.

Depo-Provera. The birth control shot may be convenient, but it delivers a high dose of progesterone, which can cause appetite to increase. Seventy percent of women who use it gain weight, with nearly half gaining more than five pounds after a year. The solution: Consider lower-dose possibilities. The Pill may get a bad rap for causing weight gain, but in a review published earlier this year researchers found no correlation between oral contraceptives and added pounds. Another low-dose option is the Ortho Evra patch.

Artificial sweeteners. A recent Purdue University study compared two sets of rats: those fed liquid spiked with saccharin, others fed liquid sweetened with natural sugar. When both groups were later given a sugary snack, the rats accustomed to artificial sweeteners ate more. “Our bodies have ways of judging how many calories a food has from how it tastes, and artificial sweeteners may mess up that natural regulating process,” says Susan Swithers, PhD, associate professor of psychological sciences at Purdue and one of the study’s lead authors. The solution: “We’re not suggesting you give up your diet soda at this point,” Swithers says. But if you consume artificially sweetened products, pay extra attention to the calorie count of everything you eat, especially snacks with real sugar.

Missing meals. Research shows that people who eat breakfast are less likely to be overweight, and that morning meals seem to help those who’ve lost weight keep it off. It’s not just breakfast, either: Denise Bruner, MD, obesity specialist and former president of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, says that skipping meals of any kind results in a “tremendous bout of compensatory hunger.” The solution: Eat small meals throughout the day. A steady nutrient intake will keep your blood sugar relatively constant, helping prevent out-of-control binges.

Dining out. Super Size Me gave fast food a bad name, but restaurant portions can be just as oversize as a McDonald’s meal. An order of chicken Parmesan and pasta at Ruby Tuesday, for example, tops out at 1,466 calories—more than a Big Mac, large fries, and a Coke combined. The solution: Eating out is fine, as long as you don’t use it as a frequent license to indulge. Choose your entrees wisely, and find restaurants that serve smaller portions or doggie bag half your meal.

SOURCE

2007-01-04

My personal favorite, Starbucks is the next to ban trans-fats in the US. Apparently they have already been cutting back on trans fats in muffins, dough nuts, and other baked goods in nearly half of the nation wide stores. Eventually they are planning to drop the artery clogging fats everywhere in the US for good.

“This is just something we have been working on, and our focus has always been on providing our customers with healthy and nutritious food options,” A spokesman said.

This is really good news!

SOURCE

2006-12-22

In a recent study reported by MSNBC, they found that portions and plate sizes have grown in the past 20 years. This is really interesting!

“The research, done in 2003 and described in a recent issue of the American Dietetic Association, replicated a 1984 Penn State University study.

Both studies asked students to take food portions of various items. Diners were offered three sizes of plates, bowls and cups in a buffet-like setting. There were 177 students in the more recent study at Rutgers and 147 students in the 1984 Penn State study.

In a comparison of breakfast servings, the students in 2003 took 20 percent more cornflakes than students took in 1984, Schwartz said. Ditto for milk.

The glass of orange juice grew by more than 40 percent compared to 20 years ago. That translates into 50 additional calories, or a weight gain of five pounds over the course of a year, if consumed on a daily basis. Dinner and lunch servings grew, too — 50 percent more fruit salad wound up on the plates of the Rutgers students.”

SOURCE