Scary Food Shockers!

Before you read on, please know that the following information may be surprising to you! It certainly was scary to us when we came across it! Here are a few examples of some crazy nutritional counts....

• Marie Callenders' frozen chicken pot pie has 1,040 calories and a whopping 24 grams of saturated fat
• Olive Garden's Tour of Italy (a dish that comes with lasagna, chicken Parmesan, and fettucine alfredo) contains 1,450 calories and 33 grams of saturated fat. Add a breadstick and a serving of their salad with house dressing and you'll be at 2,000 calories for one meal!
• The Cheesecake Factory's Outrageous Chocolate Cake comes in at a whopping 1,550 calories, 32 tsp of sugar, and 43 grams saturated fat. And that's just for desert!
• A Starbucks Venti (large) cafe mocha (made with 2% milk and whipped cream) contains 410 calories and 10 grams saturated fat. This is comparable to "drinking" a McDonalds quarter pounder!
• Like Chipotle and Qdoba burritos? Well a chicken burrito ( tortilla, rice, pinto beans, cheese, chicken, sour cream, salsa) will set you back 1,050 calories and 17 grams of saturated fat. Hold the cheese and sour cream and you can save around 200 calories and 6 grams saturated fat.

Ways to slim down your favorite fast food items:

1. Customize on restaurant web pages. Many restaurants, fast food in particular, have nutritional calculators on their web sites. Create a meal on the web site, and then look for ways to improve it.
2. Reduce portion sizes. An order of the "tour of italy" from Olive garden is a lot of food to finish. Have large portions like these "cut in half" by putting half in a to go box right away. A chipotle burrito is also a lot of "bang for your buck". Try eating only half of the burrito, and saving the other half for later. Or, fill your burrito with healthy options like extra pico de gallo and lettuce, instead of the high calorie sour cream, cheese, and guacamole that they offer.
3. Drink plenty of water or another low calorie beverages before and during your meal. Sometimes hunger is disguised as thirst.
4. Ask the waiter or restaurant employee to list what items automatically come on the food that you are ordering if the menu doesn't list the items. Look to limit things like cheese, cream sauces, flavored butters, sour cream, and condiments like mayo.
5. Add or request extra veggies. This adds bulk to your meal and will help you feel more satisfied!

A smart eater is an informed eater! Keep your eye out for calorie laden items on the menu!