10 Worst and Best Foods At least one will surprise you…
1. Artery Crust
Judging by the label, Marie Callender’s (16.5 oz) Chicken Pot Pie has 520 calories, 11 grams of saturated fat, and 800 mg of sodium. But look again. Those numbers are for only half a pie. Eat the entire pie, as most people probably do, and you’re talking 1,040 calories, 22 grams of saturated fat (more than a day’s worth), and 1,600 mg of sodium (an entire day’s worth).
2. Triple Bypass
Can’t decide what to pick from a restaurant menu? No worries. Now you can order not just one entrée, but two … or three … all at once. Olive Garden’s Tour of Italy – Homemade Lasagna, Lightly Breaded Chicken Parmigiana, and Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo – comes with 1,450 calories, 33 grams of saturated fat, and 3,830 milligrams of sodium. Add a breadstick (150 calories and 400 mg of sodium) and a plate of Garden-Fresh Salad with dressing (350 calories and 1,930 mg of sodium) and you’ll consume 2,000 calories (an entire day’s worth) and 6,160 mg
3. Salt's On!
On average, a cup of Campbell’s Condensed soup has 850 mg of sodium. That’s half a day’s worth … assuming you eat only one of the 2½ servings that the label says the can makes. Campbell’s Healthy Request and Select Harvest, Progresso Reduced Sodium, and Healthy Choice slash the sodium to the 400s. Look for lower sodium lines in the 100s to 300s by Amy’s, Imagine Foods, Pacific Natural Foods, and Tabatchnick.
4. Tortilla Terror
Interested in a Chipotle Chicken Burrito (tortilla, rice, pinto beans, cheese, chicken, sour cream, and salsa)? Think of its 970 calories, 18 grams of saturated fat, and 2,200 mg of sodium as three 6-inch Subway BLT Classic Subs! Getting the burrito with no cheese or sour cream cuts the saturated fat to 5½ grams, but you still end up with 750 calories and more than a day’s worth of sodium. Yikes!
5. Factory Reject
People don’t expect light desserts at The Cheesecake Factory. But the Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake kicks things up a notch. If it weren’t served on its side, this one would stand over six inches tall. And upright or not, the slab of cake still weighs in at three-quarters of a pound. What do you get for all that heft? Just 1,670 calories and 2½ days’ worth of saturated fat (48 grams), nearly all of it from chocolate, sugar, cream, white flour, and butter.
6. Burial Grands
No one thinks of cinnamon rolls as health food. But each Pillsbury Grands! Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll with Icing has 310 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat plus 2½ grams of trans fat (more than a day’s worth) and 6 teaspoons of sugar. Companies are dumping their partially hydrogenated oils left and right, yet Pillsbury still makes most of its rolls and biscuits with the stuff.
7. Transgression
“Excellent source of ALA Omega 3,” declares the Land O’Lakes Margarine box. Who knew that Land O’Lakes stick margarine was so heart healthy? It isn’t. Each tablespoon of the spread has 2½ grams of trans fat (more than an entire day’s limit) and 2 grams of saturated fat. And beware of other trans-filled sticks by Blue Bonnet, Parkay, Country Crock, Fleischmann’s, and Imperial. At least those brands don’t imply that a bit of ALA outweighs the harm caused by the margarine’s trans and saturated fat. Shopping tip: Look for tub margarines – most have little or no trans fat.
8. Starbucks on Steroids
The Starbucks Venti (20 oz) White Chocolate Mocha with 2% milk and whipped cream is more than a mere cup of coffee. It’s worse than a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Few people have room in their diets for the 580 calories and 15 grams of saturated fat that this hefty beverage supplies. But you can lose 130 calories and two-thirds of the bad fat if you order it with nonfat milk and no whipped cream.
9. Extreme Ice Cream
An average halfcup serving of Häagen-Dazs ice cream squeezes half-a-day’s saturated fat and a third-of-a-day’s cholesterol into your artery walls and makes a 300-calorie down-payment on your next set of fat cells – if you can stop at a petite half-cup!
10. Stone Cold
Cold Stone Creamery’s Oh Fudge! shake (chocolate ice cream, milk, and fudge syrup) starts at 1,250 calories for the “Like It” (16 oz) size. That’s more than a large (32 oz) McDonald’s Triple Thick Chocolate Shake. The “Love It” (20 oz) has 1,660 calories and the “Gotta Have It” (24 oz) reaches 1,920 calories (an entire days’ worth) and 69 grams of saturated fat (3½ days’ worth). It’s two 16 oz T-bone steaks plus a buttered baked potato, all blended into a handy 24 oz cup.
1. Sweet Potatoes/Kumara
A nutritional All-Star — one of the best vegetables you can eat. They're loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Bake and then mix in some unsweetened applesauce or crushed pineapple for extra moisture and sweetness.
2. Mangoes
Just one cup of mango supplies three-quarters of a day’s vitamin C, onequarter of a day’s vitamin A, a decent dose of blood-pressure-lowering potassium, and 3 grams of fiber. Bonus: mango is one of the fruits least likely to have harmful pesticide residue.
3. Unsweetened Yogurt
Plain yogurt has a pleasant tartness that’s a perfect foil for the natural sweetness of berries, bananas, or for your favorite breakfast cereal. It has more protein, potassium, calcium, zinc, and vitamins B-6 and B-12 than sweetened yogurt. That’s because it doesn’t have to share the container with the sugary preserves or the sugar that’s in many flavored yogurts.
4. Broccoli
It has lots of vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid. Steam it just enough so that it's still firm and add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and a spritz of lemon juice.
5. Wild Salmon
The omega-3 fats in fatty fish like salmon can help reduce the risk of sudden-death heart attacks. And wild-caught salmon has less PCB contaminants than farmed salmon.
6. Crispbreads
Whole-grain rye crackers, like Wasa, Ry Krisp, and Ryvita — usually called crispbreads — are loaded with fiber and often fat-free.
7. Garbanzo Beans
All beans are good beans. They’re rich in protein, fiber, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. But garbanzos stand out because they’re so versatile. Just drain, rinse, and toss a handful on your green salad; throw them into vegetable stews, curries, and soups; mix them with brown rice, whole wheat couscous, bulgur, or other whole grains.
8. Watermelon
Watermelon is a heavyweight in the nutrient department. A standard serving (about 2 cups) has one-third of a day’s vitamins A and C and a nice shot of potassium for only 85 fat-free, salt-free calories. And when they’re in season, watermelons are often locally grown, which means they may have a smaller carbon footprint than some other fruits. Flank Steak with Grilled Mango and Watermelon Chutney
Pair watermelon and mango with lean flank steak for a high-protein main dish that's packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Like watermelon, mangoes are full of powerful antioxidants that can help fight heart disease and some forms of cancer.
YIELD: 6 servings (serving size: 3 ounces beef and 1/2 cup chutney)
COURSE: Main Dishes
Ingredients
• Steak:
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (1 1/2-pound) flank steak, trimmed
• Cooking spray
• Chutney:
• 2 peeled ripe mangoes, each cut into quarters (about 1 pound)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 cup thinly vertically sliced onion
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 cups finely diced seedless watermelon (about 3/4 pound)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• Mint sprigs (optional)
• Lime wedges (optional)
Preparation
• Prepare grill.
• To prepare steak, combine first 4 ingredients. Sprinkle steak evenly with sugar mixture. Place steak on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill for 8 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices.
• To prepare chutney, place mango on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side. Cool and chop. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes. Add ginger; sauté 1 minute. Add vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper; cook 5 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in mango; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in watermelon, cilantro, and mint. Add mint sprigs and lime wedges, if desired.
Thanks to Julianna Grimes Bottcher, Cooking Light
9. Butternut Squash
Steam a sliced squash or buy peeled, diced butternut squash at the supermarket that’s ready to go into the oven, a stir-fry, or a soup. It’s an easy way to get payloads of vitamins A and C and fiber.
10. Leafy Greens
Don’t miss out on powerhouse greens like kale, collards, spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens, and Swiss chard. These standout leafy greens are jam-packed with vitamins A, C, and K, folate, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, lutein, and fiber. Serve with a splash of lemon juice or red wine vinegar.
1. Artery Crust
Judging by the label, Marie Callender’s (16.5 oz) Chicken Pot Pie has 520 calories, 11 grams of saturated fat, and 800 mg of sodium. But look again. Those numbers are for only half a pie. Eat the entire pie, as most people probably do, and you’re talking 1,040 calories, 22 grams of saturated fat (more than a day’s worth), and 1,600 mg of sodium (an entire day’s worth).
2. Triple Bypass
Can’t decide what to pick from a restaurant menu? No worries. Now you can order not just one entrée, but two … or three … all at once. Olive Garden’s Tour of Italy – Homemade Lasagna, Lightly Breaded Chicken Parmigiana, and Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo – comes with 1,450 calories, 33 grams of saturated fat, and 3,830 milligrams of sodium. Add a breadstick (150 calories and 400 mg of sodium) and a plate of Garden-Fresh Salad with dressing (350 calories and 1,930 mg of sodium) and you’ll consume 2,000 calories (an entire day’s worth) and 6,160 mg
3. Salt's On!
On average, a cup of Campbell’s Condensed soup has 850 mg of sodium. That’s half a day’s worth … assuming you eat only one of the 2½ servings that the label says the can makes. Campbell’s Healthy Request and Select Harvest, Progresso Reduced Sodium, and Healthy Choice slash the sodium to the 400s. Look for lower sodium lines in the 100s to 300s by Amy’s, Imagine Foods, Pacific Natural Foods, and Tabatchnick.
4. Tortilla Terror
Interested in a Chipotle Chicken Burrito (tortilla, rice, pinto beans, cheese, chicken, sour cream, and salsa)? Think of its 970 calories, 18 grams of saturated fat, and 2,200 mg of sodium as three 6-inch Subway BLT Classic Subs! Getting the burrito with no cheese or sour cream cuts the saturated fat to 5½ grams, but you still end up with 750 calories and more than a day’s worth of sodium. Yikes!
5. Factory Reject
People don’t expect light desserts at The Cheesecake Factory. But the Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake kicks things up a notch. If it weren’t served on its side, this one would stand over six inches tall. And upright or not, the slab of cake still weighs in at three-quarters of a pound. What do you get for all that heft? Just 1,670 calories and 2½ days’ worth of saturated fat (48 grams), nearly all of it from chocolate, sugar, cream, white flour, and butter.
6. Burial Grands
No one thinks of cinnamon rolls as health food. But each Pillsbury Grands! Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll with Icing has 310 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat plus 2½ grams of trans fat (more than a day’s worth) and 6 teaspoons of sugar. Companies are dumping their partially hydrogenated oils left and right, yet Pillsbury still makes most of its rolls and biscuits with the stuff.
7. Transgression
“Excellent source of ALA Omega 3,” declares the Land O’Lakes Margarine box. Who knew that Land O’Lakes stick margarine was so heart healthy? It isn’t. Each tablespoon of the spread has 2½ grams of trans fat (more than an entire day’s limit) and 2 grams of saturated fat. And beware of other trans-filled sticks by Blue Bonnet, Parkay, Country Crock, Fleischmann’s, and Imperial. At least those brands don’t imply that a bit of ALA outweighs the harm caused by the margarine’s trans and saturated fat. Shopping tip: Look for tub margarines – most have little or no trans fat.
8. Starbucks on Steroids
The Starbucks Venti (20 oz) White Chocolate Mocha with 2% milk and whipped cream is more than a mere cup of coffee. It’s worse than a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Few people have room in their diets for the 580 calories and 15 grams of saturated fat that this hefty beverage supplies. But you can lose 130 calories and two-thirds of the bad fat if you order it with nonfat milk and no whipped cream.
9. Extreme Ice Cream
An average halfcup serving of Häagen-Dazs ice cream squeezes half-a-day’s saturated fat and a third-of-a-day’s cholesterol into your artery walls and makes a 300-calorie down-payment on your next set of fat cells – if you can stop at a petite half-cup!
10. Stone Cold
Cold Stone Creamery’s Oh Fudge! shake (chocolate ice cream, milk, and fudge syrup) starts at 1,250 calories for the “Like It” (16 oz) size. That’s more than a large (32 oz) McDonald’s Triple Thick Chocolate Shake. The “Love It” (20 oz) has 1,660 calories and the “Gotta Have It” (24 oz) reaches 1,920 calories (an entire days’ worth) and 69 grams of saturated fat (3½ days’ worth). It’s two 16 oz T-bone steaks plus a buttered baked potato, all blended into a handy 24 oz cup.
1. Sweet Potatoes/Kumara
A nutritional All-Star — one of the best vegetables you can eat. They're loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Bake and then mix in some unsweetened applesauce or crushed pineapple for extra moisture and sweetness.
2. Mangoes
Just one cup of mango supplies three-quarters of a day’s vitamin C, onequarter of a day’s vitamin A, a decent dose of blood-pressure-lowering potassium, and 3 grams of fiber. Bonus: mango is one of the fruits least likely to have harmful pesticide residue.
3. Unsweetened Yogurt
Plain yogurt has a pleasant tartness that’s a perfect foil for the natural sweetness of berries, bananas, or for your favorite breakfast cereal. It has more protein, potassium, calcium, zinc, and vitamins B-6 and B-12 than sweetened yogurt. That’s because it doesn’t have to share the container with the sugary preserves or the sugar that’s in many flavored yogurts.
4. Broccoli
It has lots of vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid. Steam it just enough so that it's still firm and add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and a spritz of lemon juice.
5. Wild Salmon
The omega-3 fats in fatty fish like salmon can help reduce the risk of sudden-death heart attacks. And wild-caught salmon has less PCB contaminants than farmed salmon.
6. Crispbreads
Whole-grain rye crackers, like Wasa, Ry Krisp, and Ryvita — usually called crispbreads — are loaded with fiber and often fat-free.
7. Garbanzo Beans
All beans are good beans. They’re rich in protein, fiber, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. But garbanzos stand out because they’re so versatile. Just drain, rinse, and toss a handful on your green salad; throw them into vegetable stews, curries, and soups; mix them with brown rice, whole wheat couscous, bulgur, or other whole grains.
8. Watermelon
Watermelon is a heavyweight in the nutrient department. A standard serving (about 2 cups) has one-third of a day’s vitamins A and C and a nice shot of potassium for only 85 fat-free, salt-free calories. And when they’re in season, watermelons are often locally grown, which means they may have a smaller carbon footprint than some other fruits. Flank Steak with Grilled Mango and Watermelon Chutney
Pair watermelon and mango with lean flank steak for a high-protein main dish that's packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Like watermelon, mangoes are full of powerful antioxidants that can help fight heart disease and some forms of cancer.
YIELD: 6 servings (serving size: 3 ounces beef and 1/2 cup chutney)
COURSE: Main Dishes
Ingredients
• Steak:
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (1 1/2-pound) flank steak, trimmed
• Cooking spray
• Chutney:
• 2 peeled ripe mangoes, each cut into quarters (about 1 pound)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 cup thinly vertically sliced onion
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 2 cups finely diced seedless watermelon (about 3/4 pound)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• Mint sprigs (optional)
• Lime wedges (optional)
Preparation
• Prepare grill.
• To prepare steak, combine first 4 ingredients. Sprinkle steak evenly with sugar mixture. Place steak on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill for 8 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices.
• To prepare chutney, place mango on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side. Cool and chop. Set aside.
• Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes. Add ginger; sauté 1 minute. Add vinegar, 2 tablespoons sugar, juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper; cook 5 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Stir in mango; cook 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in watermelon, cilantro, and mint. Add mint sprigs and lime wedges, if desired.
Thanks to Julianna Grimes Bottcher, Cooking Light
9. Butternut Squash
Steam a sliced squash or buy peeled, diced butternut squash at the supermarket that’s ready to go into the oven, a stir-fry, or a soup. It’s an easy way to get payloads of vitamins A and C and fiber.
10. Leafy Greens
Don’t miss out on powerhouse greens like kale, collards, spinach, turnip greens, mustard greens, and Swiss chard. These standout leafy greens are jam-packed with vitamins A, C, and K, folate, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, lutein, and fiber. Serve with a splash of lemon juice or red wine vinegar.
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