Friday, April 30, 2010 - Mcdonald's Happy Meals

Today I went to Mcdonald's because I love there sweet tea. I pull into the drive through, three SUV's sat in front of me. All three SUV's either had a soccer mom sticker, or the cute family stickers with mom, dad, the ballerina, the football star and max the dog. Cute, but I thought to myself, these moms/dads must be getting happy meals for their children. I understand in today's world we are constantly on the go and mom/dad have less time to stay at home and cook a home cook meal, nor do they have the money to fork out for an in home cook. What is the solution you ask? Happy Meals or so you thought. Yes at younger ages children's metabolisms are so much better than those of their parents but to support such an active playful child, children need a balanced diet and they are definitely not getting it from chicken nuggets/cheeseburger, french fries and a soda. Up until a few years ago, Mcdonald's happy meals should have NEVER been the solution, but now if there isn't time to make dinner these happy meals may not be such a bad choice if the correct sides are chosen. Thankfully Mcdonald's has come to terms with the unhealthy side and offers alternatives to french fries and soda. A kids happy meal comes with either a hamburger, cheeseburger, or chicken nuggets a choice of a soft drink, low fat milk or apple juice and a choice of french fries or apple dippers. Attached below is a link for the nutrition facts for the many different options for a child's happy meal.

http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/Happy_Meals_Nutrition_List.pdf

Thanks to Mcdonal's additional options for their happy meals, children are now able to eat healthy. Ordering a child's happy with chicken nuggets, apple dippers and an apple juice is just 380 calories, 12 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, and 57 carbohydrates.

- Andi Cochran

Cellulite into Car Fuel? Small Chance

Throughout the country, many people are creating ideas that are changing the way we act and think towards the environment. Every person knows that there has been trouble in the environment and that there are many different problems; therefore, many different solutions have been created that some believe to have the potential to help solve the problems we are facing as a nation. As we saw in class, people are even beginning to live in caves because they know that they will have no impact on the destruction of the environment and can live happily in this small residence. Another idea that I found was also on yert.com; a woman, who worked under the Bush administration, believes that we can eliminate the country's problems of obesity and dependence on foreign oil by converting human cellulite into fuel for cars. Like many people who were questioned, I was unaware that a process such as this was even possible.

Plastic surgeons and fast food restaraunts are profound supporters of this idea, but I think its borderline ridiculous. It is absurd that they are encouraging children to become fat so that the children can use their fat to eventually power their cars in the future. The woman that is the spokesperson for this concept says that Chevy has already created cars that would be able to function normally if they were cellulite dependent. However, I still believe that this idea is one of the most ridiculous ideas that I have ever seen or heard about. Most of the country is complaining that many people are overweight, yet this idea is just encouraging more children to become obese, explaining that these children will be seen as "being patriotic". She says that this idea will cause the environment to benefit from it because there are less CO2 emissions, the idea will diminish our dependence on foreign oil, and it would help eliminate the obesity problem in adults in the United States because liposuction will now be acceptable. All of these are pressing issues in society, but I believe there are much more practical solutions to these problems than converting cellulite into car fuel.

Healthy Dinner

I thought today I would post a recipe that promotes eating healthy. This meal seems a bit complex but as long as you have a microwave in your room you could make this for dinner one night.

BBQ Chicken Burritos

INGREDIENTS

· 1 2-pound roasted chicken, skin discarded, meat removed from bones and shredded (4 cups)

· 1/2 cup prepared barbecue sauce

· 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed

· 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed, or canned corn, drained

· 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

· 4 leaves romaine lettuce

· 4 10-inch whole-wheat tortillas

· 2 limes, cut in wedges

PREPARATION

1. Place a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, barbecue sauce, beans, corn and sour cream; stir to combine. Cook until hot, 4 to 5 minutes.

2. Assemble the wraps by placing a lettuce leaf in the center of each tortilla and topping with one-fourth of the chicken mixture; roll as you would a burrito. Slice in half diagonally and serve warm, with lime wedges.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 353 calories; 9 g fat (3 g sat, 3 g mono); 82 mg cholesterol; 40 g carbohydrates; 33 g protein; 5 g fiber; 579 mg sodium; 39 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Fiber (24% daily value), Iron (20% dv).

2 1/2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 21/2 starch, 1 vegetable, 4 very lean meat

Aramark

I decided to scout out the CampusDish website, which is the website run by Aramark and Elon Dining Services, to check out what they claim about Elon's food, and what seems to actually be true. I had a banana this morning, but because they are grown in tropical regions, I did not consider that to be a food that might have been chemically engineered, although it probably was chemically engineered in some way.

Something I found interesting was that the website mentioned trans fats, especially in the fryer oil. the U.S. FDA required food processors to label their foods with trans fat content. Up to 40% of the 31 billion pounds of oil that Americans consume PER YEAR is hydrogenated, meaning it is very high in trans fat. The website said that, "ARAMARK worked with suppliers, dietitians and chefs to identify a product that provides the same great taste consumers enjoy in a non-hydrogenated corn and sunflower oil containing zero grams of trans fats." Clearly, Elon Dining Services are claiming to have zero trans fats in all of the foods that we consume here on campus. The website was actually very helpful, and surprisingly offered many different links, such as links to healthy websites, helpful cooking tips and recipes, and links to health and wellness resources. It seems that Elon really is trying to work with Aramark in order to create healthier, more balanced students. The link to the website is below. I really think that if we promoted this website more (I doubt Elon students ever even read it) that we might end up with healthier students.

Elon Dining Services (Fresh and Healthy):

http://www.campusdish.com/en-US/CSSE/Elon/FreshHealthy/

-Genevieve D'Cruz

Boar's Head

Tonight for dinner I had a sandwich from Boar's Head Deli. It was ciabatta bread with roasted chicken, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, and Cajun mayonnaise. After visiting multiple sites and making many phone calls, I came to the same conclusion as the other person who had Boar's Head. You cannot find out where their meat comes from. It is legitimately impossible. All of their products are gluten free though! They also have no fillers, artificial flavors, colors, or trans fat. The meat does not seem to be unreasonably unhealthy; it is quite high in sodium though. The mozzarella cheese is quite high in saturated fat.

The website offers many different recipes; they even have a special section for 100 calorie recipes using their products. They also have recipes that have been reviewed by the American Diabetes Association.

Overall Boar's Head products are delicious; they are not unhealthy either. The website is very interesting and informative (unless you are trying to find out where the products are grown!)

Dominos

Last night I was hungry for a late night meal and decided to go with domino's pizza. I ordered a large cheese pizza with thin crust. While pizza is not the healthiest meal. I thought that by ordering thin crust would make the pizza a little more healthier. Also by me not sharing any of the pizza and eating almost the whole pizza really racked up on the calories. Not only did the pizza make me feel horrible but I am now thinking about what I am putting into my body making me feel even worse.

A cheese pizza is made up of dough with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese topping it off. The cheese is fresh and the marinara sauce is shipped along with the pre-made dough from the manufactures. There is a manufacturing company in North Carolina so the gas for a truck to come to Elon, NC, is only few hundred dollars in gas. But the nutritional facts is what really surprised me. There are 8 portions in a pizza and each portion has about 200 calories, 9 grams of fat, 400 grams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, and 3 grams of sugar. Knowing that my intake is 8 times the amount of theses numbers is a little scary. Pizza is not a great food choice because of the high amount of calories and carbs. If you are trying to stay fit stay away from pizza.

Baked, Boiled, Creamed, Fried, Mashed and More!

Last night I left with my roommate and headed to her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina and it wouldnt be a trip home if we didn't stop by Grandma's and Grandpa's house for a home cooked meal. I was thrilled when I was told mashed potatoes was one of the many sides to my meal. Although not technically in season at the moment, potatoes can be found in any super market if it is on your grocery list. But I got to thinking, part of our project is to for two days only eat what is in season from the local farmers market. Yes, this is going to be a challenge but I took it upon my self to look into the many ways of serving potatoes seeing as they are one of my favorite foods. I stumbled upon this website, http://www.100potatorecipes.com/ giving recipes for not only mashed or fried, but boiled, creamed and baked. With so many options in cooking, it should be easy to eat items that are only in season.

I was very interested to see what all healthy grown potatoes contained. You look in grocery stores and potatoes can be bought in so many forms; bagged, canned or even frozen. How can the items be healthy for our bodies? Its obviously not natural, and must loose a ton of its nutritional value. I took a look at the nutrition facts and this is what I found.

Calories 278 Calories from Fat 3

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 0.4g 1%

Saturated Fat 0.1g 1%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 30mg 1%

Total Carbohydrates 63.2g 21%

Dietary Fiber 6.6g 26%

Sugars 3.5g

Protein 7.5g

When rated, potatoes received an A. Although high in Carbohydrates, potatoes are a great source of fiber and protein and if balanced in a diet correctly can be very beneficial for you. Now Im not saying make this apart of every meal that you sit down and have. Buying locally supports your local farmers and helps produce a better product for both you and your family. But with the changing of seasons embrace this delicious vegetable!

-Andi Cochran