.eat this, not that.

A friend of mine posted a link on Facebook today to an article at MensHealth.com. The article gives a small sample from the popular book series, "Eat This, Not That!", focusing on drive-thru meals in particular. If you've never heard of or read one of these books, they are quite fascinating. The books are like an expose on all the foods you put in your gob without thinking about it, telling you what some of your favorite fare offers in the way fat, calories, and overall nutritional value.


The information can be hard to swallow (pun intended), but to soften to blow, the books kindly offer "substitues" for your favorite unhealthy foods that are lower in fat and calories. Hence the title: "Eat This, Not That!"

Granted, swapping out one cheeseburger for another may not be the healthiest nutritional option, but I'm a firm believer of the notion that it's really important to know what you put in your body, even if you don't always choose a side salad over a side of fries.

Here's a few samples from the article:

-Worst "Healthy" Fast-Food Option:
     Arby's Roast Turkey and Swiss Market Fresh Sandwich
     708 calories
     29 g fat (8 g saturated fat)
     1,676 mg sodium
  Choose this instead:
     Chicken Cordon Blue Sandwich (grilled)
     488 calories
     18 g fat (4 g saturated fat)
     1,560 mg sodium


-Worst Salad:
     Chick-fil-A Chick-n-Strips Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
     800 calories
     60 g fat (12 g saturated fat)
     1745 mg sodium
  This is a better option:
     Chick-fil-A Southwest Chargrilled Salad with Fat-Free Honey Mustard Dressing
     360 calories
     8 g fat (3.5 g saturated fat)
     1170 mg sodium


-Worst Dessert (had to include this, being the dessert fiend I am):
     Dairy Queen Large Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzard
    990 calories (say WHAT?!?!)
    39 g fat (24 g saturated fat)
    114 g sugars
  A much better choice:
     Small Chocolate Sundae
    280 calories
    7 g fat (4.5 g saturated fat)
    42 g sugars

And here it is! Drumroll, please! Title of 'The Worst Drive-Thru Meal in America' goes to... The Carl's Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger with Medium Natural cut Fries and 32 oz Coke. This meal packs an unbelievable 2618 calories! Most people need 2000 calories a day, or less, to meet their energy needs. But that's not all.

This meal doesn't forget the salt or fat factor with 2892 milligrams of sodium and 144 grams of fat, 51.5 of those grams being of the saturated variety. Need a little perspective? According to the article at MensHealth.com, that is as much saturated fat as 63 strips of bacon! 63! Strips of bacon! 63! In one meal! In one sitting!  Does that not seem like insanity to anyone else?!?! No wonder our nation is so overweight! 63 strips of bacon, people!

The recommended substitute? The Carl's Jr. Famous Star burger with Side Salad with Low Fat Balsamic Dressing and 32 oz Iced Tea. Your gut (and heart, and digestive system, and pretty much every other part of your body) will thank you for choosing this option that comes in at 685 calories, 38 grams of fat (10.5 grams of saturated fat), and 1520 milligrams of sodium. Again, that is still almost half your calories for the day, so it's really not a healthy meal, but it ain't no 63 strips of bacon, that's for sure!

If you have a minute, check out the article on MensHealth.com to see more fast food monstrosities and their slightly less menacing cousins. You can find the books in the "Eat This, Not That!" series on Amazon and in almost any book store.

Makes you think twice about hitting the drive-thru, right?