In 2008, New York City was the first in the country to mandate that fast food restaurants post calorie counts on their menus. While I thought it was a good idea, if for no other reason than people should have a right to full disclosure of what is going into their bodies, I was a bit unsure that people would change. I figured people want what they want, even if they see their favorite sandwich packs 800 calories.
Full nutritional disclosure on menus leads to better choices.
But, I happily stand corrected.
The New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has released findings of a recent analysis on the impact of the city’s new menu label requirements. The results show that people became more selective with foods, choosing items with fewer calories. People chose lower calorie meals at 9 of 13 fast food restaurant and coffee chains that were included in the study.
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Tune in this Tuesday, September 22 on The Rachael Ray Show when the bestselling author and Eat This, Not That guru, David Zinczenko, stops by to give us the shocking nutritional truth about 14 buffet table faves.
From chili and turkey wraps to tator tots and the dicey salad bar, Zinczenko will show us how simple swaps at the cafeteria can add up to pounds lost over the course of the year without ever dieting.
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Fast food always gets a bad wrap for its poor nutrition value and low-quality ingredients. However, there was reprieve for some today as the results of a new Zagat’s survey were revealed. The popular restaurant review service surveyed 6,100 fast food diners to find out their favorites in a number of categories.
The survey revealed best burgers, best milkshakes, best fries, best fried chicken, best value and best service amongst many others. We were really only interested in where the favorite healthy choices could be found.
For the Healthiest Options category, these four restaurants ranked supreme:
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Most moms and dads want their kids to eat healthy or healthier, but lots of times they are faced with multiple struggles. Juggling hectic school and work schedules often makes it difficult to have a sit-down, home-cooked, nutritious meal. According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), “The top concern, shared by more than four-in-10 moms, is that kids are not eating enough fruits and vegetables. Picky eaters and eating too much junk food round out the top three overall concerns of moms.”
The ADA compiled a short list of easy and practical tips for moms and/or dads to try out:
Establish a family mealtime time. Try to have at least one meal a day together. This can help increase a child’s intake of healthier foods because kids tend to eat more fruits, vegetables, and dairy at meals shared with their parents.
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Scene: Local restaurant. Mom is seated at a table with her children. They peruse the menu. Mom’s looking for healthy foods, trying to create a meal in line with her plan to eat healthy. She’s fasted all day, just to be able to eat out, and doesn’t want to blow it all on one meal. Kids are searching for anything fried, sugary, or fattening. Anything that the Mom recommends, the kids reject. The choices begin. “Pizza!” clamor the children. “Hot dogs! Grilled cheese! Cheese Steaks!” Mom offers grilled chicken breasts and steamed vegetables, but the kids want no part of it and their choruses ring louder than ever. Throwing up her hands in defeat, Mom decides that she might as well join them and soon, everyone is chin deep in fried mozzarella appetizers and an overstuffed meat lovers deep dish pizza, served with two pitchers of cola and one of beer for the adults. Mom’s Diet, and more importantly everyone’s Healthy Eating, blown again.
How many times has this happened to you? How many mistakes can you spot, both in Mom’s reasoning and, in fact, the entire scenario? Let’s look.
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