Tanya’s Tasty Tips: Fast Food Ban Prompts Healthy Ideas
“1 year ban on new fast food restaurants in Southern L.A.”
If passed, it would affect about half a million people living in an area that supporters say already has about 400 fast-food eateries and few grocery stores.
QUICK STATS:
· Within the Southern LA area there are 400 fast food establishments and little grocery stores
· 30% of children in Southern LA are obese but ONLY 21% in the rest of LA
· Diabetes in these areas in on the rise, with 11.1% of kids in Sothern LA suffering from diabetes, but ONLY 8.1% on the rest of the country
· Many fast food restaurants lack fiber in their menu options, making people who consume meals feel hungry shortly after and put them at risk for CVD and DM.
WAYS TO SAVE AT THE GROCERY STORE:
· Buy seasonally–options tend to be cheaper and just as nutritious
· Prepackaged chips and snack foods can be as much as 4 times as much per oz than buying the bag. Make your own portions-Portion off in zip lock bags
1 oz of Bag of Goldfish vs. 1 oz of prepackaged goldfish costs 4 TIMES as much
· Powdered milk is a great option, it’s cheaper and keeps longer
· Cut back on Meats and cut back on both cost and calories. Be a vegetarian 2 nights a week incorporating other protein sources such as cheese, eggs, beans, peanut butter etc. This leads to less expensive menu options.
· Oatmeal and other dry cereals tend to be more cost efficient options than cold cereals which can be much higher in both price and calories
· Bagged apples/oranges provide you with fruit throughout the week, without the excess cost
· Frozen Fruits and Vegetables are just as nutritious and cheaper! You can store them too!
MEAL IDEAS: FASTFOOD VS. HOMEMADE – SAVE ALL-AROUND!
Here are some healthy alternatives that are not only cheaper and less calories but also pack a fiber punch!
Breakfast
Fast Food Option: Sausage McMuffin with Egg with Hash Brown, Large Coffee w/ cream and sugar and a small OJ—
Nutrition Information: 650 calories and 30 g of fat
Price $7.50 ((NY PRICE w/tax))
Versus
Homemade Breakfast Sandwhich
Ingredients
Thomas’ Light Multigrain English Muffin-$0.65
1 Egg-2.79/12-$0.21
1 slice Kraft Free American Cheese-$0.33
Canadian Bacon-$0.35
1 Orange-$0.50
Brewed Coffee-$0.25
Total Cost: $2.00
Total Nutrient Value: 248 calories, 8 grams of fiber, 7 grams of fat
SAVINGS: $5.50, 400 calories, 23 g of fat and 8 MORE g of fiber
Lunch/Dinner
Fast Food Option: Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese Meal (includes med. Fries, and med. Coke)—
Nutrition Information-1100 calories, 45 g of fat
Price $7.50 ((NY PRICE w/tax))
Versus
Homemade Cheeseburger
3 oz lean sirloin-$1.24
1 Whole wheat bun-$0.41
1 slice Kraft Free American Cheese-$0.33
1 Potato-$0.60
1 can of Diet Coke-$1.19
Cost: $3.77
Total Nutrient Value: 275 calories, 9 g of fat, 3 g of fiber
SAVINGS: $4.00, 825 calories, 36 g of fat PLUS 3 g of fiber
FAMILY MEAL
KID: Kid’s Meal: Hamburger, small fries, small coke- w/toy
Nutrition Information: 590 calories, 20g of fat
Price: about $4.00 ((NY PRICE w/tax))
MOM: Premium Bacon Ranch Salad with Crispy Chicken Ranch dressing and a large diet coke – Nutrition Information: 550 Calories, 35g fat
Price about $9.00 ((NY PRICE w/tax))
DAD: Big Mac, Large Fries w/ ketchup, Large Coke
Nutrition Information: 1390 calories, 54 g fat
Price about $8.00 ((NY PRICE w/tax))
FAMILY NIGHT OUT at McDonald’s totals $21
Versus
Chicken with Rice and Beans, Family Dinner Night
1 lb Chicken Cutlets-$4.99
2 cups brown rice, dry (4 cups cooked)-$1.35
3 cans of kidney beans-$3.57 (1.19×3)
2 cup cooked Broccoli-$1.99/bunch
Cost per Family-$12.00
Nutrient Information-370 calories, 7 g of fat, 9 g of fiber
Desert
Strawberries and Cream
1 cup Strawberries-3.49/package
Kool Whipe Lite, 2.49/tub
Cost per Family-$4.50
TOTAL COST PLUS DESERT IS $16.50
Nutrient Information: 60 calories, 1.5 g fat, 3 grams of fiber
TOTAL DINNER CALORIES: 430 calories, 8 g of fat, 12 g of fiber
SAVINGS: $3.50, 960 calories, 46 g of fat and PLUS 12 g fiber
Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD is a nutritionist and the creator of The F-Factor Diet™, an innovative nutritional program she has used for more than ten years to provide hundreds of her clients with all the tools they need to achieve easy weight loss and maintenance, improved health and well-being. For more information log onto www.FFactorDiet.com.
Tags: calories, fast food, fast food ban, fat, food, meals, Tanya Zuckerbrot
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Regarding the story of the proposed ban on new fast food outlets in L.A shown today July 24 at about 5:45 pm: the video clip that ran along with the story showed a person preparing 2 burgers and another adding the condiments with BARE HANDS – NO GLOVES! EGAD! Call in the Health Department inspectors!!!!
Tanya’s Tips are good ideas. Government banning free market development to solve this problem is not. This overabundance of fast food restaurants exists only because there is a demand for their product. The argument that people tend to order less healthy food at fast food restaurants because healthy food is not on the dollar menu (by the way, at Wendys, salads are on the dollar menu) will not be solved by influencing what kind of restaurants are allowed to open. Healthy food is more expensive no matter where you buy it; at the grocery store, at Fast Food Restaurants, and at Sit Down Restaurants. Would the next step be to mandate that restaurants and grocery stores lower their prices on lowfat and nutritious food regardless of material cost, supply, and demand?
The solution to obesity begins in the home and the individual, not in the government. People are perfectly capable of making the choice as to what kind of food will be healthy for them. They make this choice by picking were to spend their dollar(s). The idea of this ban, along with the vague desciptions of what kind of businesses it applies to are nothing more than a step towards more government control of the economy which invariably yields less than favorable results in the long term. Wake up people. Government is not an effective parent.