Facts On Fast Food Nutrition

Fast food is a convenient and fun way of eating. But can it be healthy eating?

Are too many ‘Happy Meals’ one of the reasons more kids today are overweight?

The increase in families substituting a family meal with a trip to McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, etc. is very likely one of the causes for the increase in overweight kids, but it’s not the only cause. Other factors also play a role, including an increased time watching TV and playing video games and a decreased time in physical activity as well as unhealthy food choices.

The choice you make when eating fast food can also determine how healthy or ‘unhealthy’ it will be.

How can you make fast food healthier?

One of the easiest ways to make fast food healthier is to be careful of your portion sizes and understand how many calories and how much fat you add to a meal when you ‘super-size’ your order. It might seem like better ‘value’ to go with the special or large meal sizes, but you must also think about what the extra calories will cost you later as your child tries to burn them off in order to lose weight.

Healthier Eating Choices

Further to choosing smaller portion sizes, checking the menus at your favorite fast food restaurants will likely help you to find other low calorie, low fat alternatives to traditional fast foods which are really healthy. This could include a salad, baked potato, or grilled chicken salad.

With other sorts of fast food, such as pizza, choose a thin crust cheese pizza and try to avoid adding lots of cheese or extra meat toppings.

It can also help your child to be healthier if you avoid ‘fast food’ at more traditional restaurants that you visit. It unfortunately seems like almost every restaurant, whether Italian, Chinese, Mexican, etc. has a kids’ menu with high fat and high calorie foods, like chicken nuggets, french fries, etc.

Instead of always relying on the kid’s menu, why not consider getting a half order or child plate of a more traditional and healthier item at the same restaurant?

 


John Rifkind is a contributing editor at FitnessHealthArticles.com. This article may be reproduced provided that its complete content, links and author byline are kept intact and unchanged. No additional links permitted. Hyperlinks and/or URLs must remain both human clickable and search engine spiderable.

Benefits Of Jenny Craig Weight Loss

The basics of the Jenny Craig Weight Management Program are available in one of two ways:

• By attending the Jenny Craig Center

This option does involve personal, one-on-one consultations at Jenny Craig Centers. You will be assigned a trained weight loss consultant to help you plan nutritionally balanced diet menus. The diet foods will be purchased from Jenny Craig. Jenny Craig outlets are located throughout the country.

• By joining the Jenny Craig Direct At-Home Program

This will allow you to participate in the Jenny Craig Program from the convenience of your own home. You will enjoy weekly “phone-meetings” with your trained Consultant, and order your food in at least two-week increments. Weekly support consultations will be done over the phone, toll-free and Jenny Craig menus and support materials will be delivered to your door.

• Your Calories And Weight Loss

The calorie-level of your menu plan will tend to vary according to your needs. The lowest calorie level is of 1200 calories per day. The Jenny Craig Program has been designed to result in an approximate weekly weight loss of 1-2 pounds or 1% of your body weight.

• The Menu Plans

All our menu plans are nutritionally balanced according to the recommendations of the USDA Food Guide Pyramid and U.S. Dietary Guidelines. Clients are able to choose from more than 70 food products. Each product is manufactured to the specification of our dieticians, approved by our Medical Advisory Panel, and purchased through Jenny Craig Centers and Jenny Direct.

• The Diet Foods

All your diet food will be shipped via UPS, which will typically take 5-7 business days to arrive at your home. You can also choose to receive your food quicker via FedEx (1-2 day delivery time) for a small surcharge.

• Weight Maintenance

Support for weight maintenance is also available under certain conditions.

A Few Notes about Healthy Weight Control

Fad diets, unbalanced diets, diet pills, diet supplements, surgery for losing weight and other short term weight loss methods are methods we do not recommended for permanent weight control. The best way to lose excess fat and maintain a healthy weight in the long term is to follow a balanced and calorie-controlled diet (which improves your eating habits) and take up some regular aerobic exercise.


John Rifkind is a contributing editor at FitnessHealthArticles.com. This article may be reproduced provided that its complete content, links and author byline are kept intact and unchanged. No additional links permitted. Hyperlinks and/or URLs must remain both human clickable and search engine spiderable.

Some Weight Watchers Recipes

Weight Watchers weight loss recipes, using real and everyday foods that you can find anywhere, are popular because they taste good! These offerings come from About.com:

Chicken Rice Casserole with Mozzarella

Ingredients

Two teaspoons olive oil.
Half cup chopped onion.
One clove minced garlic.
One and a half medium red bell peppers, diced.
One cup frozen corn, thawed.
One cup low-salt chicken broth.
One and a half teaspoons dried thyme.
One quarter of a teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.
Two cups cooked brown or white rice.
One quarter of a cup plus 2 tablespoons non-fat sour cream.
Two tablespoons Dijon mustard.
Eight ounces skinless, diced cooked chicken or smoked turkey.
Three ounces part skim milk mozzarella cheese, shredded.
One quarter of a cup chopped parsley.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 1-1/2 quart casserole with nonstick cooking spray. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil until hot but not until smoking. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until the onion begins to brown, for 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the bell peppers, corn one quarter of a cup of the broth, the thyme and black pepper, and continue cooking until the bell pepper begins to soften, for 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir in the remaining three quarters of a cup of broth, the rice, sour cream, and mustard. Add the chicken, remove from the heat, and stir until the ingredients are well combined. Stir in one-third of the mozzarella and then the parsley.

Blend the mixture to the prepared casserole. Spread the mixture evenly. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and bake for twenty to twenty five minutes, or until the casserole is heated through and the cheese has melted.

Microwave Shortcuts:

In a two quart microwave safe casserole, mix the oil, onion, garlic and bell peppers. Cover and cook at high for four minutes, or until the peppers and onion begin to soften. Stir in the corn, half a cup of the broth, the thyme, black pepper, rice, sour cream, mustard, and chicken. Stir in one-third of the mozzarella and the parsley. Re-cover and cook at high for seven minutes, stirring once. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and cook at high for three minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the casserole is heated through.

Yields: 4 servings

Serving Suggestion: Slice tomatoes and sprinkle them freely with fresh basil. For dessert, serve crisp almond biscotti with freshly brewed coffee.
Each serving provides: 1/2 fat, 3 proteins, 1/2 vegetable (adjusted to new program), 1-1/2 breads, 20 optional calories.

Nutrition Information:

Values are approximate per serving: 378 calories, 28 g protein, 12 g fat, 39 g carbohydrate, 63 mg cholesterol, 557 mg sodium.

Credits – Recipe from: Ralph’s Market


John Rifkind is a contributing editor at FitnessHealthArticles.com. This article may be reproduced provided that its complete content, links and author byline are kept intact and unchanged. No additional links permitted. Hyperlinks and/or URLs must remain both human clickable and search engine spiderable.