Candies (Gums, etc.)
Chips and Pretzels
Sugars, Syrups, and Toppings (See also Milk Based Desserts under Dairy)
Beverages
Alcoholic Beverages/Wines
Non-alcoholic
Bottled Waters
Coffees, Teas, and Cocoas
Energy and Sports Drinks
Soft Drinks and Sodas and Drink Mixes (See also Fruit Juice Drinks/Juice Cocktails under Fruits)(See also Dairy Alternatives under Dairy)
Mixed Dishes
Soups (Including Soup-related Products)
Sauces and Gravies
Frozen Dinners/Meals
Meal Replacement Bars
Baby Foods/Beverages
Baby Foods/Baby Formulas
Restaurant Chains
Applebee’s
Blimpie
Carvel
CiCi’s Pizza
Coldstone Creamery
Dunkin’ Donuts
KFC
Long John Silver’s
McDonald’s
Moe’s Southwest
Pizza Hut
Red Mango
Subway
Taco Bell
Tasti D-Lite
TCBY
Wendy’s
White Castle
Misc. Restaurant Items
The information in this work (excluding the nutritional counts of selected menu items from national restaurant chains) is based on the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 23, published in computer-readable form by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The original database is very large and unwieldy, and we have extracted just the most useful information for publication here.
For each food we list serving size, and then, per serving:
Total calories (kcal)
Total fat (grams)
Saturated fat (grams)
Cholesterol (milligrams)
Carbohydrates (grams)
Fiber (grams)
Sugar (grams)
Protein (grams)
Sodium (milligrams)
In a very few cases, numbers were missing from the USDA database. They are left blank here.
About the Author
Linda McDonald, MS, RD, LD, owns SUPERMARKET SAVVY, an information and resource service focused on making healthy shopping easy. Her national newsletter, teaching tools, and website (www.supermarketsavvy.com) assist health professionals and consumers to shop healthy.
Mrs. McDonald is a graduate of the University of Houston with a Master of Science from the University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. She works with Dietetic Interns from the University of Houston, Texas Women's University, and University of Texas School of Public Health.
Food is a fact of life! In fact, you can’t live long without food. And the food decisions you make affect the health of you and your family. So, you want to make the best food choices. This book will help you with those decisions.
Healthy Eating Tips
1. Think Variety
There are over 40 essential nutrients that you can only get from the foods you eat. Since each food contains only a few of these nutrients in limited amounts, you can see why eating a variety of foods is important. Not only do you need to eat foods from each of the food categories—grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, proteins—but within each food category, you should eat a variety of foods. For instance, eating a rainbow of colors of fruits and vegetables will provide a variety of different nutrients—vitamins A, C, and other antioxidants.
2. Slash Sodium
The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Heart Association recommend limiting sodium to less than 2,300 mg a day (the amount in 1 teaspoon of salt) for healthy adults and 1,500 mg per day for those who are salt sensitive—individuals who have high blood pressure, are 40 years of age or older, or who are African-Americans. More than two-thirds of the adult population falls into one or more of these categories.
3. Choose Healthy Fats
Research has shown that it is the type of fat, not the amount, that has the biggest effect on your health. Fats are essential because they deliver essential fatty acids that your body can’t manufacture, such as omega-3 fats. Also, certain vitamins are fat-soluble (vitamins A, D, E, and K), meaning they need fat to be digested and metabolized. However, fats are high in calories and should be enjoyed in moderation. The good fats are those that are poly- or monounsaturated. The unhealthy fats include saturated and trans fats.
4. Practice Portion Control
It is not just what you eat but how much you eat that determines a healthy diet. Most people eat more than they need. Start by paying attention to the serving sizes recommended by the Choose MyPlate program and those given in the Nutrition Facts Boxes on food labels. You may also want to measure foods and beverages with a scale, measuring cups, or spoon. Use the MyPlate recommendation to make half your plate fruits and vegetables, a quarter of your plate grains, and the final quarter protein. Use the suggested portion sizes given in this book to help you with portion control.
5.
