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Ten Foods That Harm Your Health

Ok as promised here is a list I put together of foods NOT to eat. I know I am a day late with it, but here it is.

1. Artery Crust

Judging by the label, Pepperidge Farm Roasted White Meat Chicken Premium Pot Pie has 510 calories and 9 grams of saturated fat. But look again. Those numbers are for half a pie. Eat the entire pie, as most people probably do, and you’re talking more than 1,000 calories and 18 grams of sat fat.

2. Strip Tease

McDonald’s Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips sounds healthy. In fact, ounce for ounce, the Selects are no healthier than the chain’s Chicken McNuggets. A standard, five-strip order has 670 calories and 10 grams of artery-clogging fat. That’s about the same as a Big Mac, but the burger has 1,040 mg of sodium, while the Selects hit 1,660 mg — a whole day’s worth — even without the salty dipping sauce.

3. Factory Reject

Each slice of The Cheesecake Factory’s 6 Carb Original Cheesecake has 610 calories — that’s the same as you’d get from a slice of its Original Cheesecake. Think of it as an 8-ounce untrimmed prime rib for dessert — with 29 grams of saturated fat, a 1½-days’ supply. The next time you step on the bathroom scale, you may never know that the carbs were missing.

4. Everlasting Dove

Dove squeezes some 300 calories and an average of 11 grams of saturated fat (half a day’s worth) into a half a cup of its Dove Ice Cream. That puts it in the same ballpark as Ben & Jerry’s and Häagen-Dazs. With names like “Unconditional Chocolate,” Dove is trying to link chocolate with romance. A scoop of its ice cream will fill your heart all right … but not with love.

5. Starbucks on Steroids

The Starbucks Venti (20 oz.) Caffe Mocha with whole milk and whipped cream is more than a mere cup of coffee. Think of it as a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in a cup. Few people have room in their diets for the 450 calories and 13 grams of bad fat that this hefty beverage supplies. But you can lose all the bad fat and all but 170 calories if you order a tall (12 oz.) with nonfat milk and no whipped cream.

6. Angioplasty

“A fresh grilled chicken breast and fresh broccoli over pasta that’s tossed with Parmesan cream sauce,” says Ruby Tuesday’s menu entry for its Chicken & Broccoli Pasta. Some diners may know that the cheese and cream sauce add saturated fat, but how much harm could they really do? Enough to turn the dish into a 1,700-calorie megameal — that’s like swallowing two one-pound orders of BBQ baby back ribs.

7. Top Secret

Popcorn alone is a good-for-you whole-grain snack…but not when Pop Secret gets hold of it. Pop Secret Movie Theater Butter Popcorn Snack Size Bags has 8 grams of bad fat in just one snack-size bag (6 cups popped). Instead, try Orville Redenbacher’s Smart Pop or Smart Balance Smart ‘N Healthy, both of which are made with no partially hydrogenated oils.

8. Salt’s On!

Progresso Traditional, Vegetable Classics, and Rich & Hearty soups are brimming with salt: Half a can averages more than half of a person’s daily quota of salt. Instead, try Progresso’s Health Favorites reduced-sodium soups. All the flavor, but up to 50 percent less salt.

9. Tortilla Terror

Interested in a Chipotle Chicken Burrito (tortilla, rice, pinto beans, cheese, chicken, sour cream, and salsa)? Think of its 1,040 calories and 16½ grams of saturated fat as three Subway Steak and Cheese 6-inch Subs. Plus, the burrito is loaded with 2,500 mg of sodium! Getting the burrito with no cheese or sour cream cuts the saturated fat to 3½ grams, but you still end up with 810 calories and 2,300 mg of sodium. Yikes!

10. Stone Cold

Into the chocolate-dipped waffle bowl of a Cold Stone Creamery Gotta Have It Founder’s Favorite goes, not just a 12-ounce, softball-sized mound of ice cream, but pecans, brownie pieces, fudge, and caramel. The tab: a startling 1,600 calories and 43 grams of saturated fat. That’s roughly what you’d get if you polished off five single-scoop ice cream cones.

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Top Ten Super Foods

After attending our local Highschool Football game this past Friday night, my wife and I went to the new CVS that opened up here in town where I live. We just wanted to look around and see what all they had to offer when I saw this omelet maker, and I guess I seemed a bit excited about it, because she surprised me with one Monday when she came home from work. Thanks Wifey! I love it!

I got a chance to use it Tuesday morning and it actually makes for a pretty quick and easy omelet.

Today I used it to make some sort of toasted chicken and cheese sandwiches. This got me to thinking about diet and stuff again as I used to preach to friends and co-workers all the time about what to eat and what not to eat. I used to be so good about what all I ate, but lately I have been eating anything in front of my face. I decided to put together a list of the “Top Ten Super Foods for Better Health” to maybe help those in need and also maybe kick start myself back into a steady eating and working out regimen.

1. Sweet Potatoes

An all natural superstar. One of the best vegetables you can eat. They are loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Bake and them mix in some unsweetened applesauce or crushed pineapple for extra moisture and sweetness.

2. Grape Tomatoes

They’re sweeter and firmer than other tomatoes, and their bite-size shape makes them perfect for snacking, dipping, or salads. They’re packed with vitamin C and vitamin A, and you also get some fiber, some phytochemicals, and (finally) some flavor.

3. Fat-free (Skim) or 1% Milk (but not 2%)

Excellent source of calcium, vitamins, and protein with little or no artery clogging fat and cholesterol. Ditto for unflavored, low-fat yogurt. Soy milk can have just as many nutritients – if the
company adds them.

4. Broccoli

Lots of vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid.

5. Wild Salmon

The omega-3 fats in fatty fresh fish like wild salmon can help reduce the risk of sudden-death heart attacks. And salmon that is caught wild has less dioxin contaminant than farmed salmon.

6. Crispbreads

Whole-grain rye crackers, like Wasa, Ry Krisp, and Ryvita – usually called crispbreads – are loaded with fiber
and often fat-free.

7. Microwaveable or “10-minute” Brown Rice

Enriched white rice is nutritionally bankrupt. You lose the fiber, magnesium, vitamins E and B-6, copper, zinc, and who knows what phytochemicals that are in the whole grain. Try quick cooking or regular brown rice instead.

8. Citrus Fruits

Great-tasting and rich in vitamin C, folic acid, and fiber. Perfect for a snack or dessert. Try different varieties: juicy Minneola oranges, snack size Clementines, or tart grapefruit.

9. Diced Butternut Squash

A growing number of food stores sell peeled, seeded, cut, and ready to go into the oven, into a stir-fry, or into a soup or risotto, that is bags of diced butternut squash. Every half cup has 5 grams of fiber and payloads of vitamins A and C.

10. Pre-washed, Pre-cut Bags of Greens

Greens like kale, spinach, and broccoli rabe are nutritional power houses.
Most are loaded with vitamin C, carotenoids, calcium, folate, potassium, and fiber. Now it’s easy to squeeze
healthy greens into your busy schedule.

Come back tomorrow for a list of top ten foods that you should never eat.

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