Tuesday, October 30, 2007

10 best and worst foods

10 WORST FOODS
Foods You Should Never Eat

10 BEST FOODS
Super Foods for Better Health

1. Artery Crust

Pepperidge Pot PieJudging 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. Then add the 13 grams of hidden trans fat (from the partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening) in each pie and you’re up to 31 grams of artery-clogging fat — that’s far more than a day’s allotment.

1. Sweet Potatoes

sweet potatoesA nutritional All-Star — one of the best vegetables you can eat. They're loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Bake and then mix in some unsweetened applesauce or crushed pineapple for extra moisture and sweetness.

2. Strip Tease

Chicken SelectsMcDonald’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 630 calories and 11 grams of artery-clogging fat. That’s about the same as a Big Mac, except the burger has 1,040 mg of sodium, while the Selects hit 1,550 mg, even without the salty sauce.

2. Grape Tomatoes
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. Factory Reject

Cheesecake FactoryEach slice of The Cheesecake Factory’s 6 Carb 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 prime rib for dessert — with 29 grams of saturated fat, a 1 1/2 days’ supply. The next time you step on the bathroom scale, you may never know that the carbs were missing.

3. Fat-Free or 1 % Milk
............(Skim) .............(not 2%)
milk

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

4. Everlasting Dove

Dove Ice CreamDove squeezes some 300 calories and an average of 11 grams of saturated fat (half-a-day’s worth) into a tennis-ball size serving (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.

4. Broccoli
milk

Lots of vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid. Steam it briefly and add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and a dash of soy sauce.
5. Starbucks on Steroids

Ruby Tuesday PastaThe Starbucks Venti (20 oz.) Caffè Mocha with 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 490 calories and 16 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

5. Wild Salmon

salmonThe omega-3 fats in fatty fish like wild salmon can help reduce the risk of sudden-death heart attacks. And salmon that is caught wild has fewer PCB contaminants than farmed salmon.

6. Angioplasta

Starbucks Caffe Mocha
“Fresh, pulled white meat chicken, fresh steamed broccoli and penne pasta, tossed in parmesan cream sauce. Topped with Wisconsin cheddar cheese, then baked,” says Ruby Tuesday’s menu entry for its Fresh Chicken & Broccoli Pasta. Some patrons may know that the cheese and cream add saturated fat, but how much harm could they do? Enough to turn the dish into a 2,060-calorie megameal with 128 grams of fat. Since the fat is mostly dairy, roughly 60 to 70 of those fat grams are probably saturated. To equal 2,060 calories, you’d have to swallow two sirloin steak dinners — each with Caesar salad and buttered baked potato.

6. Crispbreads

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

7. Snack Attack

Burger King Stacker
Unless you’re suicidal, why on earth would you want to wolf down a Burger King Quad Stacker – 4 hamburger patties, 4 slices of cheese, 8 strips of bacon, plus sauce and a bun? That’s half-a-day’s calories (1,000), one-and-a-half-days’ worth of saturated fat (30 grams), 3 grams of trans fat, and more than a day’s sodium (1,800 mg). Urp!

7. Microwaveable (or "10-minute")
....Brown Rice
...........Brown Rice

rice

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

8. Salt's On!

Campbell's SoupCampbell's Chunky, Select, and red-and-white-label condensed soups are brimming with salt: Half a can averages more than half of a person’s daily quota of salt. Instead, try brands like Healthy Choice and Campbell’s Healthy Request, which have about half as much sodium.

8. Citrus Fruit

citrusGreat-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. Tortilla Terror

Chiptole BurritoInterested in a Chipotle Chicken Burrito (tortilla, rice, pinto beans, cheese, chicken, sour cream, and salsa)? Think of its 1,180 calories and 19 grams of saturated fat as three 6-inch Subway Steak and Cheese Subs. Plus, it has 2,900 mg of sodium! Getting the burrito with no cheese or sour cream cuts the saturated fat by two-thirds, but you still end up with 950 calories and 2,690 mg of sodium. Yikes!

9. Diced Butternut Squash

Diced 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. Razzle, Dazzle 'em

Haagen Dazs DazzlerA Mint Chip Dazzler at Häagen-Dazs stores (three scoops of ice cream, hot fudge, Oreos, chocolate sprinkles, and whipped cream) has 1,270 calories and 38 grams of saturated fat — that’s two days’ worth. Think of it as a T-bone steak with Caesar salad, and baked potato with sour cream. But that’s for dinner — yet many people have a Dazzler as a dessert after lunch or dinner!

10. Spinach or Kale

Ready Pac Greens

Loaded with vitamin C, carotenoids, calcium and fibe

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