The Mystery Behind the…..Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich

Must say, this doesn’t look unhealthy….BUT look what I found reading What’s Really in my Food? They also have a few other fast food favs in this article but this is what I would consider a “healthier” lunch!

 

Number of Ingredients: 83!

Sodium/Salt: More than three-quarters of the sodium in the American diet comes from processed, packaged, and prepared foods, and here’s a perfect example of why. Salt is undoubtedly the predominant source of dietary sodium, but by no means does it act alone. Think back to high school chemistry: Sodium is the element represented by the symbol Na. By attaching itself to other elements, it forms compounds. In the case of salt, that compound is sodium chloride (NaCl). But that’s just one of the sodium sources in this sandwich. The chicken alone, before you add bun and pickles, delivers three other sources: monosodium glutamate (C5H8NNaO4), baking soda (aka “sodium bicarbonate,” CHNaO3), and sodium stearoyl lactylate (C24H43NaO6). Some sodium compounds are added for reasons other than flavor, but by and large, your taste buds are the target. That’s why fast-food chains regularly brine their patties, and in many instances they rely on mechanically operated syringes to drive sodium deep into the muscle tissue. Ideally, most people in America wouldn’t consume more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium in any given day, but with 10 sources of sodium in this sandwich, it packs in 1,410 milligrams on its own!

TBHQ (tert-butylhydroquinone): An organic preservative that also can be found in dog food, perfumes, varnishes, and resins. Due to potential links with cancer and DNA damage, the FDA limits the use to 0.02 percent of the oil or fat in any single food item. Studies on its long-term safety have been contradictory, but as with all dubious additives, it’s best to limit your exposure whenever possible.

Dimethylpolysiloxane: This is a silicone-based antifoaming agent commonly added to deep-fried foods to keep the oil from turning frothy. Outside the kitchen you’ll find it in a range of products, from shampoos to Silly Putty. While no adverse health affects have been identified, there’s something undeniably unsettling about the thought of Silly Putty in our chicken.

Blue #1 (brilliant blue): In an effort to make listless food look more appealing, processors regularly add artificial coloring to everything from breads and crackers to fruits and vegetables. The reason is simple: They know that we taste first with our eyes. The problem is that many artificial colors have been linked to health problems. The Center for Science in the Public Interest recommends caution in consuming brilliant blue and avoidance of its cousin indigotin (blue #2) because they’ve been loosely linked to cancer in animal studies. And two British studies implicated the dye along with yellow #5 (also in Chick-fil-A’s pickles) as possible causes of hyperactivity in children. But as long as it’s legal and it makes food look pretty, don’t expect fast-food companies to stop coloring anytime soon.

Doesn’t this make you think twice?

 

Enjoy! (or Enjoy?) 🙂

What’s for Lunch? Bar 145º can be a Healthy Choice

This restaurant is unique to the area and offers its customers the ability to stack their own burger or to purchase a sandwich already designed. Customers are given a menu full of options to stack a burger in addition to the regular menu. Despite being a burger restaurant, Bar 145º does have some healthy options to select from.

Some of the Do’s are as follows:

• Try a veggie patty, smoked salmon, chicken, or turkey for lower fat options.
• Order your sandwich on the multigrain ciabatta or skip the bread all together.
• Skip the cheese – but if not, pick a lower fat cheese such as feta, brie or mozzarella.
• Select any of the fresh additions except fried spinach. Keep with more of the fresh ingredients such as onion, lettuces, arugula, and bean sprouts (remember that pickles are high in sodium).
• In the premium topping section stick with the avocado, heirloom tomatoes, or grilled pineapple.
• Top it all off by using a sauce that is not mayonnaise based or filled with added sugars. A couple of great suggestions are pesto, spicy bourbon mustard and oven-dried tomato vinaigrette.

Here are some items to avoid or have sparingly when stacking a burger:

• Ground beef is not as lean as other options.
• Caramelized onion roll and soft pretzel roll pack on more calories.
• High fat cheeses such as goat, white cheddar and American.
• Anything fried or sautéed: This would indicate the use of fat when cooking and an increase in calories.
• Creamy sauces and BBQ sauces: Both have increased fat and sugar contents.

Niman Ranch: Your hamburger meat comes from Niman Ranch, where the animals are not given hormones or antibiotics and eat 100 percent vegetarian diets.

Food Safety: Bar 145º claims that the ideal cooking temperature for a burger is 145º. However, it is recommended by the USDA that ground beef be cooked to 160º.

Here is the menu

Visit Bar 145º company website.

What’s for lunch? I’ll tell you what NOT to choose

Recently I was nailed by a “bad” lunch choice.  After a long morning which included driving to Detroit for hours of shopping I was tired and way past hungry.  My stomach was growling.  My sister, niece and I decided a good choice for lunch would be California Pizza Kitchen thinking they have something for all.

I ordered the Thai Crunch Salad with Fresh Avocado.  It sounded so good – with carrots, edamame, fresh avocado and what I was hoping was a nice spicy dressing – the spicier the better in my book.  It came and I conquered finishing off close to the whole thing, and feeling so proud of my choice…….

…..until I was at work soon after and picked up the book, Eat This, Not That and sure enough under No. 6 in worst food choices was the Thai Crunch Salad from the California Pizza Kitchen I had recently devoured.  It came in at 2,238 calories.  The problem was the sewer cap size, Eat This, Not That’s description, (note: I polished off all but a few bites), the dressing and the wonton strips.  Apparently my delicious salad had more calories than 3 lbs of sirloin from Applebee’s! 

So there you have it, I have studied nutrition and health for too many years to name and I still get nailed.  Did you know that half of food dollars spent by Americans is spent on food eaten outside the home!

What’s for lunch……let Savage FIT help!

SavageFIT to the rescue.  Anne Thomas, nutrition detective went out on the road and analyzed best choices, worst choices from the menus of many popular, and what we guessed were commonly frequented restaurants by Savagites.  We hope you find her findings useful.  Click on What’s for Lunch on our side bar.

Have you been nailed by what you thought was a good choice???  Please share!! – Julie Shapiro