Eating out? Be careful of sneaky calories
Story By: Bea Karnes
Source: NBC
For people who are on-the-go and out on the town, it is tough to eat healthy, and many people don't realize that many foods have sneaky calories that can ruin their diet.
Too many foods are either marketed as being healthy or have hidden nutrition pitfalls. "There are hidden ingredients in there that you don't know about that really add up calorically and fat grams and sodium, all the things that we are trying to avoid," said registered dietitian Colleen Gerg.
Many people grab a smoothie when they're looking for a healthy treat and while the drinks have fruit and extra protein, they can add up to a whole lot of calories and sugar. Some store-bought smoothies contain syrups and added sugar, making for a sweet treat with lots of calories.
A better option is fruit with a serving of low-fat vanilla ice cream. Another type of food people should be careful eating is Chinese takeout, according to Gerg. At some restaurants, an order of orange peel chicken and rice contains nearly 1,500 calories. A half-order of chicken and broccoli and half-cup of brown rice can cut that down to 670 calories.
So what's better on an afternoon at the ballpark, a hot dog or a pretzel? A soft pretzel has about 500 calories and a lot of processed flour. The jumbo hot dog, including the bun and packet of mustard has about 280 calories. Despite the sodium and fat, at least the hot dog provides some protein.
Gerg's best advice in these tricky situations: While sometimes it's tough to avoid processed foods, whenever possible, stick to those that at least look natural. "The more that the food looks like the way it came out of the ground or the way that it was before it was cooked, the better off you're going to be," she said.
