Category Archives: Food

Four pounds of hot chocolate

‘Tis the season for festive beverages! They are everywhere, fueled by the Starbucks engine churning out tempting treats like Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Peppermint Mochas, Gingerbread Lattes, Caramel Brulee Lattes and the like. I love a sweet beverage in a pretty holiday cup as much as the next girl, but before you order, it’s worth considering the impact these treats might have on your wellness goals.

As an example, this week I was in a Panera ordering a nonfat latte for a client, and since Panera graciously publishes calorie counts on their menu boards, I noted it was 120 calories. Right above it on the menu board?  A NEW Panera holiday beverage, Peppermint Hot Chocolate (yum!). Calories in that Peppermint Hot Chocolate? 610. Let me say that again. SIX HUNDRED AND TEN. (After checking online I can also tell you it has 17 grams of fat. Whoa.)

I did some quick math standing there in line and thought – wow – if someone mindlessly replaced her daily nonfat latte with a Peppermint Hot Chocolate for the month of December, she’d gain four pounds on hot chocolate alone! (500 calories * 7 days a week = 3500 calories = 1 pound/week) And that’s before eating a single Christmas cookie!

So what’s my point? Look, if Peppermint Hot Chocolate sounds like Christmas to you, by all means, order one and enjoy it! It’s a treat, and I have no doubt that it would be a delicious one. Or, you might consider making it yourself – sugar free hot cocoa mix with a dash of peppermint extract or even a candy cane does the trick!

If, instead, you plan to make that your daily morning beverage, you may want to reconsider…or at least start planning now for the exercise plan to take off the four extra pounds you’ll be carrying come January. Eek!

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Unlimited Fruit? Weight Watchers Weighs In…

If it grows from the ground, you should probably be able to eat it without worrying too much. At least that’s what I’ve always believed. And now (hallelujah!) Weight Watchers agrees with me! Cue the angel chorus…

In a move that has generated a ton of buzz in the healthy eating community, Weight Watchers has modified their incredibly popular Points program to make fruit a “zero Point” food. As background, (most) vegetables have been “zero Point” since the Points program was introduced in 1997; this encourages Points-counting Weight Watchers devotees to eat lots and lots of vegetables, which helps them fill up with low-calorie, nutrient-dense food. Unlike vegetables, fruit has always been assigned Points based on WW’s proprietary calorie-fiber-fat based algorithm. A banana, for example, was 2 Points. No longer.

So why the change? Well, under the old system, that banana had the same Points value as two Oreos, which finally started to trouble the powers-that-be at Weight Watchers. They’d  always ascribed to the belief that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie. And of course on some level, that’s true. But the nutrient value is so radically different between a banana and an Oreo that it no longer felt quite right to equalize them for their members. 

So under the new Points-Plus system, members can eat as MANY fruits and as MANY vegetables as they choose. Anytime, anywhere. This is brilliant. All the data suggests that our nation is radically undereating vegetables and fruits in favor of processed foods. Beyond that, diets like Atkins which recommend high-protein, low-carb eating have demonized higher-sugar fruits like pineapple or vegetables like carrots to the point where people are afraid to eat them! Unless you’re battling diabetes, that’s simply throwing the baby out with the bath water. 

Vegetables and fruits are low-calorie, nutrient-dense, and full of fiber. All of us should be striving to get as many servings a day as we can, seeking variety seasonally

In the words of a compelling voice of reason (that of author, Michael Pollan, in his book Food Rules):

Eat (real) food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Amen and hallelujah.



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There’s soup…and then there’s SOUP!

 My husband and I were in Costco this weekend (call me crazy!) and as we rounded a corner I discovered that they were sampling a soup I ate incessantly during my five years living in Atlanta, Tomato Basil from La Madeleine! It was my favorite lunch, and I have such fond memories of eating it tucked away in a cozy spot in the rustic French-inspired restaurant, especially when I ended the meal by sharing a dish of Strawberries Romanoff with my lunch companion – yum! 

Back in Costco, I said something out loud which may have sounded like “Eeek! La Madeleine tomato soup! No WAY!” and reached for the teensy sample cup with a huge grin on my face.  I shared my little trip down memory lane with the woman sampling the soup. And then I picked up the package….. and got a cold, hard look from that nice sampling lady.

Her: “Just please don’t read the back, ok?”

Me: “Well, why on earth not?”

Her: “Because every time someone does, it causes a commotion.”
 
Me: “Pardon me?”
 
Her: “A commotion. It causes a commotion.”
 
Me: “Why is that, exactly?”
 
Her, with a sigh: “Go ahead, read the label.”

Serving size 1 cup
Calories     340
Fat    32g

Me (shrieking): “Are you KIDDING me? That’s INSANE! That’s worse than premium ice CREAM for heaven’s sake!”
 
Her: “I warned you.”

I mean seriously. It’s just SOUP! How can one measly cup possibly be that caloric and fat-laden? But it is! It said so, right there on the nutrition label in black and white.  And I’ll tell you what, it doesn’t have to be like that. I have a recipe for a Creamy Tomato Bisque that would knock your socks off that has fewer than 150 calories a cup and only about 5 grams of fat! Puh-leeze.

Be careful, dear readers, for the seemingly virtuous “I’ll just have soup” order may give you more than you bargained for! Read the labels, even if it hurts.

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