Decisions, Decisions -- The Battle of the Tempting Foods (Part 1)

A few years back, I was reading an issue of ""Nutrition Action" and I came across an interesting article about fast food. This article framed fast food in the context of "which is better?" I'm sure we've all been in the situation where you are choosing between dishes, but you have no idea which is healthier or if either is healthy.

Well, hopefully this article (Decisions, Decisions....Which Is Better?) by Bonnie Liebman and Jayne Hurley will shed some light on those qualms!
[Note: Since the article is rather long, I will be cutting it up into 3 separate blog posts.]

1. Latte: Tea or Coffee?
Are you better off with a latte made with tea or one made with espresso?

Decisions: A coffee (espresso) latte may be better, because some tea lattes are loaded with sugar. A Starbucks grande (16 oz.) Green Tea Latte made with nonfat milk, for example, has 290 calories. That's more than the Earl Grey (150 cal), Chai (210 cal), or Chocolate Chai (240 cal) Tea Latte. A venti (20 oz.) Green Tea Latte hits 370 calories.

In contrast, a grande Caffe Latte made with nonfat milk has just 130 calories (from the milk). Vanilla or other sweetened lattes have around 200 calories, but the Skinny lattes (made with questionable sweetener sucralose) have just 120 [calories].

Tip: Cut calories even more with a grande nonfat Cappuccino (80 cal), Caffe Misto (70), or coffee and packet of sugar (20 cal).

2. Burrito or Tacos?
Are tacos worse because their tortillas are usually fried?

Decisions: Flour tortillas are worse than soft or crispy (fried) corn tortillas. At Chipotle or Qdoba, for example, a burrito's flour tortilla has around 300 calories' worth of mostly white flour, plus around 700 milligrams of sodium.

In contrast, three crispy taco-size corn tortillas at either chain have roughly 180 calories and 50 mg of sodium. Soft corn tortillas (Qdoba doesn't offer them) are about the same. Three soft taco-size flour tortillas? You might as well get the burrito tortilla.

But it's not just the wrapper. Most people fill a burrito with rice (even more carbs!), beans, chicken, salsa, and cheese. Grand total: some 1,000 calories (and 2000+ mg of sodium). Three crispy tacos with chicken, cheese, salsa, and lettuce total about 500 calories (and 1,000 mg of sodium).

Tip: Lose the flour tortilla. Get a Burrito Bowl at Chipotle or a Naked Burrito at Qdoba. With brown rice, chicken, black beans, salsa, and cheese, it's about 600 calories. Or get a salad (same ingredients, but with lettuce instead of rice). At Chipotle, use the tomato or green salsa instead of the 260-calorie vinaigrette. Qdoba's dressings are low-cal. Just skip its fried tortilla bowl.

3. Oatmeal or Yogurt Parfait?
Which makes a better breakfast on the run?

Decision: Either. Both beat every muffin, bagel, scone, banana bread, croissant, or other bakery item on the menu.

Starbucks' oatmeal has 150 calories' worth of unsweetened whole-grain oats (and 4 grams of fiber). You can add fresh blueberries (20 calories), dried fruit (100 cal), or a nut medley (100 cal). At Panera, try the pecans (100 cal). At both chains, skip the brown sugar, cinnamon crunch, and agave syrup.

You can't avoid the added sugar (about 5 teaspoons) in the parfaits, though. And Panera's Strawberry Granola Parfait and Starbucks' Greek Yogurt with Honey Parfait have 4.5 or 6 grams of saturated fat. But Starbucks' 300-calorie Strawberry Blueberry and Peach Raspberry Yogurt Parfaits keep the sat fat to 1/2 gram. And the parfaits have more calcium and more protein (8 or 9 grams) than the oatmeal (5 grams; 7 with nuts).

Tip: Want more protein? A 170-calorie Breakfast Egg White Bowl with Roasted Turkey from Panera's Hidden Menu has 28 grams. At other chains, look for egg white sandwiches.

4. Fries or Sweet Potato Fries?
Sweet potato fries sound like a healthy alternative to regular fries. True?

Decision: Nope. Skip them both. Sweet potatoes have more vitamin A and fiber, but watch out. At Johnny Rockets, for example, the sweet potato fries have more calories (590 cal) than the regular American fries (480 cal). That's partly because Johnny adds sugar to the sweets, which also have far more sodium (800 mg) than the regulars (40 mg). At Chilis, both have about 400 calories. But the Homestyle fries have more sodium (1,370 mg) than the sweets (a "mere" 970 mg).

If you have to pick one, make it the sweets. But if you're ordinarily a no-fries-for-me diner who's seduced by the "healthy" sweet potatoes, you've been tricked.

Tip: Stick with a non-starchy vegetable (like broccoli or asparagus) or a green salad for your side.

--- this article was taken from the November 2013 issue of "Nutrition Action"