FitSugar

Scary Recipe Ingredients to Look Out for

FitSugar — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 03:00:00 -0700

Butter has a bad reputation in the cooking world but the truth is that there are many other cooking ingredients that are just as unhealthy for us as butter. It's scary that many of us don't even bat an eye at when tossing them into our recipes.

To see the scariest recipe ingredients to watch for, just read more

WebMD has compiled a list of the scariest ingredients, healthwise, for your recipes that you should keep an eye out for when you're cooking this holiday season (and beyond):

Ingredient	Common Serving	Calories	Fat (g)	Saturated Fat (g)
Mayonnaise	1/4 cup	396	44	6.5
Bacon grease	2 T	250	28	13
Heavy whipping cream (liquid)	1/4 cup	205	22	14
Puff pastry	2 ounces	312	22	3
Cheese (like cheddar)	2 ounces	228	19	12
Light whipping cream (liquid)	1/4 cup	174	18.5	11.5
Sausage, cooked	2 ounces	209	18	6.1
Bacon	4 strips	150	13	4
Butter	1 T	102	12	7.2
Sour cream	1/4 cup	123	12	7.5
Cheddar cheese, 1 oz	1/4 cup	115	9.4	6
Pie crust, 9-inch deep dish	1/8 slice	115	8	2
Half-and-half	1/4 cup	79	7	4.3

Me, I always scan a recipe for any of these ingredients and if it has 'em, I typically skip it. If I am feeling creative, I'll work with the recipe figuring out ways to cut out the unhealthy stuff. For example, I'll use turkey bacon instead of regular bacon. What do you do? Share the ways you cut out the unhealthy stuff in the comments section below.

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Breakfast Sandwich Breakdown

FitSugar — Mon, 21 May 2007 09:30:00 -0700

Buying or heating up a breakfast sandwich may seem like a fab idea until you read this post. Most breakfast sandwiches pack a whole lot of calories in a small amount of food. Personally, I am going to stick to cooking my own eggs.

Want to see how many calories are in your morning sausage, egg and cheese? Then read more

Sandwich	Calories	Fat (g)	Sodium (mg)	Carbs (g)	Sugar (g)
Starbucks' Sausage, Egg & Cheddar	470	25	850	37	3
McDonald's Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddle	560	32	1360	48	20
Dunkin' Donuts Sausage Egg & Cheese (on Bagel)	660	35	1450	63	8
Tim Hortons' Sausage, Egg & Cheese	520	37	940	30	3
Lean Pockets' Bacon, Egg & Low-Fat Cheese	150	4.5	280	21	2
Hot Pockets' Biscuit, Sausage, Egg & Cheese	280	13	760	30	8
Einstein Bros. / Noah's Bagels' Bagel Omelet Sandwich, Turkey Sausage & Cheddar	660	23	1170	74	7
Burger King's Croissan'wich w/ Sausage Egg & Cheese	470	32	1060	26	5
Arby's Wrap, Sausage, Egg & Cheese	689	45	1849	50	2
Atlanta Bread Company's Sausage Egg & Cheese on Croissant	690	48	1300	39	4
Pillsbury Toaster Scrambles, Cheese, Egg & Sausage	180	11	360	15	1
Van's Stuffed Sandwiches, Sausage, Egg & Cheese	330	19	450	29	3

Dunkin' Donuts Breakdown

FitSugar — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 13:06:22 -0700

Okay, okay, we all know that Dunkin' Donuts is not the healthiest place in the world. Besides donuts, they do offer other choices. Let's take a peek and see how they measure up.

Food	Calories	Fat in grams	Cholesterol	Sodium in milligrams	Carbs in grams	Protein in grams
Plain bagel	320	2.5	0	650	62	12
Everything bagel	370	6	0	650	67	14
Multigrain bagel	380	6	0	650	68	14
Cinnamon Raisin bagel	330	3	0	430	65	10
2 oz Plain Cream Cheese	190	17	55	190	4	4
2 oz Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese	170	15	45	340	4	2
2 oz Lite Cream Cheese	120	9	30	280	5	4
Banana Walnut Muffin	540	25	65	520	69	10
Honey Bran Raisin Muffin	480	15	60	480	79	8
Cranberry Orange Muffin	440	17	65	480	66	8
Blueberry Muffin	470	17	60	500	73	8
Reduced Fat Blueberry Muffin	400	5	60	490	78	8

Well that wasn't so bad. Wait until we get to the breakfast sandwiches. You may go into cardiac arrest just reading this. Want to see? Then read more

Food	Calories	Fat in grams	Cholesterol	Sodium in milligrams	Carbs in grams	Protein in grams
Maple Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich	690	45	180	630	45	25
Bacon Egg Cheese Bagel Sandwich	540	18	200	1400	69	18
Sausage Egg Cheese Bagel Sandwich	660	35	225	1450	63	28
Egg Cheese Sandwich	470	15	190	1120	65	20
Egg Cheese English Muffin Sandwich	280	9	140	1010	34	15
Supreme Omelet on a Croissant	590	38	260	1040	42	21
Southwestern Chicken Panini	420	10	45	970	57	23
Meatball Panini	480	19	40	1180	56	22
Turkey Pesto Sandwich	530	23	65	1630	46	33
Vegetarian Sandwich	420	21	5	480	51	9
Caesar Salad	390	33	35	980	14	10
Chicken Caesar Salad	520	36	85	1520	16	34
Garden Salad	240	12	30	430	24	12
Mediterranean Salad	220	11	315	760	23	10
1 cup Broccoli Cheese Soup	180	13	40	71310	10	7
1 cup Chicken Noodle Soup	140	3.5	45	840	20	8
1 cup Clam Chowder Soup	230	11	30	990	20	10
1 cup Timberline Chili With Beans Soup	230	8	35	890	260	15

America runs on Dunkin'? I sure as hell hope not. Get this, Rachael Ray is now the spokesperson - let YumSugar know how you feel. She's going to lead the company into developing "better for you" food and beverage options. Way to go Rachael!

Super Bowl Diet Killer: Pizza

FitSugar — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 10:45:00 -0800

The Super Bowl is quickly approaching and if you're like me, you're not concerned about who is going to win, but more concerned about what you are going to eat without gaining a zillion pounds.

The one food that goes hand in hand with the Super Bowl is pizza. Most people won't consider a Super Bowl party to be legitimate without pizza so instead of taking the pizza out of the party, let's think of ways to take the unhealthiness out of the pizza.

Toppings: Avoid the "meat lovers" pie, but if you can't then, choose ham over pepperoni or sausage. You'll reduce your calories dramatically by going with ham. Want to go a step further? Make your own and use turkey pepperoni or turkey sausage. If you get just plain cheese or vegetable, the sodium level is going to be a lot less than if your pizza is loaded with meat.

Ordering Out: Ask the restaurant to go light on the cheese, so you'll still get cheese but not mounds. Some restaurants will even go light on the oil, you just have to ask. Getting thin crust will drop the calories as well. And, don't be sucked into deals, just because the cheese stuffed crust is free, doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Sizes: For obvious reasons, don't eat the biggest slice on the plate (or box). We often judge how much pizza we eat by slice, so having two small slices is a lot different from 2 huge slices.

Make Your Own: Try making the crust out of whole wheat flour and use part skim mozzarella cheese on top. Load it with more veggies and less cheese to decrease calories. Check out YumSugar.com for a yummy mushroom garlic pizza recipe but to make it healthier, I would use part skim mozzarella cheese.

Is Bacon REALLY That Bad For Me?

FitSugar — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 02:00:00 -0700

At my house we jokingly say, "Everything tastes better with bacon." While the taste factor of bacon might be high, its health factor is quite low.

The fat in the bacon is what gives it that flavor you love, and makes it fry up crispy. One bacon strip contains about 40 calories, 3.5g of fat, 1.7g of saturated fat, 7.5mg of cholesterol, 120mg of sodium, and 2.5g of protein. The meat is cured and smoked before you buy it.

Nutritionally speaking, it is high in sodium and has a moderate amount of saturated fat, but the thing you have to watch out for when it comes to bacon is the nitrates (also called nitrites like sodium nitrite). It's a preservative used in processed food to help maintain its color.

Nitrates can be found in bacon, hot dogs, sausages, and cold cuts. The reason they are so bad for us is that when we cook them at high temps, they form Nitrosamines, which are carcinogenic. In the news, nitrite-based preservatives were found to be linked to pancreatic cancer.

Why else are nitrates unhealthy? To find out read more

The high content of nitrites may also contribute to COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. In COPD, changes occur in your lungs that make it harder to breathe over time.

Fit's Tips: So I'm sorry to burst your bacon-loving bubble, but the brands preserved with sodium nitrite really are unhealthy for you. If you don't want to give up this favorite breakfast food, look for nitrite-free bacon and other processed meats at your local health food or grocery store. Also avoid ordering it when you go out, since there's no way to know if it's free of nitrites or not.

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Barbecue Food Breakdown

FitSugar — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:01:06 -0700

This Fourth of July, you're most likely going to at least one barbecue if not two. Before you eat one of every grilled item offered, you should know the nutritional info of your basic barbecue fare. The numbers may surprise you.

	Calories	Total Fat (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Sodium (mg)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Protein (g)
Hamburger patty with bun, no fixings	329	5	70	288	23	1	24
Cheeseburger with bun, no fixings	409	9	90	628	23	1	28
Cheeseburger with bun, lettuce, tomato, and ketchup	436	9	5	770.3	29.4	1.5	28.9
Veggie burger with bun, no fixings	220	1	10	630	41	6	9

There's plenty more and to see them just read more.

	Calories	Total Fat (g)	Cholesterol (mg)	Sodium (mg)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Protein (g)
Veggie burger with bun and cheese	300	5	30	970	41	6	13
Veggie burger with bun, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and ketchup	327	5	30	1,112.3	47.4	6.5	13.9
Hot dog with bun, no fixings	250	3	30	540	22	6	14
Hot dog with bun, ketchup, and mustard	306	3	31	1,1027	33	6	15.2
Tofu Pup and bun, no fixings	180	.5	0	530	25	2	12
Tofu Pup and bun, ketchup, and mustard	236	.5	1	1,017	36	3	13.2
1 piece barbecue chicken	176	2	68	240	7	1	24
1 grilled sweet Italian sausage	290	9	65	800	1	0	14
4 oz. grilled salmon	318	3.4	56	1,104	13.2	.1	20.3

Celebrity Trainer David Kirsch Loves Push-Ups and Hates Processed Carbs

FitSugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Celeb trainer David Kirsch took time out of his busy schedule - his days start with a 5 a.m. workout before training clients at his gym in Manhattan - to speak with me yesterday. David helped Heidi Klum walk gorgeously down the runway eight weeks after having her third child. His client list also includes Anne Hathaway, Liv Tyler, and Faith Hill.

He launched his Summer Slimdown program for free, so I decided the time was right to ask him for more fitness advice. Always curious what personal trainers do for exercise, I asked David his favorite core move; he recommends planks, and planks rolling into a T-position, as well as work on the stability ball. Kirsch believes in fitting fitness into a busy life, and when pressed for time push-ups are the one move he thinks you should do.

When I asked him how I could increase my metabolism he told me:
“You have to move your body faster to burn more calories. Combine good strength training exercises with a form of cardio, and it doesn’t have to be running. It can be circuit training or one of my boot camps as long as it keeps your heart rate up.” He follows his own advice. His early morning 45-minutes workouts are heart pumping circuits, which he does four to five days a week.

Learn David’s favorite foods and what he thinks about “cheat days,” when you read more.

When it comes to diet, David believes in eating well and listed salmon burgers, quinoa, and beans among his favorite foods. I asked if he believes in cheat days and he wholeheartedly replied, “Sure! But be smart about it. Pick a meal, or a certain food, but don’t eat five million pieces of it.” Once again, we learn from an expert that moderation is key. David also loves to cook and prepares Thanksgiving dinner for 30 to 40 guests every year. I asked him if he used butter for his T-day dishes and he said, “No” before I could say the second syllable of butter. His stuffing does sound divine: cornbread with chestnuts, herbs, turkey sausage, red peppers, apples, and apricots.

David does have a couple of suggestions on how to get beach ready. First he suggests that you fine-tune your diet, limit dairy, get rid of cheese completely, and stay away from processed carbs. Secondly, he says, “You should assess your body and see where you need work and be strategic. Do more plié squats if the inner thighs need toning. Do more Pilates if your abs need toning. Do push-ups if the triceps need toning. Maybe you need a little bit of all over toning so do it all over. Be strategic and come up with a process that is good for you."

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Super Bowl Takeout: How to Order and Keep Your Resolutions

FitSugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:00:00 -0800

Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend, and I know it's supposed to be all about the game, but really, it's become all about the food. Chicken wings, pizza, seven-layer dip, chips, chili, sausages, and beer. Lots of beer. It's a cruel test for those who have started a health kick on Jan 1. It's great if you can make your own healthy snacks, but if the crowd you're with is all about ordering food, here are some tips to allow you to enjoy the party, while sticking to your resolutions.

When ordering pizza, go for thin crust, preferably one made of whole wheat. Skip the extra cheese and go for tons of veggies. If you must have meat on your pizza, go for ham instead of pepperoni or sausage since it contains less calories. Or you can always add your own turkey or chicken sausage once the pizza arrives.
If ordering wings, ask for extra carrot and celery sticks and tell them to forget the ranch or blue cheese dressing.

There are more helpful tips so read more.

If you like to order Chinese food, choose meals that contain chicken rather than beef or pork, since poultry contains less saturated fat. If they have seafood options, that's a good choice, just make sure not to order anything that's soaked in batter and deep fried. Forget the fried egg rolls, too, and go for dumplings instead (they're steamed). Order sides of extra steamed broccoli and snow peas so you can add them to your meal. Or when you order your entree, ask for added veggies. Soup may also be a good choice, especially if the broth is made with miso. Limit your sodium intake by skipping out on the added soy and hoisin sauces.

Just keep in mind that it's OK to enjoy your favorite foods, you just don't want to go overboard. If you snack over the entire four- to six-hour time span, you'll end up consuming a lot of extra calories. So grab a plate and enjoy your food at one time so you can keep track of your portion sizes.

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Sunscreen Could Be Damaging Your Skin?

FitSugar — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:00:00 -0800

Being health-conscious individuals, to prevent lung cancer, we don't smoke. To prevent a heart attack we don't eat a diet of sausages and donuts. Likewise, to prevent skin cancer, we wear sunscreen. Applying it daily has become as habitual as brushing our teeth. Now recent research is saying the unthinkable - that using sunscreen may actually be harmful for your skin. Sounds like a bad April Fool's joke, but unfortunately, there may be truth behind it.

When you spend time in the sun, UVA and UVB rays get absorbed by your skin. It causes instability in the molecules in your tissue, and harmful compounds known as free radicals are released. According to the study from the University of California, Riverside, certain sunscreen ingredients may cause more free radicals to form than if you were wearing no sunscreen at all.

To find out if you should stop using sunscreen, read more.

This study was performed in 2006, but now it's surfacing in the medical world. Some dermatologists think the study was too small to be significant, and that since they only tested the three UV-blocking ingredients in sunscreen, not actual sunscreen, the study is inconclusive. The study also used epidermal model tissue (genetically engineered skin) rather than a real human sample. Still, there are other dermatologists who won't discount this study. Since fake skin is often used in skin research, they believe there is truth to the results that say sunscreen may increase a person's risk for skin cancer.

Definitely continue using sunscreen since we know that it's our best defense at preventing sun damage. It's recommended to use sunscreens such as Coppertone’s NutraShield Sunscreen Lotion with Dual Defense, Murad Oil-Free Sunblock, Priori Radical Defense Sunscreen, and Topix’s Citrix Antioxidant Sunscreen. These all contain high-quality antioxidants, which can help counteract free-radical activity.

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Healthy Eating Tip: Saturated Fat Substitutions

FitSugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:00:00 -0800

Let's remember the basics: Saturated fat is the destructive fat. It's not essential for our bodies like omega-3s, and it is actually rather harmful as it clogs arteries, raises LDL (bad) cholesterol, and can lead to heart attacks. As if that wasn't bad enough, a recent study shows that a diet high in saturated fat can also lead to cancer of the small intestine. With that said, it's best to ditch the saturated fat in your diet, but that doesn't mean you have to give up the foods you love.

To learn about healthier alternatives to foods high in saturated fat, read more.

Instead of	Try this
Whole cream (when baking)	Plain yogurt
Half-and-half (in your coffee)	Silk soy creamer
Whole milk yogurt	Nonfat Oikos Greek yogurt
Butter (when baking)	Earth Balance sticks
Cream cheese (on your bagel)	Lowfat cottage cheese
Dulce de leche ice cream	Stonyfield Farm Creme Caramel frozen yogurt
Butter (when cooking)	Canola oil
Egg	Two egg whites
Mayonnaise	Nayonaise (made from soy)
Cheddar cheese	Mozzarella
Butter (on popcorn)	Nutritional yeast
Pork sausage	Chicken sausage
Hamburger	Veggie burger
Bacon	Lightlife Smart Bacon

If you have a substitution, share it in the comments section below.

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