1. Artery Crust
Judging by the label,
Marie Callender’s (16.5 oz) Chicken Pot
Pie has "only" 520 calories, 11 grams of saturated fat,
and 800 mg of sodium. But look again. Those
numbers are for only half a pie. Eat the entire
pie, as most people probably do, and you’re
talking 1,040 calories, 22 grams of saturated
fat (more than a day’s worth), and 1,600 mg of
sodium (an entire day’s worth).
2. Triple Bypass
Can’t decide what to
pick from a restaurant menu? No worries.
Now you can order not just one entrée, but two… or three... all at once.
Olive Garden’s Tour of Italy
– Homemade Lasagna, Lightly Breaded Chicken Parmigiana, and Creamy
Fettuccine Alfredo – comes with 1,450 calories, 33 grams of saturated
fat, and 3,830 milligrams of sodium. Add a breadstick (150 calories and
400 mg of
sodium) and a plate of Garden-Fresh Salad with dressing (350 calories
and 1,930 mg of sodium) and you’ll consume almost 2,000 calories (an
entire day’s worth) and 6,160 mg
3. Salt's On!
On average, a cup of
Campbell’s
Condensed soup has 760 mg of
sodium. That’s half a day’s worth … assuming
you eat only one of the 2½ servings that the
label says the can makes. Campbell’s Healthy
Request and Select Harvest, Progresso Reduced
Sodium, and Healthy Choice slash the sodium
to the 400s. Look for lower sodium lines in the
100s to 300s by Amy’s, Imagine Foods, Pacific
Natural Foods, and Tabatchnick.
4. Tortilla Terror
Interested in a
Chipotle
Chicken Burrito (tortilla, rice, pinto
beans, cheese, chicken, sour cream, and salsa)?
Think of its 970 calories, and 18 grams of saturated
fat as three 6-inch
Subway BLT Classic Subs! Skipping the cheese or sour cream cuts the saturated
fat to 6 grams, but you still end up with 750
calories and more than a day’s worth of sodium.
Yikes!
5. Factory Reject
People don’t expect
light desserts at
The Cheesecake Factory.
But the
Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake kicks
things up a notch. If it weren’t served on its
side, this one would stand over six inches tall.
And upright or not, the slab of cake still weighs
in at three-quarters of a pound. What do you
get for all that heft? Just 1,760 calories and 2½
days’ worth of saturated fat (50 grams), mostly from chocolate, sugar, cream, white
flour, and butter.
6. Burial Grands
No one thinks of cinnamon
rolls as health food. But each Pillsbury
Grands! Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll with
Icing has 310 calories and 2 grams of saturated
fat plus 2½ grams of trans fat (more than a day’s
worth) and 5 teaspoons of sugar. Companies
are dumping their partially hydrogenated oils
left and right, yet Pillsbury still makes most of
its rolls and biscuits with the stuff.
7. Transgression
“Excellent source of
ALA Omega 3,” declares the
Land O’Lakes
Margarine box. Who knew that Land O’Lakes
stick margarine was so heart healthy? It isn’t.
Each tablespoon of the spread has 2½ grams of
trans fat (more than an entire day’s limit) and
2 grams of saturated fat. And beware of other
trans-filled sticks by Blue Bonnet, Parkay, Country
Crock, and Fleischmann’s. At least
those brands don’t imply that a bit of ALA outweighs
the harm caused by the margarine’s trans
and saturated fat. Shopping tip: Look for tub
margarines – most have little or no trans fat.
8. Starbucks on Steroids
The Starbucks
Venti (20 oz) White Chocolate
Mocha with 2% milk and whipped cream is
more than a mere cup of coffee. It’s worse than
a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese.
Few people have room in their diets for the 580
calories and 15 grams of saturated fat that this
hefty beverage supplies. But you can lose 130
calories and almost two-thirds of the bad fat if you order
it with nonfat milk and no whipped cream.
9. Extreme Ice Cream
An average halfcup
serving of
Häagen-Dazs ice cream squeezes
half-a-day’s saturated fat and a third-of-a-day’s cholesterol
into your artery walls and makes a nearly 300-calorie
down-payment on your next set of fat cells – if you
can stop at a petite half-cup!
10. Stone Cold
Cold Stone Creamery’s
Oh Fudge! shake (chocolate ice
cream, milk, and fudge syrup) starts at 1,250
calories for the “Like It” (16 oz) size. That’s
more than a large (32 oz) McDonald’s McCafe Chocolate Triple Thick Shake. The “Love It” (20 oz)
has 1,660 calories and the “Gotta Have It”
(24 oz) reaches 1,920 calories (just about an entire day's
worth) and 69 grams of saturated fat (3½ days’
worth). That's the saturated fat content of two 16 oz T-bone steaks plus a
buttered baked potato, all blended into a handy
24 oz cup.
A nutritional All-Star — one of the best vegetables
you can eat. They're loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and
fiber. Bake and then mix in some unsweetened applesauce or crushed
pineapple for extra moisture and sweetness. 
Just one cup of mango supplies
100% of a day’s vitamin C, one-third
of a day’s vitamin A, a decent
dose of blood-pressure-lowering potassium,
and 3 grams of fiber. Bonus:
mango is one of the fruits least likely to
have pesticide residues.
Non-fat, plain Greek yogurt has a pleasant tartness
that’s a perfect foil for the natural sweetness of berries, bananas, or
your favorite breakfast cereal. It’s strained, so even the fat-free
versions are thick and creamy. And the lost liquid means that the yogurt
that’s left has twice the protein of ordinary yogurt –
about 17 grams in 6 ounces of plain Greek yogurt.
It has lots of vitamin C, carotenoids, vitamin K and
folic acid. Steam it just enough so that it's still firm and add a
sprinkle of red pepper flakes and a spritz of lemon juice.
The omega-3 fats in fatty fish like salmon can help
reduce the risk of sudden-death heart attacks. And wild-caught salmon
has less PCB contaminants than farmed salmon.
Whole-grain rye crackers, like Wasa,
Kavli, and Ryvita — usually called
crispbreads — are loaded with fiber
and often fat-free. Drizzle with a little honey and sprinkle with cinnamon to satisfy your sweet tooth.
All beans are good beans. They’re
rich in protein, fiber, iron, magnesium,
potassium, and zinc. But garbanzos
stand out because they’re so versatile.
Just drain, rinse, and toss a handful on
your green salad; throw them into vegetable
stews, curries, and soups; mix
them with brown rice, whole wheat
couscous, bulgur, or other whole grains.
Watermelon is a heavyweight in
the nutrient department. A standard
serving (about 2 cups) has one-third of a
day’s vitamins A and C, a nice shot of
potassium, and a healthy dose of lycopene for only 80 fat-free, salt-free
calories. And when they’re in season,
watermelons are often locally grown,
which means they may have a smaller
carbon footprint than some other fruits.
Steam a sliced squash or buy peeled,
diced butternut squash at the supermarket
that’s ready to go into the oven, a
stir-fry, or a soup. It’s an easy way to get
lots of vitamins A and C and fiber.
Don’t miss out on powerhouse
greens like kale, collards, spinach,
turnip greens, mustard greens, and
Swiss chard. These stand-out leafy greens
are jam-packed with vitamins A, C, and
K, folate, potassium, magnesium, calcium,
iron, lutein, and fiber. Serve with
a splash of lemon juice or red wine
vinegar.
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