Have you ever seen the movie Super Size Me? If not, it's a compelling documentary about a man who eats and exists on McDonald's food for one month and who must always say "yes" when asked if he wants to Super Size anything. A kind of science experiment to determine the effects of this type of diet on his health. Let's just say the results are kind of what you would expect if your meals consisted entirely of foods off of the McDonald's menu. (FYI - this movie was made before the newest healthy items like oatmeal were added to their menu and when they still had the Super Size menu.)
I mention this because I had a relatively opposite experience to Super Size Me this weekend. My husband and I were on the road this weekend and like all good road trips, we needed to make a few pit stops. The first stop was to Target, not related to the story at all, but I just love Target and thought I should give them a little shout out. The second stop was to Arby's.
Wait, what? A dietitian stopping at Arby's? Oh yes, and believe it or not, this was just the beginning. My husband and I decided to go inside (really his idea, not mine). A great idea in hindsight because ironically, this is the first fast food restaurant that we had been to in a long time. We were afraid that we wouldn't be able to make a timely decision at the drive-through window and we were right. We got in that Arby's and we felt like outsiders. So many different options and combos and sizes and sauces and oh my, gosh, how does anyone decide?
After much consideration, we agreed to ordering a few items from their Value Menu. Did you know they have this menu? Oh boy, it is perfect for people like us. It is full of smaller versions of their collosal original items. We went for the Jr Roast Beef Sandwich (I had 1.5 sandwiches...I was hungry, ok? My husband had 1.5 plus their value turkey sandwich) and value curly fries (shared one container.) Check out the stats of our items and the comparison the regular versions:
Nutrition Info:
Jr Roast Beef Sandwich: 210 calories, 8g fat, 3g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 25mg chol, 520mg sodium, 12g protein
Value Curly Fries: 270 calories, 14g fat, 2g sat fat, 0g trans fat, 700mg sodium and 3g protien
Versus:
Small Curly Fries: 450 calories, 24 g fat, 3 g sat fat, 20 mg chol 1160mg sodium and 4 g protien
Regular Roast Beef Sandwich: 360 calories, 14g fat, 6g sat fat, 1g trans fat, 50mg chol, 950mg sodium and 22g protein
Look at the savings! If I would've chosen to consume the regular versions of these foods, I would've consumed over 810 calories, 38g fat, 9g saturated fat and a whopping 2110mg of sodium!!! Instead, I ate about 450 calories, 19g fat, 5.5g saturated fat and 1130mg of sodium.
Yes, I realize that I consumed a significant amount of fat and sodium at this meal, but as an "on the road" option, I fared pretty well. What's scary is that most the people don't order the foods off the value (smaller size) menu. In fact, the man in front of us ordered a combo meal with extra cheese sauce on the side. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of calories, fat and sodium he ended up consuming.
A hilarious side note is that we had brought what we call a "lunch supplement" that included organic carrots and organic strawberries! My husband fittingly questioned, "I wonder how many people are eating organic carrots and strawberries with their value size items from Arby's?" Our guess....zero!
Oh, but the Arby's experience was only our first fast food excursion of the day. I know, it's seems horribly wrong to tell you this, but I have a purpose. The second place we went to was Dairy Queen. I can't even tell you when the last time was that I went to good old DQ. I think I was in high school...yes, that was awhile ago. Anyway, they have this new item, a mini Blizzard. Awesome! We got up to the counter and the lady asked us what we wanted and I promptly said "We will have one Butterfinger Mini Blizzard." I think we got a strange look, but she proceeded to make our order.
Here are the stats for a 7oz Butterfinger Mini Blizzard (per DQ's website)
340 calories, 12g fat, 7g saturated fat, 0.5g trans fat, 30mg chol, 52g carbohydrate and 8g protein
Versus
a 9.5 oz small Butterfinger Blizzard (also per DQ's website)
470 calories, 16g fat, 10g saturated fat, 0.5g trans fat, 40mg chol, 71g carbohydrate and 11g protein
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| The mini is the little one on the left. Picture from grubgrade.com |
By sharing the mini blizzard we each consumed 170 calories, 6g fat, 26g carbs and 4g protein. Not too bad considering what it was.
Here's my point. No one is perfect when it comes to eating. Even dietitians and health-nuts like treats now and then. It's a matter of making smart choices to fit these foods into your diet. I don't feel guilty at all for this day of eating. Why? Because I don't eat this way often and when I do, I don't over-do it.
While I don't condone getting meals from fast food places on a regular basis, I do recognize it's going to happen. I encourage you to make smart choices and arm yourself with the information to do so. With smart phones and computers at our fingertips, we don't have an excuse not too.
Enjoy that mini Blizzard...but share it with a friend!
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