Good Choices

I have been trying to eat better and exercise more and I thought I was doing a pretty job until I read the following books. This first book basically goes through the aisles of a grocery store and compares the fat and sugar content of similar items. For example, I have been eating Danon's all natural low fat yogurt thinking I was doing great! Well this book explains that one serving of this particular brand of yogurt has the same amount of sugar as a kit kat! Then it goes on to recommend eating Fage nonfat yogurt(only 7 grams of sugar) over Danon's all natural low fat yogurt. I was really disgusted to find out that those Little Debbie double-decker oatmeal creme pies are 470 calories and contain 39 grams of fat! That is more calories than three Twinkies. I love those creme pies!

This page is comparing different cereals.

The second book goes through the popular restaurants and fast food places and gives the four worst menu items and the four healthiest menu items. It was a real eye opener to see that half of an Outback blooming onion is 1,155 calories. That is only HALF! And the worst restaurant dish in America is a platter of Aussie cheese fries from Outback coming in at a whopping 2,900 calories. Bleh. There are some good choices at Outback! The prime rib dinner with sweet potatoes and string beans is 730 calories...not bad. Ok and just one more thing, I used to LOVE the Aloha Pineapple Smoothie from Jamba Juice but then I learned it has more sugar than a banana split from Baskin Robbins!! Who would have known.

And then last but not least, I also got the Biggest Loser Family Cookbook. Lots of yummy, cheap, healthy meals. There will be some life long changes going on in our house!

Here's my favorite recipe (I haven't tried it yet but the picture looks SO GOOD!)

Strawberry Breakfast Banana Split

1 1/2 teaspoons fat-free, sugar-free hot fudge

1 small (6") banana, peeled and halved lengthwise

1/4 cup fat-free, sugar-free vanilla yogurt

1/3 cup chopped fresh strawberries

1 tablespoon crunchy high-fiber, low-sugar cereal (such as grape nuts)

Heat the hot fudge in the microwave

Arrange the banana halves in a small banana split dish or a shallow bowl with the cut sides facing inward. Spoon the yogurt in the middle. Top with the strawberries, then the cereal, Drizzle the fudge evenly over the top and serve. Makes 1 serving.

Per Serving: 195 calories, 5 g protein, 46 g carbohydrates, less than 1 g fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 5 g fiber, 88 mg sodium