Choices Under the Golden Arches – New Happy Meal gets Happier

I remember an ecology assignment in school where the professor asked us to respond to a new housing development proposal in a dry, desert-area.  I worked and worked on it and came up with all sorts of eco-solutions such as solar panels, green building materials, water re-use, and more.  The professor gave me a failing grade on the assignment as the answer he was looking for was to not build in a desert. 

I’m reminded of this experience when looking at McDonald’s New Happy Meal.  Maybe McDonald’s isn’t the healthiest place to eat but people are going to eat at McDonald’s just like they are going to build homes in desert-like areas.  Once again, I find myself looking for solutions knowing that a “just don’t do it” stance is not going to work. 

So, if you are there, what should you eat?  And, for kids, is the New Happy Meal any more nutritionally happy than the last one?  According to McDonald’s, the New Happy Meals have about 20% fewer calories than before.  They now have sliced apples for dessert, a smaller serving of fries, and low-fat milk instead of a sugary soda. 

At Fantasy Healthball, we often talk about moderation (minimize the times that you are not eating healthy foods) and portion sizes (keep portions at a reasonable size, especially when the food is not the healthiest).  In this article by Linda Carroll, she quotes registered dietician Elisa Zied saying, “The trick is to achieve a balance through the rest of the meals your kids are eating and to monitor portion sizes.  If you are going to hit a McDonald’s, for example, have your kid get the smallest burger and maybe even a small fries. Pizza is fine, too, if your kid is limited to a slice or two and then fills up with salad or fruit or something equally healthy.” 

What’s moderation?  Sue James, who advises the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens on health and nutrition issues, throws the yellow penalty flag if you go for unhealthy foods more than once or twice a month.  You get the penalty (“Un-Healthy-like Conduct?”  “Roughing the Arteries?”) if you reach too many times for such foods as french fries, candy bars, potato chips, sodas, and more. 

We like the idea of filling up on the healthier menu items even if you also have smaller portions of the other stuff.  McDonald’s does a REALLY good job making nutrition information available on their website and it is easy to find the healthier choices.  Here is a list so you can check your favorites with healthier alternatives.  If you need help knowing what nutrients to look for, check out our ”nutrients made easy.”  Here are some of the menu items with less than 200 calories:  4-piece chicken mcnuggets (190 cal), premium cesar salad with grilled chicken (190 cal), premium bacon ranch salad without chicken (140 cal), fruit ’n yogurt parfait (160 cal), kid’s fries (100 cal).  Contrast these with the angus chipotle bbq bacon sandwich (800 cal), big breakfast with hotcakes (1,090 cal), chocolate shake (880 cal), double quarter pounder with cheese (740 cal). 

So choose smart when you find yourself under the golden arches.  The New Happy Meal is now a little happier than before – and you and your kids can be too.   – Jim Ballard (the book)

PS – Check out our healthy french fries recipe!

Fantasy Healthball Recipes – Red Victory Soup

Best for:  Fans of teams with red in team colors.  Calling all Texans, Patriots, Bills, Chiefs, Bucs, ‘Skins, Cardinals, and 49ers!  This magic Fantasy Healthball brew is for you!
Where to Eat it:  Watching the game at home with friends (cold weather games best) or in a thermos at the stadium parking lot.
Servings: 3 (double the below to make 6)
What is in it: 
4 tomatoes, medium
1 carrot
half red bell pepper
1/2 onion
1 clove of garlic
4 tbsp (tablespoon) small red lentil
1 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp curry
2 tbsp vegetable broth
1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
½ cup milk (optional)
A dash of kosher salt and pepper to taste

How to do it:
Okay, first, grow all the vegetables in your garden in the backyard.  Okay, forget that, that would take too long.  Go get them at your local Farmers’ Market.  Don’t have one?  Okay, fine, just go to your local grocery store.  If they give you an organic choice, go with those.  Your body will thank you.  Okay, got all the stuff together?  Let’s move on:
1. Chop roughly all vegetables and put them together with the lentils in a deep pan with 3 cups water; cover and bring to a boil
2. Cook at medium heat until all vegetables are soft (about 15-20 minutes).
3. Mix with an immersion blender (a.k.a hand blender) – if you don’t have one of those, you can use the puree setting on your blender (careful pouring in the hot liquid)
4. if you prefer more liquidy soup, add some water
5. Add the spices, broth, salt, and pepper to taste and simmer for few minutes.  If you prefer a creamier soup, add the milk.  If you are olive oil hounds, add that.  As it is simmering, stir it slowly repeating your team’s fight song.  Don’t know the fight song?  Shame on you, maybe you want Martha Stewart’s recipe website?  Go immediately to You Tube and search for your favorite teams fight song, memorize it, and return.

Serve hot in deep bowl (or go the thermos route if in the cold outdoors).  You can sprinkle a little extra virgin olive oil or spices on top to make it look like you cook for the Food Network.  Dip some toasted whole wheat pita (for the white in your team colors) into it, or some whole wheat bread. 

Health Thoughts:  This recipe is loaded with healthy veggies providing large doses of vitamins E, A, C, B6, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, folate, calcium, and fiber.  Most canned soups are LOADED with sodium but in this recipe, you control the sodium as 90% of it is just in how much salt you add.  We added ½ tsp of kosher salt which is 560mg.  It was plenty salty with that, so you could try less.  Overdoing salt is linked to high blood pressure.  This recipe is full of happy goodness and low in fat, calories, and cholesterol.  Thanks to Fantasy Healthball Fan Cinzia for sending it in to us! 

Enjoy, and on to victory.  – Jim Ballard

Snack Cravings – Snacks to pack and snacks that lack

Snacks can get a bad rap, but can be an important part of your healthy diet.  If it weren’t for snacks, we’d be starving at meal times and more likely to over-eat.  Some of our favorite snacks are:  an apple, a banana, raisins, dried fruits, celery, carrots, an egg, low or no salt pretzels, crackers with hummus, yogurt, and a mozzarella stick (no, not beer battered).  Or just pick your favorite fruit or vegetable.  Watermelon, oranges, cantaloupe, grapes, the yummy list goes on and on and you need more of them in your diet. 

Sometimes you get cravings for food even when you are not hungry, just because you are bored.  Don’t eat because you are bored.  When you feel like you are about to eat when you are bored, think of Fantasy Healthball.  Read the sports page.  Watch a few minutes of Sports Center.  Go outside and throw a football.  Walk swiftly around the block.  Or just eat if you want to, but make it something snack-appropriate like your favorite fruit or vegetable. 

Overcoming cravings to us is about attitude.  It is like attitude like running the football is about attitude.  Are we gonna shove you back or are you gonna shove us back?  Who wants it more?  It is the same with cravings.  Control them instead of them controlling you.  If you really aren’t hungry, then make them wait until you are.  If you are hungry, snack smart. 

But what happens when you are at home watching TV and that new ad for a Big Mac or some new triple-double-bacon-four-cheese-special sauce-burger comes on and tempts you to jump in your car and go get one?  You must think Fantasy Healthball and play some defense!  That ad is like an offensive assault against your game plan.  Feel free to do some Warren Sapp-like trash talk to the TV:  “You ain’t coming after me…I’m too good…Get that weak stuff out of my house…Not in my house!…Not in my house!…DE-FENSE, baby!”  — Jim Ballard

Lose Weight Fast with Magic Beans….Guaranteed!

I seem to be getting asked a lot lately about “diet pills.”  “Hey, I’ve heard recently about a pill that makes you feel full,” started the question, “what do you think of that?”  Now I’ve been studying diet and nutrition and playing Fantasy Healthball for long enough now that I didn’t even skip a beat replying, “Well, yes, I definitely think you should feel full.”  “Full of water, full of fruit, full of vegetables, full of all the great food of the Food Formation in the right proportions.”  I don’t mind feeling full, when I know it is full of good stuff.   The last thing I want is some chemical making me feel full.  If you do, you will miss out on all the great vitamins and minerals and fiber and protein and all the great nutrients you body needs to stay health, fight disease, and thrive.  Don’t go for the magic beans, just read our Diet and Nutrition section and choose wisely. 

So then a few days later I’m hearing about this wonder drug, “alli,” that is flying off the shelves at Costco.  Being a good, cynical, card-carrying Gen-Xer, that is about all I need to hear to be extremely doubtful.  But Jeff and I will get asked about this so I jump online to do some research.  Their website says, “The pill works by preventing your body from absorbing some of the fat you eat. The active ingredient in alli attaches to some of the natural enzymes in the digestive system and prevents absorption of about a quarter of the fat you eat.”  So again, we are eating the wrong things and then counting on a pill to make it all better. 

But here is my favorite part: 

5. how do I know when I’m ready for the alli program?
You may be ready for alli if you can answer “yes” to these conditions:

>I am willing to do the hard work to lose weight gradually
>I am committed to following a reduced-calorie, low-fat diet (an average of 15 grams of fat per meal)
>I understand that if I take alli with a meal containing too much fat, I may get bowel changes known as treatment effects. The effects may include gas with oily spotting, loose stools, and more frequent stools that may be hard to control. Why? Because alli prevents absorption of some of the fat, and undigested fat passes through the body
>I am committed to eating smaller portions
>I am committed to making time to be more physically active
>I will read and follow the alli label

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, do “the hard work to lose weight gradually,” “reduced calorie, low fat diet,” “small portions,” “making time to be more physically active.”  You do those four things and you don’t need the pill that gives you “frequent stools that may be hard to control.”  You do those four things and you are golden.  You do those four things and pop empty pill capsules and you will get healthier.  You do those four things and you won’t need the magic beans.  Guaranteed.  — Jim Ballard

Eat More to Weigh Less, Part II

In our last post we made the case for breakfast.  Let’s sum up:  don’t skip it.  Okay, that said, what to have?  Let’s think about the Fantasy Healthball Food Formation as it relates to breakfast.  Breakfast is a great time for some whole grain cereal.  Gone are the days when you had a choice only between Cheerios or Corn Flakes or some crazy concoction of chemicals, preservatives, sugar, and air known as Super Duper Sugar Fun Puffs.  Now you can find whole grain cereals at most any store.  And they taste good too.  There are now enough to choose from so you can find which you like best. 

Our favorite cereal of the moment is Nature Path’s Optimum Power Breakfast, which is found nationwide.  It has 2.5 grams of fat, zero saturated or trans fat, 10 grams of fiber, 0 mg cholesterol, 40 grams of carbs, 8 grams of protein per serving, and it tastes great.  You gotta love the double digit fiber count, nice!  Put some raisins and strawberries on top to boost your fruit intake.  I’m currently going through a phase where I fill up half the bowl with Optimum Power, and then I add a couple tablespoons of wheat bran, a small handfull of organic blueberries, a couple strawberries, a half banana, some apricot and raisins.  What a power packed way to start the day.  I wash that down with some orange juice.  Yum. 

If cereal isn’t your thing, you can use breakfast to get your “meats” group by having eggs or your “milk” group by having yogurt.  Whole wheat toast with a light spread of organic peanut butter?  I always use Oroweat 100% Whole Wheat bread or their new Double Fiber bread which has 6 grams of fiber.   Sounds good to me! 

Low fat milk…..fruit…..fruit juice…..yogurt……oatmeal……all great choices.  Happy breakfast.  — Jim Ballard