Attack on Fast Food French Fries

(Shortened Version Below)

Longer Version Below

(Part 1)

       

               After reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, I learned a lot of information on how McDonald’s French fries are made and how most people don’t actually know the ingredients in the food the foods they eat. First, the process by which these French fries are made is unbelievable. Machines turn thousands of potatoes into French fries each day. Here is the process: First conveyor belts blast the potatoes with steam then they boil water underneath the skins causing the skins to explode off. Then the potatoes are pumped into a preheat tank and are shot through a gun knife that uses a high pressure hose to shoot potatoes at a speed of 117 feet per second through a grid of sharpened steel blades. They are fried in boiling oil (SO BAD FOR YOU!) and frozen by air compressed ammonia gas. Robots package and stack the fries then put them into freezers. The crazy part is that after this entire process, the fries don’t have much flavor. They get their flavor from the oil that they are reheated in. McDonald's used to fry the French fries in 7 percent cottonseed oil and 93 percent beef tallow, but switched to vegetable oil when people found out that there was more beef fat in the fries than there was per ounce in a McDonald’s burger. Since the vegetable oil doesn’t give the fries the beef flavor, McDonald's relies on a company called International Flavors and Fragrances to give the fries their flavor. 

They use natural flavors in the oil that they cook the fries in. (The difference between natural flavors and artificial flavors is that natural flavors are just derived from a natural source and artificial flavors aren't-->natural flavors are NOT healthier) These flavors are made from many different chemicals and what’s weird is that you can smell the exact flavors of typical foods you eat without even having any substance in front of you! McDonald's will not say their exact flavor that they put into the fries, but they did say that it derives from some flavor of animal product. Before reading this book, I would have thought that the McDonald's French fries that I was eating were just skinned and cut up potatoes that were deep fried, but this book just proves how much I didn’t know about what I was eating. This entire process is so unhealthy and made me want to never eat McDonald’s fries again.

Now whenever I crave French fries, I will cut up potatoes, skin them, and make the fries myself in a frying pan with a little bit of vegetable oil or olive oil and then I will bake them in the oven for a couple of minutes and add a little bit of salt. This is the much healthier option and by making fries yourself, you actually know what the French fries are made of. One last thing: don't use too much ketchup with the fries because ketchup contains a lot of sugar!

Here is a healthy French fry recipe from Women's Health Magazine

olive oil spray
2 pounds baking potatoes
1/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste, if desired
1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Lightly mist a medium nonstick baking sheet with olive oil spray.
3. Use a crinkle cutter to peel potatoes by cutting close to the edges on each side and end. Discard peels. Then use crinkle cutter to cut peeled potatoes into 1/3-inch thick sticks (they will vary in length).
4. Toss potato sticks with salt and extra virgin olive oil. Spread them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip and bake for another 16 to 18 minutes or until just crisp on the outside and tender inside. Season with additional salt to taste and serve.

Makes 4 portions. Per portion: 105 calories, 2 g fat (trace saturated fat), 20 g carbs, 2 g protein, 2 g fiber, 152 mg sodium, 0 mg cholesterol

**If you ate this instead of traditional fries with these healthy french fries, you'd save 201 calories, 24 g fat, and 5 g saturated fat.

Snacking. My Weakness

After a long and busy day, the first thing most people do is grab a snack. After a being in school or working all day, it is normal to be hungry. Eating an apple or having a yogurt just isn’t enough sometimes. Some days I would start by eating chicken nuggets, then I would eat a yogurt, and after I would continue to eat goldfish. That was a very bad habit that I knew I needed to break right away. I was consuming more calories than I would at dinner time and I would still eat dinner later in the day. So now instead of eating snacks that have empty calories and won’t fill me up, I try to eat foods that are filling and have a lot of fiber. One good snack idea is almonds. Almonds are rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and protein that will fill you up. I really like Blue Diamond’s 100 Calorie Almond Packs because they have good flavors like cinnamon brown sugar and they also control your portion sizes. Another type of food that will fill you up is eggs because they have a lot of protein. At the beginning of a week, I hard boil a bunch of eggs because they are perfect for snacks and you can keep them in your refrigerator until the end of the week. Bananas also make good snacks because out of every other fruit, they are the most filling. When I am really hungry, I will have a brown rice cake with either almond butter or peanut butter on top.

                Make sure you are not mindlessly eating when you go to grab a snack. A lot of people will snack because they are bored, stressed, or they are mistaking hunger for dehydration. When I get home, I always try to drink a full glass of water and then wait to see if I am still hungry. Another strategy is to ask yourself “Am I hungry enough to eat an apple?” This usually works for me because a lot of times I just crave fatty foods or foods with a lot of carbohydrates when I am not actually hungry. Say you finish one snack and you still feel hungry, try waiting twenty minutes before you grab something else to eat so your stomach has enough time to realize that there is food in it. If you are still hungry after the twenty minutes is up, find something to eat that isn’t loaded with calories, like fruit. 

Do you dread running?

How many of you have tried running, but gave up because it was too hard? I know I have. When I first tried running, I just expected to be able to run a couple of miles without a problem. Well, I ended up struggling to run a half a mile straight. I hated running after that; it was just too difficult. One day my friend asked me if I would start running with her. I was very hesitant at first because I knew how difficult running was, but then she explained to me that she found this running plan that would enable us to easily run three miles over the course of nine weeks. This plan is called the Couch to 5k running plan. The plan consists of walking and running intervals that increase in intensity each week. So many people are turned off by running because they overwork themselves, just like I did. What is great about this running plan is that it starts you off easy but works to improve your endurance by making it harder every week. Once the running intervals are greater, you begin to realize that the smaller running interval you did the week before is now easy to you. For example, one week has you run 90 seconds and walk two minutes. That 90 second interval seems easy when you have to do three minute intervals. Then when you have to do five minute intervals, the three minutes seems easy. Right now I am on the fourth week (out of nine) of the running plan and I love it! Running has now become a stress reliever for me. Although it can be challenging at times, I never feel overworked to the point that I would give up. The best part about doing this running plan is that I feel so energized afterwards and I feel good about myself because I am improving at something that was so difficult to me. I can already run a lot longer than I could at the beginning of the plan and it hasn’t even been four weeks yet. This running plan was made for all ages, and I know of many people that finished the plan successfully. 

                One very common problem about exercising is that people tend to over eat afterwards. They use the excuse that they had just exercised and lost calories so now they can eat bad foods. Not only do most people eat poorly after, but they also eat big portion sizes and think that it is okay because they had just exercised. This is bad because it undoes everything you just worked for. Also, a lot of times people consume way more calories than they previously burned off. I used to make this same problem after soccer practices. Now, in attempt to change those bad habits, I will have some sort of protein shake after I exercise. I love the Shake Station. They use Herbalife products and not only do you get a shake, but you also get energy building tea and a shot of aloe-vera juice. These shakes are complete meals that are loaded with protein and fiber and are only a little over 200 calories. My favorite flavor is wedding cake. These Herbalife products can be order online at http://www.shopherbalife.com/.

Breakfast and Fiber

For those that skip breakfast, think again! Studies have proven that skipping breakfast can lead to obesity. The Harvard Men’s Health Watch reported that “missing breakfast is associated with a fourfold increase in the risk of obesity”. Your body needs to be refueled many times throughout the day, so when you skip breakfast, you are more likely to overindulge on your next meal because you feel so hungry. Be careful of breakfasts with too much sugar, sodium, fat and calories. I try to avoid sugary cereals or foods with a lot of carbs like pancakes, waffles and bagels. Many times people add even more calories and sugar to pancakes and waffles by adding in chocolate chips or putting syrup or whip cream on top. Cream cheese and butter also add unwanted calories to bagels. I know avoiding these foods is easier said than done, but a good step to avoiding them is just to not buy them. You are more likely to just grab something in your house when you are hungry rather than take a trip to the grocery store. If these unhealthy foods aren’t in your house, then you will find something else to eat that is in your house! Personally, I am more tempted by bad foods when they are in my house more than I am tempted to buy them at the grocery store. So what foods should you eat for breakfast? Personally I am a big fan of oatmeal. I buy the Quakers Quick oatmeal. It takes no more than a couple of minutes to make and only a half a cup of oatmeal fills me up! I usually add a teaspoon of brown sugar and a dash of cinnamon to give it more flavor. Be careful not to put too much sugar! Also, fruit goes really well with oatmeal. I sometimes put blueberries or strawberries on top of it. Whenever I crave bagels (which is a lot), I will substitute a mini bagel or a bagel thin for a regular bagel since the portion size is controlled. Instead of adding cream cheese which is very high in saturated fat and calories, I will use a Laughing Cow cheese wedge, which is only 35 calories per wedge! My favorite kind of cheese wedge is the light garlic and herb. 

For those who don’t like oatmeal, I would recommend high fiber cereals. Fiber is awesome! Fiber not only helps you have soft regular bowel movements, it also makes your intestines move faster. Since fiber moves quickly through your intestines, it can help signal that you are full so you won’t over eat. It also cleans your colon, which is pretty cool because it cleans out bacteria or other buildup in your intestines. Foods with fiber also are absorbed into your bloodstream slower. This keeps your blood glucose levels from rising too fast. Spikes in glucose fall quickly, which can cause you to be hungry not long after you eat. Other foods with fiber include beans, whole grain breads (good for toast!), fruits, vegetables, etc. Thank you Benioff Children’s Hospital for this great information on fiber!