expatgirl
Master Chef
yep, when your body gets used to lower sodium levels eating out does become a challenge
I always thought when one ate at a chain restaurant, even some of the better ones, it was assumed that sodium content was higher. With all the processed sauces and pre-marinated, processed chicken it's a chance we take when we eat out at these places. I got a salad from McDonald's ONCE and I will never get another one. I think it was the Asian salad? The dressing was horrible along with the chicken - both laden with preservatives!
Now, if you go to a more privately owned, finer dining restaurant, it's not near as bad as most everything should be made from scratch. Though canned goods are still used in a lot of dishes the sauces should be preservative free.
I love my salt, but the sodium count ( and calorie count) in some of those dishes in incredible!!!
I had to recently explain to a friend of mine why I take the time to make my own fish on the grill rather than buy the pre packaged ones in the freezer section. He swore that they had to be low salt because he couldnt taste alot of sodium in the dish.....until we went food shopping and I took my flounder from the fish monger down the road...and we went to Shop rite and he got his "fish fillets" and saw 550 MG..... ahhh the wonders of processed foods.
however, some of the suggestions in the list for how to make it healthier are stupid. like many nutritionists, they miss the point of why we choose to eat something.
for instance, how about the rigatoni romano. that's rigatoni with sausage and a cheesey sauce. their suggestion was to have plain sauce and chicken. well, then why order rigatoni romano?
or have a steak instead of having beef stroganoff, in the beef category. they're not the same thing. why would i order a hunk o' beef if i wanted it with gravy and noodles?
for the chinese food, it says to skip the fried rice with the beef and broccoli. ok, i thought they were seperate dishes to begin with.
and never eat fajitas at any cost, anywhere.
men's health needs better editors.
The problem with these chain joints is that they are feeding you processed industrial product not fresh food. A piece of chicken should be a piece of chicken not a byproduct of NASAs food research
Agreed Bucky the problem is not fajitas the problem is presevative laden fajitas....
I'm reminded of a line from Futurama. "That's the saltiest thing I ever tasted...and I once ate a big, heaping bowl of salt!"
ChefJune, I get what you're saying, but in Metro NY, you likely have thousands of choices, whereas some people in remote areas don't. Sometimes those chains are all there is to choose from, unless you are lucky and have a family run outfit in your town. Most food service products contain highly processed ingredients, period. Labor prevents most from doing EVERYTHING the old fashioned way, no matter how hard they try. You can only work so many hours before something's gotta give, and that's where it starts.
Chains are not my first pick either, but even in a small city like Green Bay, there are more of those than indies, believe it or not. And then even a couple of our local outfits are marketing themselves like chains or sports bars, which is a whole 'nother rant. I do think food servie
Just curious - why would restaurants need to use preservatives in their food? It would seem to me that they get deliveries often enough that preservatives would not be necessary.
You know, there IS an alternative if Americans will take it.. There are (or perhaps in some areas "used to be" is a better term) independent restaurants -- not all of which are high end -- where one can still get a fantastic meal at reasonable (considering the high cost of everything) prices.
Why is it so many folks are so enamored with the Dominos',Olive Gardens', TGI Fridays', and Red Lobsters of the world? I've never gotten that.
Many of those chain restaurants use processed food.
I think that's one of the points June makes.
I know, but there are lots of ways to process food, and not all of them are bad - pasteurizing milk, for instance, or freezing vegetables. So I'm wondering why restaurants would need to use preservatives in their food. I don't think "processed" automatically means "preservatives added."
Sysco CorporationRestaurants buy a lot of pre-made, pre-processed food that already has preservatives and stabilizers added. They don't always make their dishes from fresh ingredients.
Restaurants buy a lot of pre-made, pre-processed food that already has preservatives and stabilizers added. They don't always make their dishes from fresh ingredients.
Also those big chains pre make thier foods they do not employ Chefs much of the food is pre-cooked bagged up and shipped unbagged heated
Howstuffworks "Mass-produced Food"