I’ve been poking around the Eat 5-9 a Day site and I found their Resources and Tools FAQ page. They’ve got answers to a lot of questions that have come up here. And some that haven’t. I hope the questions are coming from real people.
Here’s my favorite:
- Does the lettuce on my hamburger count as a serving?
- While all the fruits and vegetables you eat in a day can add up and count towards your 5 to 9 a day goal, unless you have half a cup of vegetables on your hamburger, it is not a full serving.
Another good question:
- Why did the 5 A Day message change to 5 to 9 A Day?
- The message changed to better reflect the goals for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which state 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day depending on a person’s age, gender, and calorie needs. The number 9 is also supported by the latest science regarding disease reduction. In the last few years, scientific literature has provided evidence that diets high in fruits and vegetables (8-10 servings a day) are most protective against disease.
The site has links to other nutrition sites and I think I’m going to use some of the information from all these sites in this spot for a while.
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You can get it up to half a cup, if you order either a large burger, or two small, with extra tomato, onion, and lettuce. Then add extra mustard and ketchup. Do not get mayonnaise or cheese. And of course, do not order fries with it!
Instead, ask for a “side salad.” You do not even have to become obsessive about dressing, the packet that they give you is quite small, and if you like more dressing, ask also for a packet of vinaigrette, with which you will dilute your more high bad content dressing.
Save the counting for the big things, like fries. Or fried pies. Or not having the supermegabaconcheeseburger. Or not going to the ice cream place next door after you finish at Burger Doodle.
Your total will be about 300 calories per small burger, maybe 4 or 5 if you get the large burger.
Thus, the whopper can actually work out better for you than a small cheeseburger, if you ask them to increase the already generous lettuce, tomato and onion, and even the slight amount of mayonnaise on a standard whopper is not going to add up to so much of anything.
Maybe I am wrong, but I think people worry too much about condiments and as a result experience less enjoyment of the salad that is supposed to replace the fries. So because one has had that salad without anything that tasted good, it is all the more difficult to refrain from eating half your neighbor’s fries, or having the ice cream for dessert!
And I have come to find that the burgers with extra vegetable matter actually taste better. If you add to that their apple slices, you can get it up to 2 servings.
Ductape, I meant to stop in between the appointments, but I was thinking all morning about the amount of vegetables you can load on a sandwich. I’m sure I’ve put a 1/2 cup of veg on Subway sandwiches. Which is one reason I like them so much.
And my only complaint about condiments is when they have High Fructose Corn Syrup. As long as they don’t have that ingredient, I’m fine with them.
I will start looking for this new evil villain on labels. It does not sound like a very diabetes-friendly ingredient.
However, if it is an ingredient in a quarter ounce packet of ketchup or salad dressing that will be applied to a large area of food, will its evil not be diluted?
If you stick to one little packet, maybe it wouldn’t be that bad. But, I have my doubts. I think it’s an ingredient from the devil and should be avoided at all costs. If you have a choice pick a packet without it.