Ok faithful readers - listen up. I know a lot of people when they first start to go vegetarian struggle with A) Nutrition and B) where to go. Well, today I am going to give you some lovely insight on one of my favorite places to munch on when I have no money but want good food. Panera. Now, while Panera doesnt have as many vegetarian options as I would like...if you go to their OWN website, you can see on their nutrition calculator that their food isnt as healthy as one may think. I know girls - because I am one - are told by doctors, nutritionists, and in those crappy magazines that you should be eating turkey or chicken. When you compare it to thier vegetarian options (you can even make them vegan by asking for no cheese) you will be shocked by how unhealthy the meat and dairy is for you. This doesnt go just for Panera, obviously, but I know myself and a lot of my friends love to eat there and truly think that what they are eating is quite healthy.
When I go, I usually get the "You Pick TWO" option. I love to eat their half Mediterannian Veggie Sandwich along with half the Greek Salad (I know, sterotypical me). More than often I will ask for no cheese because I try to stay away from it as much as possible due to all the fat and cholestrol that is in it. For the sake of just seeing what is in here I will show you both options. Let's say you get exactly what I ordered, the Veggie Sandwich and the Greek Salad as they are:
You are looking at a meal of 520 calories with 15mg of cholestrol, 640mg of salt.
If you remove the dairy items (the feta cheese in both sandwiches) you are looking at a cholestrol free meal and shaved off 60 calories, bringing you to 460 calories (this does not include chips, side bread, or apple but I advise to go with the apple and have some water! Soda = crap for the body. Yes it's vegetarian but it has so much crap in it you probably are carrying extra weight just from soda that your tummy cant digest).
Now, back in the day when I was being lied to and believed everything I heard/read, I would get a "lean" turkey sandwich. All I have to say is....while it is not the worst of the sandwiches and it is definatly healthier than some of the other options...when you compare it to the Veggie sandwich on how to be healthy, there is no comparison.
The Sierra Turkey (half sandwich) is 480 calories 45mg of cholestrol with 990mg of sodium. Again this is just for HALF the sandwich alone. Not including soup or salad. That is a lot of salt and quite a bit of cholestrol. Again, healthier than some of their other options but daaaaaaamn.... That is 3 times the amount of cholestrol than the veggie sandwich with dairy or 45 times the amount of cholestrol if you get it vegan. For calories it has 180 more calories than the half of the Veggie sandwich as is or 240 more calories than the Veggie sandwich minus the dairy. You can make the Sierra Turkey healthIER by nixing the mayo but really, more than half the choloestrol and salt is from the Turkey it self. That's what happens wiht a lot of meat. They are high in salt to get the taste of death out of your mouth. Again. Meat = Crap for your body. Dairy too.
Now, for those good old Italian Sandwich lovers....you may be shocked. I think this may be one of the most unhealthy sandwiches I have ever seen. The Italian Combo sandwich. Now, this is just HALF the sandwich....
520 calories, 85mg of cholestrol, 1510mg of sodium. Yikes. Need I say more? Be smart with what you eat and where you eat it from.
People always say they are on the run and dont know what to get to eat. DO YOUR RESEARCH! Panera CAN be healthy, even Wendy's can be healthy if you stick to a baked potato and a side salad (another vegetarian option :) ). Vegetarian/Vegan is the way to go. We always hear from our doctors that our cholestrol is too high, we are too fat. Not going to lie...going veg has helped me a lot. I am on the run too. We are so blind and having "high cholestrol" or being "over weight" is just like another day. It has become so common to us people dont seem to even be afraid anymore when they hear these words!
You are what you eat.
Treat your body with kindness.
Lead a cruelty free - and healthy diet.
Make healthy choices so you can stick around a little longer than you thought you would. Fast food is part of our lifestyle...let's just try to make it a healthier one.
Kat
For more information on your diet or where I have received this information please check: http://www.paneranutrition.com/NutritionCalculator.aspx
Friday, December 11, 2009
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