On restaurant 'healthy' foods

velix

Saw this and thought I would share:

Why are Canadian food companies resorting to the health “bait and switch”?
Canadian companies are using the promise of healthy options to lure customers. But are they putting their money where your mouth is?

Steve White, Canadian Press
Have you seen the newest Tim Hortons TV commercial? Two colleagues, male and female, flirting over their healthy lifestyles and a supposedly healthy food choice - the new Tim Hortons berry smoothie - and then making plans to work out together.

It goes to show that healthy lifestyles are indeed becoming sexy - and it's also proof that fast food eateries and food companies recognize this appeal and are trying to attract people who are focused on eating well.

Tim Hortons certainly isn't the only chain jumping on the bandwagon - a quick check of new offerings at both the drive thru and the supermarket vouches for this fact.

But are companies simply paying lip service to the concept of healthy living or are they really moving towards enlightened eats?

More like good old-fashioned bait and switch, if you ask me. In many cases, it seems that what's actually happening is companies are presenting a few "smart" choices to get you in the door (or looking at their products in the supermarket), and then enticing you with yet more sodium or fat-laden options. And in many cases, even those products that do seem healthy don't make the grade.

That berry smoothie in the commercial is a perfect example. The medium size supplies 180 calories (220 if you have it with yogurt!) and 43 grams of sugar. That's almost 11 teaspoons of the sweet stuff! Now, if you're thinking fruit's natural sugars account for some of that, here's a puzzler: Fruit also contains fibre. But Tim Hortons nutritional guide lists the fibre content for this product as zero. Which means either there's not much fruit in there or someone got the numbers wrong.

Another recent addition to Tim Hortons menu, the toasted turkey chipotle on a cheese bagel, sounds like it could potentially be a decent choice for health conscious eaters. But it clocks in at 1340 milligrams of sodium in one sandwich - that's just shy of the amount recommended for an entire day's intake. It's interesting to note that another menu option that's been around for some time, the chicken salad sandwich, contains nearly a third less sodium. Why bring in new menu items with even more sodium now when Health Canada is asking industry to lighten up on salt?

Subway is also embarking on a new health and education program called "Commit to Fit." The sandwich chain says that armed with information, you can make smart choices at their eateries, and they've targeted dietitians to help promote the initiative. In a letter to members of Dietitians of Canada, Subway calls out that they have reduced the sodium levels by 25 per cent in their "8 under 6 grams of fat or less sandwiches" sandwich line. They're also initiating a number of informational programs, including a digital sandwich builder, that helps you determine the nutritional value of your order. And to top it off, they point out that they provide nutrition information on their lower-fat sandwiches in clear view for customers before they order.

At first glance this is a dietitian's dream - nutrition information before customers order so they can make informed decisions. That's real choice.

But where are the goods on Subway's other offerings? Shouldn't a program aimed at "educating Canadians about the choices that are available at Subway Restaurants" (the word choices is even underlined in their letter) include info about all of their menu options - and not just the healthy ones Subway wants to highlight?

What about Subway's new menu selection, the Diablo chicken sandwich (with cheese) and its 1020 milligrams of sodium for a six-inch sub? Why don't customers see those numbers too?

Sure doesn't sound anything like a true commitment to me. That would mean giving customers all the facts about all the menu items. Instead they're picking and choosing which menu items to highlight and keeping Canadians from making truly informed choices.

If you think this is unrealistic, it's worth noting that some companies are indeed making a real commitment and putting their money where your mouth is. Campbell Soup is one such leader: at one time, their products were among the saltiest options on store shelves. Just one generous serving and you could easily surpass your sodium recommendations for the day. But over the past five years, they've been reducing the sodium content in most of their soups by 10 to 25 per cent. While many still provide quite a bit of salt, over time, each new product line has moved towards lower sodium counts.

Their latest offering, Campbell's No Salt Added Ready to Use Chicken Broth, truly raises the bar for other companies. It contains just 40 milligrams of sodium per 150 mL serving - 90 per cent less sodium than their Campbell's 25% Less Sodium Chicken Broth.

Now that's what I call a real commitment to change.

Rosie Schwartz is a Toronto-based consulting dietitian in private practice and is author of The Enlightened Eater's Whole Foods Guide: Harvest the Power of Phyto Foods (Viking Canada). You can find her on Twitter @rosieschwartz.
(From: http://lifestyle.ca.msn.com/health-fitness/diet/ee-article.aspx?cp-documentid=28611716)

nextrightthing

Excellent information. I am really annoyed by those commercials that are promoting foods as healthy when in fact they are not. I think that most all of the smoothie/ juice places fall into that category. The smoothies have no real fruit in them......fruit syrups, no fibre, and way too much sugar. It gives too many people a false sense of security. Thanks for posting this. Now I need to go and check out the veggie sandwich on whole wheat, with lite cream cheese I sometimes pick up at Tim's.

kimmerroze

Interesting, I do not live in canada, but this makes me more aware of what I am eating, even subway!

cbirdso

Their latest offering, Campbell's No Salt Added Ready to Use Chicken Broth, truly raises the bar for other companies. It contains just 40 milligrams of sodium per 150 mL serving - 90 per cent less sodium than their Campbell's 25% Less Sodium Chicken Broth.

Now that's what I call a real commitment to change.

Rosie Schwartz is a Toronto-based consulting dietitian in private practice and is author of The Enlightened Eater's Whole Foods Guide: Harvest the Power of Phyto Foods (Viking Canada). You can find her on Twitter @rosieschwartz.
(From: http://lifestyle.ca.msn.com/health-fitness/diet/ee-article.aspx?cp-documentid=28611716)

I'm sorry, but I'm calling BS on that. Campbell's used to have 5 soups varieties including the chicken broth that had NO SALT added that I used to use all the time about 7 years ago until I couldn't find them in stores anymore. I kept asking my local store to carry those soups again and they said they were no longer being manufactured. Looks like they got enough pressure to bring back ONE of the 5. (The others were tomato, cream of mushroom, chicken noodle, and vegetable beef.)

velix

Their latest offering, Campbell's No Salt Added Ready to Use Chicken Broth, truly raises the bar for other companies. It contains just 40 milligrams of sodium per 150 mL serving - 90 per cent less sodium than their Campbell's 25% Less Sodium Chicken Broth.

Now that's what I call a real commitment to change.

Rosie Schwartz is a Toronto-based consulting dietitian in private practice and is author of The Enlightened Eater's Whole Foods Guide: Harvest the Power of Phyto Foods (Viking Canada). You can find her on Twitter @rosieschwartz.
(From: http://lifestyle.ca.msn.com/health-fitness/diet/ee-article.aspx?cp-documentid=28611716)

I'm sorry, but I'm calling BS on that. Campbell's used to have 5 soups varieties including the chicken broth that had NO SALT added that I used to use all the time about 7 years ago until I couldn't find them in stores anymore. I kept asking my local store to carry those soups again and they said they were no longer being manufactured. Looks like they got enough pressure to bring back ONE of the 5. (The others were tomato, cream of mushroom, chicken noodle, and vegetable beef.)

just curious - was this in Canada or the US?

cbirdso

I live in the Seattle. But the no salt added Campbell's are still not available here in the Pacific NW. I visit Vancouver and/or Victoria every year but never tried to buy them there.

B_L_A_Z_I_A_N

I totally agree.

The other day I was all excited to eat a Subway since I thought it was a great healthy sandwich. I got home, ate 6 inches of the turkey sandwich with veggies, and found out I had just consumed over 600 calories for my lunch. Wow, so much for under 6 grams of fat. Maybe they forgot that a sandwich doesn't just consist of meat only or that it isn't just about grams of fat, its about calories and nutrition too.

UGH!!!