What food has surprised you because of the calorie content?
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Peanut butter!!3
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DamienAngelica wrote: »CarvedTones wrote: »RaeBeeBaby wrote: »On the low side for fast-food restaurant meals, I recently discovered Panda Express. I always avoided it because I thought it was loaded with MSG (to which I react negatively) and I wondered how good fast food Chinese could be. Surprisingly they do not use any MSG and it's really pretty good.
Most restaurants steer away from MSG because of all the negative press (much of it well deserved). Black mold on the walls won't drive away customers as bad as MSG on the menu...
Please tell me more about why MSG is bad. I thought all of that was debunked as bad science. Bad science with racist undertones even...
It was. The testing they did was a mess. They injected as much MSG in lab rats that they did when testing saccharine - more than any person could reasonably eat. The FDA has classified MSG as "generally recognized as safe," and it's in so much processed food now, it isn't even funny. Doritos, Pringles, frozen dinners, salad dressings, and on and on. There are some people who are overly sensitive to it, but it isn't a demon destroying our bellies as many would have you believe.
Damn I never realised it was in so much stuff. No wonder it tastes so good
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DamienAngelica wrote: »CarvedTones wrote: »RaeBeeBaby wrote: »On the low side for fast-food restaurant meals, I recently discovered Panda Express. I always avoided it because I thought it was loaded with MSG (to which I react negatively) and I wondered how good fast food Chinese could be. Surprisingly they do not use any MSG and it's really pretty good.
Most restaurants steer away from MSG because of all the negative press (much of it well deserved). Black mold on the walls won't drive away customers as bad as MSG on the menu...
Please tell me more about why MSG is bad. I thought all of that was debunked as bad science. Bad science with racist undertones even...
It was. The testing they did was a mess. They injected as much MSG in lab rats that they did when testing saccharine - more than any person could reasonably eat. The FDA has classified MSG as "generally recognized as safe," and it's in so much processed food now, it isn't even funny. Doritos, Pringles, frozen dinners, salad dressings, and on and on. There are some people who are overly sensitive to it, but it isn't a demon destroying our bellies as many would have you believe.
Yes. Like soy, it's not about the food itself, but the fact that it is in almost everything may be detrimental to our health. Everything in moderation, folks.0 -
motivatedmartha wrote: »Not surprised but I am always disappointed at the number of calories in a tortilla wrap!
May be just a US thing, but Xtreme Wellness High Fiber wraps @50 calories each are my favorite wrap even if I have room for a different wrap. they are soft but fairly strong and taste good. I have an easier time making a wrap or burrito that doesn't fall apart with them than I do with regular flour tortillas. When I was losing, i would reconstitute some PB2 and spread it on one and roll it up. That came out to 100 calories and is pretty tasty and filling.2 -
tirowow12385 wrote: »I don't get how one hot dog is 200 calories. It's not particularly fatty or oiky and chicken breast of equal ounce measurement is half the calories so where are all this calories from?
Uhm, yes they are fatty. It varies by brand and variety, but the higher calorie ones get most of their calories from fat.0 -
DamienAngelica wrote: »CarvedTones wrote: »RaeBeeBaby wrote: »On the low side for fast-food restaurant meals, I recently discovered Panda Express. I always avoided it because I thought it was loaded with MSG (to which I react negatively) and I wondered how good fast food Chinese could be. Surprisingly they do not use any MSG and it's really pretty good.
Most restaurants steer away from MSG because of all the negative press (much of it well deserved). Black mold on the walls won't drive away customers as bad as MSG on the menu...
Please tell me more about why MSG is bad. I thought all of that was debunked as bad science. Bad science with racist undertones even...
It was. The testing they did was a mess. They injected as much MSG in lab rats that they did when testing saccharine - more than any person could reasonably eat. The FDA has classified MSG as "generally recognized as safe," and it's in so much processed food now, it isn't even funny. Doritos, Pringles, frozen dinners, salad dressings, and on and on. There are some people who are overly sensitive to it, but it isn't a demon destroying our bellies as many would have you believe.
Interesting. I stand corrected. I just poked around and the Mayo Clinic agrees that no good research has found a link between reported symptoms and MSG. Today's devils are gluten and GMO. About 10 people avoid gluten for every one that needs to and there is no solid science that says anyone needs to avoid GMO; in fact the benefits of some GMO crops are so great that the CDC, WHO and pretty much every science based health organization endorse the use of GMO foods.1 -
DamienAngelica wrote: »CarvedTones wrote: »RaeBeeBaby wrote: »On the low side for fast-food restaurant meals, I recently discovered Panda Express. I always avoided it because I thought it was loaded with MSG (to which I react negatively) and I wondered how good fast food Chinese could be. Surprisingly they do not use any MSG and it's really pretty good.
Most restaurants steer away from MSG because of all the negative press (much of it well deserved). Black mold on the walls won't drive away customers as bad as MSG on the menu...
Please tell me more about why MSG is bad. I thought all of that was debunked as bad science. Bad science with racist undertones even...
It was. The testing they did was a mess. They injected as much MSG in lab rats that they did when testing saccharine - more than any person could reasonably eat. The FDA has classified MSG as "generally recognized as safe," and it's in so much processed food now, it isn't even funny. Doritos, Pringles, frozen dinners, salad dressings, and on and on. There are some people who are overly sensitive to it, but it isn't a demon destroying our bellies as many would have you believe.
Damn I never realised it was in so much stuff. No wonder it tastes so good
Doesn't MSG stand for Mmmm So Good?
A couple that really surprised me: The calories in this mudslide drink I had over Easter. I looked it up thinking "I know this will be high calorie. Probably 450 for what I'm about to drink?. " I looked it up, and found it was more like 800. I didn't believe it could really be that high, and I just found a bad database entry. I then went out to the fridge and scanned the barcode just to be sure. Yup, 800 calories for 12oz (estimated). . Also I did not have a scale present, so it's likely my guesstimated amount of 12oz was probably different then what I really drank.
The other is potato salad. While yes, I realize it's basically potatoes slathered in mayo & egg yolk, the amount of calories per serving gets me every time. I put what appeared to be a little less then 1/4 cup one time on my plate. I weighed it, gasped, put some back and was still out by 250 calories. Do they boil the potatoes in friggin' butter?!3 -
I was surprised by how high sushi can be in calories. And I thought it was going to be on the lower side. I have to budget my calories during the day if I want to treat myself to a few (like max 3) rolls of sushi. Don't get me started on the spicy mayo but that one is at least obvious. I use lite mayo,lime juice and sriracha for my dipping sauce for sushi when I order take out now. Less calories and almost as tasty
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Bread is not bad, it depends which ones you get of course. I used to eat Country Harvest Protein bread, they were 110 calories per slice....but if you get the PC Blue ones, I think they are like 50 calories per slice.
I have never heard of those breads - are they a US thing, or am I just not being terribly observant?
I’ll sometimes use sandwich thins, but they don’t make a terribly satisfying sandwich. And with more normal bread, or a roll, once I’ve got two slices and a tiny amount of filling that’s my lunch allowance all gone and more and I haven’t even added butter or veg. It’s just not worth it.
So nowadays I buy nice bread when it’s on special offer, freeze it, and have a slice with my lunch as an occasional treat.
There's a bread I get in the US, at Whole Foods, called something like "Silver Hills 16-grain something or other." It's 100 calories per slice, with 6 g protein, and tastes great toasted.0 -
The only real negative surprise to me was pasta and restaurant food. It's crazy how some places sneak butter into literally everything they serve.
Rice was a pleasant surprise, as I used to think my usual portion of rice was 200 calories. It is actually closer to 100 calories.1 -
Pasta. I thought pasta was bad because it was "refined." I thought "refined" meant something more like Cheetos. But no, a reasonable-sized serving of pasta, just plain, is 400 cal!3
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avocado1
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CarvedTones wrote: »motivatedmartha wrote: »Not surprised but I am always disappointed at the number of calories in a tortilla wrap!
May be just a US thing, but Xtreme Wellness High Fiber wraps @50 calories each are my favorite wrap even if I have room for a different wrap. they are soft but fairly strong and taste good. I have an easier time making a wrap or burrito that doesn't fall apart with them than I do with regular flour tortillas. When I was losing, i would reconstitute some PB2 and spread it on one and roll it up. That came out to 100 calories and is pretty tasty and filling.
I'm not sure if we can get them in the UK but I am now on a mission to see if I can find some - google shall be my friend - thanks 0 -
motivatedmartha wrote: »CarvedTones wrote: »motivatedmartha wrote: »Not surprised but I am always disappointed at the number of calories in a tortilla wrap!
May be just a US thing, but Xtreme Wellness High Fiber wraps @50 calories each are my favorite wrap even if I have room for a different wrap. they are soft but fairly strong and taste good. I have an easier time making a wrap or burrito that doesn't fall apart with them than I do with regular flour tortillas. When I was losing, i would reconstitute some PB2 and spread it on one and roll it up. That came out to 100 calories and is pretty tasty and filling.
I'm not sure if we can get them in the UK but I am now on a mission to see if I can find some - google shall be my friend - thanks
Amazon.co.uk used to do them but say they are out of stock and they do not know when they will be availbale again. Ho hum - my world will consist of deconstructed spicy chicken wraps
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I was actually pleasantly surprised to find out I could have enough pasta to fill me up for under 500 calories. When I made a pasta dish in the recipe builder and weighed it, I was expecting to find I would not be able to have very much while staying within calories. I put what I wanted on my plate, and weighed it out. It turned out to be enough food and I didn't blow my calories for the day like I thought I would. Restaurant pasta is a whole other beast though. The only saving grace for it, is that it microwaves well. So I can eat half now and half later.2
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drbeanie2000 wrote: »Bread is not bad, it depends which ones you get of course. I used to eat Country Harvest Protein bread, they were 110 calories per slice....but if you get the PC Blue ones, I think they are like 50 calories per slice.
I have never heard of those breads - are they a US thing, or am I just not being terribly observant?
I’ll sometimes use sandwich thins, but they don’t make a terribly satisfying sandwich. And with more normal bread, or a roll, once I’ve got two slices and a tiny amount of filling that’s my lunch allowance all gone and more and I haven’t even added butter or veg. It’s just not worth it.
So nowadays I buy nice bread when it’s on special offer, freeze it, and have a slice with my lunch as an occasional treat.
There's a bread I get in the US, at Whole Foods, called something like "Silver Hills 16-grain something or other." It's 100 calories per slice, with 6 g protein, and tastes great toasted.
Again, not something I’ve ever seen in the UK.
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emcclure013 wrote: »Avocados continually surprise me with how calorie dense they are for being a fruit (and they surprise me for being considered a fruit). I can easily eat one a day, but they can be difficult to fit in sometimes, especially the large ones once you weigh them.
I'm also surprised often by what foods they make in "0 calorie" versions. The fact that a soda can taste good and be 0 calories still surprises me sometimes. They make 0 calorie salad dressings, chocolate syrup, and coffee syrups. Now, they might not taste any good, but they make them....
An avocado is primarily comprised of dietary fat...dietary fat is 9 calories per gram. Anything with a seed is a fruit rather than a vegetable...so like cucumbers are a fruit, tomatoes are a fruit, squashes are a fruit, etc. A lot of what people think are vegetables are actually fruits.1 -
Regular coffee with cream and sugar from Dunkin Donuts - 190 calories?!!! I could almost have a Snicker's Bar for that many calories!1
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etherealanwar wrote: »I was surprised by how high sushi can be in calories. And I thought it was going to be on the lower side. I have to budget my calories during the day if I want to treat myself to a few (like max 3) rolls of sushi. Don't get me started on the spicy mayo but that one is at least obvious. I use lite mayo,lime juice and sriracha for my dipping sauce for sushi when I order take out now. Less calories and almost as tasty
Wasabi and soy sauce?0 -
rheddmobile wrote: »etherealanwar wrote: »I was surprised by how high sushi can be in calories. And I thought it was going to be on the lower side. I have to budget my calories during the day if I want to treat myself to a few (like max 3) rolls of sushi. Don't get me started on the spicy mayo but that one is at least obvious. I use lite mayo,lime juice and sriracha for my dipping sauce for sushi when I order take out now. Less calories and almost as tasty
Wasabi and soy sauce?
Not a big fan of either of those, especially wasabi. That stuff is nasty.0
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