By Susan Burke MS, RD, LD/N, CDE
eDiets Contributor
Updated: January 16, 2008
What a shame that Mexican Americans have the fastest-growing rate of obesity. It’s certainly not because of their traditional cuisine, which is "famous for its avocados, beans, corn, squash, jicama, tomatoes, chocolate, papaya, guava, vanilla, a variety of spices, and of course, chili peppers," according to Spanishaboard.com.
The native Mexican diet is plant-based, with lots of beans (high in protein), some rice and seasonal vegetables. In the USA, Mexican food means cheese, refried beans, fried chips and deep fried stuff.
Americans from Mexico are eating way more red meat than before, more refined carbs and sugar, and they’re not as active as they were in their native cultures. This isn’t unique to Mexican immigrants, it’s common for all Americans, and the rate of obesity is soaring.
Mexican restaurant chains offer the worst of the worst in terms of grams of fat, cholesterol and just plain calories per serving. Some of the dishes are shockingly rich, serving more calories per entree than most people need for the entire day.
The 5 Worst Mexican Meals
Mexican chain restaurants tend to put cheese, greasy refried beans, sour cream and guacamole on everything. But Mexican restaurants don’t have to be diet-disasters, as long as you sick to your guns and order right.
Chips: When they put the basket on the table, do you dive in? How many do you eat? Five, 10, hey, can we have another basket? If the chips are a vehicle for guacamole, that adds more fat and calories to the meal. At Baja Fresh, an appetizer serving of chips and guacamole has 540 calories and 34 grams of fat, including 3 grams of saturated fat and 1 of trans fat. Add that to the hundreds of calories from anything else you eat, and you’re over your limit for the entire day.
Nachos: More chips, smothered with cheese, sour cream and guacamole. Get a free pass to the ER for blocked arteries. Baja’s single serving of Cheese Nachos has 1,890 calories and 108 grams of fat, 40 grams of saturated fat.
Quesadillas: Flour tortillas, grilled then stuffed with meat, chicken, cheese or fish, and covered with cheese, at Baja Fresh, it’s a daunting 1,330 calories and 80 grams of fat.
Refried beans with anything: That orange paste doesn’t resemble anything you’ll find in an authentic Mexican meal: opt for stewed black beans or pinto beans, instead.
Shredded cheese: Read any menu, from Chipotle Mexican Grill, from Baja Fresh, from El Torrito... They all say “and cheese” on all the hot, and even cold dishes. Burritos, tacos, quesadillas and even salads come with cheese. Tell the waiter to hold it, and order extra salsa instead.
5 Best Mexican Meals
Some Mexican mainstays help you stay within your calories, although since everything is loaded with salt -- if you’re watching your sodium -- it’s almost impossible to keep within a recommended 2,000 milligrams for the day.
Make the most of your Mexican restaurant experience by using your South-of–the-Border smarts: Sharing an entree is always a good tactic, especially at Mexican-American chains, where dishes tend to be muy grande. Don’t forget to say, "No queso, por favor”!
Tacos: The simplest is often the best. At Baja Fresh, the Original Baja Taco is simply your choice of charbroiled chicken, steak, shrimp or pork in a grilled corn tortilla with onions, cilantro and salsa. Only 220 calories; you can order "dos, por favor"!
Soups: Soup makes a good appetizer or even main course, and Mexican black bean soup or gazpacho (cold vegetable soup) fit the bill. Say "No" to the heavy condiments, like shredded cheese and sour cream.
Arroz dishes: A filling dish made with rice, but share "con carne" (grilled meat); “con pollo” (with chicken) or “con camarones” (with shrimp).
Fajitas: Presented on a sizzling hot platter, usually with lots of vegetables and side dishes. I skip the sides of refried beans and rice, and fill up on grilled shrimp, chicken or beef.
Burrito Bowl: At Chipotle Mexican Grill you can have it “your way.” Skip the 340-calorie flour tortilla and enjoy a bowl of chicken or steak, black or vegetarian beans, lettuce and salsa. Skip the guacamole and sour cream.
(Courtesy: eDiets' "Worst Foods" Ezine)
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Use 3D Thinking for Better Change in 2008
By James Feldman, CITE, CPIM, CPT, MIP
As we begin 2008, I hope that this column has helped you to determine tactics, set strategic initiatives and align the organization to create a "first choice" for your customers and clients. To develop a business model in which they insist on coming to your organization over others. To create "Customer Insistence."
When I look at business today, what I see are organizations that claim to be progressive but are mired in traditional thinking.
There are few innovations and few risks. This offers the opportunity to change. There is no better time than now to discover how to become remarkable to your customers. Face it, the old components of price, promotion, publicity, etc., aren’t working any more. It is time to create something remarkable, so that your customers can’t go elsewhere.
I see companies that have carefully laid out plans that are rigorously implemented, without deviation, as the way to overcome the inevitable confusion they themselves have created. As more resources are placed in the process of planning, the successful execution of the plan becomes secondary. Resources are placed at the top (planning) and all but eliminated at the bottom (execution). Promotion then sets itself up for failure because more time and money is spent on planning than on execution.
I am not suggesting follow the leader. That path has been taken by someone else. I am suggesting that you become the leader, the risk taker; the pioneer that IS the competition not following the competition. Look around. What impacts your personal buying decisions? Big brands, big ideas, big impacts, big connections.
iPod changed the way we buy music and videos. Starbucks changed the way we purchase coffee. FedEx changed the way we send packages. ESPN changed the way we follow sports. In 2008, you can create something remarkable that the right customers will insist upon. Leaders do something remarkable, and, once they stake their claim, anyone else’s attempt to replicate their achievements is not remarkable, but a pale imitation.
Special Offer for Better Change Subscribers! Audio CD of Jim's 7 Shifts to Impact Your Bottom Line - Just $14.95!
Based on Jim's "Becoming a Meaningful Memories Provider" presentation, this audio CD tells you how to shift your thinking and develop processes that create repeat and referral business from your customers. Discover the next-generation implementation of Exceeding Customer Expectations and learn to create experiences that engage customers and leave an indelible favorable impression.
The Wall Street Journal is the black and white poster child for old-thinking. USA Today delivers more information, using color, graphics and "sound bites" that take dull information and create "water cooler buzz." Look around and make the comparison. Are you discovering more "black and white" or "color?"
I often talk about 3D Thinking. The premise is that in today’s business environment, situation assessment before creating the plan is often ignored in the rush to action. Bets are placed without understanding the "rules of the game." When action is taken without a thorough assessment of the situation, people begin working on the wrong things. If the goal of every promotion is to increase "Customer Insistence," then we have to re-examine our promotions.
As a new year's gift let me provide my three-step 3D Thinking process – DEPTH, DISCOVERY and DETERMINATION.
1. Reach into the DEPTH of the problem by going into the box instead of stepping outside of it. Dig deep into the underlying causes of your problems and search for new and better ways to achieve success. If you really look at what the successful organizations are doing, it comes down to a few simple concepts: Define your customer. Set a goal to obtain that customer. Do everything possible to keep that customer. Create "Customer Insistence."
2. DISCOVERY involves closely examining the actual, real-world situation devoid of politics or any other subjective factor. Assess whether or not the solution is worth the effort. Look at your marketing efforts. I believe that the return on the marketing investment to existing customers can be many times greater that to prospective customers. The greatest source of increased revenue is from those who already patronize your organization. How do we treat them? Are your processes and procedures giving them reasons to look elsewhere? Or are you making it easy for them to get what they need and want?
3. DETERMINATION is required to carry out new practices successfully. Not all new ideas succeed immediately. In fact, relatively few do. But the ones that succeed do so because they are believed in, supported and given the time they need to prove themselves. That takes determination, and no matter what the idea or goal, without determination it doesn't stand a chance. And this means having upper management buy into and sign off your program.
Use 3D Thinking to develop strategies that go beyond conventional rules. Become another ESPN and dedicate yourself serving a niche so well that you own it. Become another FedEx and absolutely, positively deliver on your promise. Become a Starbucks and deliver a commodity product with such innovation and flair that people insist on your brand over others. And remember, if there are a thousand changes you want to make, change one thing at the time, or the process will overpower you.
Make a promise that this is the year in which you overwhelm the market by creating "Customer Insistence." And as this year ends and the new one begins place these BETTER CHANGES :
1. Make 2008 a year in which your strategy succeeds with emphasis on the professional execution of tactics.
2. Make 2008 a year in which you improve your planning and execution with tactical plans shaped by reality, with information learned from direct contact with your customers, employees and suppliers.
3. Make 2008 a year in which you look at your customers as an ally instead of an interference thus creating "Customer Insistence."
4. Make 2008 a year in which you partner with your employees and suppliers and through their pro-active input and craft plans to make the customer experience exceptional, thus building and empowering the team to create and maintain "Customer Insistence."
And finally, my holiday wish for you is to retain what you know, discover what is not known, and learn the unknowable. Expand your knowledge base by looking outside your industry, looking inside the box, and discovering new opportunities using existing resources.
Here's to a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year.
-----------------
The Better Change Newsletter from Shift Happens!
Formerly Thriving On Change
James Feldman Associates, Inc.
http://www.shifthappens.com - 312-527-1111
Feel free to forward this newsletter with a friend or colleague.
As we begin 2008, I hope that this column has helped you to determine tactics, set strategic initiatives and align the organization to create a "first choice" for your customers and clients. To develop a business model in which they insist on coming to your organization over others. To create "Customer Insistence."
When I look at business today, what I see are organizations that claim to be progressive but are mired in traditional thinking.
There are few innovations and few risks. This offers the opportunity to change. There is no better time than now to discover how to become remarkable to your customers. Face it, the old components of price, promotion, publicity, etc., aren’t working any more. It is time to create something remarkable, so that your customers can’t go elsewhere.
I see companies that have carefully laid out plans that are rigorously implemented, without deviation, as the way to overcome the inevitable confusion they themselves have created. As more resources are placed in the process of planning, the successful execution of the plan becomes secondary. Resources are placed at the top (planning) and all but eliminated at the bottom (execution). Promotion then sets itself up for failure because more time and money is spent on planning than on execution.
I am not suggesting follow the leader. That path has been taken by someone else. I am suggesting that you become the leader, the risk taker; the pioneer that IS the competition not following the competition. Look around. What impacts your personal buying decisions? Big brands, big ideas, big impacts, big connections.
iPod changed the way we buy music and videos. Starbucks changed the way we purchase coffee. FedEx changed the way we send packages. ESPN changed the way we follow sports. In 2008, you can create something remarkable that the right customers will insist upon. Leaders do something remarkable, and, once they stake their claim, anyone else’s attempt to replicate their achievements is not remarkable, but a pale imitation.
Special Offer for Better Change Subscribers! Audio CD of Jim's 7 Shifts to Impact Your Bottom Line - Just $14.95!
Based on Jim's "Becoming a Meaningful Memories Provider" presentation, this audio CD tells you how to shift your thinking and develop processes that create repeat and referral business from your customers. Discover the next-generation implementation of Exceeding Customer Expectations and learn to create experiences that engage customers and leave an indelible favorable impression.
The Wall Street Journal is the black and white poster child for old-thinking. USA Today delivers more information, using color, graphics and "sound bites" that take dull information and create "water cooler buzz." Look around and make the comparison. Are you discovering more "black and white" or "color?"
I often talk about 3D Thinking. The premise is that in today’s business environment, situation assessment before creating the plan is often ignored in the rush to action. Bets are placed without understanding the "rules of the game." When action is taken without a thorough assessment of the situation, people begin working on the wrong things. If the goal of every promotion is to increase "Customer Insistence," then we have to re-examine our promotions.
As a new year's gift let me provide my three-step 3D Thinking process – DEPTH, DISCOVERY and DETERMINATION.
1. Reach into the DEPTH of the problem by going into the box instead of stepping outside of it. Dig deep into the underlying causes of your problems and search for new and better ways to achieve success. If you really look at what the successful organizations are doing, it comes down to a few simple concepts: Define your customer. Set a goal to obtain that customer. Do everything possible to keep that customer. Create "Customer Insistence."
2. DISCOVERY involves closely examining the actual, real-world situation devoid of politics or any other subjective factor. Assess whether or not the solution is worth the effort. Look at your marketing efforts. I believe that the return on the marketing investment to existing customers can be many times greater that to prospective customers. The greatest source of increased revenue is from those who already patronize your organization. How do we treat them? Are your processes and procedures giving them reasons to look elsewhere? Or are you making it easy for them to get what they need and want?
3. DETERMINATION is required to carry out new practices successfully. Not all new ideas succeed immediately. In fact, relatively few do. But the ones that succeed do so because they are believed in, supported and given the time they need to prove themselves. That takes determination, and no matter what the idea or goal, without determination it doesn't stand a chance. And this means having upper management buy into and sign off your program.
Use 3D Thinking to develop strategies that go beyond conventional rules. Become another ESPN and dedicate yourself serving a niche so well that you own it. Become another FedEx and absolutely, positively deliver on your promise. Become a Starbucks and deliver a commodity product with such innovation and flair that people insist on your brand over others. And remember, if there are a thousand changes you want to make, change one thing at the time, or the process will overpower you.
Make a promise that this is the year in which you overwhelm the market by creating "Customer Insistence." And as this year ends and the new one begins place these BETTER CHANGES :
1. Make 2008 a year in which your strategy succeeds with emphasis on the professional execution of tactics.
2. Make 2008 a year in which you improve your planning and execution with tactical plans shaped by reality, with information learned from direct contact with your customers, employees and suppliers.
3. Make 2008 a year in which you look at your customers as an ally instead of an interference thus creating "Customer Insistence."
4. Make 2008 a year in which you partner with your employees and suppliers and through their pro-active input and craft plans to make the customer experience exceptional, thus building and empowering the team to create and maintain "Customer Insistence."
And finally, my holiday wish for you is to retain what you know, discover what is not known, and learn the unknowable. Expand your knowledge base by looking outside your industry, looking inside the box, and discovering new opportunities using existing resources.
Here's to a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year.
-----------------
The Better Change Newsletter from Shift Happens!
Formerly Thriving On Change
James Feldman Associates, Inc.
http://www.shifthappens.com - 312-527-1111
Feel free to forward this newsletter with a friend or colleague.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Interpreting Your Food Dreams
Hope your Holiday celebrations and libations all went well...that you had fun and managed to stay safe...and are raring to tackle the New Year by the horns!
The following is a series of "meanings" of dreams about various foods...Enjoy it and, if you believe in palmistry, astrology, tarot and the like, these interpretations will be revealing to you and certainly entertaining party talk...
Happy New Year!
Jacques
---------
You dive into a delicious bowl of rich, creamy vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup, dolloped with whipped cream, showered with sprinkles and crowned with a bright red cherry. It's sinful. It's delicious. No spoon is big enough.
And then you wake up.
Bummer. It was all a dream. But before you jump out of bed and raid the fridge (You shouldn't be eating at 3:30 a.m. anyway!), remember that dreams often have hidden meanings. Maybe that decadent sundae was really trying to tell you something…
It's not uncommon for food to appear in dreams -- especially among dieters. So what exactly is behind that T-bone steak, cheese eggs and Welch's grape? Read it and sleep, folks:
Dessert First
That ice cream you just drooled over at the beginning of this article? It suggests good luck and much success in your love life, so go ahead and eat the whole thing. Beware, though, if your sundae has nuts on it -- you're in for some craziness or confusion. They can also be translated as a pun on "testicles" and refer to your sex life. Bottom line: A few nuts on your ice cream means you're destined for a wild, passionate relationship.
Chocoholics can rest easy with their dreams -- any dream about chocolate denotes good health and happiness, as well as a fondness for a pampered lifestyle.
Obviously, you were meant to live it up in the lap of luxury. Indulge and buy something nice for yourself.
To see a cake or cookies shows friends will soon do something nice for you. If the sweets look ugly or burnt, however, you're in for a short spell of bad luck. You didn't think you were going to have your cake and eat it too, did you?
Dinner's Ready!
For starters, seeing a green, leafy salad is your body's way of telling you to take better care of yourself. Eat better from now on to avoid sickness and bad health.
Carb-cutters may think dreams of pasta are just signs of withdrawal, but macaroni is actually a warning to be frugal and save money. Noodles generally warn of a series of various small losses which, if not planned for, could really add up. ---
As for the main course, eating a roast is never a good sign (it shows betrayal at home); savoring a helping of any stew means a secret admirer will reveal him or herself to you; fish forces you to make a choice between what you really want and what's practical; and a sandwich suggests you're under a lot of pressure, but that you have the ability to juggle your stresses and come out ahead.
Snack Attack
Grab a handful of crackers during your shut-eye and you're probably too picky when it comes to male companionship. Lay off a little and see your love life shift into high gear.
Salty foods like potato chips or pretzels are a sign of complete chaos. Fights and quarrels could be in your near future, so try to stay cool around family and friends -- and keep future damage control to a minimum.
Breakfast Club
A hearty breakfast has much meaning. Any dream with meat in it (ham, sausage, bacon, etc.) suggests you've overindulged in materialism. Cut back your budget a little, unless, that is, there are eggs on your dream plate as well. Eggs signify excellent financial gains, so you should be back on your feet soon enough.
Like a little fruit or juice with your morning meal? Oranges mean investments will pay off, apples suggest you work too hard and too long for not enough recognition, and grapefruit denotes hidden talents yet to be discovered.
Drinking coffee is also extremely revealing. Drink alone and you need to put in some extra thought before making an important decision. Drink it with someone else, and you likely have stronger feelings for them than you acknowledge.
Who knew food could be so intuitive? So next time the Sandman serves you something to eat in your dreams, take note -- then close your eyes and go back for seconds. Dream on!
The above article, originally titled "I Dream Of Macaroni", was authored by Dorian Wagner, a Journalism graduate from the University of Florida who has written about everything from dating and style advice to Bigfoot and UFOs. When she's not perched in front of her computer, she's typically sprawled out by the ocean near her home in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
The following is a series of "meanings" of dreams about various foods...Enjoy it and, if you believe in palmistry, astrology, tarot and the like, these interpretations will be revealing to you and certainly entertaining party talk...
Happy New Year!
Jacques
---------
You dive into a delicious bowl of rich, creamy vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup, dolloped with whipped cream, showered with sprinkles and crowned with a bright red cherry. It's sinful. It's delicious. No spoon is big enough.
And then you wake up.
Bummer. It was all a dream. But before you jump out of bed and raid the fridge (You shouldn't be eating at 3:30 a.m. anyway!), remember that dreams often have hidden meanings. Maybe that decadent sundae was really trying to tell you something…
It's not uncommon for food to appear in dreams -- especially among dieters. So what exactly is behind that T-bone steak, cheese eggs and Welch's grape? Read it and sleep, folks:
Dessert First
That ice cream you just drooled over at the beginning of this article? It suggests good luck and much success in your love life, so go ahead and eat the whole thing. Beware, though, if your sundae has nuts on it -- you're in for some craziness or confusion. They can also be translated as a pun on "testicles" and refer to your sex life. Bottom line: A few nuts on your ice cream means you're destined for a wild, passionate relationship.
Chocoholics can rest easy with their dreams -- any dream about chocolate denotes good health and happiness, as well as a fondness for a pampered lifestyle.
Obviously, you were meant to live it up in the lap of luxury. Indulge and buy something nice for yourself.
To see a cake or cookies shows friends will soon do something nice for you. If the sweets look ugly or burnt, however, you're in for a short spell of bad luck. You didn't think you were going to have your cake and eat it too, did you?
Dinner's Ready!
For starters, seeing a green, leafy salad is your body's way of telling you to take better care of yourself. Eat better from now on to avoid sickness and bad health.
Carb-cutters may think dreams of pasta are just signs of withdrawal, but macaroni is actually a warning to be frugal and save money. Noodles generally warn of a series of various small losses which, if not planned for, could really add up. ---
As for the main course, eating a roast is never a good sign (it shows betrayal at home); savoring a helping of any stew means a secret admirer will reveal him or herself to you; fish forces you to make a choice between what you really want and what's practical; and a sandwich suggests you're under a lot of pressure, but that you have the ability to juggle your stresses and come out ahead.
Snack Attack
Grab a handful of crackers during your shut-eye and you're probably too picky when it comes to male companionship. Lay off a little and see your love life shift into high gear.
Salty foods like potato chips or pretzels are a sign of complete chaos. Fights and quarrels could be in your near future, so try to stay cool around family and friends -- and keep future damage control to a minimum.
Breakfast Club
A hearty breakfast has much meaning. Any dream with meat in it (ham, sausage, bacon, etc.) suggests you've overindulged in materialism. Cut back your budget a little, unless, that is, there are eggs on your dream plate as well. Eggs signify excellent financial gains, so you should be back on your feet soon enough.
Like a little fruit or juice with your morning meal? Oranges mean investments will pay off, apples suggest you work too hard and too long for not enough recognition, and grapefruit denotes hidden talents yet to be discovered.
Drinking coffee is also extremely revealing. Drink alone and you need to put in some extra thought before making an important decision. Drink it with someone else, and you likely have stronger feelings for them than you acknowledge.
Who knew food could be so intuitive? So next time the Sandman serves you something to eat in your dreams, take note -- then close your eyes and go back for seconds. Dream on!
The above article, originally titled "I Dream Of Macaroni", was authored by Dorian Wagner, a Journalism graduate from the University of Florida who has written about everything from dating and style advice to Bigfoot and UFOs. When she's not perched in front of her computer, she's typically sprawled out by the ocean near her home in Deerfield Beach, Fla.
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