The Diet Detective's Calorie Bargain Bible
I just got a copy of The Diet Detective's Calorie Bargain Bible in the mail and noted that there was a long section on "What to Eat When You're Eating Out." I don't think there are any huge surprises, but the advice will reinforce what you probably know. (Fried foods are bad for diets, for instance.)
Author Charles Stuart Platkin also suggests specific substitutions that are "calorie bargains." For instance, when you crave ice cream...
...a Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream Bar is 300 calories, 21 grams of fat and 24 grams of carbs. You could save 40 calories with a Good Humor Bar (260 calories, 17 grams fat, 24 grams of carbs). Frankly the difference doesn't seem worth the difference in taste to me.
Best case scenario, he says, save 240 calories with a Fudgsicle: 60 calories, 1.5 grams fat, 12 grams of carbs.
If you're anything like me, I'd feel so unsatisfied with the Fudgsicle I'd probably follow it with the Haagen-Dazs Bar, thereby increasing the number of calories by 60.
Still, it doesn't hurt to be reminded that a wonderful slab of prime rib in a restaurant-size portion delivers between 1,350 and 1,400 calories, plus more than a day's worth of saturated fat (up to 45 grams).
