For this lab you will need a Nutritional Information Page from fast food places like Wendys, Jack in The Box, Burger King and/or Taco Bell.
1. Find the "recommended daily allowance" of the listed nutrients based on a 2000 calorie diet (Hint try in the Jack in The Box booklet page 5). Nutrients: grams of fat, grams of saturated fat (sat fat), milligrams of sodium, grams of fiber. Write these down in a prominent place on your paper. We will refer back to them frequently. How many calories in a gm. of fat, a gm. of carbohydrate, a gm. of protein? (Hint: same place)
Information to ponder: Americans get plenty of protein in their diets
naturally so we won't worry about that number. Fat has been implicated in
heart disease, strokes, cancer and obesity. Some doctors recommend we limit
our intake to even less than the current standard of 30% of daily calories--even
as low as 10% or less. Saturated fat is particularly bad and seems to be
more important than cholesterol itself. Sodium is implicated in high blood
pressure, a leading cause of heart disease and stroke (which kill 1/3 of
the population). There is no need to worry about getting enough salt except
in extreme instances--athletes for instance exercising in hot weather. Fiber
is essential to good bowel function. Too little may result in cancer and
other serious intestinal problems. We seldom get enough fiber.
2. Find The Colossus Burger in the Jack in the Box booklet. Write down the nutrition information the booklet lists for this burger. Would you list it as a healthful food or not? Why?
4. Use the Wendy's booklet to find the nutritional information for the salad bar. Make a table listing these components: calories, calories of fat, saturated fat, sodium, dietary fiber: Use these ingredients in the salad: 1 cup of lettuce, 4 T (1/8 cup) cottage cheese, 1/2 cup mushroom, 4 pieces pineapple, 1/4 cup carrots , 2 T French dressing. Add up the columns to get totals. What percent of the calories come from fat. (Divide the calories from fat by the total calories and multiply by 100.) In this a nutritious meal? Why? If I wanted to reduce the fat content of this meal what would be these best thing I could do? (Hint: I could substitute something else for the worst fat source)
Use the graphic organizer for this question and number 6.
4. In the Wendy's guide again find the ingredients for: Cheese sauce (under baked potatoes), Liquid margarine, Bacon Bits (under garden spot salad bar). Write these down. Did you expect this?
5. Create a nutritious meal from any of the menus. A nutritious meal will have at least 25% of the day's requirements for calories, while not exceeding 25% of the day's limit of fat, saturated fat, or sodium. It will contain at least 25% of the day's need for fiber. Write down what is in your meal and list the total for calories, fat, sat fat, sodium, and fiber.
Extra Credit: Look up a meal you would like to eat from any of the menus supplied. Analyze it for the components listed in problem 6. Is this a nutritious meal? What is good about it? What is bad about it? How could you make it more nutritious?
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