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Vending Machines
Best Picks: A small bag of plain pretzels — not honey-mustard or any other flavor, which can add fat. “Pretzels are a satisfying, without any trans fats or added sugar, and the single-serving-size bag means you get built-in portion control,” A close second is a small bag of peanuts or almonds, which is packed with protein that will fill you up. Whole-wheat crackers with peanut butter. While these little sandwiches can be higher in fat or calories than a serving of pretzels, they have good fat and a little fiber.
Worst Picks: Potato chips, corn chips, and tortilla chips. They’ll give you greasy fingers, but that’s not the worst of it. Most snack chips are low in protein and fiber, and some are high in the two worst kinds of fat: saturated fat and trans fats.
Movie Theaters
Best Pick: A child-size popcorn (about five cups). With eight grams of fiber, it will satisfy your urge to munch and keep you feeling full. It’s only 300 calories if you skip the “butter” (actually butter-flavored oil)
Another Good Option: Junior Mints. “There’s nothing particularly good for you in them, but they’re lower in fat than most of the candy bars at the theater”
Worst Pick: Anything jumbo size or called a value combo. For instance, that large popcorn (20 cups) with extra “butter” and a large (44-ounce) soda add up to almost 2,000 calories. An entire movie-size package of Milk Duds has 595 calories.
Stadiums and Concert Arenas
Best Pick: Peanuts in the shell. You’ll get some protein and healthy monounsaturated fat, without extra fat from oil-roasting. Plus, shelling the peanuts slows you down, which means you’ll realize you’re full before you eat too much. Just keep portion size in mind and aim to stick to a one-ounce serving, or 20 whole peanuts (with each shell containing two nuts).
Another Good Option: A hot dog. “If you’re going to have one, this is the place to do it. Stadium dogs are usually all beef and higher in quality than ones bought on the street,”. Make sure you choose regular size over jumbo, and opt for ketchup or tangy mustard instead of chili or some other fatty topping.
Worst Pick: Nachos with melted cheese. The only thing more frightening than the fluorescent orange of this concession-stand staple is the fat and calorie count: 350 calories and 19 grams of fat per six- to eight-chip serving. Not to mention the high sodium. |
