If you're anything like me, you can always go for a yummy sandwich, a well-crafted salad, and a hot cup of soup. As my husband puts it: "typical chick food." If eating chick food is wrong, I don't want to be right. Over the years, I had always felt that Panera was a healthier meal option. I never felt very guilty getting my typical "Pick 2" with half a frontega chicken sandwich and half a chicken cobb with avocado salad. And I always opted for the apple, of course, because I gotta watch those carbs! The other day I was planning a lunch date with my friend Kaylee and she suggested Panera. I obviously said yes, because I love Panera. I'm not a big calorie counter, but I happened to be testing out a website at work specifically for helping clients track food and record workouts. Out of curiosity, I looked up my usual from Panera. I was pretty shocked with what I found.
If you want to look up the exact nutrition facts, go for it. I'm just going to focus on the sodium and ingredients. The most distressing thing I found was that this meal contained 1,580 mg of sodium. That's almost 70% of your daily recommended sodium intake. SEVENTY PERCENT! The only thing more distressing than the sodium, added sugar, and carbs are the ingredients.
Frontega Chicken Sandwich:
Focaccia (unbleached enriched wheat flour [flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], water, olive oil blend [extra virgin olive oil, canola oil], country base [natural wheat sour, salt, rye flour, wheat gluten, malted barley flour, sunflower lecithin, ascorbic acid, enzymes], natural base [calcium diphosphate, malted barley flour, dextrose, distilled monoglycerides, rye flour, sunflower lecithin, wheat flour, enzymes, ascorbic acid], yeast [yeast, sorbitan monostearate, ascorbic acid], sea salt), smoked pulled chicken breast (chicken breast with rib meat, water, salt, sodium lactate, potassium lactate, sodium phosphates, dextrose, sugar, sodium diacetate, natural flavor, sodium nitrite), tomatoes, sliced mozzarella (pasteurized part skim milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes), red onion, chipotle mayonnaise spread (soybean oil, filtered water, sour cream [cultured milk, cream, whey, modified corn starch, sodium phosphate, guar gum, carrageenen and carob bean gum], egg yolks, chipotle pepper puree [red chipotle peppers, vinegar, sugar, salt and onions], distilled vinegar, sugar, contains less than 2% of corn starch- modified, chipotle in adobo [chipotle peppers, water, tomato paste, salt, oleoresin paprika, natural flavor, and oleoresin capsicum], spices including mustard mayo flour, natural smoke flavor, salt, rosemary extract), basil.
Chicken Cobb Salad with Avocado:
Romaine lettuce, Citrus Pepper Chicken (boneless, skinless chicken breast with rib meat, water, seasoning [natural flavors {lemon, mangosteen, smoke}, sea salt, dehydrated garlic, dehydrated onion, sugar, dry lemon peel, spices, dehydrated rosemary and basil, lemon juice powder {lemon juice concentrate, maltodextrin}, citric acid, malic acid, paprika extract {for color}], seasoning [potassium lactate, vinegar, natural flavor], rice starch), avocado, Greek Dressing (soybean oil, filtered water, olive oil, distilled and cider vinegar, salt, contains less than 2% sauterne wine, spices, corn starch, dehydrated garlic, maltodextrin, xanthan gum and propylene glycol (for thickness), corn syrup solids, natural flavor, citric acid, hydrolyzed soy protein, monosodium glutamate, calcium disodium EDTA added to protect flavor), tomatoes, diced egg topping (egg whites, egg yolks, modified food starch, salt, xanthan gum, citric acid, natural and artificial flavors [contains buttermilk powder and non-fat dry milk], annatto [natural color]), Gorgonzola cheese (pasteurized milk, cheese culture, salt, enzymes, natamycin [preservative], penicillium roqueforti, powdered cellulose to prevent caking), applewood smoked bacon (cured with water, salt, sugar, sodium phosphates, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite).
I don't know about you, but I don't recognize half of those ingredients. When I'm making a salad at home, the ingredients are usually spinach, almonds, grilled chicken with salt and pepper, and whatever is in the balsamic vinaigrette I usually buy. Last time I checked, I don't toss in maltodestrin, xanthan gum, and propylene glycol. So lets compare this to the usual fast food whipping boy: McDonald's.
In order to stick with the theme of chicken sandwich and salad, I chose the McDonald's chicken sandwich and southwest salad with chicken. These items are fairly similar to the frontega chicken salad and chicken cobb with avocado salad. This McDonald's meal has 1,470 mg of sodium. Compare that to the 1,580 you get for a similar meal at Panera.....
So how many milligrams of sodium are in a McDonald's hamburger and large fries? Altogether, a burger and fries from McDonald's contains 870 mg of sodium. About half of what you would get for the "healthier option" at Panera.
So what's worse for you, Panera or McDonald's? After comparing much of the menu, it seems that they're both equally processed, but Panera tends to have more carbs, and sodium. Who knew McDonald's would be the lesser of two evils?
The point being...
You should never just assume that just because a restaurant claims to have fresh ingredients or sells mostly soup and salad that it's healthy for you. Even if they do have a warm, coffee-shop-like atmosphere and very yummy soup. All too often, we focus only on calories and "we'll take the grilled chicken instead of the deep fried burger," but never bother to ask if the food is drenched in chemicals, GMOs, preservatives, and added sugar/sodium. The fewer ingredients, the better! If only we took the time to research instead of just trusting the people whose job it is to make their product sound appealing no matter the cost. Take the time to see what you're using to fuel your body! A lot of places would surprise you with how processed they are. How much do you care about your health and fitness that you're willing to look?
Today I'm....
Excited about: Seeing my hubby tonight
Listening to: Train Song by Benjamin Gibbard & Feist
Cooking: Paleo Pesto Meatballs http://www.everydaymaven.com/2013/paleo-pesto-meatballs/
