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Guide To Fast Food & Family Restaurants
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| Author: |
Greene B |
| Category: |
Diet/Nutrition |
| Audience: |
Consumer |
| Length: |
155 pages |
| Publisher: |
Simon & Schuster |
| Year Published: |
2004 |
| List Price: |
$12.95 |
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AthleteInMe.com®
Rating:
Excellent!
The Guide To Fast Food & Family Restaurants is another in a series of books in the "Get With The Program" series by Bob Greene, MS. The Guide is a very useful handbook for consumers. Not only is the book practical in size (roughly 3 inches by 8.5 inches), it is equally practical in the information it provides.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bob Greene earned a masters degree in exercise physiology from U. Arizona and is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Council on Exercise. He also completed a 3000-mile cross-country bike tour. Thus, his credentials are strong. He is widely known as Oprah Winfrey's personal trainer. He is a consultant for McDonald’s however, I don’t perceive this to be a conflict-of-interest. Most recently, he has teamed up with the web site eDiets.com to offer his fitness training online.
CONTENT It is divided into 2 parts. Part I is 51 pages of fundamental tips and guidelines for making wise food choices when dining out. Greene does not bog the reader down with biochemistry and nutritional food science. Where appropriate, he discusses concepts such as LDL cholesterol and trans fatty acids but, in no way does this information get too complex for the average reader. Part I can be read in about an hour. In addition to summarizing general recommendations for building a healthy, balanced diet, Part I provides general comments on several categories of restaurant fare (Chinese, French, Italian, Mexican, Thai, etc.). What I liked about this section was that the information represented fundamentally sound principles of nutrition. For example, he recommends the majority of calories come from carbohydrates, followed by fats, then protein; he differentiates good oils from bad oils; and he talks about portion sizes.
Part II is a mini-encyclopedia of restaurant franchises in the US. The reader can look up a particular restaurant by name and obtain several recommendations on preferred and less-than-desirable menu selections. Although this section is somewhat hit-and-miss (for example, not all menu items and not all restaurant chains are listed), the information is nonetheless useful. Sometimes, specific details really catch your eye, such as: at Burger King, a double-whopper with cheese, large fries, and a chocolate shake yields 2360 calories and 61 grams of fat, and, the Bloomin’ Onion at Outback Steakhouse contains 1690 calories and 116 grams of fat!
RECOMMENDATIONS
My only criticism is that more restaurants should be listed. For example, Panera Bread (one of my favorite eateries), which has over 500 locations nationwide and has been around since 1981, is not included. Other popular franchises, such as Carrabba’s Italian Grille, Cracker Barrel, Lone Star Steakhouse, Krispy Crème, and Starbucks, are also not listed though, admittedly, 2 of those aren’t really considered restaurants.
At only $12.95, everyone should buy a copy of this book and carry it with them when they dine out. This is a very handy pocket reference.
Copyright ©2005 AthleteInMe, LLC. All rights reserved.
| Reviewed by: Stan Reents, PharmD |
6/2/2014 11:49:57 AM |
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