(T
his posting is by guest blogger/P-D food editor Judith Evans)
Eating healthy while eating out can be an exercise in frustration. It’s easy to spot oversize portions (and not-so-easy to eat just half or a third of what’s before you), but many restaurant foods are filled with hidden fats or loaded with sodium.
Here’s help, from the new issue of Health magazine. It ranked fast-food restaurants using a system that took into account the use of healthy fats, cooking preparations (frying vs. baking, for example), sodium counts in entrees, the availability of nutritional information and the use of organic produce. The winner: Panera, based in St. Louis and known here as St. Louis Bread Co.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
For starters, you can pick from two whole-grain breads for your sandwich and have an apple with it instead of chips (though the chips are fine, too—they can be baked!). Half-size soups, salads, and sandwiches make it a cinch to control portion size. Also, most of the chicken is antibiotic- and hormone-free, a rarity for large chains.
But even the best restaurants have danger zones, so be careful:
Sticky buns and cheese danishes are on display at the counter.
The rest of the top 10? In order, they are Jason’s Deli, Au Bon Pain, Noodles and Company, Corner Bakery Cafe, Chipotle, Atlanta Bread, McDonald’s (yes, McDonald’s, thanks to its snack wraps, apple slices and 230-calorie small fries cooked in healthy oil), Einstein Bros. Bagels and Tacos Del Mar.
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Judith Evans is the food and travel editor for the Post-Dispatch. 
I didn’t see Lion’s Choice on the list. That surprises me. They serve a lean, tasty roasted beef sandwich, and you can get it on a wheat bun, unbuttered if you choose. Their fries have been cooked in canola oil for years. If you want to stay away from fries altogether, they offer side salads, potato salads, cole slaw, and veggie sticks as healthy alternatives. They also provide nutrition guides.I would like to see Lion’s Choice included in more of these surveys.
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Hmmmm. Anyone who has waited 18 minutes for their food at Bread Co, while on a 30 minute lunch break, will attest to the fact that Panera is not “fast” food. Good? Yum! Healthy? Can be. Fast? No way.
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I would agree that some things at Panera are healthy but you really have to do reaseach before you eat.
Also I saw an above comment about the Broccoli cheddar bread bowl which happens to be my favorite as well so I looked up the calorie content and found out that it has 940 calories and 26.5 grams of fat!!!
All their nutritional information is posted on their website.
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Really?
The last time I went there, to the one at Arsenal & Grand, I got food poisoning.
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After reading this article I am wonder who paid off whom. I am a type 1 diabetic and for me this is on of the worst places to eat it is hard for me to find almost anything to eat their almost all of their sandwiches contain about 90 carbs which is very excessive just for a sandwich and all of their breads contain loads of excess carbs and sugars which make very hard for me to control my blood sugar while eating their. So for me I have to say NO THANKS I think I will pass on this place.
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Those are some interesting claims, Hugh. I am not saying you are wrong. I would just like to know your sources for this information. Besides, I thought the vaccines were causing autism. (I am being sarcastic; I think it is very important to have children vaccinated.)
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You have got to be kidding me. Have you seen the sodium levels of their breads – you can get a day’s worth in just one small sandwich. Their soups and even their salads are loaded with sodium. Not a heart-healthy place at all!
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MikeW: That’s how I lost my weight. Counting calories, drinking water and walking everyday. I have been able to eat what I like but in moderation as you said. Moderation is the key here. It can be done and I’ve done it and I never thought I could.
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Are you kidding me? The salads have like 900 calories. However–evidently the magazine didn’t take that into account–it used “availability of nutritional information” higher than actual calories, which is just silly. CBW is the healthiest fast food around here, hands down.
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Ive lost my first 15 pounds over the last 3.5 weeks doing 3 things: Counting calories, lots of water, and exercising (mainly cardio). Exert more energy = burn more calories. Drink water to help hydrate and cleanse, Eat less calories and your body starts taking away from it “storage”. It all comes down to discipline and taking responsibilty for your body. I feel better than ever, and its proven not to be rocket science either. Ive had pizza, burritos, etc..IN MODERATION. Snack on fruit and veggies though the day to keep your metabolism up and calories burning!
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Yes, my argument does go both ways. People can get healthy food choices at almost any restaurant, if they want to. I don’t think restaurants should be blamed if their customers pig out on high-cal, high fat, high sodium, high whatever foods if they offer something nuritious. People are responsible for what they eat, not restaurants. People also fail to compare apples to apples. Certainly Subway has some low calorie, low fat sandwiches, as long as you don’t put cheese or mayo on them. Once you put the cheese and mayo on, you’ve got a real gut buster. Don’t compare a Subway turkey with no cheese to a Panera turkey and cheese sandwich–compare it to turkey with no cheese. There probably isn’t much difference.
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Hugh, you’ve got a weird stance on whole grains man. I haven’t read anything about the links between whole grains and autoimmune disease. I think most of the science behind nutrition points toward whole grains as part of a healthy diet.
Also, I don’t know how true it is that 2 million years of human evolution took place w/o whole grains. Really? I think it took place w/o McDonalds…but grains, meat, fruit, and vegetables have been here all along my friend.
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DonPat- Your argument goes both ways. How many people go in Bread Co. and order the non fat sandwiches? Most order half Chicken Salad with Brocoli Cheddar soup.
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Calories? What do calories have to do with anything? Are you telling me eating 300 calories of sugar is better than 500 calories of protein and fat just because there are fewer calories? You poor, poor calorie counters.
Your body needs two macronutrients – protein & fat. Any calories that aren’t protein and fat are useless (unless perhaps you are a high-level athlete needing all that excess energy). The TYPE of calorie is way more important than the QUANTITY.
No wonder Americans are so fat.
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Panera healthy? If you believe the myth that whole grains are healthy. Humans evolved for 2+ million years without eating any grains and as such are ill equipped from an evolutionary standpoint to digest and handle whole grains. The sheer number of anti-nutrients in whole grains that wreak havoc on the human body (especially the digestive tract) make them a decidedly *unhealthy* food – the link between grain consumption and a number of autoimmine disorders is pretty hard to deny.
Eat your grains and enjoy that autism..and alzheimers..and chrohns…etc etc etc etc.
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This has to be a joke. Just look at the stats on a Frontega Chicken Sandwich or their soups. Insane.
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I used to eat at Panera until I reviewed the nutritional information…the sodium content in their sandwiches is outrageous! Nearly all of the sandwiches are over 1,000 mgs!
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I am surprised that Subway is not on this list when you can get a full sandwich for around 300 calories, apple slices and diet soda … just the flour tortilla at Chipotle is 290 calories.
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Yes, but how many of us can walk in there and only order a turkey on wheat with an apple. You really have to look at their nutrition guide before you go. I was surprised at some of the calories on some of the “healthy” choices.
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I’m sure this person works for Panera that posted this article. It’s full of bleep! Subway is by far the healthiest. good god!
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earnhardt, don’t think that broccoli cheddar bread bowl would make the healthy lo-cal list
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Noodles and Co? I’m kind of surprised by that. If you get the Asian noodles with no sauce, maybe it’s healthy.
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Hmmm… The popular food book “Eat This, Not That!” cites Panera as having some of the unhealthiest food offerings. So…who’s right??
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As usual, Men’s Health is full of it. Their “article” is ridiculous. How many people eat just a sandwich at Chic-fil-a? By adding fries to a sandwich, you reach nearly 1000 calories. Panera has many sandwiches that have fewer than 500 calories, and the calories can be easily reduced by not having cheese on the sandwich (how do you think Subway can claim low-fat, low-cal sandwiches?). By opting for apples instead of chips, one could easily get a meal at Panera/Bread Company that has fewer calories and less fat than Chic-fil-a.
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Some of Panera’s soups and (half)sandwiches have pretty good nutrition numbers, and some are outrageous. All the numbers are online: http://www.panerabread.com/pdf/nutr-guide.pdf
In fact, many if not most chains now have nutrition info on their websites.
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Nick – interesting. There aren’t that many Chick-Fil-As around St. Louis, so with that said, I would have thought Subway would have won around here. The other day, I had a delicious foot-long chicken breast, and the best part was, it was only $5! They are very low in fat and loaded with protein.
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I’ve always heard Panera is one of the worst restaurants to eat. Their soups and sandwiches are very high calorie.
http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=nutrition&category=smart.dining.out&conitem=0b60c29f8a526110VgnVCM10000013281eac____
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hats off to Panera, love those broccoli cheddar bread bowls. It’s nice to have a fast food place that isn’t necessarily low grade shut up and eat fast food quality.
- Earnhardt Lives ( http://www.clearspring.com/widgets/49a2b2de00655cdb )
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