Your stomach is growling. You’re hungry, and you just want to eat. You order the first thing that sounds good to your roaring stomach. But do you stop and think of how many calories or grams of artery clogging fat is inside that meal? Chances are, probably not. Reporter hopes that the next time you order that double bacon cheeseburger, you’ll think twice and grab a garden burger instead.
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Breakfast
It’s always tempting to eat grab-and-go foods for breakfast, but they aren’t always the best choice. After all, why eat a muffin when you can get a hot breakfast for half the calories and fat? If you must have an on-the-run breakfast, try a scone rather than a bagel or muffin. A blueberry or cranberry-orange scone makes an excellent on-the-go breakfast. It’s portable, it’s delicious, and it has roughly 1/3 the amount of fat.
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Gracie’s
Eat This:
Two whole-wheat pancakes and four ounces of scrambled eggs. For 256 calories and 10.09 grams of fat you can get a hot breakfast. It may take you a few minutes longer to eat, but it’s worth it for the variety of nutrients you’ll gain.
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Gracie’s
Not That:
Triple Berry Muffin. Don’t let the berry in its name fool you into thinking that this is a healthy choice. With 471 calories and 26.35 grams of fat, you might as well be eating a chocolate bar.
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Crossroads
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| Victor Prado |
Eat This: Scone
Similar to a biscuit, a scone has 249 calories and only 9.45 grams of fat. They’re low in sodium and sugar, and also pack 6.03 grams of protein.
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Crossroads
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| Victor Prado |
Not That: Bagel
Bagels come in with 340 calories and 4.13 grams of fat. Yes, they contain less fat than a scone, but bagels can contain up to 590 milligrams of sodium. And don’t forget the additional calories and fat from butter, jam or cream cheese you’re likely to add.
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Lunch
When it comes to lunch and dinner, there are so many choices available. As a college student, all too often you do not have the time to stop and think about what’s going to be better for your health. A good rule of thumb to follow is this: chicken or a veggie burger is usually going to be healthier than beef.
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RITz
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| Victor Prado |
Eat This: Island Breeze Wrap
This 482-calorie wrap laced with chicken and fruit is a healthy choice with only 6.61 grams of fat. And it even packs a solid 33.53 grams of protein.
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RITz
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| Victor Prado |
Not That: Chicken Club Wrap
This wrap comes with 795 calories. And unfortunately, its whopping 59.09 grams of protein is not enough goodness to offset the 37.73 grams of fat and 1,571 milligrams of sodium it also contains.
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| Victor Prado |
Eat This: Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwich
When you head to the grill at the RITz, try out this sandwich, which contains only 338 calories and 3.87 grams of fat. You can’t beat this sure fire winner.
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| Victor Prado |
Not That: Traditional Burger with Cheese
A cheeseburger is rarely the healthiest option. This one contains 527 calories and 23.52 grams of fat — 36 percent of the recommended daily value. Definitely pass on this one.
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The Commons
Eat This: Reuben Melt
If you just can’t kick that hankering for a greasy meal, we’ve got you covered. This gooey sandwich is high in calories and fat, but not the worst thing you can find. With 759 calories, 40.22 grams of fat, and 2914 milligrams of sodium this should not be a daily staple.
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The Commons
Not That: French Dip Platter
With 1,092 calories and 44.26 grams of fat, you’ll nearly max out on daily-recommended amounts. Having a lower sodium amount than a reuben, 1635 milligrams, is about the only “advantage” you’ll find to this sandwich.
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Crossroads
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| Victor Prado |
Eat This: Garden Burger with Cheese
This garden burger contains 467 calories and 10.15 grams of fat. It’s low in cholesterol at 15 milligrams and contains 29.18 grams of protein.
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Crossroads
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| Victor Prado |
Not That: Black Bean Garden Burger with Cheese
This burger comes in with more calories, 527, and fat, 13.57 grams than its original counterpart. It also contains 1,349 grams of sodium — about 200 more than the garden burger.
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Drinks
In the coffee versus tea debate, coffee takes the gold over a bottle of iced tea. Always be on your guard with iced drinks and juices; they taste good for a reason — all that extra sugar. But if you can’t pass up a good juice blend, look for no-sugar added options that are 100 percent juice.
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Drink This: Coffee (16 ounces)
With only five calories in a 16-ounce cup, this is no liquid meal. Nine milligrams of sodium and a half a gram of protein give this hot beverage the ability to keep your eyes open, but not much more.
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| Victor Prado |
Not That: Lipton Tea (16 ounce)
A similarly sized tea brings in 208 calories and 49.14 grams of sugar. If you like tea, avoid the iced variety.
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| Drink This: Pepsi (16 ounce)
Pepsi over juice, you say? With 192 calories and 52.40 grams of sugar this soda is better in calories and sugar, but keep in mind it does lack other nutrients.
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Not That: Dole Juice (15.2 ounce)
This bottle of juice contains 254 calories and 63.34 grams of carbohydrates. Fifty-five of those are grams of sugar.
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