Food on the Run: Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches

As a 19-year-old back in 1983, Jimmy John Liautaud set out to create the world's greatest gourmet sandwich. He created and tested his sandwich ideas on family and friends and eventually opened his first Jimmy John's. This young entrepreneur with a focus on low prices, great food and delivery that started out as a hit with college students has grown to become a gourmet sandwich shop with over 1000 stores today.

JJ's seems to have a market on the sandwich shop triple threat – Fresh, Fast and Fair-priced. Jimmy John's bakes their bread in-house daily as well as slicing and preparing meat and vegetable ingredients in-house too. They also focus on wholesome ingredients such as meats without fillers and real mayonnaise and olive oil. So with all this focus on wholesome ingredients, how does it measure up nutritionally.

Read More ›

New Proposed FDA Restaurant Labeling Regulations

Last week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released news of two proposed regulations related to calorie labeling. As part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed into law last year, calorie and nutrition information in designated food establishments must be disclosed. Establishments with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name with nearly similar menu items will be effected by the new regulations. Since we already know nutrition calculations are derived from a variety of sources and serve more as an estimate then an exact number, can these new regulations really help us stay on track toward our goals?

Read More ›

Food on the Run: Hardee's and Carl's Jr.

My grandfather was a regular at Hardee's for breakfast each morning after my grandmother passed away. He would have the same basic breakfast each morning and the women behind the counter had it ready for him many days when he walked in the door. I would enjoy joining him a morning or two when I was home from college. The Hardee's in my hometown has since closed and my grandfather has passed away but my memories of breakfast with him at Hardee's remain.

Last week it was reported that Hardee's and sister chain Carl's Jr. will be the first national fast-food chains to permanently include turkey burgers on their menu.

It is wonderful that the same chain that sports the 1,320 calorie, 2/3 pound Monster Thickburger with 95 grams of fat is interested in offering a healthier alternative. With a healthy entrée goal of 250 calories and 10 grams of fat or less, something healthier is certainly a step in the right direction, right? Let's take a closer look at this new burger option and the rest of the menu alternatives as part of our ongoing Food on the Run series to see how it measures up.

Read More ›

Food on the Run: McDonald's New Fruit & Maple Oatmeal

Oatmeal can be a great tasting and healthy winter breakfast. McDonald's new oatmeal boasts two servings of whole grains and vitamin C rich fruits to get your day started off with a tune. As part of our ongoing Food on the Run reviews, let's take a closer look at this new breakfast offering to see if it hits the right tune.

Read More ›

Food on the Run: Jamba Juice

Today, there are over 700 Jamba Juice locations focusing on whole food, no high-fructose corn syrup, zero trans fat or artificial preservatives. With such a focus on wholesomeness, there must be some great choices when visiting your local Jamba Juice right?

Today we will take a closer look at this rapidly growing restaurant chain in our ongoing Food on the Run series.

Read More ›

Food on the Run: New BK Breakfast Menu

Burger King has added nine new breakfast items to their menu to help you have breakfast your way. This is the fast food restaurant chain's largest menu expansion ever.

The new BK Breakfast commercials have caught a lot of positive buzz that they hope will help them march up to number one in the fast food breakfast battle. The ever-popular Croissan'wich is still on the menu as well as the BK Breakfast Muffin Sandwich and the Breakfast Bowl. Now you can select a cup of Seattle's Best coffee and a Club breakfast sandwich, mini biscuits or a breakfast platter to complete your morning meal.

We know it is important to eat breakfast even if it isn't ideal. We have previously shared other fast food breakfast information in our ongoing Food on the Run series. With an Ultimate Breakfast Platter containing 1,310 calories, 72 grams of fat and 2,490 mg of sodium on the new menu, it will be important to know what to look for if you are selecting from the new BK Breakfast Menu.

Read More ›

Food on the Run: Wendy's New Salad Sensations

Wendy's was the fast-food salad leader in the 1980's with their expansive salad bar. After nearly two decades, the company removed the salad bars. Pre-portioned Garden Sensation salads were introduced in 2002 and have remained popular. The Mandarin Chicken salad was my personal favorite. Last week four new salads took center stage in the Garden Sensation category. Marketing officials hope the focus on wholesome ingredients will appeal to the nutrition conscious when they eat away from home. So how do these new salads measure up?

Read More ›

Food on the Run: McCafe' Fruit Smoothies

The smoothie has increased in popularity over the last several years. So much so that the smoothie maker has recently become one of the hottest selling small appliances. At the same time, smoothie and juice bars have popped up in malls and communities all over the country.

Earlier this week my son asked to stop for a smoothie. Since he is a growing teenager that eats almost hourly as well as being a "fruit boy," as we fondly refer to him, I made the stop. Since this was my first trip to this particular smoothie cafe, I let him make his selection while I looked over the menu boards. While we waited and I reviewed the "supercharged power up" vitamin and protein additive options, I wondered exactly what was in the concoction he had selected that set me back $4.58. He walked out happy with his selection of a 24-ounce Island Lemonade Smoothie (frozen lemonade) while I was a bit disappointed that he ended up with nothing more than a specialty frozen sugar drink instead of something more nutrient rich. The next day I came across an article discussing the new McDonald's McCafe real fruit smoothies that caused me to take a deeper look. I wondered if this could be a more nutrient wise option for the next time my son wanted a smoothie.

Read More ›

4 Tips for a Healthier Road Trip

Summer brings road trips for many of us. When I was young, they meant climbing in the back of the station wagon with my brothers (before we understood the safety of seat belts) with a few games and a large picnic basket for the stop at a roadside rest area. Making healthy eating choices on long car trips can be a challenge. With a little planning and these four tips, you can make your next summer road trip a healthy one.

Read More ›

The 7 Worst Restaurant Foods in America

We all enjoy eating away from home from time to time and try to make smart choices when we do. Sometimes we sabotage all our best efforts and give in to a moment of weakness. The more you know about Diet Friendly Dining when you are eating Food on the Run the more you will be able to resist temptation.

Recently Eat This, Not That outlined the 20 Worst Restaurant Foods in America. Here are seven you should avoid if at all possible.

Read More ›

Food on the Run: Best Vending Machine Choices

The first United States vending machines were installed on New York City elevated platforms in 1888 to sell Tutti-Frutti gum. Shortly thereafter coin-operated gumball machines became popular as well. Sodas began being dispensed into cups via vending machines in the early 1920's with chilled bottled soda machines emerging in the 1930's. Vending machine millionaires were created during the 1960's with the expansion of vending machine meal and beverage service. The focus of their success surrounded the development of coffee vending machines and the canned soft drink vending machine invented in 1965. After that, food, snack and drink vending machines of all types boomed across the country.

Coffee machines have been popular in offices for decades to eliminate the need for someone to be in charge of making coffee. Providing a complete cafeteria is costly for small business employers and so are long break and lunch times to allow employees to go home. Over time, as management sought to tighten their bottom line, placing vending machines in the workplace became an easy and cost effective way to provide a quick break and lunch option onsite to keep workers as productive as possible.

The automated vending industry has come a long way from the days of Tutti-Frutti gum machines. Today vending is a $30 billion-a-year industry with an estimated 13,500 companies that employ nearly 700,000 people across the nation. Estimates suggest 100 million people use 7 million vending machines each day with the majority (30 percent) in manufacturing establishments and slightly over 16 percent located on school and college campuses.

Here are some nutrition basics from Eat This, Not That to help you make wise choices next time you visit a vending machine.

Read More ›

Food on the Run: Subway Now Serves Breakfast

In our ongoing Food on the Run series, we have previously reviewed healthier options offered at Subway restaurants.

Most of the 23,000 Subway restaurants across the nation began serving a breakfast menu earlier this week. Patrons can build a better breakfast with basic ingredients such as eggs or egg whites, cheese, ham, bacon, steak or sausage and standard veggie topping options. Enjoy your creation on a choice of a light wheat English muffin, flatbread, or traditional Subway sub roll. Add a cup of Seattle's Best Coffee or a bottle of Minute Maid Orange Juice to complete your meal.

So how do these breakfast sandwiches stack up nutritionally?

Read More ›

Panera is Leading the Way with Calorie Facts on Menus

The Panera Bread Company announced last Wednesday they will introduce new calorie containing menu boards.

Panera has willingly shared full nutrition information on their web site for a while. We used their information to share our Panera Bread Food on the Run review. Now in addition to complete product nutrition information, you can also find an online nutrition calculator to evaluate and customize choices before your next visit. So with their existing commitment to complete disclosure, why the need to change the menu boards?

Read More ›

Food on the Run: Mixt Greens

Mixt Greens was established in San Francisco in 2005. Several weeks ago, QSR magazine.com announced this green initiative driven restaurant will be expanding with four new locations in the Washington D.C. area. So exactly what is an eco-gourmet restaurant?

Read More ›

Food on the Run: Penn Station

A fresh-grilled sub sandwich made your way is the basis of this upscale, quick-casual restaurant chain. There are currently 173 Penn Station Restaurants in 12 U.S. states.

Hand-cut French fries (with vinegar!), fresh-squeezed lemonade, and the trademark Philadelphia Cheesesteak sub on signature fresh-baked French bread are several customer favorites. This past baseball season several of these favorites debuted at Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park. How many calories would that great Philly Cheesesteak contain?

Read More ›