All About The Chicken

I was talking on the phone to mom one day last week and we were discussing how she and dad need to eat better and workout more. (And bless mom’s heart. . . She caught me on a “no sympathy” day where I wasn’t letting up on her.) Neither mom nor dad is overweight, but, eating healthier and working out could totally prevent some issues they are experiencing right now. I didn’t, and will never, let mom or dad off the hook when it comes to eating better and exercising because I want both to be around in 40 years to meet their great grandchildren. Just because physically on the outside they look like totally healthy individuals, who knows what is going down on the inside and we all know we can make better food and workout decisions every day. As mom tried to tell me “But Bean, I am so tired when I leave school, all I want to do is go home and lay down on the couch until I need to cook dinner and your father gets home.” Excuses, Excuses, Excuses. I promise you, the more activity you get the more energy you have and there goes the need to go home and lay on the couch. Just try it once!

Anyway, I feel I am somewhat savvy when it comes to food decisions. I check labels for ingredients and nutrition information. I try to shop only on the outside perimeter of the grocery. I eat organic as much as my checkbook can afford but, I found an article that had several points in it that were new information to me so I thought I would share with you so we can all make smarter and healthier decisions. I want all my family and friends around in 40 years! Make better decisions people so we can have fun together in our old age!

To sum up the article, now that most people are watching their wallet a little more closely when grocery shopping, chicken is being consumed more than fish or red meat. But there are some questions that need to be answered first to ensure you are making the best decision!

1. Is chicken that much better for you than meat? You bet. Compare a broiled skinless chicken breast to a broiled sirloin steak, with the fat trimmed to nearly nothing (a mere 1/8 inch): Ounce for ounce, the steak has a little less protein, about a third more calories, and four times as much fat, half of it saturated. Go chicken!

2. Are free-range chickens more nutritious than regular birds? Nope. Both get a feed mix that's designed to prep them for market, and there's no evidence that free-range chickens are more nutritious. Ideally, free-range birds are more humanely raised, but the USDA only requires that certified free-range chickens have "access" to the outdoors. "That may mean the birds got to stroll on a cement slab for 5 minutes a day," says Elizabeth Somer, RD, author of Nutrition for Women.

3. Is "pasturized" poultry tastier than free-range? Maybe. Pasturized birds -- think green pastures, not milk processing (that's Pasteur) -- spend most of their lives roaming around a field. Some cooks believe that makes their meat more flavorful. It certainly makes the chickens' lives nicer.

4. Are organic birds hormone-free? Well, yes, but all chickens are hormone-free. It's illegal to give hormones to poultry. Organic mainly means the chickens are raised on 100% organic feed and aren't fed antibiotics.

5. At McDonald's, are you better off ordering Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips or a cheeseburger? A cheeseburger. A five-strip order of Chicken Selects -- thanks to how they’re prepared -- equals more than two McD's cheeseburgers. The tab: 660 calories, 40 grams of fat, and a stunning 1,680 milligrams of sodium. Ouch.