What Restaurants Aren’t Telling Us

On May 18, Mohawk Council of Akwesasne’s Community Health Program and Heal held a lunch presentation from 12pm to 1pm at the Snye Recreation titled “What Restaurants Aren’t Telling Us” as part of their power lunch series. Registered dietician Mandy Graham and registered nurse and registered dietician Brigitte Blazina were on hand to teach guests how to select healthier options from popular restaurant menus and to try quick and easy recipes that they can make at home.

Using Food Jeopardy guests learned about the shocking fat and carbs/sugar contents in their favorite foods from popular restaurants including Tim Hortons, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Eastside Mario’s, Subway and Dairy Queen. For example, at Tim Hortons a banana nut muffin has 17 grams of fat and 26 grams of carbs/sugars while an old fashioned plain doughnut has about 19 grams of fat and 6 grams of carbs/sugars. The wiser item to select would unexpectedly be the doughnut. But, perhaps the most shocking item was the cookie dough blizzard from Dairy Queen with 11 grams of fat and 39 grams of carbs/sugars. Consumers should also be aware that the nutritional information for all items on restaurants menus should be available all you need to do is ask.

“It was really interesting,” said participant Tricia Benedict. “A reality check of what you are feeding your family.”

After listening to the informational presentation guests enjoyed a tasty sampling tofu, hummus, bruscetta and southwestern hummus dips and an easy layered lunch salad made with a variety of fresh vegetables and sprinkled with lime chili dressing. They were welcome to take the recipe home with them along with recipes for lemonade and easy guacamole.

“I liked how they provided dips because I wouldn’t have tried it in the store,” continued Benedict.

They were also given the opportunity to calculate their diabetes risk assessments and its prevention. Being an aboriginal means being a member of a high-risk group, but so does having a family history and exhibiting the signs and symptoms. If you are concerned about your diabetes risk you should ask your physician about simple tests for diabetes.

Community Health also took this special power lunch to Kawehnoke (Cornwall Island) recreation on May 20 with many more exciting power lunches to be announced. For more information and upcoming power lunches you can contact Community Health at (613) 575 - 2341 ext. 3218.

Photos by Mary La France