Healthy Dining Guide:  
                                           Making Better Choices When Dining Out 
                                     Local Fast Food and Restaurant Establishments in East Aldine 
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                                                                                                      Updated 8/2015—OCEE/HEd 
                Restaurants Included in this Guide                             
                 El Vaquero Restaurant             6       KFC                              12 
                 Alma Latina                       6       Taco Cabana                      13 
                 Crystal Mexican                   7       Taco Bell                        14 
                 La Original Lupita’s Restaurant     7     Dairy Queen                      14 
                 Subway                            8       Cici’s Pizza                     15 
                 McDonald’s                        9       Luby’s                           16 
                 Burger King                       9 
                 Sonic                             10 
                 Jack in the Box                   10 
                 Whataburger                       10 
                 Popeye’s                          10 
                 Domino’s                          11 
                 Church’s Chicken                  11 
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                                                 About this Guide                                                                        USDA Recommendations & Healthy 
                                                                                                                                                       HDM! Nutrition Criteria 
                                                               Development & Overview 
                                       This guide was developed as part of the Healthy Dining Matters!                                           Adult                  Less than  
                                            Restaurant Program (HDM)! pilot developed by Harris County                                                                           750 calories 
                                            Public Health & Environmental Services.                                                                Meal                          750mg sodium 
                                       The mission of the Healthy Dining Matters! Restaurant Program                                                                            23g fat 
                                            is  to  lower rates of obesity in Harris County by encouraging                                                                       8g saturated fat 
                                                                                                                                                                          
                                            local  independent,  “Mom  &  Pop”  restaurants  in  promoting                                                               Less than  
                                            healthier options for adults and children. 
                                                  Currently  2  in  3  adults  and  1  in  3  children  are                                       Kid’s                         600 calories 
                                                       overweight and obese in Harris County.                                                      Meal                          600mg sodium 
                                       The purpose of this guide is to promote healthier options at                                                                             30% calories from fat 
                                            fast  food and restaurant establishments in the Pasadena area,                                                                       7% calories from fat 
                                            especially  local  independent  restaurants  participating  in  the                                                           
                                            HDM! Restaurant Program to help community members eat                                                                        Less than  
                                            healthy when dining out.                                                                              Single                         300 calories 
                                       All  nutrition  information  was  found  on                                                              Entree                          325mg sodium 
                                            www.healthydiningfinder.com  or  the  restaurant’s  online                                                                           10g fat 
                                            nutrition  information,  except  HDM!  Participating  restaurants,                                                                   3.5g saturated fat 
                                            which was calculated by the HDM! Nutrition Consultant.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                                         Less than  
                                                                                                                                                   Side                          250 calories 
                                                             Tools to Reading This Guide                                                                                         230mg sodium 
                                                                                                                                                   Item                          30% calories from fat 
                                        Soups and salads are an Adult Meal unless stated as a side item                                                                         7% calories from fat 
                                             or half-sized portion. 
                                        Most salads do not include the dressing, or a side of bread. 
                                        Most items have much higher sodium than the recommenda-
                                             tions. Options with sodium and fat under the USDA recom-
                                             mendation and HDM! Nutrition Criteria are shown with a                                     What  do  you  need  to  know  about  the  Dietary  Guidelines  for 
                                                                                                                                        Americans, 2010? 
                                                                                                                                         
                                        This guide highlights healthy menu options. Lower calorie op-                                   Created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S. 
                                             tions may be available, but they may be higher in fat.                                          Department of Health and Human Resources (HHS) 
                                        Some options may not be available all year long.                                                Intended for Americans ages 2 and older and includes those at 
                                        Saturated fat numbers may not be given but it is important to                                       increase risk of chronic disease 
                                             know that it raises cholesterol levels, which can lead to cardi-                            The goal  is  to  provide  information  for  making  healthy  food 
                                             ovascular disease.  Look out for tips that warn about this fat!                                 choices to promote good health and prevent disease 
                                        Look for other helpful tips in this guide! 
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                            Tips to Dining Out Healthy                                    What You Need to Know About Sodium! 
                           Don’t rush your order. Take your time to decide the              Eating high amounts of sodium raises blood pressure, 
                              healthiest option for you.                                        which can lead to heart disease and stroke. 
                           It all starts with the drink order, so choose a healthy          High blood pressure makes you 4x more likely to 
                                                                                                die from stroke, and 3x more likely to die from heart 
                              option such as water, unsweetened tea, fat-free or low-           disease. 
                              fat milk.                                                      The average intake for Americans is more than 
                           Limit or avoid appetizers, they add those extra calories.           3,400mg! The USDA recommends less than 2,300mg, 
                                                                                                but most Americans should limit intake to 1,500mg per 
                           Avoid fried or sautéed foods. Choose steamed, grilled,              day. 
                              or broiled instead.                                            Fast Food and restaurants are a large part of the sodi-
                                                                                                um in American diets. 
                           Order dressings, gravies, creamy sauces, and butter on           Some easy tips: 
                              the side. Try ordering a light or fat free version.                    Eat more fruits and veggies! 
                                                                                                     Request that your meal be prepared without 
                                                                                                       added salt. 
                           Don’t be afraid to ask the restaurant to prepare food 
                              the way you want it. Take control of your meal!                IMPORTANT! Most of the foods found in this guide 
                                                                                                are above the recommended amount of sodium, but 
                           It’s all about portion sizes…                                       they still represent the healthier options available! 
                                   Order appetizer-sized or side dish portions 
                                   Share with a friend!                                                                    Sources of Sodium in 
                                   Don’t try to clean your plate, take leftovers                                              American Diet 
                                      home. 
                                                                                                                      Occurs 
                           When in doubt...Follow the                                                                naturally 
                              MyPlate guidelines when                                                                 in foods 
                                                                                                                                 12%      Restaurants, 
                              deciding how to fill your                                                                                   prepackaged, 
                                                                                                                                          processed 
                              plate! You can find them at                                                          Added at    6% 
                              ChooseMyPlate.gov.                                                                   table        5%        foods 
                                                                                                                                          ~75% 
                                                                                                                     Home 
                                                                                                                     cooking 
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