Is French Fries Nutritious?

Five Guys Nutrition was founded by Tommy John, who started his business in 1986 in a small trailer home on a forty-acre piece of land in rural Louisa County, Virginia. The business name was inspired by the number "five" after the first restaurant, Fido, which also catered to fishermen in that area. Later, Five Guys became a popular name for any sort of quick preparation food, including hot dogs and burgers. In recent years, Five Guys has expanded into a chain of restaurants in several different countries. In Canada, the company had been selling pizza and Mexican cuisine, but has now expanded into other parts of North America.

Five Guys Nutrition has two chains; a nationwide chain with over six hundred outlets, including five guys nutrition cafes, and a local chain with over sixty outlets. Both chains have many similar foods, such as chili, fish, salads, wraps, pastas, burgers, hot dogs, corned beef, shrimp, vegetables, dips, desserts, pie, shakes, and ice cream. The national chain is focused primarily on grilled food and salads, while the local chain caters more to seafood, chicken, and steaks. Both chains use different words for their foods, with the national chain using "it's all about" to describe its food, and the local chain using "the best tasting chicken salad in town" to describe it.

The problem with many restaurant chains is that they often use calories to describe portion sizes, or sometimes use a word like "low calorie", which aren't actually certified. Many of the foods they sell are heavy in calories, even though they may not be high in fat content, especially if you're buying the "low-calorie" items. This is why the Five Guys nutrition cafes are so successful; they don't count calories, because they don't have to. They use the word "low calorie" on their menus, because those calories come from "less healthy" ingredients. So you're getting fewer total calories than you would from a restaurant that serves traditional McDonald's or Burger.

The other reason the Five Guys nutrition cafes are successful is because people are attracted to the clean, fresh atmosphere, with the fast food restaurants across the street. People want to avoid the fast food chain restaurants and go somewhere that has a relaxed atmosphere, with clear labels, with real food, with quality ingredients. It doesn't matter whether the ingredients are real food or fake (in this case, French fries). When people go to these five guys nutrition cafes instead of going to a McDonalds or a Burger King, they end up eating healthier, because they can't taste the underlying fat in French fries.

The French fries contain high levels of trans fat, which leads to obesity, even though there are people who will eat French fries every day. Trans fat is found in butter, plus different types of margarine. That means when people make the switch to a Five Guys nutrition menu, they get to choose leaner cuts of meat, good fats, and get rid of the unhealthy "butterfat" in their French fries.

People are under the impression that if a fast food restaurant serves something on their nutrition menu that it must be bad for them. But that's not true. Just as with anything else, some foods are good for people, while others are bad for people. The same holds true for French fries as well: some people won't eat them, but others will eat them with a side of tomatoes and a small amount of extra butter.

Another problem with the French fry is that many people don't know how many calories are in a serving of French fries. They assume it is about three or four calories, but in reality those calories add up to over five hundred calories. A good rule of thumb for finding out how many calories are in a serving of French fries is about one-half cup. However, since the food is also high in sodium, it is probably a better idea to go with the lower figure than go with the one-half cup figure, especially if you are buying five guys nutrition menus at your local cafeteria.

A good thing to do in order to stay healthy when you're buying food at a cafeteria is to read the nutrition facts and dietary requirements of all the food you buy, whether it is at a five guys nutrition menu a regular, fast food restaurant, or even an "anytime" convenience store. Read it again, count your calories, and make sure you have enough to eat for a week. Some places will give you a cheat sheet, or give you a pamphlet or flyer to keep. If they don't, just bring a water bottle and a pen so you can take notes. The food you buy at five guys nutrition cafes are usually pretty healthy, provided you know what to look for.