Food+Label+Assignment

On this page, write out your findings from the food label assignment. What two products did you choose, which is healthier, and why. List out any pertinent information, such as fat, carb, protein, fiber, (etc). grams or percentages that are different between the two. Make sure and write your name next to your entry. ALSO, remember each of you need to try to locate different foods for comparison!

I find that there are subtle differences between the original Yoplait yogurt and the fat-free one. The fat-free Yoplait yogurt has 100 calories compared to the original, which has 170. Also, the original has 1.5g of total fat and 1g of saturated fat, as well as 10mg of cholesterol, whereas the fat-free does not contain any. Another important difference between the two is the grams of sugar, with the original containing twice as much as the fat-free one (27g and 14g, respectively). Hence, I feel that the fat-free Yoplait yogurt would be the healthier choice between the two. [] - Theresa Gilsdorf

I looked at two similar types of chips, regular sour cream and onion flavored lays as well as baked lays sour cream and onion chips. The baked sour cream and onion lays is definitely better for you than the regular kind. The baked lays had 120 calories compared to the regular which had 160. There was a 7g difference of fat between the two, the baked lays only have 3 g while the regular lays had 10. There was .5 more g of saturated fats in the regular lays compared to the baked kind. Protein was the same, but the baked had 4 b vitamins as well as vitamin C while the regular had 3 B, Vitamin C, but also contained vitamin E. There was one more gram of fiber in the baked lays than in the regular lays, but overall the baked lays are the better choice. http://www.fritolay.com/our-snacks/baked-lays-sour-cream-onion.html Kevin Grady

I compared two common tortilla chips, Regular Nacho Cheesier Doritos and Baked Nacho Cheese Doritos. The baked Doritos are all around more healthy than the regular Doritos. To start off, the Baked have 20 less calories as well as less total fat, saturated fat and simple sugar. The baked also had more protein, fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. The major differences i see by looking at the numbers is the percentages of calories from carbohyrates and fat. As far as carbohydrates, For the baked it was 70% and for the regular it was 48.6%. As far as fat, for the baked it was 22.5% and for the regular it was 45%. One thing that really surprised me was the difference in the amount of vitamins and minerals in the baked as opposed to the regular. The only thing the regular had was a little calcium but the baked had vitamins A,E, B1, B3, B6, calcium, iron, phosphorus and zinc. These were all in pretty small amounts, but i still thought it was neat to see the increased nutritional value. http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/frito-lay-doritos-tortilla-chips-nacho-cheesier-flavor-555.htm- Jil Kerkman

There really is not that much of a difference between white and wheat sara lee bread. In two slices of wheat bread there are a total of 90 cal and in ONE piece of white bread there is 66 cal. Saturated fat was the same with 0g per serving. There was however more protein in the wheat bread 5g compared to 2g. The wheat bread did contain Vitamin A and C, but white bread did not. Grams of total fat per serving was not that far off both having 1g and wheat with 10 cal of fat vs. white with 7 cal from fat. One thing to pay attention to is the fact that the food label only gives you one slice of white bread, therefore the total calories, fat, carbs, etc will be higher than that of the sara lee wheat. The wheat bread is the overall better choice. It provides more nutrients than does the white. When I choose bread from a store I like to feel it and make sure it is nice and soft (I HATE hard bread). If I am on a budget, sometimes I will choose unhealthy over the healthy just to save a buck. I am not a big fan of any grains or seeds on my bread, so I would not choose those brands. [] --Carley Kemmer

For this food label assignment, I took two very similar breakfast bars, the strawberry special k bars and the strawberry special k crispers.There really wasn't too much a difference between the two. The special k bars were a little bit better to eat than the crispers were because the quantity in the crispers was a little higher than in the bar. The Special K Bar has 23 g in 1 bar and in the Crispers there is 25 g in the 2 crisps that come in the package. There is only a 10 calorie difference between the two bars and the percent in total calories is only off by 1% (Special K bars with 2% total fat calories and crispers with 3% total fat calories.) The total saturated fat percentage for both bars is only at 5%. (Got my information off of the wrappers) ---Alyssa Marcotte

I compared the difference between Jewel instant oatmeal and Quaker High Fiver Instant Oatmeal. The big difference between these two products is in the dietary and soluble fiber content. The high fiber oatmeal has 10g of DF and 8g SF while the regular brand has just 2g DF and 1g SF. The high fiber also contains half the sugar.They both contain the same number and percentages of vitamins and minerals with the exception of phosphorus and magnesium being in the regular oatmeal at 8% the daily value. So after looking at both labels it would be a smarter decision to buy high fiber oatmeal. The taste is the same as well as the price for the most part and it has a lot more fiber in it which is something many americans are lacking in. --- Luke Schlessinger

I compared the difference in regular lays sour cream and onion chips and french onion sun chips. there was a difference of 20 calories and 4 total grams of fat. the lays chips had 160 cal per serving and 10 g of fat where sun chips had 140 and 6g of fat. other than that the chips are virtually the same in carbs, sugars, protiens, and fiber. the other significant difference was the sun chips had more vitamins and minerals than the lays chips had to offer, but the amounts were only between 2-8% of the recommended daily value so nothing to big. --Matt Easoz

The two food lables that I compared were kraft mac and cheese with hy-vee mac and cheese. I found out that between the two that the kraft mac and cheese would be a healthier choice because it had lower carbohydrates with 49g per serving compared to 57g. It also had lower grams of protein with 9g compared to 12g. Overall the kraft mac and cheese had a lower total calorie intake per serving at 260 comapred to 300. The vitamins found in these two foods were Vitamin A, along with calcium and Iron.---Ryan Rosenthal

I compared the diffrences between Canned Cream Style Corn and frozen Corn on the Cob. I found that the frozen Corn on the Cob is a healthier choice betwen the two. The canned corn had 21g of carbohydrates compared to the 19g per serving in the corn on the cob. But the canned corn also had 400mg of sodium compared to the corn on the cobs 0g. The canned corn had 100 calories compared to the 90 in the frozen corn on the cob. There was also 6% vitamin C in the frozen corn and zero in the canned corn. In areas such as sugar, protien, fiber, trans fat, and sat fat the two products were almost identicle.- Kenneth Gibson

I compared the differences between whole milk and skim milk. Values are based on 8 oz. Obviously, the skim milk is the healthier choice between the two. However, it was interesting to see the extreme differences. Calories are not too big of a difference: 146 in whole milk versus 137 in skim milk. Fat amounts is where the biggest difference was: 8 grams with 5 grams of saturated fat in whole milk versus skim milk that contains 0 grams of fat. The other major difference is with protein. Whole milk only contains 8 grams while skim milk contains almost double with 14 grams. Little things like this could make a huge impact on your diet. -Marissa Cohen

I compared Kudos Mile Chocolate granola Bars to Quaker Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars. Overall they were very close on all aspects, with 100 calories from each, serving size 1 bar, at 0.82 and 0.84 oz each bar. Kudos had 3.5 g of fat, while Chewy had only 3 g. It also had 1 g less carbohydrate, and 2 g more sugar. They both contained vitamins A and C (with Kudos also supplying D) minerals Calcium and Iron, and 1 g of fiber. Overall I would say the Chewy bar is more healthy, although the are very close in all aspects. - Laura Conte