I recently posted a list of the 88 worst fast food items. That list was based on the amount of trans fats in various fast foods. Now Men's Health has weighed in and picked the 20 Worst Foods in America, and this list is based not only on fats but also calories, sodium, and carbs.

Obviously, when you're talking fast food, a lot of it is going to be bad for you, but I guess it's good to have a list of specific foods and categories. For example, they name the McDonald's Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips (5 pieces) witih Ranch Dressing as the Worst Fast Food Chicken Meal. The Jamba Juice Chocolate Moo'd Power Smoothie gets the Worst Drink nod. It's 900 calories, with 10 grams of fat and 166 grams of sugar.

What foods on the list do you regularly eat?

The FDA has issued an alert for Jamba Juice Strawberry Smoothies sold in stores in Arizona, Southern Nevada and Southern California between November 25 - December 1, 2006 because they may have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The information that there may be contamination came from one of their supplier's, Cleugh's Frozen Foods of Salinas, CA who notified the company that some of their frozen strawberries tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

Jamba Juice has immediately and voluntarily halted all shipments from that location and removed all strawberries from that facility, including berries not believed to be contaminated. Also all the stores that got shipments from the affected location have been cleaned and disinfected. No illnesses have been reported yet and they hope they reacted quick enough to keep it that way.

If you bought a Jamba Juice containing strawberries between November 25 and December 1 in Arizona, Southern Nevada and Southern California; and you have concerns or any cold or flu-like symptoms, call the Jamba Juice consumer help line at 1-877-464-5689 or consult your health care provider.

It's the climax of summer; at least it sure feels like it here in southern California. Sure I'd love to go jump in the Pacific, or perhaps the pool out back, but really, I just did my hair!

So how to keep cool? Cool down from the inside with a refreshing smoothie. However, the smoothie and juice options out there are endless, whether you're deciding on the place, or what to get once you're there. AOL has a quick "report card" on two places that offer smoothies: Jamba Juice, and what we might consider Jamba's complete opposite, Dunkin Donuts. How did the two fare?

The three smoothies from Jamba Juice all got a grade of B or lower. The Mighty Cherry Charger got the B, but also packs a whopping 320 calories into its "slender" 16 oz. size. Both the Strawberry Whirl and Strawberry Nirvana are fewer calories, but get a lower overall grade for either tasting too sweet, or having an overwhelming artificial sweetener aftertaste.

But Jamba Juice certainly fared better than Dunkin Donuts, which received a D- for the Strawberry Banana Smoothie and a failing F for the Mnago Passion Fruit. Guess you may as well stick with the Donuts at Dunkin'. 

 

We all know about the "secret" menu at In N Out Burger (which isn't so secret when they post it on their website!). Who doesn't love to order his or her Double-Double, "Animal Style?" But did you know that there is a "secret" menu at Jamba Juice?

Mighty Foods has confirmed with a "secret" source that Jamba Juice does, indeed, have a secret menu of smoothie flavors that are either back-catalog flavors or are flavors that a so-called health food company couldn't possibly sell. The ones they've heard of so far are: Strawberry Shortcake (I guess the "cake" part doesn't sound very healthy), White Gummy Bear (for which we've found a recipe), PB+J (though I'm sure Jamba Juice has a peanut butter smoothie), Starburst, Fruity Pebbles, Push-pops, and Skittles.

I wonder what kind of looks I'd get if I asked for a White Gummy Bear with a shot of wheatgrass?

[via: Mighty Foods]