I have a special place in my heart for fast food workers, because I was one for five years. My first job was as a crew member at Wendy's, and in my time there I learned a lot about what goes on behind the scenes in the construction of your Junior Bacon Cheeseburger and much more.

To my pleasant surprise, I never witnessed anything disgusting or cringe-worthy while working there, and I still find it to be one of the only fast food restaurants I'm comfortable eating at. So, here's what you need to know, even if you didn't work at Wendy's.

While I can only speak to what I saw at my Wendy's location while I was working there, INSIDER has also reached out to Wendy's for comment.

The meat is actually fresh, never frozen.

Well, the beef is. Where I worked, the chicken (grilled, homestyle, spicy, nugs) was delivered to the restaurant frozen, but the burger patties remained refrigerated at all times. So, the answer to the infamous question, "Where's the beef?" is definitely "in the cooler."

They reduce food waste as much as possible.

When you think about the food waste that goes on in fast food, you have to appreciate this point. When burger patties are grilled, they're only servable for a certain amount of time — around 30 minutes — so when that time is up, it was my store's policy that the patties would go into a container where they are ground and stored to be used for Wendy's famous chili the following day. 

Another fun food waste fact: the Frosty machine (the goblet that holds the magic chocolate deliciousness that is only 99 cents per small cup) at the Wendy's where I worked was emptied out and cleaned at the end of each night. We would place the excess Frosty mixture into a bucket and store it in the freezer overnight, only to be returned to the frosty machine the following morning. I know, the bucket thing sounds unsanitary and weird, but I can assure you it's all completely hygienic and conservative.

There's nothing “fresh-squeezed” about their natural lemonade.

Yes, there are sliced lemons in that display pitcher, but where I worked, they were just for show. I hate to break it to you, but the lemonade we would make at my store was just about as "fresh" as the powder you mix with water at home. And it calls for a ton of white sugar — like, a ton. So think about that the next time you go for a large.

Film critics are lauding "Hereditary," a new horror film from A24 starring Toni Collette and Gabriel Byrne.

Collette and Byrne star as Annie and Steve Graham, the parents of a family that becomes haunted by sinister, supernatural forces and the dark secrets of their ancestry following the death of the family's matriarch, Annie's mother. 

Written and directed by Ari Aster, the film is even receiving Oscar buzz for Collette's performance, along with praise for Aster's inflicting of "psychic damage" through innovations on horror genre tropes.

"Hereditary" currently has a 93% "fresh" rating on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. 

The film opens nationwide on Friday. 

Here are several reviews of "Hereditary," which one critic is calling "a new generation's 'The Exorcist'": 

SEE ALSO: Audiences think Netflix original movies are 'meaningfully worse' than most studio releases

"In its sense of poisoned family bloodlines, of the everyday invaded by unspeakable evil, of bonechilling terror you won't be able to shake, 'Hereditary' is a new horror landmark. Toni Collette should have Oscar calling."

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

"In the end, horror and supernatural fans will certainly get their thrills, but it's the psychic damage on the screen that will make the film hard to forget.

David Lewis, San Francisco Chronicle

"Hereditary is so refreshing in part because it invents its own scare vocabulary."

Inkoo Kang, Slate

This fall, a major new update for iPhone and iPad is scheduled to arrive: iOS 12, the latest version of Apple's smartphone and tablet operating system software. 

Its standout feature? A new way to turn your face into a living cartoon, called Memoji:

It's true! That grinning cartoon above is none other than Apple CEO Tim Cook.

But let's not kid ourselves — the stuff that will really impact your daily iPhone use is far more mundane. To that end, Apple is making some major strides in iOS 12 towards ease of use and convenience that are worth highlighting.

Here are the five most important changes and additions coming in iOS 12:

SEE ALSO: Apple just announced iOS 12. Here are all the major changes coming to iPhones and iPads.

1. iOS 12 makes old iPhones faster.

There are plenty of new features coming in iOS 12 that are intended for the latest models of iPhone, such as the aforementioned Memoji.

But one huge feature that's aimed squarely at older iPhones is a major performance improvement. In testing thus far, according to Apple VP of software engineer Craig Federighi, iOS 12 makes older phones like the iPhone 6+ run far more quickly: 40% faster app launches, 50% faster keyboard opening, and a 70% improvement in opening the camera. 

It's not sexy, but it's stuff like this that makes the user experience for most iPhone owners so, so much better. Apple is directly addressing the common complaint that each year, with each new iOS update, older iPhones get slower. 

That iOS 12 will support iPhones going all the way back to the iPhone 5S is another subtle nod of acknowledgement to the tens of millions of people using older iPhone models.

2. The Notifications tray is getting a major update, smartly copying Android's best feature.

Ever slide down your notifications tray and find a mess of nonsense? That's most interactions with the notifications tray on iOS, unfortunately. One of the major arguments for using Android over iOS is how useful the notifications tray is in the former (and how poor it is in the latter).

Apple's seemingly addressing that disparity with iOS 12, finally adding support for grouped notifications in the notifications tray. All your text message notifications will be automatically bundled together, for instance, rather than showing each one individually. You can still tap in and see each one, or you could swipe left on the whole stack to clear them all at once.

It's a small but crucial change to daily iPhone use.

3. Customize your life with Siri Shortcuts.

Siri is kind of a mess in general use, but a new tool for Siri has a lot of promise. It's called "Shortcuts," and it essentially allows you to program a series of actions tied to a specific command phrase.

In the example Apple gives, an iPhone owner has set a shortcut to the phrase, "Heading home."

When Siri hears that phrase, it automatically enacts a series of actions: 

— Retrieves directions home with the least traffic.
— Text messages the user's roommate to let her know she's on the way.
— Sets the home thermostat to 70 degrees and turns on a fan.

If you've ever used Automator on a Mac, Shortcuts will sound familiar — it's a way of setting up a sequence of actions that you perform frequently, tied to a single trigger. In the case of Siri Shortcuts, those triggers are whatever phrase you set. Pretty neat!

One of the aircraft that the US Navy showed off at Fleet Week in New York City in May was the V-22 Osprey, the US Marine Corps' main assault support aircraft. 

And we got a chance to climb in the cargo bay and cockpit.

The Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft that blends "the vertical flight capability of a helicopter with the speed, range, altitude and endurance of an airplane,"according to Bell Boeing, the V-22's manufacturer. "This allows more effective mission execution and realization of missions previously unachievable in one aircraft."

The Corps is even considering turning the Osprey into a gunship by equipping it with rockets, guns, and missiles.

Check it out below:

SEE ALSO: Here are all the standard issue weapons given to US Marines

Manufactured by Bell Boeing, the Osprey first flew in 1989 and has since been deployed by the Marines in 2007 and the Air Force in 2009 in both combat and rescue operations.

Source: Business Insider

It's about 63 feet long, about 84 feet wide when the rotors are turning, and about 22 feet tall when the engines are vertical.

Source: US Navy

It's powered by two pivoting Rolls-Royce/Allison AE1107C engines, giving the Osprey to a top speed of about 322 mph and a maximum altitude of 25,000 feet.

The rotors are also about 38 feet in diameter. 

Source: US Navy

Seattle-based smart home startup Wyze has two goals: make a great home security camera, and make it cheap. 

The company's first product, Wyze Cam, is a tiny security camera that you can affix to virtually any surface in your house, or leave standing up on your table or countertop. It records video in your home and updates you using a smartphone app when it detects motion, sounds, or alarms. 

And the best part is it only costs $20.

I tested out Wyze for a few weeks to determine whether a cheap security camera can compete with the likes of Amazon Cloud Cam or Nest Cam. 

Here's what it's like. 

SEE ALSO: HTC's newest phone is see-through and squeezable, and has some of the most futuristic features of any high-end smartphone

Wyze Cam's design is bland, yet friendly.

The team at Wyze came up with a design for the camera that manages to be functional yet innocuous. 

Once Wyze Cam is set up, you don't really notice it anymore. My camera lived in the kitchen area in my apartment, which happens to have light gray countertops and walls — Wyze Cam blended right in. 

The cube shape feels a little retro compared to other cameras on the market — both Amazon Cloud Cam and Nest Cam have a more rounded shape. But I found myself liking the look of the boxy little camera and felt like it fit in well with the clean lines of my kitchen. 

Something about the design is just ... cute.

The whole time I was testing Wyze Cam, it felt familiar to me somehow. It wasn't until someone else pointed it out that I realized what it was: the shape of the device and the face of the camera looks a lot like the lamp from the original Pixar logo.

It may seem like a small thing, but a friendly look is pretty important in a home security camera. No one wants to put something in their house that feels like it's spying on them, or is so obvious that it freaks people out. But when guests came to my house, few of them even noticed the camera, and no one seemed bothered by it. 

You can mount Wyze Cam, or have it sitting upright. It tilts up ...

• By the time they turn 35, many Americans have gotten married, bought a home, and earned a salary of about $50,000.
• They've also amassed quite a bit of debt by that age, according to the data.
• See how you compare to the average 35-year-old American in seven aspects of life. 

The internet was ablaze with indignation after MarketWatch published an article earlier this year saying that the proper amount of savings for a 35-year-old is double their salary.

Those numbers are at odds with reality for many Americans, as plenty of internet commenters made clear.

According to CNBC, the average retirement savings for families between the ages of 32 and 37 was $31,644 in 2013, while the median was just $480 for that age group. (Many families have no retirement savings, bringing down that figure.)

A more attainable benchmark is to have your savings equal your salary by the time you hit 35, according to one expert.

But what about other life goals, like starting a family, buying a home for the first time, or switching careers?

We looked at the data to see what the average American has accomplished by the time they turn 35.

SEE ALSO: 15 things you should accomplish before you turn 35, according to the internet

The average 35-year-old in the US is married — the most common age for women to marry is 27, while it's 29 for men.

Source: US Census Bureau

They also are more likely than not to have a child. The average American woman has her first child by age 28.

Source: Associated Press

A typical 35-year-old is already a homeowner. The median age for first-time homeowners is 32, according to The New York Times.

Source: New York Times

Google recently announced a massive update to its popular email platform. So far, it's given personal account holders and company admins (who run company's G Suite accounts) the choice to leave their Gmail inboxes as-is, or to opt into the new Gmail, which comes with a new look and a lot of new features. If they don't enjoy the experience, users and admins are welcome to opt back out. 

That's no longer going to be the case in a matter of months, as Google announced in a post to its G Suite blog on Tuesday. Users attached to the 'old' Gmail and companies wary of the changes will have to get on board, because Google will be pushing the update on all users over the course of the next few months. 

To prepare users and IT departments for the inevitable changes, Google laid out a timeline that basically says 'this is happening, whether you like it or not.' Take a look:

Currently: The new Gmail is only available to users and companies participating in the Early Adopter Program.

"We encourage you to begin testing the new Gmail and preparing your users now," Google says in its blog post.  

If you want to get ahead of the curve, opt into the program by going to Settings, checking "Enable experimental access," and hitting Save at the bottom. After a few hours, "Try the new Gmail" should be the first option under the Settings cog. Opting out is done the same way. 

July: The new Gmail becomes available to the general public.

All personal account holders and company admins will start to see "Try the new Gmail" under their Settings. And if you're one of those people itching for the upgrade on your work account, here's when things might start to change for you.

Corporate admins will have three options:

1. Transition employees immediately, but give users the choice to opt out.

2. Allow everyone to opt in whenever they want.

3. Stall for four more weeks, at which point it'll no longer be in your control. 

August: All users, including individuals with company accounts, will have the choice to opt in.

Admin decisions no longer matter, and everyone is able to opt in and back out, freely. 

• Wedding days can be overwhelming, which is why it's important to plan everything out ahead of time. 
• Creating a hair and makeup timeline will allow for a more stress-free wedding day. 
• Here are the top 10 tips for planning out your wedding hair and makeup before the big day. 

Looking and feeling your best is key on your wedding day. We interviewed Jennie Fresa, renown hair and makeup artist to give us her tips on establishing a wedding day beauty timeline.

"Over the years, I have seen how hectic and overwhelming the getting ready process can be for brides. Establishing a beauty timeline is essential for creating a stress-free wedding day. Below are my top ten tips to keep things on track before you say 'I do.'"- Jennie Fresa

Be sure to schedule a consultation and trial session with your makeup artist and hair stylist 3-6 months prior to your event.

You’ll feel relaxed and won’t be making decisions under pressure.

Day-of hair styling will take approximately 40-45 minutes per person, depending on the type of hair style.

Makeup applications take approximately 30 minutes per person.

Once you’ve determined the time when you need to be ready, we suggest working backward in 30-40 minute increments to determine an arrival time for your beauty team.

For example, if you need to be ready by 3 PM and have six applications/styles total, the start time would be 11 AM for hair and 12 PM for makeup.

• Costco's Kirkland Signature brand has a well-earned reputation for quality products that meet or beat name-brand competition.
• While buying in bulk certainly costs more upon purchase, you can save money in the long run by stocking up on non-perishable goods.
• Kirkland Signature wine, golf balls, coconut water, diapers, and bagged nuts are some of the best deals you can find from Costco's in-store brand.
• Here are nine Kirkland Signature products from Costco that are worth every penny.

Costco's Kirkland Signature (KS) brand has a reputation for high quality at often unbeatable prices, which has inspired a cult-like following among Costco members.

Even among the venerable Kirkland line, however, not all products are created equal.

From wine and vodka to golf balls and diapers, here are nine Kirkland Signature products that are surefire winners in the quality-to-price ratio. They're worth spending a little extra on upfront for that big bulk discount.

SEE ALSO: I just went to Costco for the first time, and it was unlike any other shopping experience I've had

1. Wine

You can get great wine at Costco, from everyday sippers to special-occasion bottles. All Costco wine is only marked up between 10 and 14%, compared to 25 to 45% at other liquor retailers, according to Fox News.

That means good bargains for just about any label, but their Kirkland Signature brand wines, many of which are made by reputable wineries and white-labeled for Costco, are particularly affordable.

2. Vodka

In my experience, Kirkland Signature liquor can be a little hit or miss, but one line that consistently scores top marks is KS vodka.

One popular theory alleges that Kirkland's vodka is actually Grey Goose, though the more mundane reality is that the two simply share a water source, the Gensac Springs in the Cognac region of France.

Regardless, KS Vodka has outperformed Grey Goose in more than one blind taste test, and it costs half as much as Grey Goose.

3. Diapers

If you've got a newborn, Costco is a budget blessing. Their bulk diapers receive high marks from parents and family publications alike and cost as little as $0.16 per diaper (and that's online, where Costco often charges slightly higher prices than in-store).

The average newborn will need around 2,700 disposable diapers in their first year, at an average cost of $0.20 per diaper, according to Investopedia. In other words, that $108 savings (figuring a $0.04 difference per diaper) should pay for Costco's $60 Gold Star membership itself.

Amazon's Echo Look, a $199 hands-free camera and personal style assistant, went on sale to all customers today. 

If you’re anything like me, deciding what to wear can be a time-consuming task. Sometimes I try on five different outfits, tossing rejected items onto my desk chair and creating a daunting pile of clothes that I’ll have to refold later. And after all that, I still don’t always feel satisfied or comfortable in what I’ve chosen. So I was intrigued when I heard about Amazon’s Echo Look— what the company refers to as a “style assistant.”

The Echo Look connects to Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa, which means it has the same capabilities as other Echo products, but the style assistant is what sets the Look apart.

The Echo Look takes full-length photos or 6-second videos of your outfit, so you can create a catalog of “looks” and store those images in collections for future perusal on the accompanying app. Those collections can be separated by season, color, type of event, or any other categories you choose. This feature could be useful if your closet is so full of clothes you need help remembering what’s in it, but for me, it seemed unnecessary.

I was more interested in the style-check feature, which compares photos of two different outfits and tells you which one looks better. To get a sense of how the Echo Look and app works, I let the Echo Look choose my outfits for a week. Here's how it went:

UNBOXING: The Echo Look comes with a screw-in stand, wall mount, and power cord.

DAY 1: On the first day, I decided to keep the outfits simple. White button-up tucked into light blue jeans vs. black turtleneck and dark denim jeans.

The white shirt and lighter jeans won by a narrow margin, because, according to the results, the colors match better. But it also said that the shoes are better in the losing outfit. So, I put the black boots with the winning outfit and ran the style check again. That increased the winning margin by 2 percentage points.

The Echo Look analyzes your outfits by running machine-learning algorithms and consulting a team of “fashion specialists.” You can also ask for style recommendations— and this is where Amazon benefits. If you have pants you love, but only one or two shirts that go with them, you can ask for suggestions of other shirts that would look good and it will direct you toward some options on Amazon.com.

DAY 2: On the second day, I tried outfits with a little more color and style variation. Tan-striped tank and black pants vs. black and blue denim jumpsuit.

These results are close. The tank and pants were deemed a better shape and fit, but the app said the color of the jumpsuit looks better on me. So in this case, it seems like color is more important than fit, since the jumpsuit got a higher rating than the tank and pants. But it’s also possible that it chose the jumpsuit because they are popular right now, and Amazon says the app partially decides based on “current trends.”

In the past, plant-based diets were considered either fads at best, or the domain of proselytizing hippies at worst — but these days people from all walks of life are choosing to eat vegan. On the one hand, plant-based diets are better for the environment, and offer a slew of health benefits; on the other, rumor has it that getting enough protein on a vegan food plan is next to impossible.

Fortunately, the rumors are false. There are a stunning variety of plant-based foods out there that boast significant amounts of protein. If you're interested in eating plant-based more often — but are looking for food options beyond the obvious lentils, beans, chickpeas, and tofu — check out these 10 vegan foods that have more protein than you'd think.

Quinoa

Quinoa — a protein-packed "ancient grain"— has been popular for a while; in fact, the UN even designated 2013 as the "International Year of Quinoa" several years ago. Not only does it contain all nine essential amino acids, but it's incredibly versatile.

Toss quinoa in a warm grain salad, swap it out for oatmeal during breakfast, use it as a high-fiber substitute for rice, or bake it into a dessert or pastry.

Oats

Recently, oats have seen a resurgence in mainstream popularity due to oat milk — a creamy non-dairy milk alternative that baristas love— but oats have long been a breakfast staple for many. Low in sodium but high in both protein and fiber, they can be flavored an endless amount of ways and are easy to eat on-the-go.

Nothing beats a nourishing bowl of oats in the morning (you can even make them overnight if you're strapped for time), but they're also delicious in breads, bars, cookies, muffins, pancakes, and muesli.

Nutritional Yeast

Often hailed as the holy grail of vegan cooking, nutritional yeast — a umami-flavor bomb that goes by "nooch" in the vegan community — is a high-protein and high-fiber ingredient rich in vitamins. As a bonus, it's often fortified with B12.

Typically golden yellow in color and sold as flakes, nooch is unique in that its flavor profile is similar to that of a sharp cheddar cheese, rendering it a vital component to many savory vegan meals. You can make it into a vegan parmesan, transform it into a queso or nacho "cheese", use it as a topping for homemade chips or popcorn, or incorporate it into creamy pastas, vegan quiches, scrambles, and more.

IKEA is a staple for many when it comes to affordable furniture and household items.

But the Swedish company sells some unexpected items that even the most savvy IKEA shopper might not know about.

From solar panels and sustainable, wild-caught seafood to a couch specifically for your pet, here are 14 surprising things you never knew you could buy at IKEA.

1. Outdoor decking

Harness your inner "DIY pro" with IKEA's easy-to-assemble outdoor flooring. Click the tiles together for a quick and simple installation. Each tile costs under $5 per square foot. You can opt for either a nice stained finish or artificial grass. Plus, the flooring is made out of weather-resistant plastic, which makes it easy to care for.

2. Furniture legs

Spruce up an old sofa or chair with a fresh new set of legs from IKEA instead of spending money on a new living room set. The retailer typically sells the furniture legs in packs of four ranging from $10 to $25. They come in all different shapes and materials like wood or metal to suit your decorating style. Don't miss these 16 other brilliant IKEA furniture hacks that you'll want to DIY immediately.

3. Seafood

The Swedish retailer wouldn't be complete without introducing their worldwide customers to their native country's delectable delicacies like cold smoked salmon, marinated herring, and shrimp. Plus, you can feel good about eating it too! All of the wild-caught fish and shrimp sold at IKEA's Swedish Food Market come from certified fisheries that support sustainable fishing and protect seafood supplies.

Since 1992, the world-renown MTV Movie and TV Awards have been honoring actors for their on screen smooching sessions. Perhaps one of the more popular MTV Movie and TV awards, is“Best Kiss,”  and winners are chosen by the audience prior to the show. But, not every winner deserves their crown — erm, award. Sorry!

Here are just a few of the many questionable winners of the MTV Movie Awards “Best Kiss”:

1992: Anna Chlumsky & Macaulay Culkin, "My Girl"

It’s not that this kiss wasn’t adorable, but how in the world did a tiny peck on the lips beat out the palpable sexual tension that oozed from the on-screen makeout sessions between Anjelica Huston& Raúl Juliá in The Addams Family?

1995: Jim Carrey & Lauren Holly, "Dumb and Dumber"

Can someone please explain the me what was happening in the ’90s? Somehow, viewers voted for the grotesque kiss between Jim Carrey and Lauren Holly over dynamic romantic duo Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in "Speed." I get it, irony and overly-done comedy are great, but DID YOU SEE THAT KISS AT THE END OF "SPEED?" Iconic.

1997: Will Smith and Vivica A. Fox, "Independence Day"

I love Will Smith and Vivica A. Fox as much as the next person, and no one can deny their chemistry in Independence Day, but honestly, it’s hard to wrap your head around anyone beating Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio’s romantic smooch in William Shakespeare's "Romeo + Juliet." It looks like Leo winning this award might be harder than earning an Oscar. No, seriously, he lost again in 1998 and 2003. He’s yet to win this award.

You might have heard that Intel and AMD annnounced new computer processors (CPUs) with 28 and 32 cores, respectively, at the Computex even in Taipei.

You might have even compared them to the number of cores in your own computer's specs, and seen the measly single-digit core count of your own CPU — like quad-core (four cores) — which could make you think it's time for a new computer. 

But don't worry, your CPU is probably fine, unless it's old and starting to become sluggish. Those new Intel and AMD CPUs, with their outrageous numbers of cores aren't really designed for you, the regular computer user, who only browses the web, plays games, and maybe uses Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop. Even if you're looking to buy a new computer, you shouldn't be waiting for these new highly-cored CPUs.

Here's what CPU cores are all about, and what Intel and AMD's new CPUs with literally dozens of cores are for:

SEE ALSO: Intel claims its new display technology can give laptops 28 hours of battery life

More "cores" means you can do a lot more on a computer without slowing down.

The more cores a computer processor has, the more things it can do simultaneously and quickly, like running multiple apps at the same time. 

You can think of it like a company. A single core represents a single employee, which would be fine if the workload is pretty low. But that single employee's speed and efficiency would dramatically reduce when the workload started to get heavy. 

Having multiple cores is like having multiple employees who can handle multiple workloads and get things done faster and more efficiently. 

Or you can do one heavy duty task a lot faster.

Having a CPU with more cores is also helpful when you're doing one single task that's particularly heavy duty. Editing and rendering videos is a good example of a heavy duty task that benefits from multiple CPU cores.

CPUs start getting expensive after eight cores, at which point they only become worthwhile to professionals.

Regular consumer-grade CPUs cost between $100 and $450, and come with anywhere from two to eight cores. These more conventional CPUs can easily handle basic tasks like web browsing, all the way to lightweight photo and video editing.

Once you go above the eight-core count, CPUs start getting significantly more powerful — and more expensive. Intel's i9-series of CPUs start with 10 cores at almost $1,000, and goes up to almost $2,000 for an 18-core model. 

AMD's Threadripper series with 12 cores starts at around $760, and goes up to almost $1,000 for a 16-core model. 

When you order McDonald's french fries, you know you aren't getting the pinnacle of health straight into your system. A medium order of the menu item will clock in at 340 calories, 16 grams of fat, 44 grams of carbs, and 230 mg of sodium (which is 10% of a 2,000-calorie diet daily intake). But what about the foods that actually are advertised to be healthy? There are foods that sure sound like a better option than McDonald's fries — but they have more salt than the fast-food menu item, which is pretty surprising.

As I'm sure you know, you want to make sure you aren't eating too much salt in your diet. Studies have shown an abundance of salt (which is made up of sodium and chloride) can lead to various health issues, including heart disease, stomach cancer, and high blood pressure.

So here are some "healthy" food items with more salt than your fast-food side order, so you're aware what exactly you're putting into your body.

1. McDonald’s Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad may seem like a healthy option, but take a look at that sodium.

The seemingly healthiest option for a full meal item on McDonald’s menu – the Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad – clocks in at 1,070 mg of sodium which is a whopping 45% of your daily sodium intake, assuming a 2,000-calorie diet. The salad comes with grilled chicken, lettuce, a "vegetable blend," cilantro lime dressing, a mix of shredded cheddar and jack cheese, lime, tortilla strips, and grill seasoning.

2. Subway’s six-inch turkey breast sandwich has almost three-and-a-half times the sodium of a medium serving of McDonald’s french fries.

The sandwich, which is advertised as a Subway Fresh Fit choice (meaning it is under 400 calories, has two servings of vegetables, 24 grams of whole grains, and low saturated fat), actually delivers 760 mg of sodium. For those who have their eyes out for high-sodium food items, you'll know that cold cuts usually pack in the extra salt and won't be surprised.

3. Amy’s Organic Soups are a great go-to for vegetarians and plant-based dieters, but be watchful of the sodium amount.

As a pescatarian myself, I always keep some meatless canned soups around as a quick meal option. One of my favorite brands, Amy's Organic Soups, has vegan, gluten free, and kosher options. However, one of the flavors, lentil, has 630 mg of sodium. This is something to definitely be aware of if you're trying to keep your sodium intake down — but the brand knows its consumers, and offers low sodium options as well.

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

If I could only eat one type of food for the rest of my life, I would choose pasta in a heartbeat. From Italian spaghetti and rotini to Japanese udon and Chinese knife-cut noodles, I would gladly eat it all, every single day, if not for one important factor: traditional wheat pasta isn't exactly good for you.

The average dried pasta loses a lot of nutritional value once it's processed, so you end up eating a lot of calories but not many vitamins and minerals. Many people share my sentiment about pasta as the superior food group, but as its health benefits (or lack thereof) become glaringly apparent, they resign themselves to cutting pasta out of their lives. 

Luckily, alternatives made from ingredients that are much better for you — beans, chickpeas, and lentils, just to name a few — now exist to appease the health-minded pasta lover.

There's little to compromise here; in fact, you actually gain from eating these new types of pastas because they cook and taste like traditional pasta while offering more protein, more fiber, and fewer carbs. They're also great for people with gluten sensitivities and fitness-minded eaters who want a protein source other than meat. 

For your next dinner, try subbing regular wheat pasta with these better-for-you alternatives. Your body will feel the difference, but your mouth likely won't. 

SEE ALSO: An up-and-coming frozen food startup solved virtually all of my healthy eating obstacles

Banza

Shop Banza pasta here: Amazon, Target, Thrive Market, Walmart

Made from chickpeas, Banza Pasta has twice as much protein as regular wheat pasta, four times the fiber, and 40% fewer carbs. It's low on the glycemic index and also certified non-GMO. 

Bentilia

Shop Bentilia pasta here: Amazon

Other than flour and water, Bentilia is made with only one ingredient: red or green lentils from North America. Lentils offer a wealth of health benefits, including protein and high prebiotic fiber, which promotes healthy digestion. 

Tolerant

Shop Tolerant pasta here: Amazon, Jet, Thrive Market

This Canadian brand is a favorite among vegetarians and plant-based foodies. Tolerant Foods uses black beans, chickpeas, and lentils in its pastas. These legumes provide longer-lasting energy and one cup serves as a full serving of vegetables. 

President Donald Trump has begun making use of some of his most sweeping, unrestricted powers as president: the right to grant pardons and sentence commutations to people convicted of federal crimes.

Trump on Wednesday commuted the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a prisoner serving a life sentence for non-violent drug offenses. He also said last week he was considering several high-profile clemencies, including a potential pardon for Martha Stewart and a commutation for ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Trump so far has granted seven clemencies: five pardons and two sentence commutations. All of them have gone to defendants whose cases landed on Trump's radar via conservative media or celebrities.

While pardons essentially forgive people who have been convicted of crimes and restore some of their rights, a commutation reduces prisoners' sentences, usually freeing them immediately.

Here are all the pardons and commutations Trump has granted so far:

SEE ALSO: Trump floats a pardon bonanza of high-profile people, including Martha Stewart and Illinois' infamous former governor who was on 'Celebrity Apprentice'

DON'T MISS: 'Kim has been my war angel': The unlikely story of how Kim Kardashian West is trying to get Trump to free a 63-year-old grandmother from prison

Alice Marie Johnson

Trump granted his second-ever commutation to Alice Marie Johnson on Wednesday, freeing the 63-year-old grandmother and great-grandmother from a life sentence in prison.

Johnson was given the sentence in 1996 over non-violent drug offenses she had committed several years earlier. Her case received nationwide attention in recent months after the reality-television star Kim Kardashian West championed her release and paid a visit to Trump in a high-profile White House meeting last week.

"Ms. Johnson has accepted responsibility for her past behavior and has been a model prisoner over the past two decades. Despite receiving a life sentence, Alice worked hard to rehabilitate herself in prison, and act as a mentor to her fellow inmates," the White House said in a statement. "While this Administration will always be very tough on crime, it believes that those who have paid their debt to society and worked hard to better themselves while in prison deserve a second chance."

Johnson's daughter Catina Scales told Business Insider on Wednesday afternoon that she was en route to pick up her mother from the Aliceville correctional facility in Alabama, where Johnson is expected to be released on Wednesday.

"I have been literally shaking ever since I heard this news — this is the best present anyone could have gave me in my life," Scales said. "Nothing will ever trump this feeling."

DInesh D'Souza

Trump granted an unexpected pardon to the conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza last Thursday. 

D'Souza pleaded guilty in 2014 to illegally using straw donors in 2012 to donate to a Republican Senate candidate in New York. He used the straw donors to funnel his funds to the candidate under their names to try and get around campaign finance laws.

Though D'Souza fully admitted to knowingly violating the law, he lashed out at prosecutors at the time, arguing he was being singled out because of his conservative beliefs.

Though he was spared prison time, D'Souza was sentenced to five years of probation and a $30,000 fine. A pardon relieved D'Souza of any remaining punishments stemming from his conviction, and would restore certain rights, such as his right to vote.

Jack Johnson

Trump granted a rare posthumous pardon on May 24 to Jack Johnson, the American heavyweight boxing champion who died in 1946 and was convicted in 1913 of taking his white girlfriend across state lines.

Johnson's conviction reeked of racism and injustice at the height of the Jim Crow era. An all-white jury found Johnson guilty of violating the White Slave Traffic Act, also known as the Mann Act, which criminalized transporting women across state lines "for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose."

Johnson's conviction and one-year prison sentence has prompted debate for years — and Trump is not the first president to consider a pardon.

Former President Barack Obama faced the same decision, but his Justice Department recommended against one, so as to focus more on pardons that could benefit living people, a former Obama administration official told The New York Times.

Johnson's case received a recent publicity boost from the actor Sylvester Stallone, who visited the Oval Office to watch Trump sign the pardon.

• The Sonos Beam is the newest home theater soundbar to come on the smart speaker scene, and it's powered by Amazon's Alexa and, later, Apple's Siri.
• Sonos says that Google Assistant will also be come to the device later.
• The Sonos Beam is available for preorder starting today, and will cost $399.

I'm no audiophile, but after getting some time with Sonos' newest home theater soundbar, I can say that the device  — called the Sonos Beam —  is really impressive. 

The Sonos Beam  boasts powerful specs and some of the most advanced audio technology on the market, all wrapped up in a smaller and more affordable package than the existing $700 Sonos PlayBar.

The smart speaker will also be the first of its kind to be powered by both the Amazon Alexa voice agent and Apple's Siri, with the Google Assistant being added at some point in the future. It makes a great-sounding speaker much smarter.

After getting the first look at the new Sonos Beam, here are my thoughts:

SEE ALSO: Sonos just announced a $399 home theater soundbar, powered by Amazon’s Alexa — and it’s getting Apple’s Siri, too

Sonos has built its brand on great and balanced sound, no matter what you're listening to. The Sonos Beam is no different.

The Beam fits in perfectly with the rest of the Sonos ecosystem, sharing many of the best qualities of the previous soundbar devices —  excellent clarity for vocals, adjustable bass and treble controls, and four woofers packing an impressive amount of bass.

Unlike previous Sonos speakers, though, the Beam also has five separate microphones, ready to listen for your voice commands over your music,  TV, or video games. 

The Beam is made with the home theater in mind, and it shows.

I had never seriously considered investing in a home theater sound system until this morning, when Sonos played Netflix's "Stranger Things" for me with sound from the Beam.

This 26-inch sound bar is able to bounce sound around the room in a way that I haven't heard outside of a real movie theater in a long time. 

And while I did get to experience the Beam in a studio-like room with specially made walls, Sonos employees tell me the speaker can be "tuned" according to the dimensions of the whatever room it is sitting in, so you should be able to get the same quality of surround-sound in your home as I experienced in the demonstration. 

The Sonos Beam also offers a handful of very intuitive features aimed at TV and movie watchers.

For example, turning on "Night Mode" will enhance your TVs audio to brighten and clarify the dialogue and quiet sounds, while turning down the loud. 

So if you're watching "Westworld" late at night, the intense (and quiet) conversations will be loud enough to hear, but the action sound effects will be turned way down, so you don't have to turn the volume up or down between scenes. 

If you've heard of Spirit Airlines, the odds are those things were on the negative end of the spectrum. Consumer Reports ranked Spirit as the worst airline in America earlier this year. The airline's no-frills fares are often at the root of bad reviews, since everything from a carry-on bag to a bottle of water will cost you extra money. 

After several years of hearing about Spirit Airline's notorious reputation, I bit the bullet and decided to fly from New York to Texas on the "budget" flight. 

Keep reading to see what it was really like on board a Spirit Airlines flight, from the good to the bad and everything in between.

The first thing to know about booking a Spirit Airlines flight is that the fare listed in third-party fare search engines like Google Flights or Kayak will be much lower than is realistic.

The price reflected on a third-party site will be the base fare. But Spirit Airlines advertises "unbundled" fares, which means that price tag you see only covers the flight itself and one personal item. They call this the "bare fare."

You pay extra fees for a carry-on bag, a checked bag, and more.

Carry-on bags are $37 each way. Spirit Airlines offers a "Thrills Combo" for $77.49 each way, and that includes one carry-on, one checked back, seat selection, priority boarding, and "flight flex" (which allows you to make changes to your trip once it's booked for minimal extra fees).

I was flying to Dallas for a long weekend, so one personal item (my backpack) and a standard size wheeled carry-on bag was all I needed.

I checked in online the day before my flight, and arrived at LaGuardia with my boarding pass in hand.

Spirit Airlines' reputation far preceded it, so I was prepared for issues but keeping an open mind. 

We're on Round Four of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.

The two teams have formed one of the best NBA rivalries, and over the course of four Finals duels, they've created plenty of historical moments.

But while the main faces remain, a lot of players have changed around them over the course of four seasons. LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Kevin Love, Klay Thompson, to name a few, are all still competing with their same teams. However, many of the role players and even a coach have since changed teams.

Here's a look at the players from the first Finals matchup between the Cavs and Warriors.

Kyrie Irving broke his knee in Game 1 of the Finals, robbing LeBron James of a second All-Star teammate. He scored 23 points in his lone game in that series.

Irving, of course, played two more seasons with the Cavs before making a shocking trade request last summer. He's now on the Celtics.

Back in 2015, Harrison Barnes occupied the small forward spot for the Warriors.