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Strollerderby
'Merica: we're fat.
America is a country full of fat people. From sea to shining sea, we dine on fast food, pre-prepared foods from the grocery store and processed foods. We love sweet things, rich things, salty things, creamy things. (Or, preferably one giant obesity cake that includes all of those flavors, thank you very much.) But in what areas do the fattest people in our country live?
According to Prevention magazine, “These urban centers have the highest rates of heart disease and obesity in the country, perhaps because they seem to promote sedentary lifestyles and diets heavy on fast food but light on fresh produce.” Is your city on the list? You might be pleasantly (or unpleasantly) surprised … Continue reading »
With some restaurants offering dishes to children that contain more calories than they should be consuming in a day, is it any wonder our kids are getting fatter?
Which is it: (A) Fast food restaurants are making an effort to provide healthier options for children, or (B) Children’s menu selections at fast food restaurants are sending kids to early graves?
It seems as if the answer is both — depending on the week, that is.
This week it appears as if fast food restaurants are fattening up our kids, like, a lot. The 2012 edition of the New York Times bestseller, Eat This, Not That!, is out, and it lists the restaurants with the most fattening options for kids – based on calorie counts, fat, sodium and added sugar. And boy, are there ever some whoppers out there.
Take a look at a list of some of the entrées being dished up to kids, along with the eye-popping calorie counts:
Continue reading »
How did this guy not get overthrown sooner?
Why it took this long for Burger King to let the door hit its creepy masked plastic king mascot on the ass on his way out, I’ll never know. I’ll also never know who thought it would be a good idea to invite the guy inside in the first place (but presumably it was some childless single guys fresh out of college working in a windowless cubicle on Madison Avenue).
Regardless, ding dong. The creepy masked plastic king from the Burger King advertisements is dead. Now your kids can have nightmares about something else.
Part of the impetus to scratch the king was the desire start over and attract moms to eat at Burger King with a “healthy” new menu. You know, if by “healthy” you’re thinking of fattening guacamole, cheese and bacon — on a burger. Still, the new California Whopper Burger is “freshly” prepared, so that makes it better, right? And if you use the name “California” in anything, it automatically makes you feel like you’re doing something good for your body, right?
Most people want it their way, not the healthy way, at fast food restaurants
The other day I took my toddler to McDonald’s for lunch (I know! I’m a bad mother!). She got Chicken McNuggets, apple slices (with no caramel sauce) and chocolate milk. While she ate her apples, I checked the package — zero grams of fiber. It was still a better choice than French fries, but there was actually nothing nutritional in the slices themselves (there was a big fat zero next to every other nutritional data line, too, except for sugar).
But I wasn’t taking her to McDonald’s to be healthy. She eschews French fries because she just doesn’t like them. We don’t go to McDonald’s or any other fast food restaurant often and, frankly, if she wanted fries and a burger, I’d be A-OK with that (in fact, I’d be amused, since except for the occasional chicken nugget, she is a self-imposed vegetarian).
Still, I guess it’s good to hear that 19 restaurant chains plan on adding healthier options to their kids’ meal menus. But if you’re taking your kids out to these chains — like Burger King, Chili’s Friendly’s or IHOP — more than occasionally, wouldn’t you be better off eating at home and using the money you would have spent eating out on buying healthier food to serve your kids at the kitchen table? Why would anyone depend on a fast food chain for seriously nutritional options — since when is it anyone’s job but yours to act responsibly, like parents are supposed to act? Continue reading »
Would you savor a Gordita Simba Supreme? A 7-Layer Lion Burrito?
Call me a hypocrite, but I eat meat and yet wouldn’t ever hunt. I wear leather but don’t support the abuse of animals (although let’s be honest, who supports the abuse of animals?). As it turns out, my 2-year-old daughter is a self-imposed vegetarian, but loves bacon. We thrive on contradictions in our house, apparently.
And yet, lion meat will never pass our lips. It was never really an issue, but seeing that the meat of Mustafa is making its way onto menus (or a menu) has given me pause. After all, if I’ve eaten rabbit (Bugs Bunny?), venison (Bambi?), duck (Donald?) and pig (Wilbur?), why am I stopping at lion (Simba?).
Ever stop to think about where your meat comes from?
I recently became a vegetarian almost two months ago. My daughters, who are big animal lovers, joined me. It was a little more difficult than I expected in the beginning for me to find meat-free meals for the whole week. Sometimes, I wondered if we could withstand the lifestyle change long-term, but then there was always something that would remind me why I wanted to do it, like even last night’s question on Chopped about a deckle of beef. I had no idea what it was but just the word sounded sickening. In fact, a deckle of beef is the part of a cow that is often overlooked by diners and chefs alike because the cut contains a thick strip of fat and some connective tissue. The only thing worse than the thought of eating connective tissue would be serving it to my kids.
The decision to become a vegetarian started with my daughter. She became a vegetarian a full month before I did. In the end, my decision to do it was two-fold: I firmly believe in the protection of animals, and eating meat is just not something I could consciously continue to do. I also believe eating a meat-free diet is a healthier way to live. With all the recent talk about Taco Bell and their fake meat substitute blend, it only reaffirms my decision. Does anyone really think they are getting real meat at any of these fast food places?
Taco Bell is taking heat for their "meat."
Taco Bell has finally proven just how good they are at thinking outside the bun. Turns out they’re thinking outside the beef, as well. The fast food chain has been in the news quite a bit recently, initially because they pulled their ads from MTV’s Skins, and now because they’re being sued for false-advertising. A California woman named Amanda Obney brought a class-action suit against the “Mexican inspired” joint, alleging that Taco Bell’s “seasoned beef” is anything but. According to the suit, “Taco Bell’s ground beef is made of such components as water, isolated oat product, wheat oats, soy lecithin, maltodextrin, anti-dusting agent, autolyzed yeast extract, modified corn starch and sodium phosphate, as well as some beef and seasonings.”
Mmmmmmmmm! Yum!
Attorney Dee Miles of Beasley Allen, who filed the suit, claimed “just 35 percent of the taco filling was a solid, and just 15 percent overall was protein.” Gross, for sure. But is anyone really surprised? Continue reading »
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