Fast Food Restaurants

Here’s a good one.  A friend of mine’s daughter wanted to go to Taco Bell – her favorite fast-food place.  When they got there, they were told that they could not order some items on the menu because “The meat hose was broken!”  A meat hose?  That is the way Taco Bell puts their “meat” into their tacos, burritos and who knows what else. Even her daughter said, “I’ll pass.”

Which do you think has the most calories: Subway foot-long tuna sub, Panera Bread fresh tomato and mozzarella salad, Jamba Juice banana berry (original size), Starbucks no-sugar-added banana nut coffee cake, or, Wendy’s Chicken BLT salad? Take a good look.  Think carefully.  If you were watching your calories, which one would you not pick?

If you choose the Jamba Juice banana berry, you lose – or gain weight : 1,060 calories – you have to watch what they put into smoothies.  There has to be a lot of sugar in this one and not many berries.  Bet they use a fruit juice as a base.

Starbucks no-sugar added banana nut coffee cake: 890 calories – at what point do they stop adding sugar?  Must contain lots of fat.

Panera Bread fresh tomato and mozzarella salad: 790 calories – probably the dressing and cheese

Subway foot-long tuna sub: 470 calories – eat half and you are down to 235 calories … don’t add any stuff!

Wendy’s Chicken BLT salad: 450 calories – watch the salad dressing or your calorie count will go up.

The good news is that calories counts are being listed, giving you the option to make Better Food Choices!

Source: Be a Menu Genus, Prevention Magazine, November 2008, p. 78.

As of Sept. 30, of this year (2008), a federal law “require supermarkets and other big food retailers to label or otherwise display the country of origin for meat, produce and certain kinds of nuts.  (uncooked beef, chicken lamb, pork and goat meat, raw peanuts, pecans, and macadamia nuts , fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, ginseng, fish and shellfish)  A number of foods will be exempt, including processed foods like breaded chicken, roasted peanuts or packages of mixed vegetables.”  … this applies to products sold in grocery stores and mass-merchandise outlets.  It effectively exempts small food outlets and such places as butcher shops, restaurants and school cafeterias.”  If these exempted purveyors of food are smart, they will also identify the places of origin.

There is a transition time, allowing those produce produced or packaged before Sept. 30th to be exempt.  Food producers were given six months to comply.  Then they will be fined.   Organizing the labeling of all products takes time and a billions of dollars.  This grace period is reasonable.  The good news is that it won’t be long before you know where you food is coming from – a plus when you are trying to avoid unregulated growing procedures and want to save money with more locally produced and shipped foods.

Questions: There is a noticeable absence of some foods such as turkey and other nuts and seeds.  We will have to investigate this. Secondly, will this cost be passed on to us, the consumer… probably.

Is this progress?  In this global economy we say YES.  You should have a choice of buying an onion grown in Georgia or Mexico.  Do you agree?

Source: David Kesmodel, Julie Jargon, “Labels Will Say If Your Beef Was Born in the USA”, Wall Street Journal, 9/23/2008, pp. D1, D2.