40 Deadliest Fast Food Meals

A co-worker sent around a link to an online article about the 40 Deadliest Fast Food Meals.

I immediately had to open the article to see how many of the deadly offerings I’ve eaten. Turns out I’ve only eaten two and both were French fries that made the list mainly due to the portion size. (So I guess if you get the small fries you are safe.)

But as I’m going through the list I had to ask myself, “What has driven Americans to want to order a sandwich that is composed mainly of 3 slabs of hamburger, with 3 layers of bacon matched with 3 slices of cheese?” Can it really taste that good? Or is it the billions of dollars in advertising that the fast food giants spend each year that entices us to order such artery clogging creations?

A couple of years back my wife and I changed our ordering habits whenever we eat at a fast food place. Yes – we do on occasion eat fast food. Anyway – I order a meal that comes with whatever burger or sandwich I want with a regular drink and fries (my drink is often unsweetened ice tea) and she gets the single item she wants. We then share the drink and fries. We eat less, spend less and feel better after the meal.

Try it sometime. You might be surprised at how little it takes to satisfy your hunger.

Ken

Good food gone (really) bad

So I stumbled across this Web site called Fancy Fast Food that showcases “extreme makeovers of actual fast food items purchased at popular fast food restaurants.”

BEFORE:

After: Tacobellini (Fancy Burrito Supreme) by FancyFastFood

The site’s tag line is “Yeah it’s still bad for you – but see how good it can look!” If you didn’t see the “before” pictures to know the dish is made from “recycled” fast food, then you might agree that some of the food looks pretty good. But, if you’re going to take all that time to craft good looking food why not just start with good ingredients – lean meats and fresh, locally grown produce – instead of fast food meals?

~ Nicole

BEFORE:

After: McSteak & Potatoes (Fancy Big Mac) by FancyFastFood

It’s Cheaper to Gain Weight than it is to Lose it

A great post today from Fooducate . . .

Until the middle of the 20th century, many people struggled with the most basic need for nourishment. They simply did not have enough to eat. Many a night they would go to sleep on an empty stomach. People were skinny, overly so. Only the wealthy could afford to eat well; they would flaunt their wealth with a hefty waistline.

Fast forward to today, the world has prospered, and food is now cheaper than it has ever been. Which means that in most western countries, even low-income people can go to bed with a full belly. Yet even today poor people struggle with basic nourishment. Only now, the problem has reversed, with too much (bad) food being consumed, creating for the first time in history a larger number of obese people on the planet than starving people.

This not a low-income or a third-world country issue. It's a problem for anyone who lives in country whose food system has joined the global chain and adapted to the “western diet;" a diet of convenience, replacing home cooking with processing in a factory. America, the leader in industrialization and economies of scale, took to food just like cars in an assembly plant, and through amazing breakthroughs in food technology was able to produce a Twinkie that would stay fresh for five years and a $.99 burger available on every street corner.

While the cost of filling our bellies has decreased, the true price of processed foods is in the collective medical bills we pay for obesity related disease treatment.Yes, it is tasty, convenient and cheap to gulp down greasy, sweet, and salty foods and beverages. Low Price, taste and convenience are the thee pillars of modern eating. However, a table standing on three legs is bound to topple. That missing fourth leg is your health, and it's what’s absent from many people’s diets today.

The future of food labels

Reposted from Fooducate:

If the smell from the supermarket bakery or deli department isn't enough to crank up your hunger and open up your wallet, here’s what the future has in store for you:

Peter Harrop, IDTechex chairman, said that printed electronics are emerging that will engage more of the human senses. “Future labels will be able to sense when a consumer is near and emit an aroma such as coffee to encourage them to purchase the product.”

He added that the next generation of printed electronics will also include reusable, reconfigurable and programmable labels, some of which are responsive and interactive such as moving color pictures.

I'm sure the fast food and soda industries are over this one.

~ Nicole

Making fast food even easier to eat

I wouldn't be surprised to hear that this has come up in a new fast food product brainstorming session before . . .



~ Nicole

NYC Health Dept. Ad Campaign Supporting Menu Labeling

One of the arguments we heard over the last two years in our drive to get calories onto menu boards, is that the menu boards won't make a difference if people don't even know their daily calorie requirements.

The New York Health Department launched an educational campaign today to make sure people know what those requirements are and how fast food meals fit in. The ad campaign, which is simple and straight forward, runs through January. This is definitely something California's Health Department should do.

~ Nicole

(H/t to John Del Signore at the Gothamist)

The Tipping Point Tipped!

You push, and push and push, and suddenly the whole house of cards comes tumbling down.

With Governor Schwarzenegger’s signature yesterday, California became the first state in the nation to require fast food chains to post calorie information on their menu boards. Huge victory for health and consumer information advocates!

Ah but then today we learn that Yum Brands (Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, KFC), seeing the way the winds are blowing, is going to extend the mandate and post calorie counts on menu boards in their restaurants all over the nation. For their sudden concern for consumer rights and health, Yum Brands was rewarded with an immediate 21% jump in their stock! 21% admist one of the greatest stock market turmoils in history!

Hard to imagine McDs, Jack and the Burger King will let Yum Brands hold on to that highly marketable distinction for long. I expect, within a year, it will be common place to find calorie counts on menu boards in every state in the nation. I'm Loving It!

Mike

Who wants a simple tool to help them build a healthy diet?

I just read about a recent survey of 1,019 adults in the United States that indicates public health campaigns should focus on the total nutrient value of food.

The survey (commissioned by Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition) showed that 61 percent of respondents were interested in learning about both the positive nutrients and the nutrients they should limit when they are trying to select healthy foods. And, 78 percent of survey participants said they are looking for a simple, practical tool that would help them build a healthy diet based on getting the most nutrients from their food choices.

Some interesting statistics to keep in mind, especially with Yum! Brand's announcement of putting calorie-labeled menu boards up in all their U.S. restaurants and not just California. Hooray for change not taking place at a snail's pace for once!

~ Nicole

Putting information right where you need it

Even though California lawmakers are struggling to reach a compromise with the state budget, they were able to agree on an important public health issue -- menu labeling.

Earlier this week, legislators sent SB 1420 to the Governor's desk. Once the governor signs SB 1420 into law (yes, I'm taking the optimist role here) all chain restaurants with 20 or more locations in California will be required to post calorie counts on menus and menu boards by 2011.

While it may not change waistlines overnight, it certainly is a step in the right direction in fighting our country's rampant obesity epidemic.

~ Nicole

So BK Apple Fries are NOT Fried Fast Food Afterall

Its worst than I thought.

Those Burger King Apple Fries are NOT fried.

Funny – why call them fried then??

Has the fast food’s industry’s multi-billion dollar campaign to sell our kids fast food convinced them that if something ISN'T fired it doesn’t taste good??

I would have liked to have been at the focus group of 5 to 10-year-olds on this one.

“Who’d like some fresh apple sticks.” Dead silence in the room.

“OK then – who’d like some Apple FRIES?”
“Me... Me too… I want some… give them to me!”

But that brings up another question.
Can you call something fried that isn’t?
You can’t call something Kosher - when it’s not.
You can’t call something all beef – when it’s not.
So why can they call something fried - when it’s not??

I smell fertile ground for a lawsuit here.

Distraught mother, ”I ordered Apple Fries for my little boy. He bit into one and discovered they were NOT fired, and now he's been traumatized for life. I want one million dollar for our pain and suffering.”

They’ll settle out of court for $250K.

-----

PS - I wonder if the new Burger King King scares the kids as much and he does me?

Ken