Monday, June 22, 2009

Let me indulge!

No one wants to know that their birthday cake has 780 calories, 500 from fat, which amounts to 55 grams of fat. (i.e. chocolate mousse cake from Cheesecake factory.) Coz then it would cease to be a birthday cake and just become a 'so many fing calories that i feel sick' cake.

Chain restaurants (with 20 or more restaurants nationwide) in US are now required to mention calories on their menu. So there goes, yet another unwanted on the menu in addition to prices. Already, your eyes are going left to right and another row and left to right in quick succession. Ok not you personally but generally speaking. And now when you go to a chain restaurant, it's going to be left, middle, right and then it'll shake you a little since your favorite entree will give you a cold stare with a dare? undertone. You'll chicken out, get up and leave if you're like me.

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for consumers-are-entitled-to-information-that-pertains-to-them and all that good stuff. But there has been a lot of awareness in this country lately what with the variety of diet fads and media doing their bit to educate the masses. People filing multi million dollar claims against fast food chains blaming them for their obesity and losing has done it's bit too in spreading the word.

So I'm going with the presumption that most of us know that chicken wings don’t exactly have the detox quality or pizza isn't an alternative to greens or low fat tea isn't quite the same as a thick chocolate milkshake that you can't even sip. So why on earth would you want to see it on the menu, for that one time a week you go out to celebrate your getting through the week somehow. It's unappetizing to say the least.

I'll leave you with some pleasant thoughts:
- a regular chicken burrito from Chipotle is 1000 calories
- 5 pieces of chicken wings from KFC is 420 calories
- a small mocha frappuccino from Starbucks is 340 calories

At this rate, let's just make grass our staple, shall we?

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