McGross
"Experts in eating behavior say restaurant chains face several hurdles in pushing their more nutritious menu items. The biggest one is that people don't like to sacrifice at all on taste for the sake of eating something nutritious. Another is the higher prices that these items often carry, especially freshly prepared dishes such as salads and fruit."
What this article neglects to point out is that many of the "healthier" options are total crap. I mean, look at that fruit salad. Walnuts, red grapes, and apple? Yuck. And have you eaten a fast food salad lately? All wilted and stale. Ugh.
Snagged from Scale and Perspective
What this article neglects to point out is that many of the "healthier" options are total crap. I mean, look at that fruit salad. Walnuts, red grapes, and apple? Yuck. And have you eaten a fast food salad lately? All wilted and stale. Ugh.
Snagged from Scale and Perspective
posted by mo pie at 11:28 AM
8 Comments:
Totally agree: who wants to eat brownish iceberg lettuce that tastes vaguely like a plastic bag??
I truly wish they'd come up with a purely healthy fast food joint...hummus and veggies, falafel on whole wheat, crudite and cheese, grilled tuna, salmon burgers, real fresh field greens...
WHY is that so much more expensive than oodles of red meat, white buns, fries, etc.
Agreed on the salads, but I'm not sure what you're problem with the apple-grape-walnut thing is: are you saying the ingredients aren't fresh, or do you think apples and grapes are gross in whatever form?
you'r --> your
I think one of my favourite tidbits of info from that article is that more people are ordering the chicken strips pecause people think chicken is automatically healthier than beef...but it's fried chicken and way more calorific than the burgers.
Two other very notable things mentioned (IMO): the guy who's trying to loose weight, but says when he's eating fast food he's just gonna get what he wants anyway, even though he knows it won't help his goals; also the "time and money" comment, fast and cheap are a lot more measurable and instant-gratification oriented.
So I guess this article confirms that people like short term gratification over long term health benefits, and that people care more about things appearing healthy than actually being healthy. Hooray! Our society is lazy, materialistic and superficial!
If you get lucky you can find a truly healthy fast food place in the form of a local ethnic deli, a lot of middle eastern eateries have a lot of fabulous tasty options that are made from real fresh ingredients. Me loves me lebanese bakery/sandwich place.
But the thing is, a lot of really truly healthy food is "weird" to the average american. My husband has learned to love salad and cooked vegetables redcently, but he still laughs and points out that it's weirdo hippy food if you were to ask his family. It was a major feat to feed my inlaws falafel and hummus, but they're still talking about how good it was.
In the end, I'm glad that the restaurants are trying, and I'm happy to find even one or two healthier options, even if they're shoved to the back of the menu. It allows people to get used to what healthy eating looks like, and maybe more and more people will start choosing those options. Like the aztec chicken from Red Lobster. YUM, I highly recommend it, it's pretty decent on points/calories/fat too.
Apparently there is a sandwich bar opening up in London which is aimed at the GI-aware market. I wonder if it'll make it up here?
You're right to say that often salads etc. are not done well. Lettuce is all very well when crisp, and as a garnish, but nutritionally? It's basically water. You need a lean protein element and you need other veggies.
I shouldn't really complain. The shops in Britain do offer "healthy" ranges to take away, if not always to eat on the premises. One thing that does annoy me - "healthy" does often seem to be synonymous with "chicken". It's a tad frustrating, as a vegetarian, to look at a display of 200-calorie chicken salad sandwiches, and 400-calorie brie or mozzarella, and have to go for the latter. Not that I don't like brie and mozzarella. I do. Alas. But where's the feta?
I do work next to a Burger King, but the smell of overcooked fat issuing from the vents at the side, which I pass to get into my building, is enough to put anyone off even if they don't care about the health issues...
My impression was that nobody was criticizing the restaurants for serving delicious but indulgent food, but for not putting much effort into alternatives for those who want them. Not everyone does, and that's fair enough.
There is nothing wrong with a treat every now and again. But there are times - maybe when you're travelling, or (I don't know) your friends have three birthdays all in the same week - when you are eating away from home and want something a little lighter. It doesn't seem unreasonable that if you do, it should be (at the least) as fresh and well-presented as the other choices on the menu. Healthy food can be tasty, we all know that, so why should it be less tasty in a restaurant, where it costs more?
(Warning: burbling coming up)
It also worries me more than slightly that our society now sees treats and indulgence as a "right". In a bakery not far from where I work, there are signs on the walls saying "Go on, spoil yourself", "Pure Indulgence" and "You deserve it". Sorry, but shouldn't "spoil" be a negative word? Do we really "deserve" a treat just for getting to the end of the working week (or even day)? Believe me, in the past I've been able to convince myself that I did. Looking on food as fuel can have a negative effect, too, because then you end up eating chocolate as a quick-fix because you feel tired and want the sugar boost. But it only makes you feel worse later when the sugar wears off, and you still have the calories in your system.
These days my aim is to convince myself that a treat should be a treat - that is, it should be a rare thing, a special-occasion thing. Not something you eat to self-medicate for a stressful day. It's not really self-denial: you enjoy cake much more when you don't have it all the time. Honestly.
Adding a "me too" post...
This past summer, I travelled with my parents to visit my sister and her host family. For breakfast, we ate with the family. I won't quibble over their food choices in their own home. For lunch and dinner, virtually every single meal was eaten out. I nearly starved.
I dislike red meat. I don't like fried foods. Things which taste tangibly of sodium and other preservatives make me feel sick to my stomach. White grains don't taste right. I have been fully indoctrinated in the ways of "healthful eating," and feel ill after more than a meal or two which doesn't meet my standards.
Every restaurant we visited had a "healthy" subsection on its menu. Nonetheless, I went for three straight meals eating little other than lettuce and limp chicken strips, with underripe canteloupe for a supposed treat. The entire architecture of the city was such that cars were required for transportation. I had a terrible time getting to grocery stores for saving almonds produce. The only real meal I ate that week was at one of the city's three vegetarian restaurants.
I don't expect Wendy's to begin to offer squash soup, but would it kill Jungle Jim's to provide brown rice?
Can grapes make you gain weight?
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