Her Grace

suckonthat

Wow I must say does sound yummy!

stenk

Nearly everything on an appetizer menu in an 'average' restaurant is fried. If it's topped with Cheese or it's Fried, avoid.

SOhp101

I agree that if we're to be responsible for what we eat, we need to know what we're getting when we order. A lot of people eat out too much, unquestionably, but denying them information isn't going to get them to change that behavior. And I also don't think that most people will eat at home regularly unless there is someone there--themselves or spouse or whomever--to cook. That's a much bigger problem, and it's been exacerbated by canceling home ec in schools.

etinterrapax

.....Uno's pizza actually has real tomato bits you can see in it, too. Amazing! It's not the usual "industrial can of generic tomato paste" sauce!

AcidReign

Should "fat america" just assume that any and all foods contain 2,000+ calories?

Rectilinear Propagation

If I had better healthier choices that were just as convenient I would probably stuff my face with a little bit less.

Holden Caulfield

Trai_Dep

you write: "yes nutritional info should be available, but it's your own damn responsibility to eat correctly for your body and nutritional needs."

how is a consumer supposed to keep track of their caloric intake if that information isn't in front of them? a hunch? guessing how many calories are in a dish? i'm incredibly health and diet conscious - this past weekend i went to macaroni grill and got rigatoni w/ chicken, onions and mushrooms; knowing chains are notoriously awful healthwise, i ballparked the dish at around 25-30 grams of fat and 500-600 cals. imagine my horror when i later discovered that dish contained 87 grams of fat and 1900 calories. for rigatoni, grilled chicken, mushrooms and onions.

i'm not a fan of banning much of anything, but if i had seen that nuritional information on the menu, perhaps i would have gone with a salad.

joe bananas

infinitysnake

tz

But I also think that they just don't care what's going into their bodies because it's cheap and it's right there, which is sad, because food like that will make you sick later on if it doesn't do it immediately.

And, @NeoteriX: Freakanomics blog, I think, was talking about how in the poorest neighborhoods there are the fewest grocery stores and the most fast food restaurants, which I can anecdotally confirm, since I live in North Philadelphia (by Temple University, which is conveniently located in the middle of the ghetto.) It's dirty and violent here and there's only one grocery store.

So not only are unhealthy foods cheap, healthy foods just plain aren't available.

Citron

That's just the way it goes.

I guess I'd go for those Uno potato skins if I wanted something light.

drrew

A friend once remarked, "I know why America is fat: I can't even finish [my wife's] leftovers from Applebees in one sitting!"

ghettoimp

AcidReign

You presume choice comes with transparency.

Sometimes with someone as cheap and easy to use as Transfat, it is so economically advantageous that in the "race to the bottom", a consumer might not be faced with any viable choices.

For example, obesity is most endemic with our nation's poorest people. It might seem ironic until you realize that the cheapest food choices often are the most unhealthy.

NeoteriX

junkmail

I started eating at home 90% of the time and lost 10 pounds in two months. I just wish I could reliably go out to eat at non-specialty restaurants and get something under 3000 calories. I don't need a giant, overflowing plate of food covered in cheese, I really don't!

Ben

-first off learn about basic nutrition. do you actually know what a "calorie" is. do it for a month and you'll basically know the "value" of what you eat.

-try different foods. after you eat, do you feel energized or are you ready for a nap? if it's nap time, you probably shouldn't eat that very often and probably in smaller portions.

-take that "three square meal" concept and throw it out the window. eat if you're hungry, not because the clock says so and eat larger meals earlier in the day. that two pound steak dinner with baked potato and the fixings, followed by dessert are not getting digested and used by bedtime.

if anything just realize that food to you, is like gas for your car. you can only use so much, the rest gets stored or expelled.

royal72

That's all I have to say.

Actually, I have more. I guess things are getting bigger - I used to be able to handle a dessert at a chain restaurant after appetizer and entree, but no more. After the nachos and a steak at TGI Friday's, no dessert. Sorry.

Even my favoritest 'fancy restaurant', Kruse and Muer's in Rochester, MI has upped their dessert portions to insane levels. I got a cream puff and it was larger than the total volume of my entree.

HawkWolf

Instead of banning things (hello transfat) why not just require proper labeling? I have no problem saying that chain restaurants have to list the caloric values of their food on the menu. Good labeling makes good consumers.

RumorsDaily

forgeten

desonos

infinitysnake

kad9k

Don't forget that a lot of local restaurants will have things that are just as bad for you on their menus as well. People just don't pay as much attention to them (or they get rave reviews for their dishes instead!)

Of course, as someone who needs to lose more weight, I would love to see restaurants add more good tasting options to their reduced calorie menus so that it's easier to pass over those 2000 calorie behemoths.

Tallanvor

This, however, has had its occasional consequences. Once, a couple years ago, while enjoying our entrees at a nice-ish quasi-Asian restaurant, the manager came out and spoke with us, basically out of concern that we hadn't ordered enough. Not only that, but we had a buy-one-get-one entree coupon, so we got out of there for $25 whereas most of the tables around us were surely running up bills of $100 or more.

VeryFancyBunny

No wonder I'm not losing weight! I think I'll stick to McD's. More food, less fat!

FLConsumer

It should be no surprise potato skins and other chain-restaurant appetizer favorites are calorie festivals. They're JUST SO GOOD.

Eyebrows McGee

Plus, it's not like you *have* to eat an entire meal after the appetizers...people just need to learn portion control.

(Mmmm...pizza skins.)

The Unicorn

B

jeblis

Why cant these chain resturants learn that you dont have to make something full of fat to have it taste REALLY good.

Falconfire