Info. The Chains Don't Want You To Know!!

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/13623/secrets-that-restaurants-dont-want-you-to-know

Here's an interesting article about some of the "bad" in fast food.and popular chain restaurants..some you may know...some may be knew.....If you click on the "more dubious info." in green you'll even get a restaurant by restaurant listing of things to watch out for......interesting reading!!!

I know most don't like these places, but the only reason they name them and not Mom & Pop's place down the street is that they make an easier target.

Yup...familiarity breeds contempt!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Bad

I know most don't like these places, but the only reason they name them and not Mom & Pop's place down the street is that they make an easier target.

Funny thing is I very seldom see a fast food place getting snagged by the health department on the news. By a large margin it's the mom & pops?

Articles like this and television expose's are a really a crock and nothing more then sensationalist journalism playing on the fears of the sheeple. It's easy to do a hit piece on a national fast food chain and bring attention to the calories,fat content,transfat,and additives. When was the last time that you seen the same scrutiny applied to an upscale fine dining establisment such as an expensive,trendy,but popular French restaurant? The very same reporters will glorify and gush at the celebrity chef and his staff's in-house preparation of sauces,dressings,and food using heavy whipping creams,whole eggs,kitchen prepared mayonaise. They don't mention the use of butter,beef tallow or rendered horsefat in the cooking. Nobody questions the caloric,cholesterol,trigyceride,sodium,or saturated fat content of this celebrated chef's creations or his pastry chef's fabulous desserts or the high sulfide content of the Sommelier's prestidious wines. What would you expect to hear if you inquired about the nutrional facts of each entre'? Would Chef Beaulieu be subjected to the same scrutiny and made an example of?

The victim mentality of the US and Canadian public has now shifted the burden of responsibility for nutritional health to the food service sectors. You mention MSG to the average person and they recoil in horror and wouldn't consider using it at home in a recipe. Whole eggs and raw poultry are treated like a biohazard thanks to the media. Use the word xanthan Gum or guar gum in a sentence and watch the reaction and how many times "natural" comes up despite the fact they are like msg is. For goodness sakes, I started to describe my brining procedure for roasting a turkey breast to some of my co-workers after they tried mine after a pot-luck Friday. They were impressed with it's flavor and juiciness after many "Oh Wows". The look of horror on their faces and how fast I got cut off was frightening as if I admitted to adding a deadly toxin to the turkey. They wouldn't think of doing anything like that to their family. Do I really care about mine?

Yet, these very same people will go as a group to Friday's or a local Chinese buffet after working out at their health club and eat like pigs and never question what they ate. They will discuss how exciting so and so said how it was to dine at Chef's Beaulieu's and how it's a place to see and be seen. Then the topic changes to how one would never use anything but whole wheat flour and honey rather then AP and sugar in cookies for their children. Transfat has become the new cholesterol word. God forbid anyone says anything about using shortenting even though Crisco has reformulated. Then nobody gives it a second thought when they're frying burgers on the grill or searing them on a frying pan. Oh those carcinogenic isomeric fatty acids that are created when the "natural" beef hits the searing heat. Do they matter too?

You take responsibility for what you eat and feed your family. The chains are running like frightened puppies fearing an onslaught of class action lawsuits like big tobacco feeding a media frenzy that instead should be concentrating on real issues. What's next? Television and media programming? Is "media intoxication" going to be the next target for potential class action lawsuits once psuedoscience and experts formally link exposure to media creating the ills of our society? Will each movie or song have to list a violence,immorality,or sexism content in a Viewer Facts statement? Will the portrayal of testosterone influenced male behavior content be also added to the list?

Gloria Alred and Catharine MacKinnon are waiting.

Good reply Dawn T. I always wondered why folks are up in arms over the nutritional value of a fast food burger, fries and soda yet no one bitches about the mom and pop down the street that slaps a frozen 73/27 or 80/20 burger patty from Sysco on the grill, dumps a pile of fries into the bubbling oil and pours a large cola. Eat that at Mickey D's and you're told to see a cardiologist. Eat it at Mom and Pops and no one tells you to get a check up.

Goes hand in hand with this.....

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23561&SearchTerms=fast,food

quote:

Originally posted by John A

Funny thing is I very seldom see a fast food place getting snagged by the health department on the news. By a large margin it's the mom & pops?

I wonder if it is a function of tighter controls in larger places. I worked at McDonald's many years ago when I was in high school (lasted almost 2 weeks) and they had a very definitive cleaning and maintenance schedule. Some smaller places probably do it when they can.

Nice post, Dawn!

Frankly, it seems to be another version of Big Government being your Big Brother, with all its associated waste and spending. Ill bet there's at least 500 people on the taxpayers' rolls checking all this out!

I don't eat out much, prefering my own food. Yes, it's nice to know the content of stuff in the food store, but when I eat out, I don't want a semi-removable sticker on my bread roll telling me how many grams of sodium it has. It's bad enough to have the "Warning, eating undercooked.........." at the bottom of the menu

If you're going to eat out and worried about your health:

1. Ask the server....and the manager if necessary, since some of the servers are less than knowledgeable, about what's in the food. Steer clear of the obvious problems

2. If you're dragged by grandchildren to a fry-house, order salad and something simple

3. If you're really that concerned, stay home and invite others in. That way you control the food.

4. People...in short.......you know it's not going to be "good" at that chain or at that MOM&POP....but it tastes good and so do it.....sometimes.

We tend to get too caught up in all this stuff and all it does is add to government regulation and overseeing, costing us taxes, and industry compliance, costing us higher food prices. A lot of Americans are obese, for many of them, it's their own fault. They know they shouldn't have that 3rd Big Mac instead of a salad at home.

Maybe it's time to get real. Roadfood is great, fun and often very over the top in terms of sodium, calories, cholesterol, etc But done in moderation, it's OK

Ok, I"m off my soapbox and going to look for an Almond Joy in the Fridge!

You can use that soap box all you want...wise words...if you go,enjoy! Choose more carefully the more you go...but enjoy!

Howdy!

Here is some advice, if you an adult, take care of yourself reasonably and are of good shape, it is OK to go out to a restaurant and eat any damn thing on the menu and not worry about how many calories, carbs, sugar or crap it has in it. If you want some fast fod, get some fast food!

I will say that a child should be taught good nutrition. My parents weren't very good, but I was not allowed to drink coca-cola, and this is one thing I do not drink as an adult today. I would not suggest taking them to a "fry house", take them to a delicious place where there are a lot of vegetables, like Mexican food for example.

Julia Child once said "Fat gives food flavor". It does. If it is delicious, it will have a lot of calories in it.

Senor