Fast FoodBurger and Fries

Trying to keep up with the New Year’s resolution, I walked into Quiznoz convincing myself to stay away from mayo. With suppressed temptations and a strong will power I steered clear of all the “good stuff “. My eyes fell on  friendly posters on the walls. They claimed  their *Sammies* contained only 200 calories. I ordered vegetarian Sammies, “You know these people are not that bad after all. They do care about your health.” I said.

Just then, a waitress walked by and informed me that they can’t serve me my vegetarian Sammies because they only had it in chicken and turkey. My husband later explained that Sammies are usually non vegetarian sandwiches. Well, so much for my ambitious weight watching in a fast food restaurant. This lead me to think, are these meals really as healthy as they are purported to be.

Most of the fast food chains have gone the healthy way. McDonald’s came up with a nutritional chart for it’s “wholesome” meals. Subway offers it’s “fresh fit” sandwiches to the health conscious customers and Chili’s came up with their “guiltless grill”. All the great food that you can eat but, without being scared to step on the weighing machine. How about that? Sounds too good to be true, right? Maybe it is.

Just how Guiltless can you be after the “right portion, right price” meal? Wall Street Journal took a look into this recently. They sent a team of calorie calculators to 5 top fast food chains. What did they have to say after trying out the low-fat alternatives? Their results was very obvious, but oblivious. Lab tests proved that the calorie count of the food was almost the same as it was claimed to be. However, they were frequently offered cheese and dressings with no warning that they would dramatically boost calorie and fat intake.

 It is easier to consume more in an overall environment of temptation. A minefield of creamy sides and condiments awaits you as soon as you enter an eatery. The drinks, extra toppings, desert add up and make your meal equal  to the regular, fattening ones.

We applaud the effort of New York Mayor Bloomberg for trying to make calorie labelling  compulsory for standard portions in all standardised eateries. Bravo Mayor Bloomberg, for helping us stick to our weight resolutions!!

As for me, I’ll keep waiting until someone comes up with vegetarian Sammies.