Xtreme Eating Awards 2009: Food Morality?

On Tuesday, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington DC consumer group, announced its 2009 Xtreme Eating Awards. All award-winning dishes were chock-a-bloc with calories, layered with salt, fat, sugar on top of fat, sugar salt, on top of sugar, salt and fat...in other words, bad for you, heavy on the artery-clogging fats.

Given that the USA obesity rates have reached epidemic proportions:

* 58 Million Overweight; 40 Million Obese; 3 Million morbidly Obese
* Eight out of 10 over 25's Overweight
* 78% of American's not meeting basic activity level recommendations
* 25% completely Sedentary
* 76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 yrs old since 1990

One might wonder. Are these restaurants on a mission to make foods are fattening as possible? Is there no "food morality?"

CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley asks, "Would you like an entree with your entree?" Clearly, she says, "It's a race to the bottom, and there's no end in sight."

Please keep in mind the majority of us should limit our food consumption to about 2,000 calories (I'm betting that's an average, because I would gain at that amount!), 20 grams of saturated fat, and 1,500 mg of sodium per day.

The Xtreme Eating Awards go to:

* Red Lobster Ultimate Fondue: This retro item is also making comebacks at Olive Garden, Uno Chicago Grill, and at a chain that sells nothing but fondues, The Melting Pot. Red Lobster's Ultimate version, "shrimp and crabmeat in a creamy lobster cheese sauce served in a warm crispy sourdough bowl," is crammed with 1,490 calories, 40 grams of saturated fat, and 3,580 mg of sodium. That's two days' worth of both artery-clogging fat and blood-pressure-spiking sodium.

* Applebee's Quesadilla Burger: Here Applebee's inserts a bacon cheeseburger into a quesadilla. Two flour tortillas, two kinds of meat, two kinds of cheese, pico de gallo, lettuce, and a previously unknown condiment called Mexi-ranch sauce, plus fries, gives this monstrous marriage 1,820 calories, 46 grams of saturated fat, and 4,410 mg of sodium. Bonus heart-stopper: Applebee's actually invites customers to top the fries with chili and still more cheese.

* Chili's Big Mouth Bites: This is four mini-bacon-cheeseburgers served on a plate with fries, onion strings, and jalapeno ranch dipping sauce. ("Mini" is relative: each one is like a Quarter Pounder.) Like the "sliders" available at other chains, Chili's Big Mouth Bites can be an appetizer or an entree (these numbers are for the latter). 2,350 calories, 38 grams of saturated fat, and 3,940 milligrams of sodium.

* The Cheesecake Factory Chicken and Biscuits: Nutrition Action calls it "discomfort food." If you wouldn't eat an entire 8-piece bucket of KFC Original Recipe plus 5 biscuits, you shouldn't order this. But unless you live in a city with menu labeling, you wouldn't know that this dish has 2,500 calories. The rest of the winning -- or rather, losing -- appetizers, entrees, and desserts are in the June issue of Nutrition Action. (Source: CSPINET.org)

Knowledge is powerful. Please think hard before you over-indulge, go on a sugar-induced bender and/or clog your arteries.

Which tastes better?
2,500 calories of fat, sugar and salt or life?

Janice Taylor is a Life & Wellness Coach, the author of Our Lady of Weight Loss and All Is Forgiven, Move On.

Visit Janice: Our Lady of Weight Loss
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"Janice Taylor is a certain kind of kooky genius." ~ O, the Oprah Magazine
"mindful eating in humorous yet earnest style . . . ." ~ the New York Times.

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Comments

[thinktankdiva]

I was worn out just reading about all of those calories. but I must admit there were days when The larger the portion the happier I was -- I thought it was a "good thing" little did I know -- -- what really makes me happy now -- is a reasonable size portion -- in fact when it comes to food -- I like moderation -- I do eat a lot of different foods but I try to keep my intake down -- like you Janice -- at 2,000 calories a day -- I would gain weight

You are a wise woman ..... keep the info coming and help to remind us to take good care of ourselves.

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

ThinkTankDIVA! You are a Diva, indeed. Portion size is key!
I shall keep the info coming. I'm on a mission. To make weight loss fun and serve up platterfuls of useful information. Thanks.

Deliciously yours,
Janice

[ptillen]

It's a fact that the easiest way to make something taste really good is to load it with fat, sugar, &/or salt. The prize winners you cite here are from the menus of chain restaurants, but I'm fairly sure that if you walk into your basic four-star restaurant in any given city, unless it's a restaurant devoted to an alternate, healthier cuisine, its yummiest offerings would be similarly loaded with fat- butter, heavy cream- sugar, &/or salt.
It's really hard to make food taste good without the use of some sort of fat. That would seem to be our biological heritage. I suggest that you treat yourself to the wonderful things in the culinary world, not by snarfing down one of these chain-restaurant monstrosities, but enjoying a first-class meal at a first-class restaurant once in a while.
Just make sure you don't eat like that every day. The rest of the time, by all means, watch your caloric intake, limit saturated fats, salt, and sugar, have some self-control about portion size, and for goodness sake, get off your butt and exercise some.
And, learn to cook the things you like in alternate, lower-fat, lower-sugar, lower-salt ways. It can be done.

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Ptillen ... My number one rule is: Make Your Home a Safe Haven. Eat healthy at home. Learn to cook the best way possible, and should you have one of those five star meals you're talking about, no harm done. Having said that ... I'd still like to know how the 5 star restaurants are cooking and what the ingredients are.

Spread the word ... NOT the icing.
Janice

[SigmundPi]

Wow--these dishes are over the top-- yet my stomach would welcome these dishes--Yes I must confess "my name is Mr S and I am a food addict."

But my mind says this kind of eating is madness--America has become like a giant "crack house" peddling highly addictive foods and huge portions of food---Until we see this as an addiction that is as bad as drugs, cigarettes and alcohol we will continue to get fatter and sicker as a country.

Why aren't FDA agents raiding Chili's, Red Lobster, Applebees et al and shutting them down. Aren't they the equivalent of crack houses--Who wants a crack house in their community?

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

SigmundPi ...
It is a complicated matter; and I do believe that the food industry / restauranteers should take responsibility. And we can as well. 100% responsibility all around.

Thank you for your outrage.

GET POLITICAL: BE HEALTHY!!!
New mantra!! Make signs.

Spread the word ... NOT the icing,
Janice

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

wonderful Janice- I just love you!

your blogs/blogs are so very helpful BUT after reading this I am going vegan (I wish) but we will go on a cleanse and really work on our healthy food habits

after I PIGGED OUT in England (sorry to say) I guess we can learn from our mistakes.

Hugs and more hugs,

Ed

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Ed Love,

As Our Lady of Weight Loss would say ... ALL IS FORGIVEN, MOVE ON!!!

GET POLITICAL: GET HEALTHY!

Spread the word ... NOT the icing!
Janice

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

Oh now I can feel goood about myself *