Fast food isn't good for us -- that we know. But there are some particular menu items that came out in 2010 that were bound and determined to repulse us into submission or -- worse -- kill us altogether.
The worst offenders made this Top 10 list either because they were egregiously unhealthy or because the general concept made our gag reflex kick in (ahem, lasagna sandwich).
Join us as we count down to the worst fast food product of 2010.
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Tolerable
The Worst
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What do you think was the worst fast food product of 2010?
Written by Kim Conte for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
More from The Stir:
7 Health Foods That Are Making You Fat
Lose 90 Pounds Eating Take-Out -- How I Did It!
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Oh, well--there's always pea barley with Bockwurst, tomato sauce, a little soya, some garlic powder, and sauerkraut.
That's going to be in my Crock-Pot for New Year's Day dinner! I've got the pea-barley hot-soaking now.
Plus, of course, two Beano before dinner (stuff produces much southern wind afterwards w/o it!).
Enjoy!
--RKJ
2. Would people really be making the big of a deal if they double down were exactly the same with a bun? Me thinks not.
It's all gross and sad and indicative of what our culture is becoming ---too busy to enjoy sitting at the table and one another's company.
Chow down on all the fatty meat and cheese you can eat and die with a smile on your face an $10 left in your IRA.
Or ... eat oatmeal and cat food when you are 80.
I don't think so ...
What? No bacon?
I'll have to order it with bacon in the grilled cheese sandwiches.
How do the 10 items pictured in this article stack up?
Fruits? – well, there's a little orange juice in the “mimosa”, and some sugar-glazed strawberries atop the calorie-laden sugar bombs known as Denny’s “Pancake Stackers”.
Vegetables? – well, not counting tomato sauce and potato chips, there’s a little bit of onions and pickles on the McRib and a little lettuce and tomato on the BurgerMelt.
Whole grains? – none that I can see.
That's about it.
Obviously any of these fast food items can be eaten once in a blue moon to no ill effect. The problem comes when people rely (either out of choice, ignorance, or necessity) on fast food too frequently. Heck, I'm a vegan and even I have a hard time sometimes managing to take in the 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables and 6-9 servings of whole grains recommended for daily consumption. I can't imagine how people who get a substantial percentage of their calories from fast food and microwaveable convenience meals could possibly be even approaching those numbers.
The franchises make money which go to market more food. The affects of the food consumption will bring money to doctors who in turn dispense medication which bring money to pharmaceutical companies. The cost of visiting a doctor is deferred by insurance companies which make money on premiums. Hospitals make money ultimately. Altogether, all of these, the insurance company workers, pharmaceutical sales reps, minimum wage fast food workers, turn around and eat these foods starting the cycle all over again. But the one person who does not benefit? The person eating the food. Imagine that? Would you like it Super Sized?
Certainly not in many parts of Africa where food is a luxury. But, Taco Bell still my favor.
Different African countries have great cuisine that is actually HEALTHY for you, imagine that!
And as far as poverty: dried beans and rice. Yes, it takes more time, but home-cooked beans and rice are cheap and healthy. Even at Whole Foods, if you go to the bulk section, it is cheaper to buy a large portion of (uncooked) brown rice. And certainly, one does have to budget one's time carefully if one cannot afford a pressure cooker, but no matter what it takes, beans and rice are worth the time.
My grandparents were immigrants and very, very poor for a long time. I myself have known poverty. Fast food was never an option, not ever.
Fast food garbage does not nourish, it is not cheaper, and in the long run costs more (especially in terms of obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes).
I don't even see this stuff as an occasional treat, but cada loco con su tema, as they say...
Kali
Sausages fried with breading? So people don't eat sausage, bread, and fried food in general?
McRib Sandwich? So people don't commonly eat highly processed meats and sugar-laden sauces?
Fried Cheese Melt? No one eats cheese, bread, and fried food in general?
Sharable Pizza Burger? Depending on how big a slice someone chooses, how is half a serving of pepperoni pizza and half a serving of a burger any less healthy than a full serving of either one?
Lasagna Sandwich? Don't people regularly eat bread along with lasagna?
KFC Double Down? Take chicken breasts, sauce, cheese, and bacon and serve them on fine china in a non-fast-food restaurant, and it's called "Chicken Cordon Bleu".
Grilled Cheese BurgerMelt? Is that seriously any less healthy than any standard large cheeseburger?
The appeal of these items is their sheer novelty, and the novelty is what subjects them to ridicule. But a diet high in processed industrial meat, sodium, sugar, refined carbohydrates, and unhealthy fats is bad no matter how you look at it. Ridiculing the KFC Double Down merely obscures the fact that you probably shouldn't be going to KFC in the first place.
One correction though...
Chicken Cordon Bleu actually involves ham, not bacon. And if you google the term "Chicken Cordon Bleu" you can see some pictures of the item served at many fancy restaurants that looks much like some of the items pictured in the article. And probably just as fattening, if not more so.
If you're rich and have Chicken Cordon Bleu at a fancy restaurant, it's acceptable, but if you're poor and go to KFC for a "Double Down", you will blamed for every bad thing in society short of the downfall of Western civilisation...
Food snobbery has no place in discussions about healthy eating. If economical limitations force you to choose beans and rice as your staple protein, that doesn't make you any less healthy (and in many more so) than someone who relies on rich sauces and fatty meats.
But, looking back at what some people eat at 3 a.m after a night of partying looks like a lot of the fast foods shown above.
Besides, unhealthy food is unhealthy food, no matter how well you have to dress to go out and eat it. Look at your average high-end Italian restaurant in America - loads of refined-flour pasta, all the white bread slathered with butter you can eat, meats that are breaded and fried (funny - if you call it "fried chicken" it's trash food, but use a fancy word like "piccata" and suddenly it's fine cuisine), and this is BEFORE you get to dessert - all in all, enough calories in one meal to meet your energy needs for two days. Do you see pictures of these foods posted on the internet for people to laugh at and deride? No.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not defending fast food. I'm just saying that nutritional problems in America go way beyond a few rather silly-looking novelty items from Dunkin' Donuts, KFC or Denny's.