Shocking salads!

Brace yourself for this rant...bad salads ! Yes, we know they exist, but seriously, did we know they were this bad ?
Some examples....

T.G.I. Fridays Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad = 1,360 calories (company does not provide the nutritional information on total fat, saturated fat, or sodium)

99 Restaurant Crispy Honey Mustard Salad = 1,160 calories, 74g total fat, 18 g saturated fat, 2110 mg of sodium. This is 114% the daily value (DV) for total fat, 90% for saturated fat, and 88% for sodium (based on 2,000 kcal intake).

Cheesecake Factory Lunch Caesar Salad = 860 calories, 10g saturated fat, 861 mg sodium. If you order the regular size salad you double these values.

I'm not suggesting you 'throw the baby out with the bathwater'!. When you order a salad, ask for the dressing on the side, skip cheese, bacon, croûtons and anything that's crunchy and not a vegetable. Sound less appetizing ? It is. An alternative suggestion, go with grilled fish or chicken, steamed vegetables, and rice or 1/2 baked potato (eat the skin, easy on the butter). Or as my husband likes to point out "Order what you want to eat because I'm not sharing". I have a tendency to order what I perceive to be healthier, and then I end up eating the food from my husbands plate. I admit, it is a very annoying habit. So now I order what I want to eat, and I try to eat only a third, or a half of what is on the plate. I find this degree of 'self control' very difficult because I grew up in a household where you had to eat everything on your plate (sorry, side tracking).

Back to the topic...

So why all the secrecy over what's in a meal ? Isn't it time for "full disclosure and transparency" ? Shouldn't customers be provided with the information they need to make informed choices about what they eat? Finally, change is on the way. Last week, a federal appeals court upheld the regulation in New York requiring that some chain restaurants post calories on menus and menu boards, saying the rule is a reasonable effort to curb obesity. Other states have passed similar bills (California and Philadelphia). Personally I fully and whole heartily support this regulation - curbing weight gain starts with knowing what is on the plate !

And for dieters trying to lose weight, keep this cartoon in mind and ask yourself "does it taste too good to be true?" http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/tbr/lowres/tbrn148l.jpg

Just think, one day we will be sharing this story with our children "when we would go out to dine in restaurants, we'd have absolutely no idea what we were eating ! Not a clue !!". Or at least I hope we will be sharing this story...