Disgustification

TJ sent me this scary link of the 20 Worst Foods in America.

Ridiculous in terms of both content and portion size.

UPDATE: I had some stuff in draft form that I wanted to re-read before I posted.

It's wrong that that crap even exists.

I'll leave the fat-blogging to people more qualified than I (start with Kate, and go from there), but no one can tell me that this isn't part of the problem. I fully realize that "dieting," as an industry, is a crock of shit. And I realize all the "proper diet and exercise" in the world won't turn everyone into an underwear model. On the micro level, there are more issues with the politics of fat than I could list.

On the macro level, however, all I know is that at any given time, tens of thousands of people will be sitting at Chili's, Romano's, Outback, Macaroni Grill, Uno's, etc., eating a 1+ days worth of calories and 2+ days worth of fat and salt. This is bad for the national waistline and bad for national heart health.

No one should eat this crap, no matter what his size or health status.

On a tangent, do any of my readers eat at chains? Erica and I go to Uno's once a year, maybe. I do enjoy a BK or McD cheeseburger when we make a pitstop on the highway.

See, Erica and I eat very well on a daily basis. Lean meats, mostly good carbs, plenty of fruits and veggies. So when we go all out, we want to make it worth it. I want duck, rabbit, a filet mignon, something sensual and pleasurable. Throw in some rice and vegetables that have likely been smothered in insane amounts of butter (it's sick how much restaurants overuse it), and I'm probably right up there for that one meal.

But I had duck!!! Not a fucking bowl of french fries with ranch dressing.

Is part of this the financial issue? Is it because a night at at Olive Garden (ugh) or Outback the best "treat" a lot of families can do? I understand that not everyone can go to the Wine Bar, like the two of us did last time we went out.

Or is it a taste issue too? I know that even on 1/2 the budget of that last date night a month or so ago, we wouldn't be eating any of the crap that's on this list. That may sound classist, but it's more about knowledge than money. We both grew up, if not poor, on very small and tight family budgets. But we never lacked for food, fresh food that our parents cooked. Everyone in my family cooked, except for my maternal grandfather (very traditional setup in that side of the family - Opa ran the farm, Oma ran the budget and the house).

Help me out here. I just can't wrap my brain around the fact that some of this stuff exists.