8 Diet Food Ripoffs

health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/8-diet-food-ripoffs

Ahhhh yes I am back again for your viewing pleasure, well your reading pleasure, but then again reading is viewing.  Ok this is getting complicated: /

I do so enjoy the rip off lists *chuckles* As articles are almost as amusing as they are varied and plentiful.

However I do believe that if we only give them a quick glance we lose a very valuable lesson here.

First run through I just kind of chucked and rolled my eyes and it had been a while since I posted an article so I figured what the heck time to give everyone a thrill (yes actually I do a tad bit of an ego problem, but just because I think everyone should love me doesn't mean they don’t *grins*)

So I slapped this down and went about posting it, didn't really have much intention of writing much of a review to go along with it but then I started to come up with witty and intelligent things to say which I found amusing so that of course required me to go back and read a little bit better and put some work into it (rolls my eyes) so I could actually speak about the article intelligently (I don't want to hear it)

And I began really looking at each item one by one, some of them either it seemed like common knowledge (to me) which really doesn't mean squat to anyone else or they are things I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole even if you dipped them in chocolate, which again really isn't of much interest to anyone but me.

Isn't it fascinating how trusting we are in this day and age? toss around words like salad or yogurt, smoothie or fresh roast turkey and swiss and it almost becomes 2nd nature to most of us to just assUME it’s healthy, I mean they wouldn't lie to use would they?

Well yes I believe they would however that’s the not the point.  I would say that don't ask don't tell works about as well here as it does for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in the armed forces.  If we don't ask they won't tell, ok so many it’s not exactly the same concept but I am sticking with it so I can continue to feel superior and cleaver.

Now near as I can tell no one is lying to us, they aren't exactly jumping out and sharing this info with us (well some are) they are just neglecting to tell us about it, and hey if we aren't smart enough to look it up or are too lazy then we get what we deserve right?  I guess that’s debatable and all up to subjective debate, of which I am really not interested in having, yes I know I speak about everyone having a voice unless it’s a topic I am talking about then I don't want to talk about it.  For the record I never said I WASN'T a hypocrite, I'm a work in progress now stop interrupting

First up we have the

#8 Breyers Carb Smart bars, honestly to me 180 calories with 5g sugar and 15g of fat don't really seem like a big deal to me, to be fair I am more worried about carbs and sugar being that I am diabetic at this point so I do not discount the fat content its just one more thing I cannot fully focus on.

Although its a little disturbing that one "healthy" carb smart bar has as much fat as 3 McDonalds cheeseburgers, not as many calories but as much fat.  Somehow that just doesn't seem fair *chuckles*

I guess the Klondike bars are a good replacement, if you can find them in a store near you.  I would be apt to say that perhaps the best policy in this case is maybe just skipping the dessert all together.

I know half the people say that you MUST treat yourself once in a while or we will go insane, I call Bull**** on that one, THEY have to treat themselves everyone in a while or they go insane, if I treat myself at all I go insane.  Some things I cannot have not even a little, not even once in a while.  Its not about portion control or will power or any of that other bull**** that other people like to cling to and then pawn off onto those of us who don't fit into it, my issues go deeper than that so ill thank you to back out of my grill and let me handle my biddness partner.

If you cannot handle a snack like me, then DON'T HAVE IT!!! Just because other people can have it and it works for them doesn't mean everyone can.  I don't really give a rats *** if it’s an expert or Aunt Ginny, what works for them doesn't always work for you and me, dare to be different and actually use what works for YOU not what everyone else tells us to use.

#7 Smoothies, well to be honest I could really care less about this one, wouldn't drink it so it doesn't really apply to me however the drastic difference in sugars from one to the other is eye opening, again diabetic so sugars important to me and the 90 calories difference is pretty substantial in my book.

Fruit smoothies are nice and all but I think this has to fall into my fruit category, if I want apple juice I am going to eat and apple, if I want orange juice I am going to eat an orange, I think you can see the pattern that is developing here.

But again generally just  another thing I don't care about so it’s not important to me, yet I go the extra mile for you my dear people to bring you the news you care about, yes your welcome, no thanks needed just send money.

#6 Quiche, for once I honestly have nothing to say, never had it, don't know as I ever will, don't care how good it is but if this is something you like then heads up :D

#5 Healthy Yogurt

I have not been to Au bon Pain a lot but I'm thinking that if one doesn't know that most "healthy" things from there aren't that healthy they are probably in more trouble than I can provide help for here, be like going to McDonalds for that healthy double quarter pounder with cheese, sounds too good to be true? Probably is.

But another thing I wouldn't buy out, I get my yogurt at the store, I read the labels I know what’s going on (mostly) however if this is a healthy indulgence of yours, well heads up

#4 Healthy Cereals

chances are if any cereal you’re eating tastes halfway good there is probably something unhealthy in it for you *chuckles* but that is an off the cuff uneducated statement, I do not eat cereal anymore and have not for a long time, personal preference nothing more, watch out what’s coming out of your box

#3 Healthy Sandwich

Now this is the type of trap I fall into all the time, I just assume that it’s healthy and I don't ask questions.  The truth is I probably don't really want to know the truth so I don't ask questions.  But anytime a sandwich is piled high with toppings and meat, cheese and bread are involved, it’s a pretty good bet quite a few calories are coming with it.

The Arbys up here, which coincidently is the one fast food restaurant I do not eat at, I have always thought there food was disgusting and just not for me.  I am sure they do a good job and everything is as it should be but it’s not my idea of a good time, which is odd seeing as how I am an fast food junkie, go figure.

But up here they have all the calories on the board with the food which I LOVEEEEE

I think everyplace should be made to do this, well maybe suggest they do it, and if they don't want too that’s cool I will just eat elsewhere.

Seeing the calories up on the board when ordering allows us to make a better selection of meals, if that’s even possible at Arbys *chuckles*

#2 Healthy Salads

ah the salad rip off.  I don't know how many times I just order a salad and feel like i am doing the greatest service to myself I possibly can and now that i think about it I wonder how many of them were well over 500 calories and bordering 1000?

A salad (by my definition) is made up of veggies, lettuce or spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, onions, and whatever the hell else you want to put in them I'm not here to debate the best recipe for a salad, the point is when you start adding meat, or cheese, or croutons, or dressing, or bacon or anything that’s not really veggie related well chances are you’re asking for trouble and in this case ignorance is bliss and I have found it leads to a larger behind.

Romaine
2 cups = 20 calories
8 servings = 160

Let’s say there are 8 servings in a pound, I am just using hypothetical examples here for a visual, I am not really concerned about how many actual servings are in a pound of romaine

Cucumber (peeled)
3 cups= 42

Tomato
6 slices = 16
18 slices = 48
==========================
Total calories 250

Ok so after some crazy monkey math on my part let’s say hypothetically if you ate 8 cups of romaine, 3 cups of peeled sliced cucumbers and 18 slices of fresh tomato that is a mountain of salad and is only 250 calories total (give or take)that is without dressing or anything else.

Now imagine the size of a salad you actually get in a restaurant and look at the calories on the one here, 1000? holy s*** Now not all salad in restaurants is unhealthy but the more they or you add to it the less healthy it becomes.  They have a taco salad that doesn't mean it’s healthy *chuckles*

#1 Pasta

ok for me anything with noodles in it is going to be high in calories especially once you add a sauce and meat or things of that nature. 1281 calories seems a bit damn excessive, but I do admire there moxy by tossing in asparagus and spinach spaghetti with grilled chicken breast, how the hell can that NOT be anything but healthy?  Well there it is

So no matter how far my math is off or how much you may or may not agree with the things in the article the bottom msg here is QUESTION EVERYTHING!!!!

If we cannot get exactly nutritional value on everything we are putting into our mouths, especially in a restaurant perhaps we should consider eating elsewhere, otherwise we deserve what we get.  If we just eat and assume it’s healthy and do not do the proper detective work to figure it out because we assume the restaurant (or food company) has our best interest at heart then we kind of deserve to gain those few extra pounds because we were too lazy to take the extra few minutes to look the food up, or if we were proactive but still could not figure out what the calories come out to and we choose to eat it anyways, well we have to accept personal responsibility somewhere.

People want to sue McDonalds for making them fat or sue Big Tobacco for giving them cancer, I say give me a freaking break.  I don't care if McDonalds is putting crack cocaine in the food and the cigarette companies are putting something just as addictive in cigarettes in THIS day and age if we are not smart enough to realize these things are horrible for us and killing us. Well....Ok so I cannot say we deserve to get cancer or we deserve to die from obesity related complications due to eating a steady diet of fast food but for the love of God and all that’s holy there is NO WAY we can sit here and blame those companies, McDonalds is not delivering to my house and last time I checked when I was a dirty filthy smoker many years ago I had to actually go to the store, ask for the smokes, open the package, light the lighter and take a puff before that nasty smoke go into my lungs, how the hell is that big tobacco fault?

Smoking, eating, drugs, drinking it’s all addiction on some levels and anyone who needs help should be able to find it HOWEVER, WE NEED TO WANT THE HELP AND WE NEED TO TAKE THE STEPS TO GET THE HELP WE NEED!!! Sitting back and blaming the big corporations for killing us while we sit back and smoke ciggys and eat double quarter pounders while not making any strides or getting any help or doing anything to help ourselves we are just as much to blame as the people providing us with our drug of choice.

The buck has to stop somewhere, is it right that they take advantage of us and know how to seduce us and lure us in? No of course not, but we cannot sit back and cry 100% victim as well.

If I do not ask or check up on what I am eating I cannot cry foul when I find out my healthy salad has 1000 calories in it,  If I cannot get info on what the nutritional value is in a meal and I eat it anyways, well that’s when 100% of the responsibility falls on my shoulders

It’s a lot of hard work to play food detective, but in this day and age we have no excuse what so ever, we all pretty much have access to the internets, so there is no excuse.  We might not get 100% accurate data all the time but it’s enough to steer us in the right direction.

We need to sit up, wake up, grow up and stand up and take responsibility for our actions and our choices.  There is only so much we can do but we must do that much and be responsible for ourselves and together we will figure the rest of it out as we go.

This concludes todays rant, it was brought to you in part by the following; Lack of sleep, an unchecked ego, delusions of grandeur and self-importance, and too easy access to the internet, just because a monkey can drive a car doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to give him the keys