High calorie dining out, kicked up a notch

This past week I have seen advertising for 2 new high calorie contenders in the dining out arena, and I feel compelled to share my findings with you.

Golden Corral has added a Chocolate Fountain to it's already beefy dessert lineup, and KFC (that's Kentucky Fried Chicken to non-locals) has now added BACON to it's already hefty mashed-potato-fried-chicken-strips-corn-gravy-cheese mess thrown into a bowl. To be fair, here is how KFC describes this concoction on it's website:

"We start with a generous serving of our creamy mashed potatoes, layered with sweet corn and loaded with bite-sized pieces of crispy chicken. Then we drizzle it all with our signature home-style gravy and top it off with a shredded three-cheese blend. It's all your favorite flavors coming together."

All I can say is ICK. And, as of this writing, their website is not yet updated to reflect the addition of BACON to this bowl in their nutrition facts. Hmmmmmm.

Golden Corral at least does have their nutrition facts listed for the glorious Chocolate Fountain. Are you ready for this?
Serving size is 2 Tablespoons. TWO TABLESPOONS. Did you get that? 2 Tablespoons, that's it folks.....not much.

Calories:210. Fat grams: 15 grams, 9 of which are saturated.

Now, you must take into consideration that for diners who happen to be supping at Golden Corral, these calories & fat grams are IN ADDITION to a meal that surely exceeds the recommended caloric intake for one day. Most of the folks who dine at Golden Corral are not filling up on salad, I can assure you -- and believe me when I say that from experience. I used to dine with the best of them, loading up on every fried fatty concoction I could get my hands upon. I felt ripped off if I didn't have at least 2 trips to the entree bar and then sample at least 3 desserts.....after all, it's all you can eat, right?? Get your money's worth, and if you don't roll out of there, well then you didn't stuff yourself quite enough.

I mean no disrespect to either KFC or Golden Corral -- they serve this type of food because we as consumers demand it. Remember the lower calorie hamburger "The McLean" McDonald's sold? It was a complete dud and pulled from the market. And now they are reporting that despite adding apple slices to their menu as an substitute for french fries in happy meals, the majority of parents are still ordering the fries for their children.

As long as we demand and consume unhealthy foods, restaurants will continue producing them. We have to make smarter choices when it comes to food, to be accountable for our own choices, and educate our children on ways to eat healthier.

If we don't do something now, our children are going to be the ones who suffer -- and future generations as well. Let's break the cycle while there is still time.