The BACONATOR

Okay, so I was sitting around watching some tv this weekend...I know, I know, real inspiring. But let me back up - Jonathan woke up with a cold on Friday morning and wound up missing his second day of school....I don't know who was more disappointed, him or ME! And in my quest to have him healthy and ready to return to school Monday (today), we layed pretty low this weekend. Hung out at home, I cleaned the laundry room, we watched some football (take THAT, Ocho-Stinko!) and caught some House episodes (that's a cool show!) since USA was running a House Marathon all weekend.

So on comes this commercial for Wendy's new sandwich, the Baconator. As if the name wasn't bad enough. Two "beef" patties, cheese, SIX slices of bacon...whatever. WHEN are the people in this country going to learn? Every time you turn around, there's some new huge load of food just ready to be purchased. Combo meals, combo platters, pick 5 for $5. Blah, makes me feel bloated just thinking about it. And the marketing agencies love it. The bigger they can make it look on tv, the juicier, the more crap they pile on, the more people will set aside their remote, grab their keys and dash out the door so they can wrap themselves around the latest pile of calories and saturated fat and then whine because their pants don't fit.

Don't get me wrong, my BMI needs a little work, and I address that every day. But it's only within the last year or so that I really started to be disgusted with the fast food industry. These people don't care about you, not one bit. Oh, they may claim they do! "We do it all for you". Yeah, right! What? Give you heart disease? Bigger burgers, bigger fries, "up"-sizing, "Do you want to "round that up?" (heard at Roy Roger's drive-thru recently), "super-value" combo meals...does it ever end? Remember the Shaq-Attack meal they had at BK some years ago? I swear that burger was like 8 inches in diameter. And with all the health issues and the media focusing on better eating and childhood obesity, you would think these national chains would get a clue. But no. And why? Because people are still eating there!

And the response of the fast-food industry: salads. Great. Okay, so I'm going out for a meal, presumably in a hurry or need the convenience, and I'm in my car....yeah, a salad is just perfect. Just the easist thing in the world to eat while whizzing down the highway at 65. Plus, if you add it all up, you realize you just paid $5.49 for something you can make at home, literally for about 90 cents. Yeah, they do it all for you all right.

Oh, yes, thank you Arby's for putting some deli sandwiches on your menu. Thank you for giving us another option that doesn't involve a fried burger on a white bun with cheese. Hmmmm, have you ever seen the nutritional information for these so-called "healthier" options? Most of Arby's new sandwiches are close to or over 700 calories and average 30 grams of fat. Add some curly fries and a Jamocha shake, you're talking enough food for two days for the average American.

I try. I really do. As a family, we eat very, very little fast food. When we do, it's usually breakfast since the kids really love their McPancakes. And chicken fingers and fries are easy to eat in the car for them and if I'm sick of making peanut butter sandwiches every day. But Mark and I have learned. We bring along a power bar or something, and get a coffee and watch the kids eat, or we'll go through the drive-thru to get the kids' food, then go get some sandwiches at the local deli and everyone's happy. And even the kids are limited. No more than once a week, and even that rule may need to be refined a bit. Don't want to be raising kids that when their pediatrician asks them what they like to eat, they say "Baconators!"