I've had an...interesting...couple of weeks, hence no post. I've got a big one saved up that I'll post tomorrow or the next day, hopefully my faithful reader(s) will enjoy. Until then
Dawn Meehan/Chicago Mom's Blog
Regular Because I Said So Link
Like I've said before, I'm a longtime follower of Dawn, and since I'm currently a retail peon, this hits close to home. I never stole anything as a kid, mostly because my parents kept me in pretty thorough hellfire-and-damnation fear of doing anything wrong, period (The consequences of which could fill volumes, and are a story for another day). The closest I ever came to retail theft was once, when in Wal-Mart with my grandmother, she was forced to open and utilize a box of Kleenex to aid my gushingly runny nose. No, she didn't steal it, she just opened and used several of the tissues before we were able to get to the register and pay for them. And I was still mortified, because, quite frankly, I'm still (personally, though not professionally) of the 'it's-not-yours-to-use-till-you've-got-a-receipt' mindset.
I do, however, have some thoughts and examples on the subject from the lady-behind-the-counter point of view. I've yet to have anyone outright grab-and-dash shoplift during a shift. In fact, the only outright theft I've seen was as follows: a couple of large, tattooed and boisterous female customers were milling around in the HBA (health and beauty aid) section of the store, which is nearest to the pharmacy and adjacent to the pharmacy waiting area -- which also happens to be the most discreet area of the store, mainly because it's intended for patients who aren't feeling well or for private counsels with the pharmacist. You can't actually see the waiting area from the pharmacy; because there's a wall and a half-door separating the two, one has to poke one's head around the corner to see what's going on or speak to someone. When closing time neared, the assistant manager discovered that these women, now long gone, had taken several boxes of fancy fake fingernail kits from a display, sat down in the pharmacy waiting area, gave themselves full manicures, and then left the remnants of the kits behind and walked out without paying. Needless to say, we've all kept a closer eye on that part of the store lately.
Here's another scenario -- working in a retail pharmacy, we occasionally get patients who feel like complete and utter crap -- some in pain, some physically ill (if you get my drift), and, more than once, someone still high off anesthesia from an outpatient or dental procedure. On a relatively frequent basis, customers who have been waiting around the store for a prescription to be filled will hand me an empty or half-empty snack and/or drink to scan and add to the receipt. I'm a little more forgiving for people with small, sick children who are too small to leave alone in the car, but the fact of that matter is that we're a relatively small store, and there is a front-store cash register anyone could easily go to and pay for snacks while they're waiting for a script. And if there's not a line, the person at pharmacy pickup is almost always happy to ring anything up, even if it's only a pack of Oreos or a Coke.
I've not really been instructed on what to do in the event of catching someone (a small child or otherwise) shoplifiting, or what to do if someone were to come back and confess. Quite frankly, I think that falls to the general, assistant, or shift manager present at the time. Personally, I'd give them a stern lecture about consequences, but not threaten to call the authorities/handcuff, or anything like that, especially with a small child; I'm of the persuasion that calm reasoning, not threats or scare tactics, is the best way to deal with a kid the first time -- one gentle warning, and then more stern consequences (I don't have any of my own yet, so come back in 10 years and ask me how that's working out for me). The police have only been called to the store once since I've been employed there, and then it was because of a small child who came into the store alone and with a large (and I mean large) amount of money, so theft doesn't seem to be a huge problem. It probably stems from the fact that it's a small town and a very high percentage of the customers are people you recongnize and call by name.
A final thought: I've mentioned Wal-Mart before, and now's probably a good time to do it again. Lots of the commenters to Dawn's post were appalled that an employee would act so nonchalantly towards retail theft. It might surprise you, then, to learn that some Wal-Mart stores (the one in my hometown included) have adopted a policy of not prosecuting shoplifting cases where the merchandise total is under $25, no matter the age of the thief. Take into consideration how much of the merchandise at Wal-Mart is priced over $25. Jewelry... electronics... furniture. Very little else. Basically, one could steal an item (or a few) with absolutely no legal consequence (though I'm assuming a ban from the store might be involved somehow). I shall end with two opposing stories about the security of my local supercenter.
1) I personally witnessed an angry, angsty-looking teenager who, in all likelyhood (because of the outcome, I'll never know for sure), had something under her sweatshirt that made the alarms go off. I suspect this was the case because, although she never broke into a run or anything like that, she sure sped up her pace out the door. She was with her mother, who had a cart full of (bagged and paid for) groceries, and who also sped up noticibly at the sound of the alarm. The greeter, who had to be in her seventies, tried several times in vain to get their attention, but they were well into the parking lot before she could even reach the door. The greeter turned around, sighed with a knowing look on her face, waved us past, and went back to whatever it was she had been doing previously.
2) I know from a firsthand account that a local sheriff's deputy once chased down and apprehended an (adult) shoplifter he spotted running out of Wal-Mart -- while he was off duty, in his family vehicle, with his wife and kids in tow. Now there's dedication.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Mmm... housewifery
Bon appétit posted this video via Shine this morning (I'll also embed it below), and watching it made me laugh so hard I almost cried. At the same time, however, both the feminist and the culinary parts of my brain stroked out a little.
Let's get a couple of things straight. I've mentioned before that since we both work and since it is, in fact, the 21st century around here, MrMMO and I share the various household responsibilities. He he sticks mostly to cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, etc) and general repairs (especially the ones that require someone tall), and I cook and do laundry. The dishes go back and forth. Things also switch up every once in a while depending on the schedule, with the exception of cooking dinner, which MrMMO has done only once, when I was incapacitated (His grandmother made the point once when I joked about it that her husband couldn't have done it that one time even if his life had depended on it, so I do have it pretty darn good.). Don't get me wrong; he's capable of feeding himself while I'm at work, and makes a damned good sandwich, and even cooked for me every once in a while when we first dated (including another time I was incapacitated, after a root canal, and he worked diligently to think of anything and everything soft enough for me to eat). It's just that in my house, I do the majority of the cooking. I put things in particular places; I have particular techniques. While we do all the grocery shopping together, I always put everything away by myself so I know where it is. As someone who's competent enough to bring home half the bacon (figurative bacon), I like that I can have my domain actually cooking the bacon (literal bacon...mmm,bacon).
So back to the video. First of all, it does sound really, really condescending, but in a way, I kind of understand the point. I've been in the kitchen pretty much all my life, and by complete choice rather than any sort of requirement. Cooking, especially baking, relaxes me. I use it as a coping mechanism to deal with loss, sadness, frustration, nerves, etc. I'm not talking about eating so much as the sheer act of baking; it makes a lot of sense psychologically, because baking is all about being precise -- it's something I can have almost complete control of even when the situation otherwise may be out of my control. Aside from that, cupcakes are delicious. However, I know that isn't always the case. My mother learned to cook when she was first married, because her mother shooed her out of the kitchen for much of her life before that. And my grandmother only learned to cook when she got married as well (incidentally enough in the early '40s, a few years before this video was made), because she was the baby of the family and her older sisters did most of the work in the kitchen. Suddenly having a husband to feed (and in my grandmother's case, several farmhands as well) three times a day was probably daunting. For me, it just meant buying more pork chops and switching up the routine a little, and I'm really grateful for that.
There are a couple of things in the video that really did irk me though. I can understand the Amelia Bedelia thing with 'creaming the butter,' but pretty much anyone who is completely new to cooking would have the common sense to find out what that meant before doing it, especially if the recipe didn't actually call for any cream. Yes, I know it was the '40s and there was no Google, but most people would still look in the back for a glossary, that's why there were there back in the day. And while some terms like 'soft-ball' and 'stiff peaks' (yeah, try to read that again without laughing, I dare you) really do need in-depth explanation, do we really need a complex discussion of what it means to 'stir?' A basic knowledge of the English language in and of itself should be able to get one to even so much as guess what it means to stir a sauce or batter. Same for boil, though maybe I'm overestimating the ladies of a couple generations ago.
A couple other comments:
Let's get a couple of things straight. I've mentioned before that since we both work and since it is, in fact, the 21st century around here, MrMMO and I share the various household responsibilities. He he sticks mostly to cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, etc) and general repairs (especially the ones that require someone tall), and I cook and do laundry. The dishes go back and forth. Things also switch up every once in a while depending on the schedule, with the exception of cooking dinner, which MrMMO has done only once, when I was incapacitated (His grandmother made the point once when I joked about it that her husband couldn't have done it that one time even if his life had depended on it, so I do have it pretty darn good.). Don't get me wrong; he's capable of feeding himself while I'm at work, and makes a damned good sandwich, and even cooked for me every once in a while when we first dated (including another time I was incapacitated, after a root canal, and he worked diligently to think of anything and everything soft enough for me to eat). It's just that in my house, I do the majority of the cooking. I put things in particular places; I have particular techniques. While we do all the grocery shopping together, I always put everything away by myself so I know where it is. As someone who's competent enough to bring home half the bacon (figurative bacon), I like that I can have my domain actually cooking the bacon (literal bacon...mmm,bacon).
So back to the video. First of all, it does sound really, really condescending, but in a way, I kind of understand the point. I've been in the kitchen pretty much all my life, and by complete choice rather than any sort of requirement. Cooking, especially baking, relaxes me. I use it as a coping mechanism to deal with loss, sadness, frustration, nerves, etc. I'm not talking about eating so much as the sheer act of baking; it makes a lot of sense psychologically, because baking is all about being precise -- it's something I can have almost complete control of even when the situation otherwise may be out of my control. Aside from that, cupcakes are delicious. However, I know that isn't always the case. My mother learned to cook when she was first married, because her mother shooed her out of the kitchen for much of her life before that. And my grandmother only learned to cook when she got married as well (incidentally enough in the early '40s, a few years before this video was made), because she was the baby of the family and her older sisters did most of the work in the kitchen. Suddenly having a husband to feed (and in my grandmother's case, several farmhands as well) three times a day was probably daunting. For me, it just meant buying more pork chops and switching up the routine a little, and I'm really grateful for that.
There are a couple of things in the video that really did irk me though. I can understand the Amelia Bedelia thing with 'creaming the butter,' but pretty much anyone who is completely new to cooking would have the common sense to find out what that meant before doing it, especially if the recipe didn't actually call for any cream. Yes, I know it was the '40s and there was no Google, but most people would still look in the back for a glossary, that's why there were there back in the day. And while some terms like 'soft-ball' and 'stiff peaks' (yeah, try to read that again without laughing, I dare you) really do need in-depth explanation, do we really need a complex discussion of what it means to 'stir?' A basic knowledge of the English language in and of itself should be able to get one to even so much as guess what it means to stir a sauce or batter. Same for boil, though maybe I'm overestimating the ladies of a couple generations ago.
A couple other comments:
- I thought they actually oversimplified kneading a bit.
- I actually learned stewing/braising the other way around -- that stewing involves flour and braising does not, though that may also be a regional thing. Or I just braise a lot less and stew a lot more than I thought I did.
- One of my favorite lines in the whole thing was, 'At some point, you will decide to serve scalloped cauliflower.' I found this interesting because, quite frankly, that is one of the few dishes that I don't ever plan on serving; I hate cauliflower. I've tried it, and I don't like it; the smell nauseates me, and the taste continues the trend the smell began. Even when scalloped. I like to make a few other scalloped dishes, but never that. Ugh.
- What in heaven's name is all over that cake when it's finished? Some sort of nuts, or candied fruit perhaps? I can't tell, and mostly it just served to freak me out.
- I wouldn't recommend making jam/jelly to someone who's not even comfortable creaming butter yet. Even I have not attempted to do so, partially because of lack of the proper equipment, and partially because of an incident in the second half of Little Women, where Meg tries to make jelly. I'm planning to learn sometime soon, but it just seems a bit complex in a video that's also teaching people how to stir.
- The phrase 'and he'll never know the difference' really irked me in two ways. First of all, that man did not need cake. It's not like it was a holiday or his birthday or anything. It was a weekday lunch for crying out loud. What would his reaction be if there was no cake? He probably wouldn't have noticed at all, the ungrateful jerk. If it'd been me, and I screwed up a cake like that (it didn't look ruined, per se, just a bit dense), I either would have made it into a trifle/parfait of some sort, or said, 'Look honey, brownies!'
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Midmonth Madness: April
Since it's been a crazy, crazy week, I decided to do another midmonth post and cover several things at once.
First of all, I have conquered the Double-Down. And, quite frankly, it was delicious. I was pretty accurate in the way I finished my previous post. I tried one, I liked it, but I don't really have any desire to make it part of my regular routine. Really, the hardest part was when they asked me if I wanted it grilled or crispy, as I'm partial to both incarnations of KFC. So I did what any quick thinking, hungry lady would do; I asked for half-and-half. And they were very accomodating; there was a grilled piece on the bottom and a crispy on the top. My only complaint of the sandwich in and of itself is that it was far too messy to actually eat as a sandwich by the time I got home. The cheese was all melty everywhere and it was quite saucy, to the point where even the little wrapper-thingy wouldn't have helped. So I ate it with a knife and fork. In fact, this is where my only complaint comes in; It's really not all that different (in basic build and concept) from some fancy stuffed chicken breast dish you might find in a sit-down restaurant; it's just a fast-food version. It's probably similar in calories, too, although I'm sure a homemade version would have less sodium. It was a little spicy, but in a good way. I'm also a little sad that they no longer carry corn-on-the-cob at my local KFC, which would have been my side of choice.
Edit: After writing all that, I've found that Serious Eats did two posts on the Double-Down that echo my sentiments exactly: A homemade Double-Down that looks really, really good, and a discussion of how the 'phenomenon' is really just jazzed up Cordon Bleu.
The topic of the day is pretty much the same on all entertainment websites: LoCo! I'm not a huge fan of George Lopez (no offense, he's funny, but if I'm up that late it's going to be Craig Ferguson), but I've always been a Conan fan, and will be no matter what network he's on. I'm very, very glad he got a deal, and though I don't have the cash or the time to go see his live tour (the nearest performace is nearly 5 hours away, so it would require time off from work, etc), but I can't freakin' wait until he's back on TV.
Also, although I wasn't really impressed with SNL on the whole this week, I really liked Tina Fey's bit on Weekend Update.
"When your body looks like a dirtbag's binder from 7th grade metal shop, it doesn't bode well for your character." Right on.
Finally, there was a letter that hit close to home in Dear Abby this week, and I thought I'd put my two cents in on that as well. It's the second letter, about a kid not wanting to go to prom. I feel like Abby hit the nail on the head, and I'll share my story as to why. I was a total social butterfly most of high school, but didn't go to the first major dance, my freshman homecoming. The guy I wanted to go with had another date (who, incidentally, ended up an in-law of mine after she broke up with him, and married her husband, MrMMO's cousin), and I didn't have the nerve to go stag. Instead, I went to the movies with one of my friends. Did I miss out? Nah. There were other dances I had plenty of fun at, and was able to smile at doing something unique and a little nonconformist instead. This sort of topic came up on Easter as well, because my younger brother-in-law 's girlfriend is going stag to her senior prom; the school's rules won't allow my BIL to attend because he's a couple of years older, even though he's an alumnus. I figured she'd be crushed that they can't go together, but she's taking it all in stride, instead focusing on details like her dress and how much fun she's going to have with her friends. She's classy like that. My point is that all the fancy high school dances and whatnot aren't special in and of themselves, but are what you make of them.
First of all, I have conquered the Double-Down. And, quite frankly, it was delicious. I was pretty accurate in the way I finished my previous post. I tried one, I liked it, but I don't really have any desire to make it part of my regular routine. Really, the hardest part was when they asked me if I wanted it grilled or crispy, as I'm partial to both incarnations of KFC. So I did what any quick thinking, hungry lady would do; I asked for half-and-half. And they were very accomodating; there was a grilled piece on the bottom and a crispy on the top. My only complaint of the sandwich in and of itself is that it was far too messy to actually eat as a sandwich by the time I got home. The cheese was all melty everywhere and it was quite saucy, to the point where even the little wrapper-thingy wouldn't have helped. So I ate it with a knife and fork. In fact, this is where my only complaint comes in; It's really not all that different (in basic build and concept) from some fancy stuffed chicken breast dish you might find in a sit-down restaurant; it's just a fast-food version. It's probably similar in calories, too, although I'm sure a homemade version would have less sodium. It was a little spicy, but in a good way. I'm also a little sad that they no longer carry corn-on-the-cob at my local KFC, which would have been my side of choice.
Edit: After writing all that, I've found that Serious Eats did two posts on the Double-Down that echo my sentiments exactly: A homemade Double-Down that looks really, really good, and a discussion of how the 'phenomenon' is really just jazzed up Cordon Bleu.
The topic of the day is pretty much the same on all entertainment websites: LoCo! I'm not a huge fan of George Lopez (no offense, he's funny, but if I'm up that late it's going to be Craig Ferguson), but I've always been a Conan fan, and will be no matter what network he's on. I'm very, very glad he got a deal, and though I don't have the cash or the time to go see his live tour (the nearest performace is nearly 5 hours away, so it would require time off from work, etc), but I can't freakin' wait until he's back on TV.
Also, although I wasn't really impressed with SNL on the whole this week, I really liked Tina Fey's bit on Weekend Update.
"When your body looks like a dirtbag's binder from 7th grade metal shop, it doesn't bode well for your character." Right on.
Finally, there was a letter that hit close to home in Dear Abby this week, and I thought I'd put my two cents in on that as well. It's the second letter, about a kid not wanting to go to prom. I feel like Abby hit the nail on the head, and I'll share my story as to why. I was a total social butterfly most of high school, but didn't go to the first major dance, my freshman homecoming. The guy I wanted to go with had another date (who, incidentally, ended up an in-law of mine after she broke up with him, and married her husband, MrMMO's cousin), and I didn't have the nerve to go stag. Instead, I went to the movies with one of my friends. Did I miss out? Nah. There were other dances I had plenty of fun at, and was able to smile at doing something unique and a little nonconformist instead. This sort of topic came up on Easter as well, because my younger brother-in-law 's girlfriend is going stag to her senior prom; the school's rules won't allow my BIL to attend because he's a couple of years older, even though he's an alumnus. I figured she'd be crushed that they can't go together, but she's taking it all in stride, instead focusing on details like her dress and how much fun she's going to have with her friends. She's classy like that. My point is that all the fancy high school dances and whatnot aren't special in and of themselves, but are what you make of them.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Heart attack food? Compared to what?
This is a direct response to an angry Shine posting on KFC's new 'Double-Down' sandwich, which consists of (according to the KFC website) "two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets, two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel's Sauce." On paper, that does sound pretty bad. It's a bacon sandwich on chicken instead of bread. But once I started looking at the nutrition information, it is, comparitively, right in the middle of the fast food pack. For the purposes of comparison, I found the closest thing I could at a few other major chains -- I was looking for anything that contained a chicken filet (KFC offers both fried and grilled, so I'll look at both), bacon, and some sort of cheese and/or sauce component.
Here's what I found, starting with the Double-Down. KFC has released 3 major components of nutritional info for it so far, and I'm assuming there will be more details once release day is upon us. The 'fried' version contains 540 calories, 32 grams of fat, and 1380mg of sodium. The fat and sodium content is high, but as you'll see soon, not all that uncommon. The 'grilled' version of the Double-Down contains 460 calories, 23 grams of fat, and 1430mg of sodium, which is basically an entire day's worth of sodium in a single sandwich-type object.
Now let's look at its fast-food cousins, shall we?
Burger King offers two similar sandwiches, the Tendercrisp and the Tendergrill. The Tendercrisp is "a premium white meat chicken filet with crisp breading, fresh lettuce, red ripe tomatoes, and mayo on a corn-dusted bun." It contains 800 calories, 46 grams of fat, and 1640 mg of sodium. The Tendergrill is "a juicy grilled chicken filet on a corn-dusted bun, topped with crisp lettuce tomato." (That 'crisp lettuce tomato bit is copied and pasted directly from the website) It contains 490 calories, 21 grams of fat, and 1220mg of sodium. Note that this sandwich has neither bacon nor cheese. Since Burger King has a tool that lets one add and remove items from their sandwiches, I decided to play around a bit and get BK's Tendercrisp as close to a Double-Down as possible. I took away the lettuce, tomato, mayo, and bun, added a second chicken patty, bacon, cheese, and 'Stacker Sauce,' which I figured would be the closest possible cousin to Colonel's Sauce. My TendercrispDouble-Down, or 'TCDD' came in at 890 calories, 55g fat, and 2690mg of sodium. If you don't believe the visual below, go try it for yourself.
For McDonald's, I used their Premium Chicken Club sandwiches, both crispy and grilled. Each features a honey wheat roll, bacon, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. The crispy comes in at 630 calories, 28g of fat, and 1360mg of sodium. The grilled contains 530 calories, 17g of fat, and 1410mg of sodium.
Wendy's closest equivalents are the Ultimate Chicken Grill and the Chicken Club. The UCG doesn't normally contain cheese or bacon, but it's available upon request, so I added it, bringing the grand total to 500 calories, 19 grams of fat, and 1630g of sodium. The Chicken Club contains 620 calories, 20g of fat, and 1490mg of sodium.
Finally, Arby's, which offers a roasted or crispy Chicken, Bacon and Swiss sandwich. The crispy comes in at 590 calories, 27g of fat and 1560mg of sodium, while the roasted contains 470 calories, 19g of fat and 1370mg of sodium.
Let's compare, shall we, first the fried offerings, and then the grilled/roasted offerings.
Fried
KFC -- 540 calories, 32 grams of fat, and 1380mg of sodium
BK -- 800 calories, 46 grams of fat, and 1640 mg of sodium
TCDD -- 890 calories, 55g fat, and 2690mg of sodium
McDs -- 630 calories, 28g of fat, and 1360mg of sodium
Wendy's -- 620 calories, 20g of fat, and 1490mg of sodium.
Arby's -- 590 calories, 27g of fat and 1560mg of sodium
The Double-Down from KFC is actually the lowest in calories out of all of these, though McDonald's has the lowest sodium content and Wendy's has the least fat. The regular Tendercrisp sandwich from Burger King has the highest calorie, fat, and sodium content of any of the regular sandwiches. If you got the equivalent of a Double-Down from BK, you'd be consuming 350 more calories, 23 more grams of fat, and almost twice the sodium.
Now let's look at grilled options.
KFC -- 460 calories, 23 grams of fat, and 1430mg of sodium
BK -- 490 calories, 21 grams of fat, and 1220mg of sodium
McDs -- 530 calories, 17g of fat, and 1410mg of sodium
Wendy's -- 500 calories, 19 grams of fat, and 1630g of sodium
Arby's -- 470 calories, 19g of fat and 1370mg of sodium
KFC is, again, lowest in calories here, but McDonald's wins in terms of fat grams, and Burger King actually has the lowest amount of sodium in the grilled category. Wendy's has the highest calorie and sodium counts, and KFC the highest fat count.
So what does this all mean? Well first of all, the major difference here is that most of these sandwiches are on buns rather than having the meat itself serve as the bun. Until more detailed nutritional information comes out about the Double-Down -- saturated fat, etc -- it can't be said for sure, but is it really all that much worse than anything offered at any other major fast food chain? None of this stuff could be considered health food -- all these calorie and fat counts are just for the sandwiches -- it's not even factoring in fries. Who the heck goes to a fast food restaurant for a sandwich and doesn't get any darned fries (or, in the case of Wendy's, a broccoli-cheese baked potato...mmm). Yes, this is coming from a woman who once polished off an entire triple Baconator, but I also eat like a sensible, healthy adult 95% of the time. Will I try a Double-Down? Heck yeah! It looks delicious! Will I eat them on a regular basis? Of course not!
Here's what I found, starting with the Double-Down. KFC has released 3 major components of nutritional info for it so far, and I'm assuming there will be more details once release day is upon us. The 'fried' version contains 540 calories, 32 grams of fat, and 1380mg of sodium. The fat and sodium content is high, but as you'll see soon, not all that uncommon. The 'grilled' version of the Double-Down contains 460 calories, 23 grams of fat, and 1430mg of sodium, which is basically an entire day's worth of sodium in a single sandwich-type object.
Now let's look at its fast-food cousins, shall we?
Burger King offers two similar sandwiches, the Tendercrisp and the Tendergrill. The Tendercrisp is "a premium white meat chicken filet with crisp breading, fresh lettuce, red ripe tomatoes, and mayo on a corn-dusted bun." It contains 800 calories, 46 grams of fat, and 1640 mg of sodium. The Tendergrill is "a juicy grilled chicken filet on a corn-dusted bun, topped with crisp lettuce tomato." (That 'crisp lettuce tomato bit is copied and pasted directly from the website) It contains 490 calories, 21 grams of fat, and 1220mg of sodium. Note that this sandwich has neither bacon nor cheese. Since Burger King has a tool that lets one add and remove items from their sandwiches, I decided to play around a bit and get BK's Tendercrisp as close to a Double-Down as possible. I took away the lettuce, tomato, mayo, and bun, added a second chicken patty, bacon, cheese, and 'Stacker Sauce,' which I figured would be the closest possible cousin to Colonel's Sauce. My TendercrispDouble-Down, or 'TCDD' came in at 890 calories, 55g fat, and 2690mg of sodium. If you don't believe the visual below, go try it for yourself.
For McDonald's, I used their Premium Chicken Club sandwiches, both crispy and grilled. Each features a honey wheat roll, bacon, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. The crispy comes in at 630 calories, 28g of fat, and 1360mg of sodium. The grilled contains 530 calories, 17g of fat, and 1410mg of sodium.
Wendy's closest equivalents are the Ultimate Chicken Grill and the Chicken Club. The UCG doesn't normally contain cheese or bacon, but it's available upon request, so I added it, bringing the grand total to 500 calories, 19 grams of fat, and 1630g of sodium. The Chicken Club contains 620 calories, 20g of fat, and 1490mg of sodium.
Finally, Arby's, which offers a roasted or crispy Chicken, Bacon and Swiss sandwich. The crispy comes in at 590 calories, 27g of fat and 1560mg of sodium, while the roasted contains 470 calories, 19g of fat and 1370mg of sodium.
Let's compare, shall we, first the fried offerings, and then the grilled/roasted offerings.
Fried
KFC -- 540 calories, 32 grams of fat, and 1380mg of sodium
BK -- 800 calories, 46 grams of fat, and 1640 mg of sodium
TCDD -- 890 calories, 55g fat, and 2690mg of sodium
McDs -- 630 calories, 28g of fat, and 1360mg of sodium
Wendy's -- 620 calories, 20g of fat, and 1490mg of sodium.
Arby's -- 590 calories, 27g of fat and 1560mg of sodium
The Double-Down from KFC is actually the lowest in calories out of all of these, though McDonald's has the lowest sodium content and Wendy's has the least fat. The regular Tendercrisp sandwich from Burger King has the highest calorie, fat, and sodium content of any of the regular sandwiches. If you got the equivalent of a Double-Down from BK, you'd be consuming 350 more calories, 23 more grams of fat, and almost twice the sodium.
Now let's look at grilled options.
KFC -- 460 calories, 23 grams of fat, and 1430mg of sodium
BK -- 490 calories, 21 grams of fat, and 1220mg of sodium
McDs -- 530 calories, 17g of fat, and 1410mg of sodium
Wendy's -- 500 calories, 19 grams of fat, and 1630g of sodium
Arby's -- 470 calories, 19g of fat and 1370mg of sodium
KFC is, again, lowest in calories here, but McDonald's wins in terms of fat grams, and Burger King actually has the lowest amount of sodium in the grilled category. Wendy's has the highest calorie and sodium counts, and KFC the highest fat count.
So what does this all mean? Well first of all, the major difference here is that most of these sandwiches are on buns rather than having the meat itself serve as the bun. Until more detailed nutritional information comes out about the Double-Down -- saturated fat, etc -- it can't be said for sure, but is it really all that much worse than anything offered at any other major fast food chain? None of this stuff could be considered health food -- all these calorie and fat counts are just for the sandwiches -- it's not even factoring in fries. Who the heck goes to a fast food restaurant for a sandwich and doesn't get any darned fries (or, in the case of Wendy's, a broccoli-cheese baked potato...mmm). Yes, this is coming from a woman who once polished off an entire triple Baconator, but I also eat like a sensible, healthy adult 95% of the time. Will I try a Double-Down? Heck yeah! It looks delicious! Will I eat them on a regular basis? Of course not!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Mmm... pie
Happy day after Easter!
Yesterday was yet another reminder of why I love being a part of MrMMO's family. We spent the day at his grandmother's, along with various relatives, and had a fantastic time. We went out to eat and then had dessert at home -- I ate a ton, but spent most of the day laughing my butt off, so I figure most of the calories got burned off. Part of what I love about his family is that no one expects anything fancy; they're more focused on having a good time than where they're at or how fancy everything is. Last Thanksgiving I made a very simple chocolate cream pie, and it was a huge hit with my brothers-in-law (any anyone else who managed to snag a piece before they demolished it), so I made another for Easter. It's incridibly easy, with great results.
MrsMMO's Chocolate Cream Pie:
The recipe is really simple, but always a hit. If I can get my digital camera to work (and if I can beat MrMMO's appetite) I'll snap a photo of the last piece and edit it in later.
Yesterday was yet another reminder of why I love being a part of MrMMO's family. We spent the day at his grandmother's, along with various relatives, and had a fantastic time. We went out to eat and then had dessert at home -- I ate a ton, but spent most of the day laughing my butt off, so I figure most of the calories got burned off. Part of what I love about his family is that no one expects anything fancy; they're more focused on having a good time than where they're at or how fancy everything is. Last Thanksgiving I made a very simple chocolate cream pie, and it was a huge hit with my brothers-in-law (any anyone else who managed to snag a piece before they demolished it), so I made another for Easter. It's incridibly easy, with great results.
MrsMMO's Chocolate Cream Pie:
- 1 ready-made graham cracker crumb crust (You could make your own, but I don't bother)
- 1 plain Hershey bar (regular size works fine, king-sized is a bit easier to hold and leaves more leftovers for MrMMO to snack on)
- 1 large or two small boxes Jello instant chocolate pudding
- 2 1/2 cups milk (or however much it calls for on the 'pie filling' directions on the pudding box, sometimes it's 2 3/4)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp. sugar
The recipe is really simple, but always a hit. If I can get my digital camera to work (and if I can beat MrMMO's appetite) I'll snap a photo of the last piece and edit it in later.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Hot Dogs
Happy April! I avoided posting anything yesterday to avoid the whole 'April Fools' thing; I like the jokes that are silly and obvious rather than the ones that head towards the territory of being mean tricks. I thought I'd do a little food-related update today.
I'm still keeping up with Fed Up with Lunch, and now that the embedding tool on YouTube is working again, I'll embed the video I linked to last time, which shows the modern process of making hot dogs:
One fantastic thing that Mrs Q's blog has inspired me to do is to reread Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle. I've read it twice before, both times for school -- once in eighth grade and again in college, both times for history classes. The first time I couldn't bring myself to eat anything at all for a couple days afterwards and then avoided meat for a few weeks afterwards. For a hardcore omnivore like me, that's a loooong time. The second time I knew what to expect, and it didn't really hurt my appetite like it did the first time. This time it's still not really affecting my appetite, but it's more disturbing to me than the previous reading, probably because of the added attention I've been paying thanks to Mrs Q. I was reading the following passage during my break this morning, and the fact that it's so close in description to the video above really creeped me out. The novel itself is old enough to be public domain, and can be read in its entirety on Project Gutenberg, here. This particular passage can be found at the end of chapter 13; in my copy (Bedford/St. Martin's 2005 edition), it can be found on page 165.
"The sausage-room was an interesting place to visit, for two or three minutes, and provided that you did not look at the people; the machines were perhaps the most wonderful things in the entire plant. Presumably sausages were once chopped and stuffed by hand, and if so it would be interesting to know how many workers had been displaced by these inventions. On one side of the room were the hoppers, into which men shoveled loads of meat and wheelbarrows full of spices; in these great bowls were whirling knives that made two thousand revolutions a minute, and when the meat was ground fine and adulterated with potato flour, and well mixed with water, it was forced to the stuffing machines on the other side of the room. The latter were tended by women; there was a sort of spout, like the nozzle of a hose, and one of the women would take a long string of "casing" and put the end over the nozzle and then work the whole thing on, as one works on the finger of a tight glove. This string would be twenty or thirty feet long, but the woman would have it all on in a jiffy; and when she had several on, she would press a lever, and a stream of sausage meat would be shot out, taking the casing with it as it came. Thus one might stand and see appear, miraculously born from the machine, a wriggling snake of sausage of incredible length. In front was a big pan which caught these creatures, and two more women who seized them as fast as they appeared and twisted them into links. This was for the uninitiated the most perplexing work of all; for all that the woman had to give was a single turn of the wrist; and in some way she contrived to give it so that instead of an endless chain of sausages, one after another, there grew under her hands a bunch of strings, all dangling from a single center. It was quite like the feat of a prestidigitator—for the woman worked so fast that the eye could literally not follow her, and there was only a mist of motion, and tangle after tangle of sausages appearing."
Interesting, no?
I'm still keeping up with Fed Up with Lunch, and now that the embedding tool on YouTube is working again, I'll embed the video I linked to last time, which shows the modern process of making hot dogs:
One fantastic thing that Mrs Q's blog has inspired me to do is to reread Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle. I've read it twice before, both times for school -- once in eighth grade and again in college, both times for history classes. The first time I couldn't bring myself to eat anything at all for a couple days afterwards and then avoided meat for a few weeks afterwards. For a hardcore omnivore like me, that's a loooong time. The second time I knew what to expect, and it didn't really hurt my appetite like it did the first time. This time it's still not really affecting my appetite, but it's more disturbing to me than the previous reading, probably because of the added attention I've been paying thanks to Mrs Q. I was reading the following passage during my break this morning, and the fact that it's so close in description to the video above really creeped me out. The novel itself is old enough to be public domain, and can be read in its entirety on Project Gutenberg, here. This particular passage can be found at the end of chapter 13; in my copy (Bedford/St. Martin's 2005 edition), it can be found on page 165.
"The sausage-room was an interesting place to visit, for two or three minutes, and provided that you did not look at the people; the machines were perhaps the most wonderful things in the entire plant. Presumably sausages were once chopped and stuffed by hand, and if so it would be interesting to know how many workers had been displaced by these inventions. On one side of the room were the hoppers, into which men shoveled loads of meat and wheelbarrows full of spices; in these great bowls were whirling knives that made two thousand revolutions a minute, and when the meat was ground fine and adulterated with potato flour, and well mixed with water, it was forced to the stuffing machines on the other side of the room. The latter were tended by women; there was a sort of spout, like the nozzle of a hose, and one of the women would take a long string of "casing" and put the end over the nozzle and then work the whole thing on, as one works on the finger of a tight glove. This string would be twenty or thirty feet long, but the woman would have it all on in a jiffy; and when she had several on, she would press a lever, and a stream of sausage meat would be shot out, taking the casing with it as it came. Thus one might stand and see appear, miraculously born from the machine, a wriggling snake of sausage of incredible length. In front was a big pan which caught these creatures, and two more women who seized them as fast as they appeared and twisted them into links. This was for the uninitiated the most perplexing work of all; for all that the woman had to give was a single turn of the wrist; and in some way she contrived to give it so that instead of an endless chain of sausages, one after another, there grew under her hands a bunch of strings, all dangling from a single center. It was quite like the feat of a prestidigitator—for the woman worked so fast that the eye could literally not follow her, and there was only a mist of motion, and tangle after tangle of sausages appearing."
Interesting, no?
Monday, March 29, 2010
A Tribute to my Mother-in-law
I wanted to come back with a post that's a bit less controversial and a bit more pleasant to talk about. Like I said before, I don't want to bring specifics of family into this, so I'll keep it very general.
It's my mother-in-law's birthday this week, and so I thought a tribute to her would be fitting. I love my mother-in-law. She's a bit unconventional, kind, caring, and one of the best cooks I've ever encountered in my life. She calls every couple of days to check in, ask about the day-to-day, compare what we're making for dinner, etc. She always makes sure the whole family gets together a couple of times a year, which we did yesterday. Like all people everywhere, we've had our disagreements, but they never last long and neither of us is the kind of person to hold grudges. Overall, she's about the best MIL one could ask for.
If you search on Shine, which is my primary source of lifestyle articles to read and respond to, you'll find a plethora of articles pertaining to dealing with mothers-in-law. Popping 'mother-in-law' into the search engine for the site returned 600,000 hits. Just on Shine. And quite frankly, most of those articles will drive me insane. Are so many mothers-in-law really this obnoxious? I'm going to use the first that came up: Reader's Digest's '13 Things Your Mother-in-Law Won't Tell You,' in an effort to compare and contrast.
1. I spent a couple of decades being the leading lady; now I have a character role. It hurts to be downsized. I don't think my MIL has ever felt 'downsized,' mostly because she raised some fiercely independent kids. MrMMO and his brothers are all responsible adults with the capabilities to do most anything for themselves. They also all recognize the importance of their mother, and show her the love she's due.
2. I know he's your husband now, but he's still my son. Yes, and in most cultures, those are pretty clearly defined roles. My MIL and I understand that. I don't interfere with the 'mom' parts and she doesn't interfere with the 'wife' parts. It works out well that way.
3. You don't seem very confident about yourself. The littlest comment from me is taken as a criticism, so I'm very careful what I say around you. Not so much, and maybe that's the problem for most people. My MIL is very direct to me, and I to her. She's also loving, supportive, and praising of my accomplishments. When I mess up, she tells me, but also helps fix the problem as best she can. It's called 'constructive criticism.'
4. Every year, I send you a birthday present, but you never even pick up the phone to thank me. This year, I said, "That's it. No more." Yet look at me: I'm about to send another present. I guess that's how I am. I don't think my MIL's ever gotten me a birthday present, but she does call to wish me a happy birthday. And I always say thank you. I made her cupcakes for her birthday, and she thanked me at least twice, and again in front of everyone at the dinner table. Maybe it's just impolite people that are the real problem.
5. We mothers say to our children, "I want you to be happy." And we mean that. What we don't say is, "But I would like to be happy too." Actually, she has said that. Again, honesty seems to be a big part of why our relationship works.
6. I've bought and sold 13 houses in my life. Why won't you ask for my advice? We have, and we will again. In fact, I ask for her advice pretty frequently and on all kinds of topics, because she's done all of this stuff before.
7. When I visit you, I'm not coming for a white-glove inspection. I'm just coming to see the family. Don't look at me, your son's the one who cleans the house. I kid, I kid -- he does do the vacuuming and dusting, but that's not the point. She doesn't expect my house to be spotless, and I don't expect hers to be either. There are more important things in life to focus on.
8. When I really want to talk to my son privately, I don't call your house. I call his cell phone. She calls me on my cell and talks to me privately too. And when she wants to talk to both of us she calls the house phone.
9. I'm so happy that you allow my son—your husband—to visit me on Mother's Day. It's a long trip and a big expense. I'm truly appreciative. It's fifteen minutes and 3 gallons of gas round-trip. And actually, she doesn't really make a big deal out of Mother's Day, she'd rather see everyone all at once on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and/or Easter. But even so, it's not really extravagantly hard to see her any time we want. And that's relatively often.
10. My dirty little secret: I'm afraid that if I don't get this right, you'll cut me off. She would have to do something really, really awful for me to even consider that as an option. I like my MIL, and I value her input.
11. I'm in competition with your mother. She takes you on vacations every year and buys things I can't afford. All I can do is love you and babysit for you. I hope that's enough and that it's appreciated. It's not a competition. You're different people, and have different ways of doing things. I talk to my MIL in ways I could never talk to my mother, and we have a completely different relationship. My MIL knows she's appreciated because I try and tell her so as often as I can.
12. Whenever I stay at your house, you always have my room ready, my towels, everything. You do all the right things. I'm lucky to have you! Ha! I don't even have my own room that put together. Seriously though, we live so close that staying the night really isn't necessary. However, she does tell me she appreciates me in other ways. As I mentioned earlier, she's an amazing cook. Desserts aren't really her thing though, and always came from a bakery until I (maker of tasty, tasty desserts) joined the family. In return, she has taught me how to make half a dozen dishes I'd never had before dating MrMMO, and they've become regulars in our house.
13. I cherish the refrigerator magnet you gave me: "Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill." I've never given my MIL a refrigerator magnet. She has one my younger brother-in-law (now in his 20s) made in kindergarten, but none from me. I think 'treachery' is the key word here, though. She isn't treacherous, and that's part of what makes our relationship break the stereotype.
It's my mother-in-law's birthday this week, and so I thought a tribute to her would be fitting. I love my mother-in-law. She's a bit unconventional, kind, caring, and one of the best cooks I've ever encountered in my life. She calls every couple of days to check in, ask about the day-to-day, compare what we're making for dinner, etc. She always makes sure the whole family gets together a couple of times a year, which we did yesterday. Like all people everywhere, we've had our disagreements, but they never last long and neither of us is the kind of person to hold grudges. Overall, she's about the best MIL one could ask for.
If you search on Shine, which is my primary source of lifestyle articles to read and respond to, you'll find a plethora of articles pertaining to dealing with mothers-in-law. Popping 'mother-in-law' into the search engine for the site returned 600,000 hits. Just on Shine. And quite frankly, most of those articles will drive me insane. Are so many mothers-in-law really this obnoxious? I'm going to use the first that came up: Reader's Digest's '13 Things Your Mother-in-Law Won't Tell You,' in an effort to compare and contrast.
1. I spent a couple of decades being the leading lady; now I have a character role. It hurts to be downsized. I don't think my MIL has ever felt 'downsized,' mostly because she raised some fiercely independent kids. MrMMO and his brothers are all responsible adults with the capabilities to do most anything for themselves. They also all recognize the importance of their mother, and show her the love she's due.
2. I know he's your husband now, but he's still my son. Yes, and in most cultures, those are pretty clearly defined roles. My MIL and I understand that. I don't interfere with the 'mom' parts and she doesn't interfere with the 'wife' parts. It works out well that way.
3. You don't seem very confident about yourself. The littlest comment from me is taken as a criticism, so I'm very careful what I say around you. Not so much, and maybe that's the problem for most people. My MIL is very direct to me, and I to her. She's also loving, supportive, and praising of my accomplishments. When I mess up, she tells me, but also helps fix the problem as best she can. It's called 'constructive criticism.'
4. Every year, I send you a birthday present, but you never even pick up the phone to thank me. This year, I said, "That's it. No more." Yet look at me: I'm about to send another present. I guess that's how I am. I don't think my MIL's ever gotten me a birthday present, but she does call to wish me a happy birthday. And I always say thank you. I made her cupcakes for her birthday, and she thanked me at least twice, and again in front of everyone at the dinner table. Maybe it's just impolite people that are the real problem.
5. We mothers say to our children, "I want you to be happy." And we mean that. What we don't say is, "But I would like to be happy too." Actually, she has said that. Again, honesty seems to be a big part of why our relationship works.
6. I've bought and sold 13 houses in my life. Why won't you ask for my advice? We have, and we will again. In fact, I ask for her advice pretty frequently and on all kinds of topics, because she's done all of this stuff before.
7. When I visit you, I'm not coming for a white-glove inspection. I'm just coming to see the family. Don't look at me, your son's the one who cleans the house. I kid, I kid -- he does do the vacuuming and dusting, but that's not the point. She doesn't expect my house to be spotless, and I don't expect hers to be either. There are more important things in life to focus on.
8. When I really want to talk to my son privately, I don't call your house. I call his cell phone. She calls me on my cell and talks to me privately too. And when she wants to talk to both of us she calls the house phone.
9. I'm so happy that you allow my son—your husband—to visit me on Mother's Day. It's a long trip and a big expense. I'm truly appreciative. It's fifteen minutes and 3 gallons of gas round-trip. And actually, she doesn't really make a big deal out of Mother's Day, she'd rather see everyone all at once on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and/or Easter. But even so, it's not really extravagantly hard to see her any time we want. And that's relatively often.
10. My dirty little secret: I'm afraid that if I don't get this right, you'll cut me off. She would have to do something really, really awful for me to even consider that as an option. I like my MIL, and I value her input.
11. I'm in competition with your mother. She takes you on vacations every year and buys things I can't afford. All I can do is love you and babysit for you. I hope that's enough and that it's appreciated. It's not a competition. You're different people, and have different ways of doing things. I talk to my MIL in ways I could never talk to my mother, and we have a completely different relationship. My MIL knows she's appreciated because I try and tell her so as often as I can.
12. Whenever I stay at your house, you always have my room ready, my towels, everything. You do all the right things. I'm lucky to have you! Ha! I don't even have my own room that put together. Seriously though, we live so close that staying the night really isn't necessary. However, she does tell me she appreciates me in other ways. As I mentioned earlier, she's an amazing cook. Desserts aren't really her thing though, and always came from a bakery until I (maker of tasty, tasty desserts) joined the family. In return, she has taught me how to make half a dozen dishes I'd never had before dating MrMMO, and they've become regulars in our house.
13. I cherish the refrigerator magnet you gave me: "Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill." I've never given my MIL a refrigerator magnet. She has one my younger brother-in-law (now in his 20s) made in kindergarten, but none from me. I think 'treachery' is the key word here, though. She isn't treacherous, and that's part of what makes our relationship break the stereotype.
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