Eat this, not that

Today was one of those crazy-busy days, both for me and my wife, so when dinnertime rolled around, both of us looked at each other and said, ’so what are you fixing tonight?’ After a few seconds of blank stares, we finally decided that the most expedient thing to do was go out, or find something close by and bring it back. We looked at the coupons we had in the house, and decided on a family meal at KFC. (Knowing that there was probably nothing on the menu for me on my low-carb diet, I opted for some leftover chili-crusted steak from the weekend.)

I hadn’t been in a KFC for quite a long time, and while I was pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness of the dining area and the friendliness of the staff, I was appalled at what was being emphasized on the menu boards! Yes, they still have fried chicken (original or extra-crispy), and if you eat it without the breading or skin, it’s fairly healthy - not great, but okay.  However, what was really being emphasized were the sandwiches, wraps, and bowls - they even had a exploded picture of the ‘Chicken and Biscuit’ bowl, which looked like a heart attack just waiting to happen.

Curious to see whether KFC would willingly provide the nutritional information, I went out to their website and took a look, and yes, they had it there. The narrative describes this particular item as a bowl filled with mashed potatoes, then layered with corn and loaded with bite-sized pieces of crispy chicken. On top of that, they ladle on their homestyle white pepper gravy, a three-cheese blend, and tuck in a buttermilk biscuit on the side for good measure.

The total damage?  870 calories, which is the highest listed on their menu! Of that, 400 come from fat, a total of 44 grams. In addition, this baby provides you with 101% of your total daily requirement of SODIUM - a whopping 2,420 milligrams!

So are there healthier alternatives at KFC, and at other restaurants? Yes there are, but sometimes you have to search for them. For instance, according to an article on Men’s Health, an Original Recipe chicken breast with skin and breading removed, and a small side of mashed potatoes will set you back 250 calories, 7 grams of fat, and 670 milligrams of sodium - a little high on the sodium side, but doable. (Men’s Health has a lot of great ‘Eat This, Not That’ articles - just search for that phrase in the search box on their website.)

As we spend more time outside during the summer, or going out on vacation, the opportunities to eat out are increased, which naturally means that the opportunities to eat poorly are also increased. If you can, do your homework beforehand - see what restaurants are available in the area, then scope out their menus and nutritional information - most now post that information on their website. Plan on what you’ll eat before you get there, and you’ll be less tempted to choose something really bad for you when the waiter waitress waitperson says ‘May I take your order, sir?’