Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Can You Trust Your Vegetables?

I am not sure if I can return to daily or regular blog posting, but I do remain your observant food policy, diet quality advocate.   

Two recent observations are of particular importance when it comes to dining out.  IF you are interested in avoiding extra calories from saturated fat or sugar than they may interest you.

1) Cracker Barrel soaks its carrots in sugar.  I was told this by a spouse of an employee.  The person shared that Cracker Barrell is set to post all calorie information on its menus in January (to conform with the national menu labeling law).  My informant told me that the chain was changing some of its items in order to get ready.  I laughed, saying, surely there wasn't anything on the menu that wasn't loaded in saturated fat.  Then she mentioned the vegetables and I said, oh BUTTER and she said NO, Sugar!  I was stunned.
2) Elsewhere: Steamed vegetables may come served in butter unless you specifically request otherwise.  Sometimes butter free isn't an option.  For example, I was at a restaurant/sports bar called Kickback Jacks and the menu offered steamed vegetables.  I ordered these, but just to be safe, I added that I did not want any butter on them.  The waitress came back to the table and said that the cook said that was not possible.  The vegetables were already in the kitchen sitting in butter.  He did offer to rinse them off but could not guarantee that they would be butter free.  On the positive side - the waitress admitted that.  I am not unhappy if a restaurant cannot oblige me, but I am angry when they try to fool me. (I have had vegetables served "dry" but somehow glistening and greasy). For this dinner, I simply chose a side salad instead.  It was a very nice salad served with a nice balsamic vinegar.  (Note: A tablespoon of butter has over 7 grams of saturated fat)
  

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