Better Today & "In The News"

So after unwrapping my hand last night, it didn't look too bad.  Not nearly as black and blue as I thought it would be.  The pinkie is worlds better so this is me today.

Typing still not easy but definitely easier than yesterday.  I may take the girls for a walk today just to get out, get some fresh air and some exercise in.  The girls have been out nearly everyday enjoying the weather before it gets real hot but I've been using that time to keep up the house.  Think it'll do me good to get out and play today. 

So for another edition of "In the News with Panda".  Today's topic is Burger King.  USA Today ran a story about BK revamping their menu and look in an effort to appeal more to moms than hungry teens.  Article is here.  A couple of highlights...my thoughts are in blue.

... the move comes at time that McDonald's has lapped the field — and with rival Wendy's replacing BK in 2011 as the No. 2 burger chain in domestic sales, says Technomic, the research specialist.  Personally,  I've never been a big fan of BK...the whopper is good but their fries suck, the onion rings are weird and it smells funny inside (and yes, EVERY BK I've been to smells funny inside).


•The menu. Perhaps nothing is more important than for Burger King to quickly bring its menu up to speed with the rest of the fast-food industry. Burger King executives admit that they fell behind by not broadening the menu with healthier and more snackable alternatives.  I'm guessing BK thought the healthier option thing was a fad that would go by way of the frozen yogurt craze of the 80's.  


Similarly, all kinds of creations were tested for its $4.99 Garden Fresh Salads line. But BK settled on Caesar (with shaved Parmesan cheese and home-style croutons), BLT (with three cheeses and thick-cut bacon) and that chicken, apples and cranberry salad.   So here's the healthy options...Let's break it down.  Caesar is usually one of the more caloric and fattening options.  The BLT...3 cheeses and bacon - don't even want to do the fat count on that one.  The chicken - would probably be OK if it weren't for the sugar in the cranberries and their apple vinaigrette dressing.  


Then, there's those new drinks. Never mind that McDonald's has been selling smoothies and frappés for years. New, $2.29 BK Fruit Smoothies, tropical mango and strawberry banana, roll out Monday. So do $2.29 mocha and caramel frappés.  Because that's just what Americans need...more drinks that equal a total meal's worth of calories.  Ugh.


•The marketing. Burger King's marketing is about to re-embrace something it turned its back on years ago: celebrities. Because Americans are sheep and we'll do whatever celebrities tell us to do.  If David Beckham (who runs all day long for a living) orders BK smoothies, then they must be good for you.
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It still comes down to knowing that fast food isn't good for you.  I know this seems like a no brainer to those of us out here but there are people who are going to see the new "healthy" options and think they're being smart.  So for giggles but also to be fair and not blindly bash BK, I looked up the nutritional info on these on BK's website...
First thing that struck me is that all of these salads can come with grilled OR FRIED chicken but let's say you're trying your best and you know grilled is always the better option...

Salads                    Cals       Fat            Sodium                 Carb               Protein
Chick Caesar         490          28             1628                     22                   41
Chick BLT             510          33             1610                     13                   42
Chick App Cran    520           26               950                     35                   35     


But remember, you haven't added the dressing yet!  How many people eat salad dry?  Also, I didn't realize croutons had protein?  Hmmmm....
Dressing                Cals          Fat        Sodium                 Carb           Protein
Caesaar                   180           18          460                       4                  2
Lite Honey Bals       120            7           220                       14                0
App Cider Vin         210           18          115                       10                2


And now that smoothie to go with your salad...these were surprisingly not so terrible.  Just remember to order a small one or you'll consume equal calories of smoothie and salad.  One thing I don't get on these is how for the strawberry, you can have 5 calories from fat but 0 g of fat???  


Smoothies                    Cals         Fat            Sodium          Carb               Protein
Strawberry                     200          0               20                   48                          1
Mango                           210          0.5            40                   51                          2


Keep in mind that this is for a 12 oz serving.  Compare it to a 16 oz serving of Coke (which I got from Coke's website as BK's had zeros listed or most of the stats...does that say something about BK's nut info?)
                                 Cals       Fat           Sodium         Carb               Protein
Coke                        200         0              30                   39                     0


Is it better than a whopper fries and a coke?  Yes...but barely.  You save between 300-400 calories so if you must eat at BK, it's a better way to go but I'm not sure I'd be bragging about it.