—-Desmond Tutu
Forgive me in advance for going on one of my rants, but sometimes I can’t control my astonishment over the general lack of concern and responsibility that most people have for their fellow man. I am a firm believer in taking responsibility for one’s actions and always taught my children that they will be accountable for their choices, but if we don’t also look out for each other, then our lives will surely be incomplete.
Arthur and I enjoy “window shopping” menus on line. We have found some of our favorite restaurants that way and definitely found those we want to avoid. Today we checked out a burger place in our general vicinity and were appalled at their feature burger. They use two grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches as the “bun” for their ten ounce cheeseburger that sports the customary LTO, fries, onion rings (both in the sandwich), mayo sauce and the added attraction of cheese sauce. Why?
Every day we read about researchers trying to find ways to protect our heart and clean out our arteries. In 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 635,260 deaths due to heart disease and 598,038 due to cancer in the United States. These numbers seem to rise each year, and diet is a large contributing factor for both. We have been told that saturated fats and cholesterol contribute to more disease than I care to imagine, yet the more deadly it is for you, the better it tastes.
For me, the temptation of a crispy fry is almost too much to resist. I have been known to order them with my eggs for breakfast, my favorite pizza and even for dessert. If they are there, they are calling my name. I do have control though, and limit myself to half the order most of the time. Let’s go back to that insane burger I previously described. It is comprised of everything I (and most of the world) love.
Grilled cheese, bacon, fried stuff, mayo and a gooey cheese sauce. I spent quite some time adding numbers to give you a rough idea of nutritional problems. A VERY conservative (assuming they use healthy oils, etc.) estimate tells me the sandwich including 5 rings and a small order of fries:
Calories- 1,777
Sodium-(percentage of daily value) 136%
Sat. Fat-(% of daily value) 134%
Cholesterol-( %of daily value) 129%
That is all part of one lunch or dinner. Why? Who is gaining here? Surely no gain (other than poundage) for the customer who lives in the “ it’s never going to happen to me” world. What is in it for the restaurant who could serve a healthier rendition for a comparable price? Shouldn’t they give just a small bit of thought into the health of their customers. Truly...wise up...if you kill them off you lose their business.
Do you know that there is a restaurant named the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas? Look it up. The servers are dressed like nurses and there is an ambulance sitting outside. Arghhhhh. Look it up! I can’t begin to explain the menu except to say that the triple bypass burger allows you to add 15 pieces of bacon. Oh, and they serve nothing green...and no diet drinks. Arghhhhh again!
I have to wonder what the owners of these restaurants think when they see young men shoveling mouthful after mouthful of high fat food into their mouths, knowing full well what the ultimate result might very well be. Does the sound of the cash register block everything else out? Are they thinking along the same lines as the cigarette manufacturers who gave soldiers free cigarettes in their rations packs until 1975, even though they knew about the health issues in the fifties. Those soldiers came home as addicted as the teenagers who are being enticed today.
We need to start caring about our fellow man more than we care about the all mighty dollar. We need to protect those who are too young to realize consequences and those who still haven’t realized that yes, it certainly can “happen to them.” As business owners we are responsible for the well-being of our customers. We should want to protect them. It is all of our responsibilities to do that little bit of good until we are most definitely overwhelming the world.
Speaking of good and bad in the world, Ray Green’s thriller, Lost Identity (A Gripping Psychological Thriller) will have you on the edge of your seat as you try to figure out who is sabotaging a medical breakthrough.
As always, a complete review of this book follows my blog.
Happy reading,
- Beverly