The Candwich

It's time for another unbelievable story from the world of food. A new product now pushes the limits of what we thought was possible with regards to convenience food. I give you, the Candwich! Now lunch can be as easy for you as opening a soda. Pop open a can and you will find a ready-made sandwich on the inside- available in Strawberry PB&J, Grape PB&J, or (this one turns my stomach) BBQ Chicken. (To me, meat is not meant to sit on a shelf for months. I have a problem with that idea; meat-flavored spaghetti sauce has the same repulsive effect.)

From the look of their ad, the Candwich is going to be aggressively marketed to children, campers and construction workers. The product is not yet available, according to their web site, but may be "coming soon". Part of me can see the appeal to a backpacker because of the lightweight and durable nature of the can. But could one (or even two) of these dinky sandwiches on what looks like white bread (no fiber!) fill up a construction worker for a full day of manual labor? Even for a young child, do we want to teach the next generation that spreading two items on a slice of (hopefully whole grain) bread is "too much work"? If the Candwich ever does pop up in my grocery store, I will not be putting it in my cart.

McDonalds: 10 Billion Now Served... Silly Putty?

To my generation who grew up in the 80's, perhaps nothing represents the taste of childhood like McDonald’s. As a child, a trip to McDonald’s was a treat, an illusion doctored by their flagrant catering towards children (the Happy Meal, Ronald McDonald, the Fun House, etc).

Today, I’m extremely leery of fast food establishments, for reasons exactly like the following news story from Slashfood.com. A recent investigation revealed that American chicken nuggets contain “at least two industrial chemicals, the sort with names that are as hard to pronounce as Icelandic volcanoes. Tertiary butylhydroquinone (tBHQ) is a petroleum-based preservative, and dimethylpolysiloxane is an "anti-foaming agent," which also happens to be used in making...Silly Putty!” Toxic? Supposedly no. Disturbing? Yes.

Now I think of all those times I bit into the crunchy surface and slightly rubbery center, each time I dipped those nuggets in sweet and sour or BBQ sauce, I never dreamed that what I was consuming was a scientifically engineered substance as opposed to what a growing child should have been served - real food.

While I do appreciate the recent improvements made to the McDonald’s menu (apple slices and milk are now available options for the Happy Meal), I won’t feel comfortable eating there until they cut the fluff, eliminate scary secret ingredients, and serve real, honest food to their customers.

Read more: http://www.slashfood.com/2010/06/29/the-silly-secret-about-chicken-mcnuggets/

The KFC Monstrosity and Cavemen

What. The. Heck. Is. This.

KFC has announced that their new Double Down sandwich which debuted in April, will remain around as long as the demand for it is strong. Originally only intended as a 6-week promotion, this stunning invention features 2 pieces of fried chicken, processed ham and processed cheese. No bun. Just meat. The advertisements market the Double Down as a very "manly" thing to eat.

The sandwich contains 32 grams of saturated fat and KFC has sold 10 million already. This feels to me like a major loss in the battle against obesity in America. Furthermore, I can’t help but wonder why the idea of masculinity has to be equated with foolish dietary choices, particularly menu items that are heavy on meat and fat and light on anything nourishing. Carls Jr. generally has the corner on this market, with their ads encouraging a mentality of "I’m a manly man who hangs out with my cool guy buddies and together we stuff our arteries with the biggest, fattiest burgers in town".

I hope the future holds a different kind of advertising industry. I want to see masculine men making healthy dietary choices, taking responsibility for their bodies and health. Spokesman Jared of Subway fame comes closest to this ideal at this time, although he’s not exactly a sex symbol.

The reality of our diet comes down to this fact: a body that is healthy and fit is sexy. A diet of junk food should stop being attractive around the time of high school graduation, like many other stupid choices made by the young. Let's hope that we can evolve beyond the "carnivorous cave man" mentality by making smarter dietary choices so we can curb the tide of diet-related disease and deaths that plagues our country today.