I've always thought they were gross...

I dunno... I'm weird. I love broccoli, peas, and salads.

I never liked those huge greasy fatty plates of food. They always gave me stomach aches.

I never liked nachos that much either. When I make my own it consists of: tortilla chips and queso con salsa... and that's it. Because everything else ruins the taste for me.

I dunno... when I watch those shows... on a diet or not... I'm just floored.

Maybe it's because I grew up in Europe... and in europe... a large soda from a fast food chain is the size of the smalls here in the US. Yes... the meat portions and bread portions are larger... but I don't like meat that much. So I'll eat about half... if that.

Now... the candy stuff... my weakness. Urgh.

ETA: Have any of you guys seen on the food channel something about the heart attack restaurant? Like... their point is that yes... their food can cause a heart attack. The food is like... UBER fried... and extremely unhealthy. And people stuff their face. However... I think that the main reason people eat there is for the women. They have a bunch of skinny, big-boobed ladies that look after you, take your blood pressure, etc. All dressed up in skimpy nurse outfits. Probably the only time those fat ugly old men will ever meet a girl like that.

Ha what about the Heart Attack Grill, as that place is not only a heart attack waiting to happen they celebrate it! They even have waitresses dress up as nurses to give you your "medicine" which consists of giant burgers dripping with fat and grease and more fries than anyone could eat! I believe one of their burgers is called Double Bypass or something. That pretty much sums up Man Versus Food or all those other food shows and what they feature.

Or when Anthony Bourdain when to the meat bar in some country, I forget where, and he hate two huge helpings of MEATS lol. EW! So gross, but I couldn't stop watching the show...

Hey those shows are better than the Semi Homemade Kwanzaa Cake...I mean that is not only incredibly disgusting, but it is basically just gritty icing with pie filling in the middle. Or her chocolate icing "truffles", which are just piles of icing. I mean to me that is more of a problem because there are people right now eating piles of icing because of that woman and they are saying they are "truffles." Just an excuse to eat processed foods.

This thread is not about critiquing the plates or habits of individual diners, it's about critiquing our North American food culture, which is undeniably killing us. Restaurant food is part of that food culture, as is the apparent expectation of the public that food should come in ever-larger portions, and our shared obsession with processed-to-death frankenfoods.

It's all well and good to endorse people eating this junk, in giant portions, every once in a while...but that's not the honest truth about how the average American or Canadian lives.

LOL....My dream date would be to go to Heart Attack Grill with my wife ...No way she is eating all of any plate...leaving more for me....

ahh...to die for....

We both really enjoy Diners and Dives...we even joked about doing a road trip visiting some of them along the way...probably never happen...

Angie even started watching a Diners and Dives show on the flight home from NY on Sunday ...one diner close to where she grew up...may visit that one someday

Actually Guy Fieri is on my new Guideposts cover...haven't read it yet...

Reminds me once I made a lasagna recipe of his...with pepperoni...yum-o as RR says...my nephew and I shared it...then I made it when we worked out of town for my brother and bil....they love it....the dish gets brought up at family gatherings sometimes...it's awesome...have had it 3 times in 3 years...

to die for.....

moderation folks....

Here's my old favorite, really very normal meal:

Long John's Silver fish and chips basket:

1 fish @ 260 calories X2 = 520
fries @ 310
1 hushpuppy @ 60 calories X2 = 120
Large Mountain Dew, 40 ounces @ 550

TOTAL: 1500 calories

I would like to clarify that I, for one, am not of the persuasion that "McDonald's made me fat" (wasn't there some kind of a law suited where somebody sued McD's for making him[or her?] fat)?
I understand that the diners (geez, since so many of you mentioned "Diners and dives" I have to start watching it but I know darn well that watching food network makes me want to eat, and often the less than healthy choices) are a BUSINESS and they are in the business to make money. And they will prosper as long as they have customers.
I am the one who is responsible for my own weight, for my BF%, and for the number on the scale. Not the diners, not McD's, not the Dairy Queen (by the way, I think I have been to DQ only once during my entire life in Canada (19 years - fortunately, I find their stuff disgusting) and not any other restaurant. I have a choice. I do not have to eat there, I can cook at home my own healthy meals. And if I do go every once in a while, it won't kill me if I overindulge (even though I try to stick to some of their less dangerous options).

But becoming a 3FC chick (says Tomato proudly ) taught me so much. Not that I would have ever needed to look it up somewherewhether a 12 egg omelet is healthy. But before I embarked on this journey, I preferred not to know what is in food and how healthy (or, most cases, NOT healthy) it is. Now I want to know and I choose accordingly. And invariably, my choices changed by 180 degrees.

Husband and I regularly talk about the difference in restaurant meals today compared to back in the 70s for example. The most obvious difference is the size of the plates. Everything now is on a platter, back in "our day" it was an 8 inch dish. Today they are always pushing appetizers on you first. I don't know about you all, but I never need something to give me an appetite, cause I always have one! The desserts are three times as big, the muffins are four times the size they used to be. In some chain type restaurants, 85% of the entrees have bacon on/in them. It really isn't any wonder so many people are huge now. We never had the Food Network back then, watch some of those shows, i.e. Paula Deen, who can't cook anything without a stick of butter and three cups of sugar. Shudder.

As for me, I had a desk job, sat virtually for 13 hours, and quit going to the gym due to lack of time. Now that I'm retired I'm trying to undo all those years and I must say I feel a thousand percent better.

The very wise FRIEDGREEN speaks again....

all about choices kids....

make good ones

This doesn't have to do with weight . . .

I have watched Man v Food and I love watching him try to eat super spicy foods. I do have to say that it actually makes me sad to see people order gigantic servings and stuff themselves sick or leave tons of food on the plate because I'm thinking "how many people are going to bed hungry tonight?"

The guilt over "wasting" food has always bothered me--if I buy a meal and eat half of it, then I've contributed to the economy in EXACTLY the same way as someone who bought the meal and ate the whole thing. I'm not making people go hungry any more or less by eating or not eating food that I've purchased. I really believe the "clean your plate--there are starving kids in Africa" attitude has contributed to obesity in this country.

I used to eat all of the food on my plate at restaurants AND anything the kids or Angie left...didn't have a weight problem back then....

once the weight came on and I started this journey of better choices I realized I could...

bring left-overs home....even if they weren't all that healthy at least I wasn't downing it all in one sitting

and I realized that Angie and I could split meals very easily...she doesn't eat that much so very easy for us to split 1 salad and 1 pizza/entree...we do that many times

People definitely have the right to eat what they want as as much as they want. They also have the right to drink to excess or smoke cigarettes.

I do think it is negligent for a restaurant to promote unhealthy overeating with their portions, themes, or contests. Do I believe they should be sued for it? Heck, no. We are responsible for what we put in our bodies. But promoting food and portions that contributes heavily to weight gain and poor health is contrary to human decency. I can understand the novelty of creating the "largest" food item, but instead of having contests to see if someone can stuff themselves sick why don't they market it as a family sized item that can feed four people?

I also would like to see calorie count placed on all menus. Again, people should be able to eat what they want, but the information should readily there to help them make better choices. I also would hope that restaurants would start being more conscious about offering healthier choices to people or making modifications to the calories in their food. I personally was living in denial about the amount of calories I would consume at restaurants. I would like to think armed with this information I would have made better choices. It is staggering the amount of additional calories that end up in restaurant items that even could/should be healthy. (Are they injecting everything with butter?)

I think this really hits the nail on the head.

The reason portions are so big nowadays? Customers demand it.

The reason restaurants have 'all you can eat' specials? Customers demand it.


But it's not all one way, either.

The reason you can almost always find a grilled chicken or fish option? Customers demand it.

The reason you can find a side veg that's not peas or coleslaw in most restaurants? Customers demand it.

The reason even fast food like McDonald's offers salad and grilled options? Customers demand it.

I think there is MORE option out there in restaurant-land, even among fast food dives, than there was 20 years ago. Some of it is huge, super-sized, fat-laden/carb-heavy JUNK. But much of it is healthier choices, because what we eat has become big business.

I don't think I'll ever fully get used to portion sizes here in the US. I bought a diet soda on my way home from my horseback riding lesson last night. I bought a large... thinking it'd be around half a liter... because that's what the large drinks are in Serbia... nope... more like... add a liter to that amount. Around a liter and a half of soda. Good grief! I mean... no wonder people are becoming so obese... when portions are just HUGE. Even the SMALL drinks at Whataburger, McDonalds, Wendy's, Burger King, etc are at least half a liter. That's huge.

*sigh*

I miss Europe.

Hi! I didn't actually mean that everyone "clean your plate" rather the sense of "take what you need and leave the rest." It is a personal choice. My parents didn't make us stay at the table to finish our plates but insisted we take one serving at a time instead of piling it up so all family members got a "go" at each dish. Second servings were okay after finishing the first.

It's the concept of sharing that my folks wanted to instill and that I wanted to share with my boys. Whether or not you finish all or half of what you ordered for lunch isn't my concern. AND I'm not saying that these shows are causing anything. However, watching the shows just reminds me that some have so much - more than they could ever want or need - and others have so little. Not a linear "this guy ate only half of his ten pound cheeseburger so this kid is hungry."

Anyway, I'm not trying to be "right" just explain what I meant! Just my opinion.