Breakfast: Dunkin' Doughnuts
I was between two options, the 2 doughnut combo or the bagel and cream cheese combo. Since I knew I wouldn't eat two doughnuts I went with the bagel. While looking over the bagel selections a little green running man caught my eye by the bagels caught my eye. If I have learned anything from food marketing it is that little green symbols represent a "healthy" choices. I opted for a multigrain bagel and veggie cream cheese (which unbeknownst to me was low fat). The nifty thing about DD is that they give you the cream cheese prepackaged, so you have control over how much you use. Thinking I had done pretty good, I went to check out the nutritional information. The bagel has 330 calories without the cream cheese. Calorie wise, I would have better off going with the Boston Kreme doughnut that had 270 calories and no extra condiments needed to make it tasty. Then again that doughnut had 10 grams more of fat and 10 less grams of protein than the bagel. In any case, I was hungry two hours later and in need of a snack. Luckily, I had a pack of graham crackers and peanut butter to help me through the last hour of class before lunch.
Lunch: Chick-Fil-A
Ah, a chain I never eat at because the one day of a week it sounds good to me (Sunday) it is closed. This also happens to be a chain that I always pronounce "Chick-Fil-ahh" rather than "Chick-Fil-A" (nice play on words there guys). To get the authentic Chick-Fil-A experience, I went with the original chicken filet sandwich with waffle fries. Admittedly, I was more impressed with the fries than the sandwich. Then again, I am a sucker for a good fried potato product. (Sonic sweet potato tots, I have my eye on you.) In addition, the sandwich was way smaller than I expected for the price I paid. If I was going to eat a fried chicken sandwhich from a fast-food place I would have rather had a McChicken. This time knowing I did pretty bad, I went to the nutrition calculator and let me say... "yikes!" That little sandwich alone had 430 calories! The whole meal had 830 calories with a whopping 38 grams of fat, 85 grams of carbohydrates, and 35 grams of protein. Sadly, this meal didn't hold me over that well. Almost 1,000 calories (which is was closer to 900 total with condiments) and I still felt a rumble in my stomach a couple hours later.
This time I was saved by a group presenting in my class about food security and a portion of the group was from Saudi Arabia. Since many Oklahomans (and Americans in general) are unfamiliar with common foods in Saudi Arabia, they brought in some (delicious) typical dishes. My particular favorite was the Kabsah rice. I'm fairly certain you can't go wrong with a rice and meat dish (please note my slight carb addiction).
Snack: Yes after all that, I was still hungry. What the truck? I had an Oatmeal Raisin cookie to temporarily satiate me. These raisins were my first, and only, fruit of the day.
Dinner: At home
Really not that interesting, just nachos made with refried beans and pre-made salsa con queso paired with Skinny girl brand "margaritas" (which tastes closer to paint remover than a margarita.) Ole, right?
Round-up: I ate out twice today and after only two meals I was already almost to my estimated energy requirement. It's easy to see from this why so many Americans are duped by signage in stores. Even I, someone with an extensive nutrition background, was taken by the green running man. Needless to say, I am way over my alloted calories for the day. Similar to how most Americans are when they put their nutrition in the hands of others.
Let this "experiment" be a lesson to you all. When you put your nutrition at the hands of others, you're no longer in control of what is going in your body. If you are going to eat at restaurants, be proactive; look at the menu and nutrition facts to aid you in making decisions before you go out. You might be saving your belt a few notches later.
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