"Cheating"

Sam cheated yesterday.

Margarita Chicken at Chili's

Sam ate out at Chili's with a group of students before they went to do some service work at a nursing home. Sam decided to get something off the "Guiltless" menu in hopes that he wouldn't be eating something too terrible for himself. (Sam thought I'd be mad at him, so he's been calling it the "Guilty" menu! Haha!) Obviously, none of the options are organic, so Sam just did the best he could with what they offered. First of all, Sam noted that there were very few items on Chili's "Guiltless" menu. Let's take a look at Margarita Chicken's nutritional facts...

Nutrition Facts
Calories 600
% Daily Value
Total Fat	13g	20%
Sat. Fat	3g	15%
Sodium	1310mg	55%
Total Carbs.	72g	24%
Dietary Fiber	10g	40%
Protein	49g

www.calorieking.com

Ok, for eating out, this is not the worst thing you could do to yourself. You could eat this (with water and no appetizers) and stay in your limit of calories and sodium for the day if you are careful. Isn't the amount of protein insane, though? After eating this, Sam said this was the most he had eaten in a meal in weeks. He felt SO full that he didn't even want to eat dinner.

One of Sam's favorites before we watched Food Inc. - after watching Food Inc. and then watching a group of guys eat this, Sam asked me, "What kind of meat is that in there anyways???" I could not provide an answer.

Now let's look at the Skillet Queso dip. The nutrition facts for this item is insane. (Remember how Outback got such a bad rap for their Bloomin' Onion and they took it off the menu? How can Skillet Queso still be on the menu at Chili's???) Let's look at the nutritional facts...

Queso Dip and Chips (one bowl of chips):

Nutrition Facts
Calories 1500
% Daily Value
Total Fat	88g	135%
Sat. Fat	36g	180%
Sodium	3340mg	139%
Total Carbs.	147g	49%
Dietary Fiber	15g	60%
Protein	40g

www.calorieking.com

Are you reading this??? Seriously? This one appetizer contains 135% of your daily need for fat, 180% of your daily need for saturated fat, and %139 of your daily need for sodium. Now, of course, this is an appetizer and is meant to be shared, but I know I'm not the only American who has split this with one other person BEFORE I ate my meal and had my (several) glasses of Coke. Does it really make me feel better to think that splitting this ONLY means I had about 70% of my daily need for fat, %90 of my daily need for saturated fat, and about 70% of my daily need for sodium??? Nope. I don't feel better at all.


Sam may have cheated and thought I would be mad at him. But I'm not. I'm actually mad at Chili's. I'm mad that I've been eating their garbage for so long without knowing what I am doing to my body. I guess the person I should really be mad at is myself. I'm just glad I'm finally getting educated and making some changes.

Thankfully, my dear friend Elisha sent me a very important internet resource. If you go to the Eat Well Guide, you can put in your zip code and find healthy restaurants, stores, farmer's markets, CSAs, and just good ole local, sustainable food resources in your areas. Check it out before you go out to eat next time!

Adios, Chili's. Hello, local sustainable food!