Pre-Boomer Musings

The new year brought with it the normal resolutions, many of which have already been broken.  One at the top of most peoples’ lists is to lose weight.  Of course, eating better along with exercise is the best way to reach this goal.  The eating part of the equation has gotten easier thanks to the menus now being offered by the very restaurant chains who may have added to Americans’ waistlines growing at an alarming rate.

 

Wasn’t it just last year when the fast food giants were being demonized by well-meaning folks who wanted to tell us what to eat and how much to eat and where to eat?  It seems America’s favorite fare was killing us and before it did, we would be so fat (yes, I said fat, because this is what it was called before the politically correct crowd labeled this word as insensitive) that we would happily die because everyone would abandon us due to our lack of control when it came to food intake.

 

As a pre-boomer, the generation born between 1930 and 1945, I never thought of restaurants as the place for dieters.  From delis, coffee shops and diners to family restaurants to fine dinning these were always places where you enjoyed eating.  We always consumed more when eating away from home.  And dessert was always part of the meal.  If someone was watching their weight they’d often forego a trip to a restaurant.  That’s the way it was.  But times have changed, and restaurants don’t want to lose out on a single customer.  In fact, promoting low-calorie, low-fat and low-carb meals allows them to give the customer less food for the same amount of money or more.

 

I can remember when dieting meant salads with really horrible tasting dressing and bland chicken or fish with steamed vegetables at home or at a restaurant.  The fast food chains have items for the diet-conscience, but with the ongoing price wars aimed at attracting the budget-conscience consumer, the emphasis is on the discounted regular menu.  The do-gooders continue to target fast food as bad food, particularly burger and fries. 

 

Some popular-priced establishments that have jumped on the healthier food band wagon, believing this will give them a competitive edge in this all-too-crowded segment of the marketplace.  With federal nutritional labeling laws posed to become a reality, this move could provide them with a huge advantage.  But what about the food?   Applebee’s, a sit-down restaurant chain of more than 1,900 units, has added 5 items, all 550 calories or less, to the regular menu line up.  While these are said to be regular portion sized dishes, the gooey and decadent desserts are strictly off limits.

 

Starbuck’s, the over-priced coffee leader, is offering reduced calorie versions of their specialty drinks.  The coffee house is also featuring low-cal sandwiches and snacks. 

 

It’s too soon to tell if the healthier menus will catch on.  If the patrons do as they did in the past, most will be back to the regular fare, soon.  And the “eat healthier, lousy-tasting food police” will redouble their efforts to make us consume what they believe will make us live longer.  If they succeed, we probably won’t live longer; it’ll just seem that way.   

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