Ignorance was bliss

I'm going out to lunch today to celebrate my co-worker friend's birthday, and she picked Claim Jumper.

I have a love/fear relationship with Claim Jumper. I mean, the food is great, and it's an occasional treat so no worries in the grand scheme of things... thing is they have super huge portions! Even the 'small' is freakin' HUGE!

And Claim Jumper was one of the last hold outs for releasing their nutritional information... until now.

We, as humans, have an infinite capacity to delude ourselves. When presented with a HUGE plate of food, the mind games start - if it's on the plate, it must be 1 serving... It can't be /that/ bad nutritionally, I mean, they use fresh ingredients and there's lettuce in there some where... Then there's the don't ask/don't tell/you really don't want to know anyway factor.

Well, I had to look.

It's like a train wreck - you can't look away!

Ok, so they have the uncanny ability to make a salad have over 2,000 calories (which, ironically, is more calories than the 'widow maker' burger that I have a special place in my heart for when I'm feinding for protein.) and can cram more sodium into an appetizer than a salt lick. Is it really any surprise? I mean, most of the plates are bigger than my head, so of course it's going to rack up the numbers.

The thing I find amusing is that they include the calories, sodium, carb/protein/fiber counts and amount of _saturated_ fat... but they leave out the ACTUAL amount of fat. But I'm sneaky and can figure it out... silly people, hiding behind technicalities.

Thing is, I really don't care. I mean, if I'm out for a celebration, yes I may have a bit of a catch in my throat when I order something that is equiv. of my recommended daily calorie/nutrient ratio for one. single. meal. But if it's a special time, then I'm going to enjoy the heck out of it! (By the way, don't even think about looking up the Chocolate Motherloade Cake... seriously. Don't do it! Aw, you did, didn't you? Sorry... but it's meant to be shared! Besides it's cake! Not carrots! Get over it.)

Today, however, is about enjoying time with my friend, not about the food. I'll be making a more moderate choice now, so I can indulge at a different time.