Fattiest French Fries

The folks at Eat This Not That really do mean well. I love the books. The books are good common sense guides for folks who are weight and nutrition-conscious, but sometimes, just sometimes, they veer into health Nazi territory. Here's just a little bit of what they have to say about the favorite fried food, French Fries:

"By now, almost everybody knows that trans fats are the food additive that should rarely pass your lips. They add useless calories, build bad cholesterol (known as LDL), and lower your good cholesterol (known as HDL). The American Heart Association says you should only consume 2 grams or less of trans fats in our daily diets. (And we say less. Zero is a good number.)

So why on earth is trans fat still in food if it’s so terrible? Because even though trans fats may shorten your life, they actually add to the shelf life of baked goods, and keep the deep-fat fryers stoked batch after batch. Choosing between your personal health and their own financial health, some chain restaurants and food manufacturers go the wrong way.

Our mission: to raise the warning flag. Here’s a list of the worst trans fat transgressors. Put them on your do-not-eat list, and we’ll all feel a lot better.

TRANS FATTIEST FRENCH FRIES
Jack in the Box's large Natural Cut Fries
10 g trans fat
300 calories
33 g fat

Although most fast food restaurants have transitioned to trans-fat-free fryers, Jack in the Box hasn’t. Their large servings of natural cut fries and curly fries both pack more than 5 days' worth of dangerous fats. In fact, most of the items on their menu are riddled with more than a day’s serving of trans fats.

Eat this instead:
Jack in the Box Egg Roll (1)
130 calories
6 g fat (1 g trans fat)

The fruit cup and one egg roll are the only sides that do not have 2 or more grams of trans fats. If the fruit cup isn’t for you, limit yourself to one egg roll."

Okay, like I said, somewhat good stuff, but really now, who's going to trade fries -even crappy natural cut fries like Jack in the Box has- for an egg roll or a fruit cup? Especially the egg roll... have you ever had a Jack in the Box egg roll? I think I'll take my chances with the world's fattiest fries.