Hearty Hardee's

Have you seen the new breakfast sandwich advertised by Hardee's? It is called the "Country Breakfast Burrito" and is a two loaded omelets filled with bacon, sausage, diced ham, cheddar cheese, hash browns and sausage gravy, all wrapped inside a flour tortilla. The burrito contains 920 calories and 60 grams of fat. To put this into perspective, the average women needs about 1800 calories and should eat less than 60 grams of fat for the day while the average man should be below 2200 and 73 grams of fat per day.

Many restaurants serve breakfast meals even higher than this burrito, but I guess I am just shocked at the marketing that Hardee's is doing. They are advertising that this is "an entire country breakfast that fits in the palm of your hand." They are actually encouraging people to eat it in their cars. Seriously? Not only is Hardee's doing you the favor of serving up 60 grams of fat in one breakfast sandwich, but now they are also encouraging you to eat it in the car while driving? I guess if the fat won't get you, maybe a car accident will?

If the burrito isn't enough for you, you can also return to Hardee's for lunch for their famous "Monster Thickburger." This sandwich has a price tag of 1420 calories with 108 grams of fat and 43 grams of saturated fat. That is more saturated fat than you should have in 3 days.

I am not trying to blame Hardee's or any fast food restaurant for the obesity epidemic and heart disease in America. It comes down to personal choice of what you put into your mouth. I commend McDonald's and other fast food restaurants who are actually spending a great deal of money offering healthier options.

If we want to see change in the fast food environment, we need to put our money where our mouths are: Literally. Hardee's and Burger King (Enormous Omelet Sandwich) would not be developing these obscenely high calorie items if people were not buying them. Restaurants have been saying for years that they will offer healthier options and many do. However, these healthier options disappear off of menus quickly because we are not buying them. We say we want them and then our dollars mysteriously go somewhere else.

If you want to see change in our restaurants, do not support high calorie items with your dollars. Purchase the lower calorie, healthier foods. Write to restaurants and tell them what you want to see them offer and then back it up with your food dollars.

To look up nutrition info on Hardee's menu items, click here.

Labels: fast food, Tara Gidus

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