America’s Best-and Worst!-Restaurants
Posted onOctober 15, 2008
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Eating out invariably raises a number of tricky questions: sit-down or drive-thru? Burgers or pizza? Thin or stuffed crust? And if you’re dining with your family, add the biggest question of all: Will the food we eat today bring a fatter tomorrow for our kids? And fewer tomorrows for the rest of us?
So the choice between McDonald’s and Burger King shouldn’t be based solely on whether you’re more terrified by the scary clown Ronald McDonald or that creepy masked Burger King. Choosing one over the other could be the difference of hundreds of calories in a meal, more than 10 unnecessary pounds over the course of a year, and countless health woes over the course of a lifetime.
During more than a year of research, my coauthor and I discovered vast dietary discrepancies between many of the places Americans love to eat most. So to help you separate the commendable from the deplorable, we put 43 major chain restaurants under the nutritional microscope — both for your benefit, and that of your family.
How did we judge the restaurants? We started by calculating the average number of calories per kid entrée, then rewarded restaurants for having healthy adult options that would appeal to the young palette, and for providing healthy vegetable sides and non-soda drink options. Finally, we docked points for those restaurants still harboring nasty trans fats.
The result is a Restaurant Report Card that holds each eating establishment fully accountable for the fare they’re serving up to all of us — moms, dads, kids, teens, and twentysomethings — along with a survival strategy for making it through any meal unscathed.
Did your favorite restaurant make the grade?
A
Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A excels in every category we tested for. With a slew of low-calorie sandwiches, the country’s “healthiest” chicken nugget, a variety of solid sides like fresh fruit and soup that can be substituted into any meal, and nutritional brochures readily available for perusing at each location, Chick-fil-A earns the award for America’s Healthiest Chain Restaurant (for kids, for the adults who drive them there, plus anybody else wise enough to make it their fast food choice).
Your Survival Strategy: Even the smartest kid in the class can still fail a test, so be on your toes at all times, even at Chik-fil-A. Skip salads with ranch or Caesar dressings, any sandwich with bacon, and avoid milkshakes at all costs.
A-
Subway
A menu based on lean protein and vegetables is always going to score well in our book. With more than half a dozen sandwiches under 300 calories, plus a slew of soups and healthy sides to boot, Subway can satisfy even the pickiest eater without breaking the caloric bank.
But, despite what Jared may want you to believe, Subway is not nutritionally infallible: Those rosy calorie counts posted on the menu boards include neither cheese nor mayo (add 160 calories per 6-inch sub) and some of the toasted subs, like the Meatball Marinara, contain hefty doses of calories, saturated fat, and sodium.
Your Survival Strategy: Cornell researchers have discovered a “health halo” at Subway, which refers to the tendency to reward yourself or your kid with chips, cookies, and large soft drinks because the entrée is healthy. Avoid the halo, and all will be well.
B+
Boston Market
With more than a dozen healthy vegetable sides and lean meats like turkey and roast sirloin on the menu, the low-cal, high-nutrient possibilities at Boston Market are endless. But with nearly a dozen calorie-packed sides and fatty meats like dark meat chicken and meat loaf, it’s almost as easy to construct a lousy meal.
Your Survival Strategy: There are three simple steps to nutritional salvation: 1) Start with turkey, sirloin, or rotisserie chicken. 2) Add two noncreamy, nonstarchy vegetable sides. 3) Ignore all special items, such as pot pie and nearly all of the sandwiches.
B
McDonald’s
Though not blessed with an abundance of healthy options, Mickey D’s isn’t burdened with any major calorie bombs, either. Kid standards like McNuggets and cheeseburgers are both in the acceptable 300-calorie range.
Your Survival Strategy: Apple Dippers and 2% milk with a small entrée makes for a pretty decent meal-on-the-go. McDonald’s quintessential Happy Meal® makes this possible — just beware the usual French fries and soda pitfalls. Adults should go for a Quarter Pounder without cheese.
C+
Domino’s
Domino’s suffers the same pitfalls of any other pizza purveyor: too much cheese, bread, and greasy toppings. If you don’t order carefully, you might bag your child a pizza with more than 350 calories per slice. To its credit, Domino’s does keep the trans fat off the pizza, and it also offers the lowest-calorie thin crust option out there.
Your Survival Strategy: Stick with the Crunchy Thin Crust pizzas sans sausage and pepperoni. If your must order meat, make sure it’s ham. And whenever possible, try to sneak on a vegetable or two per pie.
C
Burger King
BK has only four legitimate kids’ entrées on the menu, and none of them — French Toast Sticks, hamburger, mac and cheese, chicken tenders — are particularly healthy. And while the recent addition of Apple Fries provides a much-needed healthy side alternative for kids, the menu is still sullied with trans fats.
BK pledged to follow in the wake of nearly every other chain restaurant and remove trans fats from the menu by the end of 2008, but so far, we’ve seen little action.
Your Survival Strategy: Adults can sign on for the Whopper Junior and a Garden Salad, and escape with only 365 calories. The best kids’ meal? A 4-piece Chicken Tenders®, applesauce or Apple Fries, and water or milk. Beyond that, there is little hope of escaping unscathed.
D
Chipotle
We applaud Chipotle’s commitment to high-quality produce and fresh meats, but even the most pristine ingredients can’t dampen the damage wrought by the massive portion sizes served up here. The lack of options for kids means young eaters are forced to tussle with one of Chipotle’s massive burritos or taco platters, which can easily top 1,000 calories.
Your Survival Strategy: Stick to the crispy tacos or burrito bowls, or saw a burrito in half.
F
Applebee’s, IHOP, Olive Garden, Outback, Red Lobster, T.G.I. Friday’s
These titans of the restaurant industry are among the last national chains to not provide nutritional information on their dishes. Even after years of communication with their representatives, we still here the same old excuses: it’s too pricey, it’s too time-consuming, it’s impossible to do accurately because their food is so fresh. Our response is simple: If every other chain restaurant in the country can do it, then why can’t they?
Your Survival Strategy: Write letters, make phone calls, beg, scream, and plead for these restaurants to provide nutritional information on all of their products. Here are the phone numbers for each of the restaurants that refuse to tell us the truth!
Retrieved from:
Consumer Surplus
Posted onJune 9, 2007
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What will you say if someone ask you: If you have money (and I do believe you have!), and you can afford to buy anythin the world offer to ya, what kind of factors will ya consider when ya decide to buy the good/service?
I got numerous answer from it when i askd my students and colleagues. But a similarity is in taste, or should i say, preference. Surprisingly, they basically dont care about the brand and they think about whether the good/service will satisfy them when decidin the buyin process. Oh well, brand association actually IS related to this issue tho, but let’s skip that for a moment.
A week ago, I lost my shoes! Lil bit expensive compare to my other shoes. And now i face that question: will i consider the price, taste, or brand? Have money or not, if that wont satisfy my wants, why should i then? Taste is so relative. I could say that I want Zara now, but when I pass by LV, that shoes just kill my desire of others’ brand!
Hmm.
Another question hits me.. where will my surplus exist? I gave this one last week. My econ class. WIll you consider yourself a surplus guy if you pay more than the eq price, or vice versa? Theoretically, surplus exists when actual price is above eq price.. or quantity supplied is more than quantity demanded. But that’s to explain the excess in surplus. Consumer Surplus related to the buyers willingness to buy exceeds its ability to pay. Enuff with the theory, let’s say that you get the surplus if you can pay more but the price is less than it!
So, back to my problem.. Quality? Brand Association? Price? Or Should i add another one: Purpose? Haha.. Will be soooo funny to wear a 2mill LV/Bally shoes when you take public bus.. haha!
/me said, it’s not sooooo important to read this post! haha
Global-ization.. as I Promised^^
Posted onMay 10, 2007
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Oh Well.. Can somebody tell me why I can start writing a topic when the rain is droppin out now? haha..
I was just reading back my old blogs when suddenly I remembered that I have to say something about the globalization.
Today’s classes were on role of financial managers and the choice of opportunity costs. Very excited coz I shared an experience from one of the emerging business taipan of Indonesia, Harry Tanoesudibjo (I probably mispelled his name, so big sorry sir!)
As a fund manager at the beginning of his career, he started by establishing this PT Bhakti Investama Tbk. With 200mills and 3 employees, he can increase the company’s profit to 400s bills and 7thos employees.
What I found very interesting from his way of conducting the business is two things: synergy-integrity, and do not underestimate the losers!
Synergy-Integrity.- If we talk about Mr Harry, we are talking about his MNC company. Everyone knows MNC is the leading media company in Indonesia. With 3 main tv stations, He has made them focus on their segments only; RCTI for the middle-up segment, TPI for the middle-low, and Global TV for the youth market (also including the children since Global TV work together with the Nick!)
Not only that, his Bhakti company has a share in Plaza Indonesia Realty, some major shares in numerous capital investment companies, as well as major share at Bimantara. He also owns this mobile-8 cellular provider. But the big action of his activity now is when he bought AdamAir (a collapse airline company in Indonesia). Amazing! rescuing the losers. He always bought when the companies were in the declining stage, and step-by-step, he can make sure all of his companies survive.
Back to th synergy isssue, an easy example is the most anticipated reality show in Indonesia, it is the Indonesian Idol. Someone who wants to be a contestant first has to follow an audition. In an audition, he must fill in the registration form which he can get from Newspapers/Tabloids/Radio Networks. And here the synergy works. Newspaper: Sindo; Tabloid: Genie; Radio: Trijaya FM. Don’t ask who own those products! ^^ And after he succeed and join the other eleven contestants on the Big Twelve, supporters of him can send a short message using a registered number, who, don’t ask again, own by him! When they finish the show, they will be under the artists management of MNC! So synergy plays a big role for his company.
Now, what will be the relationship with the globalization?
I have a pity for those who still argue about globalization. Some riots/demo anti-globalization is not so think-and-go-back-to-reality. Agree or disagree, like or dislike, we are being globalized. And even if someone’s admit that he never consumed foreign products, that will be a 100% wrong.
Global means doing business across borders. Just like americans-based companies that currently move-out their major factories to china because of the cheap labor cost, expanding business does need the person to sell in the domestic market. That’s what Mr Harry do. Last march he expanded his multimedia business to Hongkong, and started the Indonesian Channel that segment the Indonesians and Malays society over there.
Way back ago, I experienced a situation where critical decision must be made, go forward or stay back. In my example, changing a management of an organization required you to acquire young and talented people with creative mindset and no-opportunity-in-money point of view. It was being interfered by this conventional and traditional views of the way organization should react. Back to current situation, tho at that moment these people being laid back with big bureaucracy situation, I do find something missing.
If someone study management, two main trends that exist in current situation are globalization and information technology.
So what will be the missing point?
I guess, this organization should work the horizontal integration, aprreciating people, and improving its facility as well as information technology. Working in giving services to the public means you have to be able to make your customers happy, no matter what costs you have to budget at. And in terms of it, increase the facilities as well as able to look at the global information trend can make you as a leader in your market.
IMAGE. Build that. And you will be acknowledge by others. But remember, when you lose your reputation, don’t be like inul, raise high but decline fast, but be like tukul, raise slowly but sure and put his feet on the top. Just remember, when you decline, it does not mean it is the end of your life, but re-build your image by re-campaign or re-plan yourself. Just like what Garuda did. Puas?? Puas??
Can it be?
Marketing an experience
Posted onApril 18, 2007
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Oh my. The thunder was so horrifyin. And I’m still in a mood of writing! Haha.
Let’s see. How to manage your customer!
I just in my hour of preparing for my fashion marketin class, and suddenly, i came to a topic of how a business should keep and grow its customers.. Not only how to get them. That’s true. If I can go back to where I startd my business plan for my feasibility study assignment, or havin lectures from my marketin class, and even attendin business projects’ presentation or marketin plan stuffs, I used to think of customers were the MOST important thing. NEW customers.
Then, here, customers are just the intermediate agents. I could say that because customers are related to how the business reacts based on its strategy. Gettin one is good but losing one is not equal to it. It is like: you better not give ten new customers to the business rather than losing one existin customer.
All of this stuffs related to: EXPERIENCE. Business will not be good if its marketin (and other fields) dont synergize and work together. Marketing wont work if the marketer always look at the product, its specification, enhancements, features.. bla bla bla. And forgetin the important one: whether the product can create experience to the customer or not!
Anyone who thinks that marketing is easy.. then you have to re-think about it! It’s a big case. And involving creativity, innovation, knowledgable, skills, and most of it: LUCK!
Examples? Surely i have. Sony. Coca Cola. those are two giant companies with worldwide stores and of course customers. But they failed in profit-term related to their new products. Yes. I am talking about this PS3 and Vanilla Coke. Everyone knows PS3 is the most anticipated games console in this year, however if i have a choice to buy a console, i wont buy that, Wii is better. And that’s what happenin right now. PS3 failed in the market sales. Altho it promises new features, like blu ray and stuffs, and havin tons of years of researchin for this, still it’s not new for others. Even others dont have to spend lots of money in research department to create a product that consumer will prefer more. That’s what the case of Coke also.
So, a great and almost-perfect feature product with a very well marketing promotion can be failed by customers’ experience? That’s a good question.~ And i cannot say which one is correct, but i assume TIME is workin here. Just not their times. And probably next period, PS3 can be affordable (and I think why it cannot penetrate indonesian market, simple.. no piracy discs available for the product. YET)
Back to my case, can i marketing myself?
Two choices: full or part.- With pros and cons. But still, i cannot find the correct answer.
But well, as long as customers, or should i say, "customers" still want to "accept" my "product" than life goes on! haha.~
How economically-fashion are you?
Posted onApril 11, 2007
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Getting started the new term means a new subject to teach. Was so excited about it, coz after quite several terms, i got my subject again. And it has to do with Marketing! But now, the main and critical difference is, marketing from the fashion-view.~
Gee~
Yeah, I am talking about, brands, strategy for them, how to build awareness, and all of them related to fashion! Shopping and shopping!
Back to my econ class, I just finished gave the topic about propensity. MPC and MPS. The way consumer reacts is basically can represent their MPC (or MPS) rate. I wonder, if they use their future money to pay for their current consumption, how should their MPC be>?
Marketing and Economics is basically two different areas. In one subject you have to be able to encourage peepz of using more money to make people pay attention to your product, or even purchase it, while econ is more on be smart in spending your cash.
Realized that these two areas can be so complicated and mis-placed, Can i related fashion to them then?
Now, my problem will be: Where I can get the new edition (8th ed) of marketing: an introduction textbook~!!!!
Next topic: Globalization! haha
Night in the Museum
Posted onJanuary 5, 2007
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Thanks.. A big one to Agnes. Miss Beijing.. buset.. kalo bukan gara gara rekom dari lu, gw kagak mungkin menginjakkan kaki di the plaza buat nonton pelem aneh-but-gila tersebut.! Haha.. pertama ntuh sebenarnya dah mulai bosen.. BORING! gurl, ngobrol mulu.. eh pas dia masuk that plaze, and that lil pet run from a place to another.. daku dah mulai bisa tersenyum ampe ngakak. hahahaha.. hohoho
Terus, there was a scene where he, Mister Sandler, was trying to prove to his son that he could be trust, and his son shouldn’t be worried about what wwill happen to both of them.. So sweetly sweet.. When you are in that position, and trying to make others to trust you, tho at that situation, it could be a very very possible one… it was like.. you do everythin n expectin a much, tho you realize it could be the other one.. HMMph!
But eniwei.. buset.. dah 2007 yak? ternyata.. kira kira pa hub film td ntuh ama tahun baru:? apa ya? ini kali.. ketika seseorang mulai berpindah pindah dari satu hal ke hal yang lain(could be anythin), dia akan tiba di moment where he should take the opportunity buat dirinya sendiri.. Tanpa peduli apakah dia bisa make it happen or not… And tho what he thot he couldnt do that, thankd to friends and family who keep motivatin him to move on, make dreams come true, and dont lose hope..
Well that’s my life. and thanks to Mister Sandler, daku dah mulai in my right track. After havin a wonderful year of 2006, kerjaan yang masih gitu gitu aja.. eh this week i started a new job! Exciting.. Palagi tanggal dua kemaren. Being introduced to colleagues gitu.. and have to say, buset.. mereka friendly abis! so different gitu! hahaha.. and so warmly welcome.. Hmm.. probably bcoz of the Australian style-something like that…. And i have to say.. They have vision. That’s a good one. And gosh. . . my first day of job was like in a hell! haha. I did call my iin-pumpkin to motivate me.. eheh.. thanks gurl.. really helpd me a lot.. But i think i start to enjoy this.. =)
But eniwei, worried about life? You shouldn’t! Yang pasti daku belajar satu.. dont do stupid things n dont be less motivated bcoz sum1 disagree wif your action. Prove them that you can do it, and by doing it, means you can make it! be responsible.. hehe..
Oh eniwei.. ma hunnie is back in town. Tapi daku kok jadi kagak pede gitu for nice coffee time? Hahahahhaha… hahah.. what the heck.. MAju terus… jangan pikirin buat mundur.. karena ketika pikiran itu ada.. kamu telah mundur sepuluh langkah, padahal maju baru satu langkah.. it is so NOT economical stuff ya knw.. hehehehe
Ada yang pernah denger radio.. i think it’s on 107.2 or somethin.. Trus katanya ada penyiar by the name of S.E.N.O. My question will be.. mirip ga seh suaranya mah daku? hahahhaa.. palagi cekikikan gitu pas hihihihi.. hahahah.. i just couldn’t assessd him. it’s like assessin ma self. 
Bonx.. Congratz ya. Big sorry for not being a good friends lately.. Missd your big days.. like final examination and stuff.. especially christmas n new year.. But gurl, tho we are separated across nations and islands.. everytime you want to return here, buzz me.. coz i will be delighted to accompany you to travel around the city and country.. of courze.. with a free meal and a nice hand-gift (such as, PS3!!) haha.. daku masih kagak ngerti.. gurl.. ps3 dah lama lagi exist gitu.. tahun lalu.. and you, there.. lived in this developd country.. masih berkecimpung di ps2.. hohoho (again, hojatan tidak mengurangi nilai gift tersebut.. karena hojatan tidak dihitung sebagai any of the depreciation cost! otre!) =)
see ya later..
hun-hun.. kapan mo non non bareng? gon-gon kayaknya seru tuh.. hahaha
In Remembrance
Posted onDecember 21, 2006
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Last Wednesday, December 20, 2006, at 5am, a great man was gone to Lord’s place.
9 children, 19 grandchildren, and 3 great great children.
A great warrior.
A wonderful father.
An outstanding grandpa.
A man who always smile.
A man who taught me not to gamble with money.
A man who encouraged me to have faith and praise Him no matter how old I am.
A man who could took care of himself, and took care of his children alone.
-Gonna miss ya, opa!
In remembrance, Meindert Kembuan. April 30, 1919-December 20, 2006.
a one night in the bus~
Posted onDecember 13, 2006
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It started yesterday. Went back from the starbucks late at nite. and ended up late at the next day,.
Here’s my story.. (Date was taken on December 13, 2006)
12am
Stuck in ma world. A PC in front of me. Ended up gossipin with bonx (who, thank GOD, was preparin for a partij).
12.30am
Hungry. And so sudden, i heard a similar sound. tok tek tok tek. Fried rice was there. Ordered a portion of it. With an extra egg. Yummie.
1am
Another play-on-the-dvd of Dark Angel Season I. Gosh.. She’s so hot. Tho her acting was so poor! BAD!
3.30am
Sleepin time…
9am
My alarm was killin me. Tho it reminded me to start finishin the grade compilation! So, i spent almost three hours with the grades, and rushed in time til 12.30. Have to say, I did a good job on it. Tho, I was still in Kelapa Gading, and from ma place to KArawaci, it took almost 3 hours! HMPH.
Talkin bout grade is talking about my experience on micro. Well.. HAve to say, i have known lots of new students now, and Micro made me fascinating with its theoretical stuffs.. How we can explain the behavior of price. How a price can be affected by a company or external one. And how a company can change the price as it wants the price to be. And not to mention, other stuffs! haha.
Back to ma story..
2.45pm
Arrived at PH. Inputing data.. FINISHED! Glad. Went home.. oh i should say, went to Taman Anggrek. I heard a festival of looney tunes was there. Hehe.. Funny. I laughed seeing the characters singin christmas songs.
7pm
Appointment with my agent. We ended up talkin and discussing about my plan til 10. GRRR. But hey, I know what plan i should take. A combo of life-health-investment. Gonna start savin around 5mil next year ahead.
10pm
No more bus!~ No more busway.! No more 08@! HMMPHH..
And that’s where i decided to take a new route. And a very high risk! hahahahahhaahhaaa. You guys have to see my face and the way i act! Silly.
So now..
Sleepin time..
The point is: Always try a new think. And when you think that what you did is good, you should be proud and happy for you. But when what you did is not what you expected, think it as an experience that you will remember as part of your life.
May God be with you.
Merry-almost-Christmas
Room 610
Posted onDecember 11, 2006
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Let me tell you what happen to my life last weekend!
I have two options, and considering each bargaining power, i chose to spend my weekend with my closest friends.. Rather than finishing my grading stuffs.
It was great time.. Sleptover in hotel room (some guests were procastinatin in a bad way about us), been chasin by a pervert (agnes’ case), sleepin badly tho it’s still 10, and (menggigau! haha, dunno the word)..
Or, went to a mall and others.. from senayan, to ex, and ended up at ambassador, bought some great bargain of clothes, made-over the gurl, or just sit at the bucks for hours till it was closin time..
And not to mention, introducin the public transportation to ma fren, usin the cab and taught her of givin a tip..
And food delicacy.. From chopstick to steak, from PH junction to McD..
and gossipin til mornin..
Hmm.. i’m gonna miss those times..
See ya in another adventure..
What is Your Wish?~
Posted onOctober 14, 2006
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my wish is to just love, and
be loved in return.
