The ruling finally passed in the ‘Big Apple’ - fast food and casual-dining chains have to list the calorie values of all foods on their menus as of Friday, July 18.  With NYC being the first city to enforce restaurants to become naked to consumers, the hope is that will curtail calorie-loading, especially at lunchtime.  The city is not joking as it’s a $$ TWO-Grand fine for non-compliance. 

A city-wide study done last year found that more than 30 percent of people ate over 1,000 calories just at lunch – Wow!!   Let’s hope that this new ruling is an impetus to help people make informed (i.e., healthier) decisions.   Whether or not it will, we have to do something!   I am optimistic that this will push people in the right direction.  No one is going to be perfect and forego their favorite foods everyday – even if 2 out of 5 lunches out are ordered differently (with fewer calories and fat) than there is value to this health code provision.   

If you knew that a burger, fries and drink were over 1,000 calories would you order it?  I’d love to hear what you have to say…..    

Who would think that my introductory post would be about chocolate, well, actually, the heart-healthy part, cocoa?!  With food costs across the board skyrocketing, people cannot afford ’luxury’ food items.  Chocolate will be among those items -  as the price of cocoa has soared to the crazy amount of $3,150.00 per tonne, according to www.foodanddrinkeurope.com.   Well, it’s basic economics, when the demand is higher than the supply the increased prices are passed along to us, the consumers. 

Well, let’s look on the bright side - this is good news from a nutrition/weight management perspective.   The message that dark chocolate contains powerful flavonols, which have been found to be good for heart health and blood pressure – not to mention can satisfy a sweet tooth, has the risk of being blown out of portion control.  So rising chocolate prices at the cash register may thwart overeating and encourage the one-ounce a day limit.  Thus, managing your budget can work from both a personal fiscal and caloric standpoint!   That’s my hope, at least (as long as stores do not start giving away FREE chocolate).