You know me loves me coffee!

And I’m pretty particular about it.

Redneck Latte all the way…Goooooooo Waffle House.

I was cruising the internet recently and ran across some other coffees that might be yummy, but aren’t so great for you.

Let’s start with Dairy Queen -

Dairy Queen Caramel MooLatte.

Lovely to look at, and tasty I’m sure, but what’s in it?

870 Calories, 27 grams of fat, and 112 sugars.

Ouch!  That’s three times the calories of a small chocolate ice cream cone. 

Or this one -  Baskin Robbins Cappuccino Blast Turtle.

This puppy has 960 calories, 37 grams of fat, and 75 sugars.

Moving on UP – and they don’t get any better -

Our friends at Krispy Kreme, and I do mean friends…the best donuts ever…make the Krispy Kreme Lotta Latte Chiller.

Or killer as it should be called.

1050 calories, 40 grams of fat, and 97 sugars.

Most of the calories we rack UP while eating in “coffee shops” isn’t from the food, it’s from the coffees.

So, you don’t like it black, there’s cream and sugar – minimal calories if used moderatly.  Or Splenda, or Equal, or Sweet-n-Low.

And what’s wrong with milk – huh?

A cup of coffee in its raw, natural state has 5 calories, and the added benefit of metabolism-boosting caffeine actually makes coffee a good weight-loss supplement.  So, take that Fen Phen!

You know where to find me if you have any questions!

That’s right, someone has actually come UP with a holiday we can live with. 

No cards, no flowers, no candy…well, ok, maybe candy!

What would you like to have to eat today?

Health and allergies permitting, go ahead and have any and all of your favorite foods and snacks. Because today is Eat What You Want Day.

 Not a day for diets.  

A day in the year to go off your diet and eat something you really enjoy.

Screw the diet!

Hit Ben and Jerry’s or drive thru Dairy Queen twice!

Remember, it’s not Eat As Much As You Want Day, but Eat What You Want Day!

Like this…

Yes, that’s Five Guys Burgers and Fries!

Today, you can splurge.

You have my permission…and better yet, a whole day dedicated to it…so go for it!

BTW, this is my 200th post.  So, I’ll be celebrating.

Tomorrow, it’s back to the diet.

I hate to say it, but, “I told you so!”

OK, so I don’t hate to say it.

Consumer Reports is dishing the dirt on coffee!

In the upcoming March issue, CR says that after tasting 37 different blended coffees, “they couldn’t find ONE that measured up to its “excellent” or “very good” ratings.”

The not so stellar report comes after an abysmal year for the coffee industry.  There were short supplies of high-quality Arabica beans from Columbia.  And on the heels of that came sky high premiums that made roasters look elsewhere for blend options that were more available. (Translation – cheap beans.)

The top one only ranked “good”.

That was Starbucks’ House Blend, which costs the company 26 cents per cup and frankly, tastes burnt to me.

What are you paying for your coffee?

$4 or $5?

Green Mountain Signature Nantucket Blend Medium Roast, which A. I’ve never heard of, and B. We don’t have in the South, came in at 23 cents per cup. 

It got a “good” too. (Any of my readers who can get it, please let me know if it’s good!)

Blends are the best-selling type of ground coffee and contain beans from at least two regions or countries according to CR.  (Diversity matters in the coffee industry too.)

The highest score for the 13 decaffeinated coffees also failed to reach the top two categories.

Why is decaf in the study?

It’s not coffee.

Death before decaf!

But, nonetheless, the “top” scoring varieties included Allegro Organic Decaf (or earth shoe coffee), Blend Medium Dark, Peet’s Decaf House Blend, Caribou Daybreak Coffee Morning Blend Decaf and Bucks County Decaf Breakfast blend.

Never heard of them, with maybe the exception of Bucks County…I think I actually met them once!

Consumer Reports has a rating criteria in which the tasters look for specific characteristics including the flavor and aroma.

Is there any other way to judge coffee than flavor and aroma?

Well, the buzz of course.

And, who the heck are these tasters? 

Nobody asked me!

CR says we coffee drinkers should not count on familiar brands names or high price tags to be what we expect.  They claim the cost doesn’t “accurately reflect the cost per cup due to varying grind densities, and recommended ratios of coffee to water.”

…not even sure what that means, other your expensive cup of coffee is probably gonna taste like the “New Coke”.

Ok, a cup of coffee at the Waffle House is $1.33 with tax, and you can sit there for HOURS and drink it without anyone telling you to go away.

And, Waffle House wasn’t in the study.

Snobs!

Redneck Latte anyone?

…what’s good for you and what isn’t.

For years now, all the Calorie Commandos, Diet Directors, and Health Nazis have been telling me things like, “cheese is fattening”, “cheese is bad for you”, “cheese is killing you”. 

Frankly, I’m tired of it!

I love cheese.

All kinds!

And I’m not ashamed to admit it.

If you look at the 100 things about me page of the RLR, you’ll see that I think cheese improves just about anything.

And it does.

Well now, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is reporting that women who ate one ounce of full fat cheese everyday gained less weight than women who didn’t.

So there!

According to the report, it seems that WHOLE FAT dairy may pump up your metabolism! Take that all you Nazi Vegan Anti Cheese People.  You know who you are, the ones who look at me like I’m hiding a secret life when I hit the cheese bowl twice at the salad bar!  Yeah, it’s okay now, the Journal said so! 

Apparently cheese contains conjugated linoleic acid.  Yes, I know it sounds like floor wax, and probably is, but who cares?  It pumps up your metab! 

Again, I say So there!

So use goat cheese instead of mayo on that sandwich,  put parmesan on your veggies, melt cheddar – it’s better!

Go whack, snack on Monterrey Jack!

When ya gotta, have ricotta!

If you’re all alone, make it provolone!

Listen fella, it’s mozzerella!

Ok, I’m annoying even myself here…

…but I’m just so H A P P Y!

I can’t wait until the “Lettuce Makes You Fat” report comes out!