Saturday, May 1, 2010

Double Down and Dirty


April 12 was Double Down Day. Did you hear about it? KFC has been in the news for a couple of different things lately. One was the launch of their Double Down sandwich, the other is their note worthy BucketsForACure. To be clear, I totally support the sale of chicken breasts to help raise awareness and / or money for cancer, specifically cancer of the boobie. I get the connection; thanks for helping a gal out Colonel Sanders!

But, the thought of this Double Down thing had me feeling a little dirty. I admit it, I was interested in it and I seriously considered trying one, just for the sake of research. But, I resisted the urge… err, I mean craving for a little scientific satisfaction. Instead I did my initial research using only other people’s reactions. Certainly, this has to be one of the dirtiest deeds I could do to my pre half marathon body. The following quote was shamelessly stolen from the official KFC Double Down website. “The new KFC Double Down is real! This one-of-a-kind sanwhich features two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets (Original Recipe® or Grilled), two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel’s Sauce. This product is so meaty, there’s no room for a bun!” Oh my gosh, this just cannot be good. Well, it may be tasty, but it cannot be good for me.

Here is the initial experiment that I ran: I work at a software company. My little cubicle happens to be very near the Technical Support Call Center, which happens to be staffed by some pretty awesome 20 somethings. Most are guys, most of which celebrate all things meat and they do that with an uncensored volume of meat. Only the size of their stomach can restrict the consumption of meat. We even have Meat Can Fridays where The Can is walked around the building, dues are paid, and then magically an amazing assortment of grilled meats are readied for unbridled consumption on many Fridays from Spring through Fall. Meat Can Friday even has a FaceBook page, so the Tech Support Cube Land was sure to provide a perfect source for my Double Down research. It was a Monday, and there was so no Meat Can Friday indulgences to interfere with the experiment.

The cube dwellers work a variety of shifts to cover the 7 am – 7 pm hours. Some folks eat earlier than others. Many of them ate a Double Down on April 12. It was craziness. I heard moans and groans. I heard hiccups and burps. Yeah, I heard a lot. I heard some people say, “It’s just a sandwich” (which is not entirely true given that it does lack bread) and others say things that I would not feel comfortable putting here but suffice it to say that their Meat Can needs had been met. And, it went on and on all day. Many ended up in a Meat Coma, which Meat Can subscribers have deemed to be the indication of a successful meal.

I was totally grossed out. I was 100% convinced that there was nothing redeeming about the Double Down. It simply had to be a full on wrong decision. So, I started to Google. It is like this thing has a Fan Club. It has bloggers typing, foodies in a frenzy, and I had totally missed the boat. It turns out that the Double Down itself is not all that bad. If you go grilled it is about 460 calories. It does contain cheese, which is not on everyone’s Food Plan but that may be a nice Treat if planned for accordingly. I am not opposed to bacon itself, but I bet KFC is not using the nitrate free variety that I prefer. The one major flaw I could find was its sodium content, which was pretty high. But, it is fast food and you should probably expect that. I did not do a lot of research on the sauce. I figured it was sauce, so it probably does not have any positives, but you do have the draw your line in the sand somewhere between responsible food consumer and CrazyTown. I will let the sauce go as an uninformed transgression….

So, as I post this Blog I am here to tell you that I did get a little dirty with the Double Down today. I went Grilled this time, and I served it up with some sautéed vegetables. Next time I want to get really dirty, I just might go with Original Recipe to get the full effect. Either way, I am happy to be wrong this time. There are not many reasons to go Double Down once in a while. And, if you feel bad about it when you do, no reason you can’t just Split it. It would increase your odds that you enjoy the indulgence even longer.

Posts coming up: Half Marathons are NOT at all anything Mini, CrossFit Regionals wrap up, Food Labels, another visit to the important idea of Rest and Rest Days, being in The Zone, and why Peanuts should only be consumed as a Comic Strip and not your mouth..
What ya hear about?

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