Free Stuff on Election Day

You know, if there are two things I love, it's delicious, free snackies and ...uh...performing my civic duty.

But, clearly, my civic duty doesn't stop at voting. I'd be remiss to WBB's 5-6 readers if I didn't provide a quick roundup of free eats and drinks up for grabs tomorrow. (UPDATED on Nov. 4 to include more food and non-food related freebies and discounts...see below.)

Starbucks. Go in on Nov. 4, tell 'em you voted, and snag a free tall coffee.

Ben & Jerrys. Stop by between 5 and 8 p.m. and get a free scoop of ice cream. This nifty link can give you the nearest participating scoop shop.

Krispy Kreme. Free donuts. Patriotic donuts. That would probably taste delicious if they actually have a location near you.

UPDATES!

Chick-Fil-A. Bring your "I voted" sticker to one of hundreds of Chick-Fil-A restaurants participating in this promotion to snag a free chicken sandwich. Mmm. (Not all locations are participating, so you might want to call your local one first to check it out.)

Shane's Rib Shack. The chain (mostly located in the Southeast) is offering free "Vote America" meals to voters, which include chicken tenders, fries and a 20 oz. soda. (Thanks to WBB reader Kelly for the tip!)

Wilco download. No sticker required. Just pledge to vote and download "I Shall Be Released," written by Bob Dylan and featuring Fleet Foxes. (Thanks, Greg!)

Hey, Cincinnati readers, a local discount! It's not free, but it's good enough. Shake It Records in Northside is offering 10 percent off if you sport your voting sticker. (Thanks to Stef in the comments for giving us the heads up!)



Know of any more? Let us know in the comments!

When did Cracker Jacks start to suck?

This is probably the most important question you'll ponder today. Why has Cracker Jacks decided to only populate its classic American snack with stupid ass prizes. I want my damn temporary tattoo or reflective sticker. All you've given me lately is a weird factoid sheet about George Washington and a pencil topper. And by pencil topper, I mean a piece of paper with a hole at the top and the bottom.

You know the country is in bad shape when Cracker Jacks starts the downward slide. Of course, I just had my first box in about 10 years last week, so I could be a little slow on realizing the demise of the product... but seriously, it's shocking.

I'd listen if a candidate brought this up. Could make me change my vote.

EVOO is some kind of terrorist code

Ok, so have you heard about the recent right-wing faux controversy featuring America's sweetheart and a third-rate Food Network "chef" gone talk show host? Yeah, our beloved Dunkin' Donuts has been tainted by that undercover terrorist Rachel Ray. Just ask Michelle Malkin, who wrote about this highly important issue.

See, Rachel Ray's stylist has style. And, she found this crazy cute white scarf with a paisley pattern for Rachel to use in her latest Dunkin' Donuts commercial. Random Aside: I heard that Rachel doesn't even like Dunkin' Donuts coffee and she's a total diva on the commercial set.

Anyway, apparently that cute white scarf looked a lot like a keffiyeh. Now, according to Internet source of power, Wikipedia, a keffiyeh is defined as a traditional Arab headdress, and the white and black variety is considered a symbol of Palestinian nationalism. Ok, so what? But if you're like Michelle Malkin and her cronies, it's "jihadi chic" and "hate couture".

Poor Dunkin' Donuts ended up pulling their ad to satisfy the .0005 percent of people offended by the fashion choice who probably don't appreciate the glory of their product anyway. What a waste of money -- even though less Rachel Ray on the airwaves isn't exactly a bad thing. That's a personal preference though.

But, have faith in America people. Even Michelle Malkin's followers thought this faux controversy was retarded. Just read the comments, and go buy a bear claw or something.

I think I'm officially on the weirdest diet ever... not on purpose of course. But, basically, I'm working about 15 hours a day right now. Actually, I'm at work right now. So, I really don't have the time to eat the way I should.

My daily routine is as follows:

Breakfast: Oatmeal and a minimum of three cups of coffee (I'm so damn tired)

Lunch: Lean Cuisine and La Croix fizzy water, followed by another few cups of coffee

Dinner: On rotation: McChicken Sandwich and Diet coke or Fruit & Yogurt Parfait and Diet Coke. Bless the McDonald's by job #2.

Late night snack: Cheese and crackers.

Regardless of the McDonalds daily thing, this could be the BEST DIET EVER.... I'm calling it the McCaffeine. Slap a trademark on that bad boy and make me rich!

Rice shortage

I don't eat a whole bunch of rice, and I always kind of thought there was an unlimited supply. So, this news about the pending worldwide rice shortage caught me a bit off guard today. It's a good reminder of all the things we take for granted during this Earth Week.

A shout out to a culinary marvel

This marvel I'm speaking of is the "grit." Those of you who know me well are aware that I'm a huge fan of this traditional southern delicacy. I was introduced by my grandmother to this delicious treat at a young age and still eat them very regularly--sometimes plain, sometimes with butter, sometimes with cheese, and on the rare occasion, with shrimp. I actually cook instant grits for breakfast at work and eat them at my desk in the morning.

Because I so love grits and their many applications, I was thrilled with this article in Restaurants & Institutions (a trade magazine for restaurant operators in the know) about how grits are becoming chic from coast to coast, dispelling the myth that it's some sort of low-grade redneck dish.

So, I recommend that all of you go out and make some shrimp and grits. It's a delicacy that deserves a place on every dinner table. Here's a good recipe to get started, from the queen of southern cooking herself, Paula Deen. (I never said this particular recipe was healthy).

My Star Burger Makes The List

Laura's favorite burger to hate on, The Baconater, made Consumerist's list of the "5 Most Butt-Blimping Fast Food Burgers." Despite all the hatred being heaped on this luscious pile of meat, I still contend that The Baconater is delicious fare. I have not, however, eaten The Baconater in six-plus months as I have no interest in attaining double-wide size status.

Power for good, not evil

I've apparently gotten quite the reputation for ruining my friends' favorite fast food items. Really, all I've done is research and find out how bad certain delicious items are--like the delicious Chipotle burrito. My usual at Chipotle (at least until I learned this information) clocked in at 1420 calories. Really, what I do is a public service... I do it for YOU people.

But, as a way to make amends, I thought I would use my research powers for good, not evil. I'll give you a couple healthy fast food selections from your (well...my) favorite restaurants.

Wendys

Instead of a Baconator combo, try a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, side salad with Italian dressing and medium Minute Maid Light Lemonade. The damage: a tiny 540 calories. If you can't give up fries and ditch the salad, you'll be at an acceptable, if you eat carefully for the rest of the day, 710 calories.

Taco Bell

Order your tacos "fresco style"--that's without the cheese and sour cream. A fresco style beef taco is only 150 calories. Not too shabby. Eat two and you're just a tad higher in calories than a lean cuisine. (I know you Lean Cuisine fanatics will point out the higher fat content, but here, we're just counting calories, so give me a break!)

Ikea

Today, Rob and I made the 45-minute drive to Ikea for the second time in the last month. The first time, we went to pick up a bunch of goodies for our new place before the big move; the second time, we ran out to pick some stuff up for Rob's mom.

As much as I love Ikea--and I do love everything about it, from scouting out what I want online to walking through the faux home setups to picking up random shit in the marketplace area--my favorite thing about a trip to Ikea is, of course, food-related.

For $2.50, an Ikea shopper can get two hot dogs, chips and a drink. This is the tastiest, most filling, $2.50 you will ever spend. You can also get a delicious $1 fro-yo cone for the road. We love the Ikea hot dog deal so much that we have planned every Ikea trip--even the ones we made to NJ when we were in NY--around a meal time so we can take advantage of it. I love it just for the good deal; Rob actually drinks the disgusting Swedish soda when he's there, too.

Butternut Squash

My garden is on the verge of yielding about 10 huge butternut squash. So here's the question: What in the world can you do with butternut squash!? I probably should have thought of that before I planted this green monster that has taken over my yard.

New Study-- Scary predictions

Health studies, especially when they involve American eating habits tend to be all doom and gloom. This one from Johns Hopkins is no different, but particularly frightening considering it's abundantly clear that there's a correlation between obesity and overall health. Epidemic is definitely the right word here. The prediction: 3 in 4 adults will be overweight by 2015; and, 41 percent of Americans will be obese.

If that's not inspiration for me to put down the Peanut Buster Parfait and hit up a spin class, I don't know what is.... (Man, but I LOVE my Peanut Buster Parfait)

The land of fried foods...and poor underwear choices.

What do the following foods have in common? McDonald's sausage biscuit and hashbrown, Chik-fil-a #1 combo with diet lemonade and plenty of mayo for the fries, Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and cornbread, beer, and fried pickles. I'll tell you what they have in common... they were all in my stomach last Friday when I was in Memphis for the Beale Street Music Festival. I think the saturation of my mind in grease is one reason I've blogged so little lately.

In addition to the artery clogging fat forced into my blood stream, my eyes were burned by crimes against underwear... including the near capital offense to your left, which I had to document upon catching my jaw, which was clearly dragging on the pavement. Who is this woman? What is she wearing? Does she own a mirror? An equally sinister crime involved a woman with a yellow backless shirt wearing a hot pink sports bra. Yep, I think she missed the point of the shirt.

I also became aware of a new trend while roaming the park around the music festival stages--giant brightly colored rubber rain boots with teensy tiny jean skirts. Have I been under a rock? When did this trend happen? Does it have to do with proximity to the Mississippi River? I don't know, but I can say that I had a great time last weekend. Sorry I haven't blogged in while, but I'll catch up.

If I had a million dollars

I have a plan if I win one of those insanely insane powerball jackpots. You know, the ones that include so many millions of dollars that you immediately have to change your name and relocate to another country to avoid being stalked for cash by every person within 150 square miles.

After I change my name and relocate to some exotic Caribbean location, I will visit the world's best restaurants one by one. Yep, that's it. $225 per person -- no problem.

I'm especially intrigued by The Fat Duck in London, which has menu items described like this:

"This is the place that does bacon-and-egg ice cream, snail porridge and sardine-on-toast sorbet. So you can safely say you’ve never had a meal like it."

Yeah, that just sounds bizarre and horrible, but that doesn't matter! They were THE best in 2005, bacon-and-egg ice cream and all... I must go. We can just hope they do bread and cheese well. Bread and cheese make the world go round.

So now that you know what I'd do with my millions, what would you do with yours?

For the love of beans!

I love beans... black beans, kidney beans, refried beans, adzuki beans, garbanzo beans, soy beans, navy beans, black-eyed peas, pinto beans, great northern beans, lentils of all kinds... need I go on?

I guess not, but I may need this shirt!

Calories are Evil, yet Delicious

So, I have this horrible habit of having to know exactly how many calories are in everything I eat--down to doing the math to find out how many calories are in EACH pretzel sitting in the bag in the office kitchen. This makes it easy for me to become devastated when I find out how many calories are in my favorite foods.

Sometimes, this knowledge causes major changes. For instance, I know that the lowest calorie danish in the Starbucks pastry cabinet is the croissant. I tend to opt for that, although sometimes I can't resist the cinnamon scone. And my friends can tell you that I haven't had Chipotle since looking at the evil Chipotle Burrito Calculator... argh. 1410 calories in one burrito... I think I'll pass.

So, today when the Diet Detective Newsletter came through my inbox with an article titled: Some of America's Worst Calorie Rip-Offs, I had to look. Most of the stuff in there shouldn't surprise anyone. I mean seriously, of course the Hardee's Monster Thickburger has 1410 calories and 107 grams of fat (yes, that's insane). But much like the devastating blow of learning Chipotle is incredibly bad, I learned that Kung Pao Chicken is horrible!!! More than 1200 calories and 80 grams of fat.

At least I'll never have trouble resisting the China Buffet ever again... sigh...

Eat Local--from your own backyard

Ok, so I'm planting a garden. Yes, me. And yes, a garden... where plants are expected to grow, thrive, produce edible fruits and veggies, and feed me. It's crazy, right? I mean, I have trouble keeping my living room clean, yet I'm going to keep delicate plants alive. (Trust me, I feel your skepticism).

Those of you who know me well know that each summer I set a goal... something to get me outside and moving around; something new to try. Last year, I took up cycling, trained for a century ride, and bonded with my bike. This year, I'm going to grow my own food.

Besides the satisfaction of learning gardening, it's a small exercise in eating local. If you haven't heard of the eat local movement, it's very cool and growing pretty rapidly. I first read about the movement several months ago when an article about it came through on one of the many e-newsletters I read each day. I was fascinated by the concept and was kind of disgusted to find out the average dinner travels 1,500 miles from field to plate. As a person who is always touting the moral reasons to choose fuel efficient vehicles, I thought it was time to do my small part and grow a few vegetables of my own. I'm also going to make more of an effort to shop at Farmer's markets this summer.

Eating local isn't that simple though. There's a lot of discussion about whether it's better to eat organic foods shipped from miles and miles away or locally grown foods that use pesticides. Time Magazine had a great article about this issue. I think I'd look for local organics, but opt for local non-organic over organic food flown from far away.

I'll keep you posted on my gardening adventures. My first stop is buying this book. It seems like a good beginner's guide. Wish me luck!!!

EatingWell.com and my dietary downfall

I love EatingWell.com. The site sends me an e-newsletter each week, around 4 p.m., when I'm starving, with delicious recipes. I immediately leave work and go to Burger King, Wendy's or Big Boy (an entirely separate story) to get something that by no means can be categorized as "eating well" but tastes so good that I'm tempted to just give up and revel in my ever-expanding girth.

Hence, I have decided that EatingWell.com, with it's delicious recipes for Eggs Italiano, Scallop Piccata on Angel Hair, and Broccoli Chowder is a malicious guerrilla marketing group for the fast food industry. The emails are so perfectly timed to drive the reader to starvation that there's no other explanation. The need for immediate gratification can ONLY serve to send people through their local drive-thrus--I'll have a BK Big Fish myself, with Diet Coke, of course.