Welcome to McDonald's!Can I take your order please?An Inside Look At A ShiftBehind The Company Counter

A member of our web research team found an excellent webpage written by an employee who worked for McDonalds. Rather than ramble on about it, we simply encourage you to take a look. The page is a good read and is linked below.

Welcome To McDonald's, May I Take Your Order Please?

DEVELOPING STORY:McDonalds is bringing backthe Shamrock Shakes

We received a rambling email message today from one of our correspondants - which is shown below:

I have an inside source that is telling me that Mc Donalds is bring back the Shamrock Shakes. Nothing confirmed yet, but I found this page - http://www.tiktok.org/shamrock/

called corporate office - they CONFIRMED - not in all locations yet
but "up north" they are available - this is a hot item - stop the presses

More info as it comes in

Remember:The Red Onion

Short reminder to you all to remember to always buy a red onion every time you hit the grocery store. Red onions truly are excellent with almost everything. Our staff favorites are: on pizza, salads, burgers and soups. You get a lot of flavor for under a buck with the red onion.

Sci-Fi Channel Show FeaturesBeast Who Must FeastOn Liposuction Leftovers

A fairly new show on the Sci-Fi Channel called "Special Unit 2" recently ran an episode that was an interesting show about a monster that grew out of human liposuction operations waste. Once the monster established itself it craved human for chow - specifically their fatty tissues. Thus making those of the largess its favorite meal. little creepy - sends a little shiver down every one who is of the pride.

The Fat Pride TimesHas Gone Global

The Fat Pride Times describes itself as an international thinktank, and we have the web statistics in to document this. We have been mocked regarding this statement and are pleased to have the documentation to show this. The list below reads across as: Site Visitor Country - Unique Hits - Percent of total unique hits.

United States -- 5645 -- 85.79%

Canada -- 201 -- 3.05%

Greece -- 157 -- 2.39%

New Zealand -- 142 -- 2.16%

United Kingdom -- 131 -- 1.99%

Australia -- 44 -- 0.67%

France -- 19 -- 0.29%

Netherlands -- 19 -- 0.29%

Italy -- 17 -- 0.26%

Germany -- 16 -- 0.24%

Argentina -- 14 -- 0.21%

Spain -- 13 -- 0.20%

India -- 12 -- 0.18%

Mexico -- 9 -- 0.14%

Turkey -- 8 -- 0.12%

Belgium -- 8 -- 0.12%

Denmark -- 8 -- 0.12%

Singapore -- 8 -- 0.12%

Sweden -- 7 -- 0.11%

Ireland -- 7 -- 0.11%

Korea, Republic of -- 7 --0.11%

Thailand -- 7 -- 0.11%

Japan -- 6 -- 0.09%

Philippines -- 6 -- 0.09%

South Africa -- 6 -- 0.09%

Portugal -- 5 -- 0.08%

Norway -- 5 -- 0.08%

Brazil -- 5 -- 0.08%

Egypt -- 1 -- 0.02%

Unknown -- 1 -- 0.02%

Venezuela -- 1 -- 0.02%

Colombia -- 1 -- 0.02%

Poland -- 1 -- 0.02%

Satellite Provider -- 1 -- 0.02%

Czech Republic -- 1 -- 0.02%

Maldives -- 1 -- 0.02%

Cote D'Ivoire -- 1 -- 0.02%

Iran, Islamic Republic of -- 1 -- 0.02%

Croatia -- 1 -- 0.02%

Austria -- 1 -- 0.02%

Panama -- 1 -- 0.02%

Cyprus -- 1 -- 0.02%

Iceland -- 1 -- 0.02%

Bermuda -- 1 -- 0.02%

Indonesia -- 1 -- 0.02%

Pakistan -- 1 -- 0.02%

What Is This Food?The Answer Post

We had some good guesses, however proper spelling counted and we did not have a true winner. Pictured is "Collard Greens with Back Bacon". Collard Greens by themselves are a very healthy vitamin rich foodstuff, something we would not discuss in this forum. However, the addition of Back Bacon which has more white fat than any other cut of pork makes it a Fat Pride Times Favorite. There will be another mystery dish photo posted in the next few days - please drop by again.

Foodstuff Finances:Pork Futures Post Huge Gains

We have received word from our financial advisors that this week general pork prices are at a five-month high and frozen pork belly futures have reached a 2 1/2-year high. The stats: February Hogs closed 77 points up at 67.05 cents a pound. February Bellies came in at 104.50 cents - up 172 points.

Food Music:Pork Roll, Egg and CheeseFrom "Ween"

The staff here has a passion for any music that relates to food and eating. Even though this song is from 1999, we just recently were turned on to it by one of our Oregon correspondants. The lyrics ramble on about guava fruit, kaiser rolls, pork rolls, eggs and cheese - all items that we endorse. Check out the album with this song - it is titled "The Pod".

February's Featured Foodstuff:Pickled Ginger

While Ginger Root is served and used in many ways, our staff voted that 'Pickled Ginger Slivers' is the best of the lot. Pickled Ginger is also served in thin small slices, but the slivered type is our preferred pick. People often get the two types confused so we have posted the photos you see above to help our viewers make the right choice. Slivered Pickled Ginger goes well with salads, rice dishes, chicken and especially on beef. Fair warning: this stuff commands a fairly high price. Your best bet economically is to purchase it from a Japanese Market.

Foodstuff Photo Fun!Can You Identify This Meal?

Our recent staff meeting was very productive and one of the new ideas is to run a series of foodstuff photos and let our visitors try to identify them. Please participate by using the comments link below - no registration or bs required. The answer will be revealed one week from this posting - on February 15th. Check back as we may post clues if no one is getting it correct.

One-Week Hiatus Has EndedStaff Back On Shift

After some stressful nights here 500 feet under the earth;s crust in the Fat Pride Times Kitchen it was decided by the Board of Directors that the entire staff needed a hiatus if we were gonna keep functioning. All staff members were given 2-packs of nice steaks and the suprise notice last Sunday. The nice steaks above are not the ones given out - but are strikingly similar. We seriously encourage barbequing meat to relief tension and stress in one's life.

New Jersey State Officials:Limit Your Squirrel Meals

The Ringwood area of New Jersey that is home to a toxic dump has sent warning letters to its residents advised them that children should not eat squirrel more than once a month, pregnant women should limit their intake to twice a month, and adults should not eat squirrel more than twice a week. The Department of Health and Senior Services and The State Department of Environmental Protection both collaborated on issuing the warning, the first of its kind.

Reader Recommends: Famous Dave's Ribs & Sauces

One of our regular visitors sent us the photo above of excellent looking bbq pork ribs from Famous Dave's Legendary Pit Bar-B-Que restaurant. While no one on the staff here has tried Famous Dave's food or products, this reader has proven his good taste before so we are happy to feature these ribs on the FPT blog. Famous Dave's does much more than ribs, they offer catering, spices, sauces and more. They have a great website which is linked below.

Famous Dave's Website

Always Read TheFoodstuffs Fine Print

As part of our ongoing informational campaign on labeling/mis-labeling on food items we have an example to share with you. See those nice big cookies on the front of the bag above? Well as the fine print tells us "Cookies Shown Larger Than Actual Size". This product gets credit for saying it straight out, often the fine print uses vague style terms like "may have".

The staff here is always looking for examples to post here and we also welcome submissions to share with our readers.

Meal of The Week:Jerk Chicken Over RiceWith Pickled Ginger

Spicy jerk chicken served over steamed white rice, topped with pickled ginger. Time-consuming to prepare it correctly and the pickled ginger is priced way too high, however this is a top-tier Fat Pride Times meal.

Debate Post:20 - 30% of U.S. DogsAre Currently OverweightPost Your Take Priders!

Of the app. 62 million dogs in the US, 5% are classified as obese and up to 30% as overweight. The staff here pulled an all-nighter crunching the info and perusing the scientific journals and we feel that people can be idiots and the literature backs this up. Dogs do not understand that there is more food avaiable 24 hours a day almost anywhere in the USA - they will generally quaff all food put in front of them (especially people food) as they do not seem to have the foresight that the 'hunt' is simply running to 7-11 or whatever. Owning a dog is a true responsibility and just because you sit on your ever-widening can chomping salty snacks all day - this is not proper behavior for your dog. Even the largest of us can take the pooch out to the park and throw him a ball to retrieve. Perhaps there are some truly 'Fat Prider' dogs out there, but please do not 'force' a dog to live for food. It is just wrong. Disagree? Use the comment link below and have your say.

"To me, peanut butter isthe breakfast of champions!"Greg Louganis, Olympic Diver

Most everyone here at the FPT test kitchens agrees that peanut butter is a great thing. There really is not much to debate about. However, a reader sent in a link to the mother of all peanut butter sites and we wanted to share it with you alls.

peanutbutterlovers.com

Do Lobsters & CrawfishScream When You DropThen In Boiling Water?

The main staff here at the FPT underground test kitchen spent the past entire weekend arguing/debating if lobsters and crawdads/crawfish do let out a high-pitched noise when they are dropped into a pot of boiling water. Our resident web search staff member was away on hiatus so we did not find much to go on via the web. However, we are now putting this question at the top of our worksheets and hope to have some solid information shortly.

Oregon People Are OverfeedingTheir Pets And That IsJust Plain Wrong

We have gotten late word in tonight via ABC News and Local Oregon media of two stories that we find disturbing. One is of a lady who was reunited with her huge fat cat that she layed mounds of chow on all day long. What happened? It takes off for six months - running from this nut probably - but couldnt lose the weight and got stuck in a doggie-door at a residence that it was casing for chow. This cat's head was reportedly the size of a basketball. This is not right. We do not think he chose the path of the fat pride, rather he was raised that way. Meaning this cat never has the chance to decide to become a big eater, he was molded into one. This lady should not be allowed to keep this cat. We are outraged the Humane Society gave it back to her.

The other story is of two brothers in the UK who overfed a dog to the point it could not get around even. A Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals inspector is quaoted as saying "The dog was so grossly overweight it could barely walk to the point where it could take 5 or 6 paces before collapsing on the floor". In this case the UK RSPCSA took the dog away from the men last march and it has lost 49 pounds. We have the same issue with this as above. Not right people.

Royal Instant Pudding3 for 99 centsTastes As Nice As Price

Simple Vanilla instant pudding from Royal brand. They are 3 for 99 cents or 39 cents each - says so on the box, we like that here at the FPT. We also like this pudding and gladly endorse it as our foodstuff of the week.