With Free Jumbo Beef Hotdog Coupon, Oscar Mayer Joins Free Food Frenzy

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Oscar Mayer is getting into the recession's free-food frenzy by giving away free Jumbo Beef Hotdogs via a coupon on its Web site today.

It's Memorial Day weekend, after all, the unofficial official start of grilling season. So the marketing is well timed. It's another reminder, however, that the only food that gets marketed so effectively is highly processed, not overly nutritious ... well, slop. Real foods, like the fresh produce available at farmers' markets opening this weekend, are rarely celebrated with such zealous crowds. They're also much better for your body.

Imagine you took advantage of each of the three big free food promotions that have caused stampedes in the past few months, and ate each of the freebies in a single day. (Nutritional information comes from thedailyplate.com.) You'd consume:

• 1,415 calories -- 65% of them from fat
• 275% of your daily recommended intake of fat
• 233% of your daily recommended intake of cholesterol
• 169% of your daily recommended intake of sodium

Below are the details about each meal. Remember, though, that none of these meals comes with any side dishes, drinks or desserts. Add those onto the meal, and you're talking about a caloric tsunami.

Breakfast: Denny's Original Grand Slam

This February giveaway spawned hordes of people cramming into Denny's, which is best known as ... well, the only place open still serving food. The Grand Slam is amazingly rich in cholesterol:

Calories 795
Calories from Fat 450

% Daily Value
Total Fat 77%
Saturated Fat 70%
Cholesterol 153%
Sodium 93%
Total Carbohydrate 22%
Dietary Fiber 8%
Protein 68%
Vitamin A 33%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 16%
Iron 19%

Est. Percent of Calories from:
Fat 56.6% Carbs 32.7% Protein 17.1%

Lunch: 2 Oscar Mayer Jumbo Beef Hotdogs

Technically, the serving size is a single frank, but come on. Who eats just one hot dog -- especially if they're free? (In other words, the figures below are double the figures you'd see on a nutritional label.)

Calories 360
Calories from Fat 306

% Daily Value
Total Fat 52%
Saturated Fat 70%
Cholesterol 24%
Sodium 48%
Total Carbohydrate 2%
Dietary Fiber 0%
Protein 24%

Est. Percent of Calories from:
Fat 170%
Carbs 8.8%
Protein 26.6%

KFC Grilled Chicken

This nutritional information reflects the consumption of two thighs, but not any of the fixings that one might imagine eating along with a bucket of KFC chicken, whether its fried or grilled.

Calories 260
Calories from Fat 160

% Daily Value Total Fat 28%
Saturated Fat 24%
Cholesterol 56%
Sodium 28%
Total Carbohydrate 0%
Dietary Fiber 0%
Protein 48%
Vitamin A 4%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 4%
Iron 8%

Est. Percent of Calories from:
Fat 62.3%
Carbs 0%
Protein 36.9%

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