Beyonce and….Hamburger Helper?

I have no problem with Beyonce Knowles. She is a lovely woman and I think she has a great voice. She doesn’t appear to be an annoying superstar, plus she is one of the wealthy stars that tries to give back something to poorer individuals. But, and there is always a but, why on earth would she choose to broker a deal with…Hamburger Helper?

I do not fault Hamburger Helper or Ms. Knowles for trying to address the plight of hungry people, especially children in America. Great. Fantastic. Let’s feed those starving people, which according to the website, there are over 12 million hungry people in America right now.

But can we feed them something more nutritious than Hamburger Helper?

Is America not fat enough with the most readily available and cheap food in this country being bought off of $1 menus at all the millions of fast food eateries across the nation? I know I speak from personal experience that when we were hurting for money it was cheaper to fill up on 89¢ & 99¢ burritos and tacos from our local Taco Bell then it was to try and pay over $2.00 lb. for various produce that didn’t give you much and left you hungry in an hour or two and  ground meat is the cheapest version. Who hasn’t resorted to Hamburger Helper at some point in our lives as adults struggling to make ends meet?

We have, though not in a long time and I will admit that it is pretty darn cheap. But at what cost in the long run? Let’s look at a box:

(nutrition facts found at eLook.org)

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: (100 grams)

---

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 395

---

% Daily Value*

---

Total Fat 10g
16%

Saturated Fat 3g
14%

Cholesterol 9mg
3%

Sodium 2030mg
84%

Total Carboydrates 64g
21%

Dietary Fiber 0g
~

Sugars 0g
~

Protein 11g
22%

---

Vitamin A
0%
Vitamin C
0%

Iron
0%
Calcium
0%

---

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs

This also doesn’t make a whole lot and we are talking about a 1/3 – 1/2 cup serving per person which isn’t much food. Hopefully this would be paired with a salad and some other vegetable, but if the truth be told, most of us just added a can of either corn or peas to the casserole trying to stretch our money with the cheapest canned vegetable we could find.

Does this make this a nutritious meal? No. Does it fill you up? Sort of. Depends on how many mouths you have to feed and how far you can stretch your budget.

I applaud Betty Crocker© (maker of HH), Beyonce Knowles and their “Show Your Helping Hands” campaign to stop hunger. They make a donation for every UPC code that is entered which goes to nationwide food banks and people are being encouraged to donate food at Beyonce’s concerts which in turn goes to the local food banks in the cities where the concerts are held. This is all fantastic and goes to people in need and that is marvelous.

But does this promote healthy eating for those of us buying this product so the money can go to the needy? No.

We are already a nation where the average American is overweight and most of those of us that are overweight are classified as obese. The average sized American woman is a size 14/16. Personally, I strive to be that skinny. Haven’t seen that size in about 2 years myself so I’m not pointing a finger at anyone besides myself. I am about 50 lbs. overweight and I struggle with this daily.

My main point with all of this is not that I object to the charitable contributions by Betty Crocker© and Ms. Knowles. I just wish it could be another more healthy product that they would choose to endorse and promote that wouldn’t contribute to our overly expanding weight issues in this country.

Yes, you can donate at the concerts and bring healthier alternatives to add to the food banks and I whole heartedly recommend that concert goers do just that, but isn’t a good part of this a marketing ploy by Betty Crocker©? Isn’t this also promoting their product for Americans to buy?

This is a win-win situation for the sponsors and the recipients of the monetary and packaged donations. Hamburger Helper and Ms. Knowles get air time on TV, more product sold both in the grocery and music stores and more concert tickets sold. Food goes out to needy individuals.

But what about the people in the trenches, the people that actually buy the product? Don’t they lose out in the long run by continuing to eat overly processed and nutritionally anemic products? Does this help promote healthy eating?

Just asking.

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