KFC's Famous Bowls

According to online resources, Colonel Harland Sanders began selling his chicken in a roadside restaurant in Kentucky during the Great Depression. In 1952, he managed to convince a Utah restaurant owner to sell fried chicken, using his recipe. The sales at the eatery tripled. Sanders traveled the country, and according to many, he was very hands-on, going into kitchens and frying up batches of chicken himself, all the while trying to convince the owners to market his food.

By 1964, his popularity had increased to the point where Sanders sold the franchise to two businessmen who laid the groundwork for today's franchises. The chicken was unique in that Sanders used his own recipes as well as a pressure-fry method of preparation, which produced a crispy and delicious chicken.

KFC has gone through many corporate influences. In fact, I personally believe that it has introduced a slight change in the recipe as well as in the method of preparation. New laws banning trans fats may be responsible for these changes.

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The famous bowls, as they are called, are not a KFC original. I believe they came into being sometime in the 1990s, which actually is a minute or two ago, now that I think about it. I am old enough to remember that era, though, when the restaurant started offering them.

They were pretty nifty and convenient because you were offered the best of several worlds: chicken, potatoes, gravy, and a vegetable—corn. They were tasty and convenient because it was all served together in the same container. The portion of the potatoes was generous, and the chicken was smothered in gravy. The addition of a vegetable and cheese completed the four food groups—a nutritional measure at the time.

Ingredients: fried chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and cheese

Of course, we know today that anything fried is probably not very healthy. At the same time, however, it tastes good. And the chicken today is probably prepared in a special oven. Trans fats restrictions have put limits on the fast food industry. The chicken nuggets of today are nothing like those of yesteryear.

The same would be said of the potatoes. They are obviously instant, or perhaps even flash-frozen instant, so that all they need is heat. The gravy is instant, as well.

An acquaintance of mine worked at a KFC in the late 1970s or the early 1980s, and he talked about how they would scrape the drippings of the pans in order to make the gravy. At one time, KFC actually made their own gravy—and it was so delicious. Younger readers won't know what I'm talking about, but some of you out there might.

Corn and cheese is not really that good for you, as it turns out. Corn is a carb that converts into sugars. Cheese isn't that healthy, either.

If you are diabetic, you probably want to limit your consumption of this product.

Well, the KFC Bowls are not a healthy choice. The sodium level in one bowl is enough to inspire recipes for a month: 2000 plus! I would not recommend consuming more than one a day.

However, they are tasty and satisfying.

Have you tried a bowl? Do you like them? Is healthy food a practice you adhere to? Let me know below.