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National Eat What You Want Day is HERE!

CBS Detroit - Let's face it, dieting is hard. Sometimes we fall back into those fattening foods that just seem to creep their way back into our kitchen, whether that's ice cream, donuts, bar-b-que, nachos, or beer. Today you get a free day where you can satiate those cravings without the guilt. Who knows, maybe tomorrow is Go-Walk-Around-The-Block Day?

So the people at National Today compiled a list from the Top Agency, a PR firm in Miami who did a survey ranking the top 10 foods Americans would eat if their favorite foods carried no repercussions on their waistlines.

1. Pizza -

According to Pizza.com, an average pizzeria in the U.S. uses 55 boxes a day and we as American's consume over 251 MILLION pounds just in pepperoni every year. Thirty-six percent of Americans think pizza is the perfect breakfast food (I can't disagree with that logic). Three BILLION pizzas are sold annually in the U.S, with about 5 billion pizzas sold worldwide, that's a big slice of the pie consumed here.

2. Pasta -

According to Pastafits.org, an average American eats 20 lbs. of pasta every year. They say pasta is the 6th highest food per capita in the country. As a nation, this equates to 5.95 billion pounds of pasta consumed each year. At an average price of $1.45 per pound, pasta has become an affordable staple at the dinner table.

3. Burgers -

According to HomeOfTheHamburger.org, one of the earliest records of the classic hamburger goes back to Charlie Nagreen in 1885. He loaded up a cart selling meatballs at a Wisconsin fair. At first, his idea didn't take off because people wanted a grab-and-go option to see the exhibits. Being a resourceful entrepreneur he rethought his idea and located some bread. He called them Hamburgers because many German immigrants lived in the area, and the naming them after the city of Hamburg resonated with them. In Michigan, you don't have to go far for a good burger. In fact, the Cheeseburger in Caseville Festival draws thousands of tourists wearing Jimmy Buffet attire, and serves up thousands of cheeseburgers in Michigan's thumb. Here's hoping with COVID-19 they find a way to make it happen this year.

4. Ice Cream -

According to IceCream.com, the favorite cold treat goes back to the Greeks in the 5th Century B.C. Marco Polo brought ice cream to Europe in the 1300s and in 1776 the first ice cream parlor opened in New York City. Today they say ice cream is right up there with cookies as the top-selling treat in America.  Vanilla is by far the most popular flavor here, but surprisingly New Zealand beats us in consumption. New Zealanders eat an average of 7.5 gallons of cold stuff every year.

5. Tacos or Burritos -

Given our distance to Mexico, it's no surprise that the classic street food of tacos and burritos made it to our tables. Whether you like yours from a taco truck, taco stand, or Taco Bell, tacos and Mexican cuisine is a favorite by one and all. According to Dollarsfortacos.com, tacos are first recorded from a Spanish conquistador named Herman Cortes. His band of men were introduced to the taco by the Aztecs. One of the largest fast-food chains in the U.S. selling Tex-Mex, Taco Bell started out as Tia Taco by Glenn Bell in 1954. In 1962 he changed the name to Taco Bell. Taco Bell sells now sells billions of tacos and burritos each year.

6. Chocolate -

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the Cacao tree. CandyUSA.com says it takes 400 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate and two to four days to make just one chocolate bar. One of the largest chocolatiers in the U.S., Hershey's, produced over one billion pounds of chocolate in 2011. TheChocolateStore.com reports Americans to consume 2.8 billion pounds annually.

7. French Fries -

Whether it's at the fair or at your favorite burger place... smothered with cheese, bacon, mayo, or just plain old ketchup. "Freedom Fries," "chips," "frites," "french fries," or whatever you call them are loved by all. According to The Dailymeal.com, many say french fries got their start in Belgium, which shares a culture with its neighbor, France as "frites". President Jefferson brought french fries here when he served as America's Minister to France. One of the world's largest purveyor of the fry, McDonald's outsells everyone when it comes to french fries. Of all the potatoes grown in the U.S., seven-percent are washed, cut, and prepared to be McDonald's french fries. Their proprietary recipe has 20 ingredients.

8. Donuts -

Who would have thought fried dough filled with sweet fillings, or slathered in a sweet glaze would be so good with a cup of milk or coffee? Mobile-Cuisine.com writes that Americans eat 10 billion donuts each year. In fact, we have many days devoted to the donut. January 12th is National Glazed Donut Day, the first Friday in June and November 5th are National Donut Days, June 8th is National Jelly-Filled Donut Day, and September is 14th National Creme-Filled Donut Day. Canada ranks as having more donut shops than any other country. Bonjour Canada!

9. Cake -

Whether it's a birthday, wedding, retirement, or any other occasion the go-to celebratory food is cake. Who doesn't leave their desk in the office at the mere mention of cake in the break room? Mobile-Cuisine reports cake goes back to the Romans when eggs and butter were added to basic bread recipes. Honey was added as a sweetener. The first mention of the birthday cake dates back to 1785. It is reported that 29% of U.S. school districts banned bake sales as fundraisers because kids are becoming too obese.

10. Cookies -

Cookies are right up there with ice cream as popular treats in America. As far as cookies go, Mobile-Cuisine says that in the U.S., Oreos, Chips Ahoy, and Pepperidge Farm Milanos are the top-selling cookies. One of the nation's most well-recognized sellers of the cookie, the Girl Scouts, sells 200 million boxes of cookies each year according to rd.com. Thin Mints account for a quarter of all sales with Samoas/Caramel deLites coming in second.

So what will you eat, on Eat What You Want Day? The ideas are endless and up to you of course! You could have breakfast for dinner, get take-out from a new restaurant, indulge in that treat you save for special occasions, or give your kids the freedom to choose the menu tonight. Having a day to break from the routine on your diet may satisfy those cravings and perhaps help you to stay on track. Just don't overdo it of course. You can share your indulgence online with the hashtag #eatwhatyouwantday.


© 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. information from National Today, Pizza.com, Pastafits.org, HomeofTheHamburger.org, Icecream.com, DollarsForTacos.com, Food Beast, CandyUSA, Reference.com, TheChocolateStore.com, the Dailymeal.com, Mobile-Cuisine.com, Mentalfloss.com, and RD.com contributed to this report.

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