View Full Version : No more fast food
Today I'm going to give up fast food for a month and see what happens. Has anyone tried this?
I'd bet almost everyone on this board for the most part :)
take a look at lessismore's fantastic informative recent thread... I didn't see too many drive-thru stops in her tips.
I do love junky food unfortunately, but even I can't eat fast food anymore, it tastes so overly manufactured
I do love junky food unfortunately, but even I can't eat fast food anymore, it tastes so overly manufactured
I agree--I can't remember the last time I went to a McDonalds/Wendy's/Burger King/Taco Bell, etc.
The last few times fast food was "the" food option, my body regretted the choice. The only way I do it anymore is if I'm dining with people who don't want to go anyplace else. The companionship is more important than the food.
The calories are better spent elsewhere.
I haven't been to a fast food place for several years. Mostly I worry about the food handlers. :sick:
awakenedsoul
12-4-14, 9:53am
Hi john. Welcome to the forum! I haven't eaten fast food in several years. Once in a great while I will stop at MacDonalds for a quarter pounder with cheese, french fries, and a drink. I haven't done that in over five years, though. It was usually on a road trip. I pack a lunch now. Just cutting out fast food in your diet will make big changes. I stopped buying chips and junk food snacks, too. Now I will make french fries at home. I only do that every few months...
Many times if we had to go somewhere with the kids, we would take our own food. Just think of all the trash NOT generated when you take your own food.
If I ruled the world, I'd get rid of fast food places. Everyone would own a lunchbox and thermos and use it every day. :)
Many times if we had to go somewhere with the kids, we would take our own food. Just think of all the trash NOT generated when you take your own food.
If I ruled the world, I'd get rid of fast food places. Everyone would own a lunchbox and thermos and use it every day. :)
Cathy that reminded me of how growing up every single family trip, vacation, or even day out of town always included a road side park and my mom's cold fried chicken, butter sandwiches, carrots, celery, pringles, chocolate chip cookies, and lemonade. My mom's cooler packing never varied.
Yum! That sounds good. It isn't always the easiest thing to do, but I think it's the best.
If you want to see the results of eating nothing but fast food for a month, check this out (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me). It's pretty funny.
I have rarely eaten in FF restaurants in recent years. Recently I was on the road and needed a protein fix, so I stopped at a McDonald's to get some chicken tenders, which I used to eat occasionally. They didn't seem to offer them anymore, so I went across the street to a KFC and got some. I had also eaten those in the past, but this time they were awful -- so greasy they gave me a bellyache.
lessisbest
12-4-14, 1:32pm
Here are a few tips:
1. People tend to resort to fast food when they don't have "fast food" options at home, so make sure you have something on hand to take its place. I can make a taco or taco salad faster than I can drive to pick one up, and always have the fixins' for a taco/taco salad on hand. I have grilled hamburgers or homemade bean burgers in the freezer. You can make a quick pizza on a tortilla (flour or corn) or an English Muffin. I make a quick pizza sauce with 1 t. tomato powder, enough water to make a thick sauce, Italian Spices (or pizza spices), a dab of honey (or other sweetener), pinch of salt, shot of vinegar. You can also spread a corn tortilla with bbq sauce and add some shredded meat, veggies and cheese, or make a white pizza using Ranch Dressing.
2. If you have kids at home who love fast food, make homemade versions of them and "serve" them in recycled fast food bags. You might even find treats you can add to the bag at the Dollar Store (stickers, pencils, etc.) OR, your kids can decorate their own brown paper lunch bags and invent their OWN fast food joint at home.
3. Have that emergency meal in mind and on hand. My favorite emergency lunch is a handful of almonds, a stalk of celery, an apple and a chunk of cheese. Another one is something with an egg (I like to keep a few hard boiled eggs in the refrigerator).
4. Anything they (fast food joints) can make, you can make better and for less money, if you just stop and consider your options.
Welcome to the boards. :)
the only eating I do that I consider the equivalent of "fast food" is picking up a pre-roasted chicken at the grocery store. Not entirely happy to do that, I don't know what's in there, but the convenience of that option (not to mention the weirdly low price) is so compelling it sometimes wins out over 100% home cooked.
Edit: I've reconsidered and maybe I do eat fast food, wrote another post on page 2.
Teacher Terry
12-4-14, 3:24pm
I rarely eat it anymore. I ate much more of it when I was young.
HappyHiker
12-4-14, 6:48pm
Maybe twice a year I'll indulge (or punish myself?) in a Whopper Junior. We try to pack food when we travel as the only options for road food clsoe to the road seem to be fast food places. Will stop to use their restrooms, though. Beats the bushes on the side of the road.
domestic goddess
12-4-14, 7:35pm
Chicken Tenders was Burger King; McNuggets is McDonald's offering. FF was one of the easiest things to give up. I do occasionally (rarely) go through the drive thru and get something to drink, if I am out and need something to drink. That's it, though, because I literally get physically ill when I eat fast food, especially McDonald's.
If you want to see the results of eating nothing but fast food for a month, check this out (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me). It's pretty funny.
...
Or in hilarious contrast, there's this: http://smile.amazon.com/Fat-Head-Tom-Naughton/dp/B005KGPZZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417745738&sr=8-1&keywords=fat+head+documentary It's a full-length documentary wherein Tom Naughton ate at various fast-food outlets for a month, lost weight, and improved various health markers. It's one of my favorite contrarian docs, and I'm a fan of its Libertarian filmmaker as well.
Gardenarian
12-4-14, 9:38pm
Good for you! That's a great challenge to take. Good luck!
IshbelRobertson
12-5-14, 3:26am
I have never eaten foods from places like McD. It doesn't even LOOK like food!
How does one define "fast food"? Are donuts from Dunkin' Donuts fast food? If so, then I can't say that I'll make it through the challenge this month. It's the end of the semester and I always buy the students in my 8:00am classes Dunkin' Donuts on the last day of class. Which means, I'll have to eat one. :D Avoiding Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, Taco Bell, and their ilk are easy. I don't think I've eaten "food" from one of those establishments in over 10 years.
goldensmom
12-5-14, 6:30am
Cathy that reminded me of how growing up every single family trip, vacation, or even day out of town always included a road side park and my mom's cold fried chicken, butter sandwiches, carrots, celery, pringles, chocolate chip cookies, and lemonade. My mom's cooler packing never varied.
That was 'fast' food when I was a kid. No McDonalds, no Burger King, no Taco Bell, etc. where we lived. The 'fast' came when we would see how 'fast' we could get the food out of the cooler. We also had no school cafeteria. Everyone brought a lunch and I never saw one child go without lunch (small school).
About the closest I come to fast food is occasionally getting hot chicken wings at the grocery store (maybe 1-2 times a month). It's been years since I've gone into a fast food place - unless you count coffee (as in just coffee).
shadowmoss
12-5-14, 7:52am
I'll put myself in the 'I'm human' group and say that I do eat fast food still. I try to leave McDonald's for when I'm on the road traveling, but some of the others I do hit up. It is partially about working weird hours. Sometimes fast food is better than no food. It is also easy(ier) now to get healthy-ish options like baked potatoes and such at places like Wendys.
Thanks for all the advice. Coming from eating fast food 2-3 times a day to going cold turkey was kinda rough but I'm not cheating during the next 29 days
Mickey D's is strictly road trip food. I usually bring snacks, but sometimes it isn't enough, and usually we're on a schedule so stopping for a real meal is not practical. We do try to keep to the lower end of the calorie scale there, with hamburgers and we split a small order of fries.
That being said, there have been times I've indulged in a sausage biscuit. Yes I know its super fatty with minimal nutrition, but it can really hit the spot.
IshbelRobertson
12-5-14, 1:29pm
I occasionally... Probably 4-5 times a year, buy fish and chips (thick cut 'French fries') from one of our best 'chippies'. The haddock is served in batter, but i just peel that off and eat the white flakes underneath. The chips are my indulgence, soaked in 'salt n' soss', a vinegary sauce combo with a little salt sprinkled as an afterthought! The food is cooked as you wait and is GREAT! No processed 'meat' patties, just great fresh fish.
I occasionally... Probably 4-5 times a year, buy fish and chips (thick cut 'French fries') from one of our best 'chippies'. The haddock is served in batter, but i just peel that off and eat the white flakes underneath. The chips are my indulgence, soaked in 'salt n' soss', a vinegary sauce combo with a little salt sprinkled as an afterthought! The food is cooked as you wait and is GREAT! No processed 'meat' patties, just great fresh fish.
Now, that's great fast food! In New Jersey, there's a 1st gen Scottish community, which unfortunately is shrinking fast, and we go there a lot to a couple of the casual restaurants where you get great fish and chips. The meat place, where we used to get our pies and bridies and sausage rolls, has moved out to the shore, so once a year we drive out there and stock up. Meat pies are great "fast food" also, when they're in your freezer.
Oh man.........I've been craving fish and chips lately.
When I was back-packing in Europe many years ago, the only "fast-food" place in Germany was where you could get a baked half-chicken and pommes frites. They were very yummy.
IshbelRobertson
12-5-14, 2:57pm
Now, that's great fast food! In New Jersey, there's a 1st gen Scottish community, which unfortunately is shrinking fast, and we go there a lot to a couple of the casual restaurants where you get great fish and chips. The meat place, where we used to get our pies and bridies and sausage rolls, has moved out to the shore, so once a year we drive out there and stock up. Meat pies are great "fast food" also, when they're in your freezer.
I make my own mutton pies, bridies and sausage rolls. In fact, I'm baking dozens of sausage rolls toorrow to freze for Christmas and Hogmanay.
4. Anything they (fast food joints) can make, you can make better and for less money, if you just stop and consider your options.
People always say that, but I've yet to seen it proven true. Short of unrepeatable circumstances like stacking coupons in the supermarket, I can't put together a hamburger like McBurgerBox can for 99 cents, let alone a free-range grass-fed burger with a whole-grain bun -- and ketchup and a wrapper and napkins. Or three or six chicken nuggets from a bird actually fed what chickens eat. Extending it further, I can't make four servings of, say, chicken cacciatore as cheaply as ConAgra or Nestle can with a "Healthy Choice" or Stouffer's frozen meal, especially when they always seem to be on sale at the local grocery. Add in the time components of shopping and prep, and I just don't see a way us simple folk can outproduce assembly lines.
Not saying that homemade isn't better. I don't think there's much argument there. But I have seen this argument for 30 years and have never seen anyone provide a consistent varied menu of meals with even similar ingredients to the big producers at lower prices. I'd love to see it here.
I make my own mutton pies, bridies and sausage rolls. In fact, I'm baking dozens of sausage rolls toorrow to freze for Christmas and Hogmanay.
I figured as much, Ishbel :) I'll bet they're delicious!
The name "Fast Food" is really kind of an oxymoron, isn't it? It really isn't fast, and it just barely classifies as food. I quit going in those places, unless I am on the road, and need to get a cup of coffee or a Mt Dew and hotcakes to wake me up. If you go in during peak hours, it can take awhile to get service. Another thing is, prices are HIGH. It's not a cheap way to eat, anymore. May as well go to someplace better, or take a lunch. One perk in a job or luxury of self-employment is a mini-kitchen, with several microwaves and a refrigerator and sink. It also saves you having to drive, and risk being late getting back.
Since giving up beef & pork 20 years ago this year, I've only had french fries and chocolate shakes from McD's when I've had fast food. In NYC McD's they had soy burgers which were OK but they don't serve them anymore. Those darn fries are just too irresistable.
In a few weeks I'm taking the plunge and trying the Wheat Belly diet for a month, so no fries from anywhere for me. Or shakes. Or rolls. Or pies.....sniff.
We used to have fast food every sunday for dinner. Sunday was mom's day off and that was the cheapest option. Once in a while we'd go to a real sitdown restaurant but it wasn't until I was in my teens that that became the norm for sunday dinner. Once I got my driver's license my friends and I started going to McDonalds every day for lunch because it was too far from campus for anyone without a car to get to, so there was a whole cachet to going there for lunch instead of slumming it at Arby's, which was in walking distance of school.
Now I'm not nearly so enamored with fast food but I will still go to taco bell once in a while and get a 7 layer burrito. It doesn't have meat, so I miss out on their 37% ground beef product, but I'm ok with that. I do, however, like a good slice of cheese pizza. (does pizza count as fast food?) Unfortunately, we moved from NY to San Francisco 6 years ago and I've only found one pizza place that's even marginally ok. It's probably a good thing that it's by our home, not my office, so I can't go there 5 days a week for lunch, and I end up taking my lunch instead.
Gardenarian
12-6-14, 3:37pm
Does candy count as fast food?
Being Vegetarian/Vegan there are not a lot of FF choices for me, but I still managed to eat a lot of fast food -> Subway Veg sandwich, Burger King BK Veggie (very good I might add), McD Fries, Oatmeal, Bean/Rice Burritos, etc. Coupled that with my Diet Coke addiction (Hi, my name is Greg, I am addicted to Diet Coke).
BUT, Mid October I cut way way back. I figure I have saved $ 200+ & thousands of empty calories.
Each morning - Refilled my Large Diet Coke at McDonalds 60c, $ 3.50 average lunch, refill my Diet Coke at convenience store .89c and on the way home refilled my Diet Coke at McD (wife like to share it when I get home!) .60c. So about $ 5.59 per day! Roughly $ 1600.+ a year. Ouch I have wasted a LOT of $$.
But I LOVE McD Diet Coke, it really is better out of the fountain! Now I get maybe one a week, have replaced it with good ol water.
Bottomline, I stopped FF for better health & saving $$ --> it was hard for a while, it had actually become a "social" thing as well. I knew the people at McD's by name, the lady at the convenience store called me Mr. 32 (32 oz refill). I "know" all the regulars at McD's - I have names for them all. I still like to go to McD on my day off, get a Oatmeal (no brown sugar, no cream) plan out my day, read, etc. My wife jokes I am going for my McDonalds Moment!
Apropos of nothing, I wish we had In'n'Out Burger here...
Does candy count as fast food?
Not if it's eaten slowly.
The only FF I've eaten for a few years has been Dairy Queen or McD's soft ice cream cones. Very hard to give up, but finally did. And I'm definitely with CathyA about the wrappers etc being toxic for the environment. There's also the astronomically high amount of salt in FF.
I was just looking at this website earlier and found some good info:
www.100daysofrealfood.com
Not so much about fast food but avoiding processed "corporate" food. I am going to make the breakfast cookies recipe shortly; cooking down some apples right now since I don't have any applesauce.
The neat thing is that once you really get into food, it is very hard to justify eating that stuff. It tastes too salty, too sugary, too fatty, ie gross.
The closest we come to fast food around here is eating at a food trailer since they are everywhere but their wares are all made from scratch and usually inventive and tasty.
What is the deal with "In and Out"? - they have invaded our city and the locals don't care for them but west coast transplants do. Makes me wonder what makes them so great.
I think they just serve good quality hamburgers--without buns "protein style" if you like.
shadowmoss
12-7-14, 11:08pm
I was somewhat adicted to McD's sweet iced tea. The great thing is that even outside the South the McD's had it on tap always, just like most places back in Nashville. So leaving Nashville wasn't quite as sad. I didn't get any for awhile, just basically trying to save money and calories. I got one a few days ago and almost couldn't drink it because it was so sweet. That is what I used to think was so great about it. I guess this is a good thing, although I'll be stuck trying to figure out what to stop and get when going through Wickenburg on the was to Las Vegas now. It was my potty break, get a second iced tea to get me to the next town stop.
Simplemind
12-8-14, 1:21am
Our fast food habit is splitting a foot long turkey with pepper jack and veggies piled high from Subway. We do that about once a week. Other than that I'm not a fan of anything processed or in a bun. We eat pretty clean most of the time.
Revisiting the concept of "fast food", what do you think?
Last night we went out to a new place called Graze. It's tiny, maybe 10 tables, you put in your order at the counter and they bring it to you, you pull your own fountain drink, took about five minutes to get food (but the restaurant was empty). Locally sourced grass fed beef burger, local dairy, organic white cheddar, homemade brioche bun, mushrooms, jalapenos if you want them, handcut organic fries, each burger grilled to order, some 'artisan sodas' on the fountain that I'd never heard of - Maine Root, so some nice touches, but still, not health food. there are only about five items on the menu - hamburger, chicken sandwich, salad, veggie burger, hotdog.
So ... does this count as fast food or not? It's not a chain restaurant, but I got a burger (no bun) on a lettuce wrap, shared a few fries with my DH and had a (natural blueberry with cane sugar) soda. Sounds suspiciously like Mickey D's if you don't dig deeper, and frankly each course had just as many concentrated carb loads as anywhere else, they just cut out the nasty preservatives and mystery ingredients.
They have a sister store called Choice Greens where we eat a lot, it's chopped salads or personal sized pizzas, same sort of venue. Is that one fast food?
And before we got lower carb, we used to eat at a great local place called Beyond Bread. Again, same venue, order at the counter get served tableside. Like having lunch in a bakery, soooo delicious! Is that "fast"?
Jane, there's an In n Out within two blocks of my house. Their burgers are good, meat seems to be of a higher quality. Eat there once in a great while, I do the wrap business. Bet they're even better on a bun!
ETA: do the midwesterners here like Schoops? Always dh's favorite.
Not so much about fast food but avoiding processed "corporate" food.
When you can get TGIF or Boston Market in your grocer's freezer case, what is the difference?
So ... does this count as fast food or not? It's not a chain restaurant, but I got a burger (no bun) on a lettuce wrap, shared a few fries with my DH and had a (natural blueberry with cane sugar) soda. Sounds suspiciously like Mickey D's if you don't dig deeper, and frankly each course had just as many concentrated carb loads as anywhere else, they just cut out the nasty preservatives and mystery ingredients.
They have a sister store called Choice Greens where we eat a lot, it's chopped salads or personal sized pizzas, same sort of venue. Is that one fast food?
And before we got lower carb, we used to eat at a great local place called Beyond Bread. Again, same venue, order at the counter get served tableside. Like having lunch in a bakery, soooo delicious! Is that "fast"?
I would say a restaurant is "fast food" if the food is served quickly and a good chunk of business is not dine-in. By that standard, Graze and Beyond Bread (and Chipotle and Panera Bread, which are not that far apiece from either place you mentioned) are "fast food". They've just figured (rightly so, if you go by sales numbers) that people will pay a little more for what they perceive as better ingredients (even if nutritionally it's only marginally better than McD's/BK/etc.).
I'm sensing a bit of demonization of fast-food restaurants here that the devil's advocate in me thinks is unjustified. There's plenty of junk to be bought at grocery stores, some of which comes in unconscionable amounts of packaging (individually-wrapped string cheese?). And I don't kid myself that eating Paul Newman's "Newman-Os" (or whatever his version of Oreos is called) or Joia's "we-use-sugar-not-HFCS" from my food co-op really is any more healthful than eating Oreos or drinking Pepsis. My body is not happy all the grease and carbs that come with a fried hamburger and French fries, but it wouldn't be any happier if all that came from Chipotle or a Perkins or a Stouffer's frozen entree, either. I think, as in so many other areas of life, there is no absolute here. Fast food can scratch an itch, good food can scratch an itch. So long as people aren't living on it, it's up to the individual on what and how often.
Fast food is not always nondescript or unappealing, either. Portland has developed a passionate following around its food carts, each with its own distinct cuisine. And all of them, presumably, fast.
ApatheticNoMore
12-8-14, 7:31pm
Revisiting the concept of "fast food", what do you think?
Last night we went out to a new place called Graze. It's tiny, maybe 10 tables, you put in your order at the counter and they bring it to you, you pull your own fountain drink, took about five minutes to get food (but the restaurant was empty). Locally sourced grass fed beef burger, local dairy, organic white cheddar, homemade brioche bun, mushrooms, jalapenos if you want them, handcut organic fries, each burger grilled to order, some 'artisan sodas' on the fountain that I'd never heard of - Maine Root, so some nice touches, but still, not health food. there are only about five items on the menu - hamburger, chicken sandwich, salad, veggie burger, hotdog.
So ... does this count as fast food or not?
I say no. Although the soda I'm tempted to say is, if it's a real soda at least, not just blueberry juice and seltzer. I mean yes if one is ordering burgers all the time it's probably not healthy, but I don't assume one is. And more vegetables would be good.
ApatheticNoMore
12-8-14, 7:40pm
individually-wrapped string cheese?.
I think that's for taking to work and the like, it also lasts forever and ever in the fridge because it's so tightly wrapped. Not often, but yes I've bought it.
My body is not happy all the grease and carbs that come with a fried hamburger and French fries , but it wouldn't be any happier if all that came from Chipotle or a Perkins or a Stouffer's frozen entree, either.
my body has trouble digesting a lot of red meat at a time period (yea a burger even a small one is a lot of red meat at a time) - mild stomach pain and heartburn, so I'll eat a burger occasionally knowing this - grassfed of course - well they do taste good, but the people who say use meat as a condiment or at least as one ingredient along with vegetables etc. are probably on to something, it's easy on one's digestion that way.
Today I'm going to give up fast food for a month and see what happens. Has anyone tried this?
That looks quite a challenge. However, in addition to it, I would like you to suggest some fat burning foods (http://olwomen.com/45-fat-burning-foods-that-guarantee-a-healthful-life/) as well. I think that would help you to achieve those goals which you haven't explained in the post. At least, the intake of these foods would boost up the procedure :)
Tussiemussies
4-9-15, 12:12am
I have given up all fast foods and all forms of anything with sugar in it and I feel better than I have in a long time...
A fellow named Jamie Oliver, a chef TV personality brought to light first what is really in children's lunches in school and then he went on to also show what you are getting in the fast food restaurants and I guess that is why McDonald's is losing revenue.
He showed hamburgers made out of what is referred to as "pink slime" and it really does look like pink slime before it is formed into anything. Basically what it is, is all of the parts of the animal that no one wants to eat.
It all was very enlightening. So far McDonald's had taken away the soda in the children's' meals but I am not sure what they are replacing it with. People are waiting to see how they are going to handle the new genetically modified Apple that will never turn brown....
I am so glad I don't go to these fast-food restaurants anymore and I wish the OP all the best in staying on his course.....Christine
I have given up all fast foods and all forms of anything with sugar in it and I feel better than I have in a long time...
A fellow named Jamie Oliver, a chef TV personality brought to light first what is really in children's lunches in school and then he went on to also show what you are getting in the fast food restaurants and I guess that is why McDonald's is losing revenue.
He showed hamburgers made out of what is referred to as "pink slime" and it really does look like pink slime before it is formed into anything. Basically what it is, is all of the parts of the animal that no one wants to eat.
It all was very enlightening. So far McDonald's had taken away the soda in the children's' meals but I am not sure what they are replacing it with. People are waiting to see how they are going to handle the new genetically modified Apple that will never turn brown....
I am so glad I don't go to these fast-food restaurants anymore and I wish the OP all the best in staying on his course.....Christine
If you need inspiration to stay away from not only fast-food joints, but also all the highly-processed food at the store, read "Salt Sugar Fat" by Michael Moss, followed by "The Food Babe Way" by Vani Hari. Can anyone tell me why we would consume so-called "food" that has a long list of ingredients, many which we can't pronounce, let alone know what they are? Do you realize KFC Pot Pie has more than 100 ingredients in it, Cheeze Whiz has 27 ingredients, Nutri-Grain Strawberry Yogurt has 56-ingredients? These foods are science projects. Eating healthy should be "normal".
Fast food is not always nondescript or unappealing, either. Portland has developed a passionate following around its food carts, each with its own distinct cuisine. And all of them, presumably, fast.
I think the label kind of got stretched to mean particular things - if I can order a healthy vegan, organic meal and walk out with it in 10 minutes (and there is a place in Cambridge you do this, really good food), it's fast food. But not what people are trying to mean (processed, manufactured, unhealthy and unappealing) when they say "fast food".
Chicken lady
4-9-15, 8:27am
dd1 works for a grocery chain. they recently had a fund raiser for the local arts organization where employees could donate $5 and get a bag with $40 worth of groceries. She said everyone in the office was raving about it, so she bought one. Her reaction to unpacking it was "there are a lot of things that people eat that I don't actually consider food. So thank you I guess."
She and her s.o. just moved into a duplex. The landlord came by yesterday and s.o. convinced him to let them have a garden. He told dd "call your mom and beg her for some of her little plants." (peppers and tomatoes) because he doesn't really have ime to start on it until he graduates in a month.
I remember when we were young and I used to participate in a program where you could do community service for the right to buy cheap bags of food - government surplus and company donated items. One $12 share was supposed to last one adult for a month. I always got two. but they never fed us more than a week or two, and there was a lot of stuff we gave away. the third month I discovered that people hung around in the parking lot and traded stuff from their bags after pick up. Ds was stunned when I came home with twice the fresh fruit and veggies and almost no packaged junk. The fourth month people sought me out. apparently what I wanted to unload was what everybody else was looking for. Some people actually asked me "what do you do with that stuff?"
He showed hamburgers made out of what is referred to as "pink slime" and it really does look like pink slime before it is formed into anything. Basically what it is, is all of the parts of the animal that no one wants to eat.
Not to defend McDonald's, fast food, or "pink slime", but (ammonia treatment aside) at least pink slime has the virtue of using more of the animal than most people do. It's sad that so much of butchered animals goes to waste in America. Organ meats, stomachs, feet, gizzards, ... rarely eaten here. There have been a couple of parts which have escaped this off-handed treatment: oxtails, skirt steak (which was the unappealing "beef diaphragm" until it was rechristened and became the star of fajitas). But serve guests a tripe stew or chicken feet and see how quickly most of them find the door (and a nearby Burger King). :(
It all was very enlightening. So far McDonald's had taken away the soda in the children's' meals but I am not sure what they are replacing it with. People are waiting to see how they are going to handle the new genetically modified Apple that will never turn brown....
They could simply put some lemon juice on the apple and vacuum-pack it; that would keep the apple from turning an unappetizing brown in the package.
But your comment reminds me of the misplaced goodness some people place on foods like juice and cow's milk. People are much better off eating an orange than they are drinking a cup of juice (which is mostly sugar in a non-refined less-politically-inflammatory version). And I'm not fooled for a minute by the notion that Paul Newman's organic Newman-Os really are a whit better for me than plain ol' Oreos. It's almost a form of brownwashing, if I may borrow a term.
I am so glad I don't go to these fast-food restaurants anymore and I wish the OP all the best in staying on his course.....Christine
I actually do, too. There still are times for me when fast food is the best option. But I'm careful about what I order because I'm too used to whole foods and fiber to be satisfied with fluffy buns and iceberg lettuce and the meal just seems to sit in my belly long after it should.
But I think there's a lot more wrong with the American food system than fast food and I think it's demonized unfairly when there are so many other root issues.
Today I'm going to give up fast food for a month and see what happens. Has anyone tried this?Uh--yeah! It's basically the choice of people who are on-the-go, and also the choice of overeaters. But, it's expensive--even though it is rationalized that it is cheap, relative to the number of empty calories from carbohydrates & fats that it typically contains. If you are not using those calories--well--you will gain weight, fast. I worked with some kids that would clock out at break, get in their truck, and drive a 5 or 6-mile round trip and pay $7-8 every day, for lunch. Also, people who were relatives, would order for delivery pizza or Chinese,subs,etc., everyday, to have their little family dinner in the lunchroom. Oh, yeah. Even though the employer provided numerous microwaves and refrigerators in the shop, to store and heat lunches. The sensible people went that route. During nice weather, during our 1/2 hour break, I would bicycle the mere 2 miles over to the nearest Wendy's, order two things from the Dollar menu, ride back and eat in time to clock in. It probably wasn't that smart, but I did it, anyway. Those People were completely astonished that someone could even do that. But, most of them smoked cigarretes, and stuff, anyhow.
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