Posts Tagged ‘French Fries’

Fast Food

December 20th, 2009

Fast Food

Fast food. Wheither it is tacos or burgers, we all love it just the same. Fast food has become a way of life for some people. They eat it three meals a day. There is no difference between a Big Mac and a steak to some people these days. When I was growing up as a kid, I hardly ever ate any fast food. To be honest we were too poor to eat fast food. Sometimes I think that was a blessing. I mean, sure I love a bucket of fried chicken like the rest of you, but there is more to eating than fast food. We have come too dependant on ready serve meals. I don’t care if they are fast food or a meal in a frozen box. There should be no need for it, but I can see why it is appealing to many people. I have to admit, I have ate my fair share of fast food. I used to spend a good amount of time away from the house and it wasn’t easy to grab a good meal. Most of us today live a lifestyle like this. For one reason or another, we don’t have time to prepare a good meal. Here we will discuss some things you can get at your local fast food joints that are suprisingly healthy. I’m not going to tell you that they are better for you than a meal that you would cook on your own, but you already know that. If you are ordering a burger, get it without the mayo and the cheese. It might not sound like it, but you will cut a lot of fat out just by doing this. If the sandwich is too dry for you without the mayo, use mustard or ketchup. This will help it slide down easier. The cheese that is used is the processed garbage loaded with oil and other junk. You think that cheese is made of milk, but not all of it is. Some of it is made from cooking oil. If you love cheese as much as I do, you can tell just by looking at it. Cheese that is made from oil will have a different look. It will look orange and oily. Avoid anything with bacon on it. I find that the bacon in fast food joints is very awful. They really don’t cook it, they just put it under lights until it gets hot. Avoid this at all costs. You will save calories and you will be happy you did. A good rule of thumb is to stay away from sandwiches that are deep fried. You know the ones. The ones that have deep fried fish or chicken in them. The process of frying them in fat like this, makes them worse for your health. I would suggest that you go with chicken any time that you can. Generally chicken items will be lower in fat. Don’t get a chicken sandwich loaded with mayo or that has been deep fried. If the only chicken items they have are deep fried, look at the burgers they have you can choose from. I would also suggest that you substitute french fries for a side salad. I know, what fun is fast food without fries? Well, from time to time they are okay. But, if you make a habit of eating fast food regularly, then you should stay away from them most of the time. Key thing to remember, I said most of the time. If you eat them from time to time, they won’t hurt you. But if you are eating so many french fries that you can slick back your hair with the access grease on your hands, you need to cut down a bit on them. There seems to be a trend of meatless burgers that some fast food joints are carrying. I’m not sure if this is because there is a jump in the percent of people who don’t eat meat. That could be, but if you live near a college, that might have something to do with it too. It is a big phase with college kids to be ‘animal friendly’. This is of course until they get older and realize how much more tasty meat is compared to tofu. At any rate, if they have meatless burgers at your local fast food joint, you can try them. Sometimes they will be less in fat than normal burgers. They might take a while to get used to. I can’t say that I care much for these. I can’t stand how they when you chew them. Just keep in mind just because its meatless, don’t mean you can add one the cheese and mayo. Some of these burgers aren’t THAT lower in fat. My favorite place to go is Subway. Well, any good sub shop will work just fine. You can load up your sandwich with tasty veggies instead of fatty stuff like mayo. I would still suggest that you go with chicken, though at most of these places you can find turkey as well. The great thing about Subway is, the fat content and the calories are open for all to see. They advertise it all over their store how much the sandwiches contain. You can load up on all kinds of veggies and not even worry about missing cheese or mayo. One way that you can keep the calories low is by drinking water or diet sodas. Personally I hate diet soda, so I just drink water instead. Ask them if they have any lemon you can squirt into the water. That will give it a crisp taste that you will love and it will keep your mind off of the sodas. Of course you can go with the diet sodas, but to me they are way to sweet. There you have it. An easy guide to fast food. The next time you go out to the hamburger joint, keep this article in mind.

Taking A Closer Look at the Fast Food Industry and it’s ‘Unhealthy’ Salad

December 19th, 2009

I have never been a huge fan of eating at fast food restaurants. This is mainly because I have had bad experience after bad experience. I used to blame it on my parents. I thought that because they never took me to those places they had raised me to have a weak stomach. Now I was unable to enjoy the ‘delicious’ taste of a fast food burger and fries without having to run to the bathroom soon afterwards. As I got older I started to become interested in nutrition and I became curious to better understand why I suffered so much from eating these foods. It’s not as though I was eating candy bars, desserts, and ice cream. I was eating protein (meat), carbohydrates (bread/bun), vegetables (toppings, potatoes, and ketchup), right? Why was I in so much pain?

As I learned more about the ingredients used in these fast food products and the products used to prepare them, it was no wonder my stomach reacted the way it did. The use of cheaper quality meat, preservatives, hydrogenated vegetable oils, trans-fats, excess salt and sugar, and bad carbs has lead to low quality unhealthy products. Although these fast food companies are making a killing off of their large margins, consumers are harmed through obesity rates, and disease such as heart disease, type-two diabetes, etc.

Until recently there was no reason to change. Consumers were consuming massive amounts of these products, many not even realizing the affect it would have on their health. Since companies were making so much money, it was unnecessary for them to fix something that ‘wasn’t broken’. Then something happened… Studies started to prove the health risks associated with eating these foods, various people/organizations started to stand up in protest, and governments started to enforce regulations requiring these companies to tell all of their consumers just how unhealthy their products really were (e.g. having to list the amount of trans-fat found in their products). Also, with the rise in obesity, heart disease, type two diabetes, etc., many consumers were starting to seek healthier fast food options where available. McDonald’s and many other fast food chains went back to the drawing board to cook up a solution.

Introducing the ‘healthy choice’ menus including items such as the ‘healthy’ salad. I have always questioned what McDonald’s intentions were when they developed their salads. Was it to create a nutritious salad that would improve the health of their consumers? Somehow I doubt it. Most likely it was to create a salad that tasted great so consumers would want to eat more of them (mass consumption), minimize costs to maximize revenue (use inexpensive ingredients where possible), and could be packaged in a way that sounded healthy so consumers would think they were doing something good for their body. They fact is that they are not all that healthy.

Many of us now know that eating fast food burgers, fries, soda, fried chicken, etc., is bad for us, and that they should be avoided. The salads however are the new culprit to the fast food phenomenon and unfortunately the truth about how unhealthy they really are is not as well known. The best tip I can provide is to educate yourself about what’s in these salads. By better understanding what we are eating, we can make more informed, healthier choices. Don’t be fooled by the fancy messages on the outside, it’s what’s inside that counts.

I recently wrote an article that talks more specifically about McDonald’s salads. It puts two McDonald’s salads up beside a BigMac® to compare their nutrition specs. I think many would be shocked at the facts. Click here to visit that article.

Briana Southward is the author of The Naked Label, a blog that undresses the food we eat to better understand what we are consuming. It strips off all the fancy marketing and misleading messages to get at the truth. If you are interested to see what’s naked this week, learn about great substitute products, and get recipe ideas, check out www.TheNakedLabel.com
Wordpress Autoblog Plugin
7 visitors online now
7 guests, 0 members
Max visitors today: 8 at 12:13 am GMT+6
This month: 14 at 02-08-2012 05:21 pm GMT+6
This year: 31 at 01-03-2012 08:28 pm GMT+6
All time: 123 at 01-29-2011 08:52 pm GMT+6