Healthy Fast Food Alternatives

I recently saw a post on Facebook by a friend and I realized my comment on her post really needed to be sent to more than just her. Unfortunately, so many people are mislead by the media to believe what some writer decides will adequately fill the print space, regardless of it's validity and effect.

This is just one case of many.

Cooking Light Article

Yeah, right.  Here's the deal...

With the exception of two of these, these alternatives are at best the "best of the worst". The bottom line - don't let yourself get to the point that you're so hungry you have to go into a fast food restaurant to fuel your body. Keep a stash of good protein bars, apples, a bag of almonds, some hard boiled eggs and lots of water with you at all times. Unless you're stranded in a foreign country without any options, you can probably last long enough to find a grocery store to run into and grab a healthy snack or meal without having to get substandard eggs, meat & dairy from McDonalds or Burger King. By the way, there isn't a soul on the planet who could convince me that BK's French Toast sticks are a healthy breakfast option. Just because something has less than 400 calories, doesn't make it healthy. Oh, and if you ARE stranded in a foreign country without your "snack stash", then for God's sake, enjoy the culinary experience of that country and don't count your calories while you're there!  Chances are the food you eat there won't be nearly as bad for you as the foods our USDA and FDA allow here.

If you want to read more about where your food comes from and what the Fast Food Industry has done to our environment, our animal production and our bodies, check out some of these videos on YouTube or NetFlix:

Paleo In A Nutshell:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCFZoqmKf5M

King Corn

(2007) NR
In Aaron Woolf's thought-provoking documentary, friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis move back to America's Corn Belt to plant an acre of the nation's most-grown and most-subsidized grain and follow their crop into the U.S. food supply. What they learn about genetically modified seeds, powerful herbicides and the realities of modern farming calls into question government subsidies, the fast-food lifestyle and the quality of what we eat.


Fast Food Nation

(2006) R
Richard Linklater's fictional tale (inspired by Eric Schlosser's 2001 nonfiction book of the same name) critiques the junk-food juggernaut that's arguably responsible for America's alarming obesity rates. Greg Kinnear plays Don Henderson, a corporate exec of a national fast-food chain, who follows beef's journey from the corrals to the slaughterhouses -- and ultimately to your stomach. Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette and Bruce Willis co-star.

Food, Inc.

(2008) PG
Drawing on Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, director Robert Kenner's Oscar-nominated documentary explores the food industry's detrimental effects on our health and environment. Kenner spotlights the men and women who are working to reform an industry rife with monopolies, questionable interpretations of laws and subsidies, political ties and rising rates of E. coli outbreaks.


And, if you can stomach it, you should definitely check out any of the videos listed when you search the phrase "Death on a Factory Farm" on YouTube.com


So before you drive in to any "drive through", think about these things:

1.  Who's gonna eat this?  You?  Your children?
2.  Are you nourishing your body by eating this food?  or your emotions?
3.  Can you find a better alternative?
4.  Were any animals tortured, beaten or ill when killed for your lunch?
5.  What is the carbon inprint of your lunch? 

Just a little something to think about while you're chowing down on that dollar meal...