Fast food. Not true. Why hasn't anyone sued fast food places for false advertising?
Take it from a person who has seen the other side of the counter in more than one fast food chain, calling it food should be criminal. A tasteless, overcooked, below grade semi-meat patty should never be consittered a culinary treat. Processed food is the number one reason a society should rethink it's definition of "good food fast". Lots of salt, fat, preservatives, and stuff like oat kernels as well as things I can neither spell or pronounce. Exercize all you want but a steady diet of pre-packaged processed "food" is still going to make you unhealthy. Loads of sugars, salt, and white bread can all lead a person to have high blood pressure, sluggishness, and even fat. 
Now I know it's easy and convenient to head to the nearest drive-thru at the end of a hard day of work, but sometimes convenience comes with a price. In this case you give up taste and health. Rewarding your kids with these "treats" is only re-enforcing bad choices in our youth's eating habits. All I know is that when the local police department feeds the prisioners, they feed them fast food, now hows that a "treat". When you think about it by giving your kids fast food, you're feeding them like a prisioner. I can't remember the last time someone went to prision because the food was outstanding.
Simple. Keep cold cuts on hand as well as large sized tortillas and let the kids make and eat wraps. Frozen beef patties can be baked in the oven and served on wheat rolls for a healthier alternitive to burger joints. Salad mixes are easy to find at your local food store and can be combined millions of different ways to create healthy and delicious summer dinners. The things all these suggestions have in common is that they are quick and easy as well as healthy. My favorite fast and easy dinner is canned tuna in water seasoned with garlic powder, black pepper, and onion powder as well as diced fresh celery with light mayo on rye bread with a soup of rice noodles cooked in chicken brooth and flavored with green onion. Quick, easy and healthy as well as full flavored. It will leave you satisfied and feeling good. So please try to find ways to feed your family fast and easy without resorting to ordering pizza, or visiting the drive-thru. I think you'll find your family won't miss them.
One last thought, if you are going to eat at a chain restaurant please give Panera Bread a try. I've had both breakfast and lunch there and I was blown away. The menu is a culinary delight. They have many diffrent soups and sandwiches on fresh baked bread. You walk in that place and the smell alone hooks you. everything they make from breakfast sandwiches like Asiago Bagel Breakfast sandwiches to Ciabatta Breakfast Sandwiches. You also get the freshest coffee I have ever had anywhere outside of Starbucks. They put the time the coffee was brewed right on the carafe so you know how long the brew has been out. On both of my visits never once did I see a coffee more than 20 minutes old before it was changed out with a fresher pot. 
Enjoyable article and good, useful information! I hadn't thought about baking hamburger patties, though I'll give it a try. Sometimes we steam them in a skillet with a bit of water, and usually use turkey.
ReplyDeleteIn regard to pizza, however, I think sometimes it gets a bad rap. As you are well aware, not all pizza is created equal. One one end of the spectrum you can have a deep dish pizza with an oil-soaked crust, topped with every meat imaginable and loads of cheese. On the other end, you can have a thin (or reasonably thin) crust pizza with veggies, turkey sausage, etc. and go easy on the cheese. When I make my own, I either purchase pizza dough that I can roll out to a desired thickness or a good ready-made pizza crust. There are some healthy (and tasty!) whole-grain options for pizza crust, inculding whole wheat and millet. Berkshire Mountain Bakery (http://www.berkshiremountainbakery.com)/produces some healthy and great quality crusts. In Torrington, you can find them at Back to Earth at the top of the hill on East Main Street. Sometimes you can get them for half price when they mark them down, but they're every bit as good.
Oh, I forgot. I second your endorsement of Panera Bread. Great quality, wholesome ingredients, always friendly service. And, as you said, the freshest (and among the very best) coffee you'll find anywhere.
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