Tricks To Eat Fast Food

Nowadays, the easiest and the cheapest way to dine-in is at the fast food restaurants. Such restaurants are available everywhere. It’s the handiest restaurant accessible in the neighbourhood.

Those who can’t cook due to their tight schedule mostly order their meal from fast food restaurants. They just ring the delivery service, and the food will be delivered in just a few minutes, ready to be eaten. What an easy life.

Apart from its convenience, fast food is also known as unhealthy and a weight gainer. High calories, sodium and fat are the culprits of its unhealthiness. It’s often lack of important vitamins and minerals too.

If you are among those who are reluctant to eat fast food, here are some tricks to help you eat nutritious and less fattening fast food.

* Don’t eat big size food (there are some restaurant selling big size food, such as McDonald’s Big Mac).
* Choose the healthiest foods available in the menus. This will help you maintain your diet, as you will not be tempted to unhealthy food.
* Eliminate high fat and calorie sauces and dressing of your food.
* Instead of taking sodas, change it with water or low fat milk
* Eat not more than 1,500 calories a day

Here are some menus for the day which consist of less than 1,500 calories:

Breakfast

Your 300-350-calorie Fast food breakfast:
* Muffin (150 calories) plus scrambled eggs (16 calories)
* Croissant with egg and cheese (350 calories).

Avoid sausage as it will increases 260 calories
* Egg sandwich (300 calories).

All sandwiches usually contain 300-350 calories.

Avoid bacon as it has more than 300 calories.

Lunch

Your 400-450-calorie Fast food lunch:

* Grilled chicken (400 calories)
* Four chicken nuggets and small portion of French fries (420 calories)
* Grilled potatoes with chili sauce and cheese (395 calories)
* Sandwich with chicken inside (300 calories) and salad with low fat dressing ( 125 calories)
* Individual chicken popcorn (450 calories)
* Two slices of thin flat slight cheese pizza (200 calories each slice). The most important thing in consuming pizza is to eat thin flat slight pizza with less topping to minimize the calories (unnecessary for vegetables topping).

Dinner

Your 500-calorie fast food dinner:

* Plain hamburger, 1 portion of French fries (children’s package) and diet drink (530 calories)
* Three slices of pizza by reducing the fatty cheese (500 calories).
* Original chicken breast and mashed potatoes (500 calories)
* Meatloaf (310 calories) with potatoes salad (200 calories)
* Marinated grilled chicken sandwich (470 calories without mayonnaise)

If you want to make another choice, here is the list of some healthy fast food you might want to choose:

*Single hamburger (regular or children’s size)
*Fruit or fruit and yogurt
*Whole wheat rolls
*Baked potato (with vegetables instead of cheese, butter or sour cream)
*Low fat deli sandwiches on wheat bread or on pita bread
*Wraps on whole wheat tortillas (without dressing)

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Restaurant Fast Food – it’s not like grandma used to make

The growth of restaurant fast food cannot be denied. It seems that fast food places are opening up almost on every corner. It’s not unusual to see a McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Popeye’s Chicken, Del Taco, a Burger King and several others all within a block or two of each other.

This explosion of fast, fried foods, oversized to meet the growth of people is one of the suspected causes of the overweight phenomenon that’s in all the newspapers. The “super size” or up sizing of fried French fries and drinks is not due to consumer demands but a desire for more profit. The rise of the value menu has lowered the overall profit margins for basic foods at most national fast food restaurants. Managements answer has been to offer a larger product for a “special” price. Although this seems like a good value, from a business standpoint, it adds tremendously to the bottom line. Unfortunately for the consumer, it also adds to their bottom line as well.

This strategy works well on 2 fronts for the business. First, consumers think they’re getting a better deal at restaurants that offer to super size their order. This in turn drives the customer decision to do to one store instead of another. So the decision is more based on how much food instead of how healthy the food.

The second reason for this strategy is pure profit motive. Let’s say that you typically order a 20 ounce cup of soda. The basic cost of this drink is 1 penny per ounce. That 1 cent per ounce covers the total cost of the drink. That’s electricity to run the machine, the cup, straw, cover, drink product, and ice. That’s right, that 20 ounce beverage costs the restaurant 20 cents and they charge you .79 cents. So as long as they can offer a larger drink at more than 1 cent per ounce, they’re making more money. So raising your drink from a 20 ounce to a 32 ounce cup for only 25 cents more, gives the restaurant an added 13 cents profit from that larger cup. Remember 1 penny per ounce is costs, so the difference between 32 and 20 is 12 ounces which is 12 pennies and they charge 25 cents for the upsize! Wouldn’t you like to make a 50% profit on any of your investments?

Now don’t get all bothered by the huge amounts of money food companies make on drinks. Overall, after the costs of the building, the employees, taxes, product, utilities, etc, the actual net profit from a well run typical franchise fast food place is under 10%. 10% for the investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars is not considered exorbitant by means. Consider that the proprietor could have that investment in a solid mutual fund making at least or a little more without the risk of running a business or dealing with the customer and employee problems that come with any customer service type business.

I think we all would probably prefer however, that their pricing model be more geared toward healthy foods and less toward manipulation of the consumer

Ratin’ Fast Food

Sometimes I get the strangest emails. A couple of days ago, I had a woman write and ask me if I’d consider writing some restaurant reviews. She said she felt that most restaurant critics are highbrow types, and that it’d be a nice change if “a regular person” wrote some reviews. She then went on to suggest that I should start with the fast food chains first, then write about more locally based restaurants later.

Hmmmmm. Her idea is intriguing, but, to be honest, I genuinely wonder if ya’ll will give two flips as to what my opinions are regarding some of the fast food chains. On the other hand, the only way I’m gonna find out is to write about a few of them and see. So, without any further ado, here’s my take on some of the major fast food chains and their offerings:

Ci-Ci’s Pizza: If you don’t want to pay $19.95 for the “Bum Fights” video, just shell out around four bucks and check out the “all you can eat” buffet at Ci-Ci’s around dinner time.

Dairy Queen: The most underrated hamburger / fast food chain of them all. The burgers are great, plus, look at all their soda fountain choices – all kinds of sundaes and shakes. On top of that, these people make the best banana splits in the world. If you want to go to a particularly great location, try the Dairy Queen in Forsyth, Georgia. The food is great, and one or two of the women there are so good lookin’ that they’ll make you lose your religion. A close second is the McCrae, Georgia DQ, the only problem there being that the women don’t flirt as much.

Hardee’s: The worst hamburgers in the world, they’re even drier than a KMart shoe. Their milkshakes used to be the one thing that made them worth an occasional shot, but they’ve even screwed those up now. For all you teenaged guys out there who want to break up with your girlfriend but can’t figure out how to do it, just take her out to a Hardee’s to eat the next time you go on a date. When she finishes eating, she’ll beg you to both take her home and get out of her life.
Krystal: I adore Krystal, but getting some ketchup packets out of ’em is like stealing gold from Fort Knox.

McDonald’s: The food sucks, the decor is worse, and you’d better get ready to inventory your bag if you order more than two items utilizing their drive-thru. My money says that McDonald’s will end up being the Edsel of the fast food business.

Nu-Way: The best hot dogs in the world, and really shouldn’t be included in this list. Anybody knows that a Nu-Way is a gourmet treat, not a fast food offering.

Sonic: I love the Sonic! First, the old drive-in concept appeals to me, and they have some monster foot long hot dogs. They cover ‘em up in chili, add on a ton of fries, and will even bring a bucket of ketchup out to you if you want it. You also have the advantage of being able to sneak a smooch from your sweetie if the mood hits.

Steak and Shake: I love their food, but the one I patronize just got a bad health department rating because most of the cockroaches in middle Georgia seem to be congregating there. It shalt be a while before I return.

Subway: Great food, lots of choices, and you can actually watch your sandwich being put together. The only thing is, be careful when you ask for the jalapenos – they’re mega hot, and will cause your stomach to sing like Kate Smith just a few hours after you’ve eaten them.

Taco Bell: I love the food, and the prices can’t be beat. The only thing I don’t like about Taco Bell is when you pull up to the drive-thru, they’ll say something to you like, “Hello, welcome to Taco Bell, would you like to try our Gonzo Burrito?” If you’re not paying attention and forget to say “no,” you’ll end up with some very strange items in your bag.

Folks, I’ve got even more eatin ‘places I’d like to talk about, but, columns can only be so long, and I’ve about met my word limit for this week. Just remember, these are my opinions, just my opinions, and I’m sure some of ya’lls differ. But, as for me, as Ed Jr. says, if it quacks like a duck, and has feathers like a duck, well…..

author:Ed Williams

(Please note – The comments above are those of the author of the article and not those of spanishchef.net)

Can Fast Food Be Healthy?

It is possible for people to make healthy food choices even if they only have a short time in which to prepare their meals. The first thing to realize is that it is often that healthy choices do not always mean a need for two-hour meals. A person can choose healthy foods that are quick and easy to prepare at home or to pick up from a takeout place. Cities often provide restaurant guides in their telephone books that display full-page menus indicating what a particular restaurant or drive-thru offers. Many of these food vendors now include healthy alternatives to their usual fast-food selection.

At places like McDonald’s and Hardee’s, it is possible to find consumers who are concerned about their carbohydrate consumption. This has prompted the restaurants to provide other options in their hamburger choices. Hamburgers can be ordered without the bun, for example, and fruit and yogurt are included on the menu along with fresh salads. Many restaurants provide salad choices either as side orders or as complete meals. Often, a salad of fresh vegetables with chopped ham, roast beef or chicken is more attractive than regular menu items. Salads are especially appealing in the summer months because they are lighter on the digestive system.

Restaurants that feature foods in season cultivated by local farmers offer very healthy and affordable choices. Some of these kinds of restaurants will create their own recipes for healthy food options. This provides the consumer with a totally new choice and encourages them to visit the restaurant again.

If home preparation of food is preferred, the options for healthy choices increase. Visiting a local grocery store or supermarket emphasizes the number of healthy choices that are available. Fresh fruits and vegetables are more varied than ever before due to improvements in transportation and preservation methods. All types of cuisine can be prepared quickly because of the choices of fresh goods rather than frozen foods. There are numerous choices among frozen foods as well. The demand for healthy frozen dinners and other meals has increased along with demands for more variety in frozen food offerings. Any frozen food aisle in any supermarket will show as many healthy food options and poor choices. The decision is up to the individual.

People can either choose to eat a healthy diet or an unhealthy one. Time and availability of healthy choices are no longer problems for a person who is trying to eat better and healthier foods.

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