What our excuses say about us?

what do our food excuses say about us? Its fast, Its easy, Its cheap? I don't feel like cooking? So why do we feel the need to give an excuse? As for the line its cheap lets looks at it realistically it costs around 20-25 dollars to feed 4 at McDonald's and that normally does not include drinks. If you went into a grocery store bought a head of lettuce some dressing & toppings possibly even a precooked chicken it would cost less then 20$ and be healthier. However if you want to eat premade, precooked food that are better options available: mad greek, subway, blimpie, or barbacoa. It might take a little of your time looking around for a fresh or healthier fast food for when you need something but finding a place where you can get fast, fresh and not deep fried is much better then just fast and greasy. Just thinking fast does not mean you need to settle for greasy and unhealthy. The picture is food served at my local Barbacoa restaurant which is healthy and yummy I am sure other states and cities have simialar healthy fast options finding those hidden and tasty gems will be fun and a great treat.

Top 11 Reasons for Fast Food's Popularity

Frequent Fast-Food Eaters Dish on Why They Dig In

By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Dec. 2, 2008 -- Fast food lives up to its name in a new study of people who frequently eat at fast-food restaurants.

Nearly 600 adults and teens in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area were interviewed for the study in 2005-2006. Most reported eating fast food at least three times per week.

After tucking into a meal at a fast-food restaurant, participants rated how strongly they agreed or disagreed with 11 statements about why they like fast food.

Here are their top reasons for eating fast-food meals, according to the percentages of people who agreed with each statement:

1. They're quick: 92.3%
2. They're easy to get to: 80.1%
3. I like the taste of fast food: 69.2%
4. They're inexpensive: 63.6%
5. I'm too busy to cook: 53.2%
6. It's a "treat" for myself: 50.1%
7. I don't like to prepare foods myself: 44.3%
8. My friends/family like them: 41.8%
9. It is a way of socializing with friends and family: 33.1%
10. They have many nutritious foods to offer: 20.6%
11. They're fun and entertaining: 11.7%

The "I'm too busy to cook" line was more popular among people with college degrees than people with less education. And young adults were less likely than older adults to say they ate fast food because it offered many nutritious choices.

Still, the results boil down to speed and convenience at one end of the spectrum, and nutrition and fun at the other end. Bridging that gap means coming up with speedy, nutritious alternatives, suggest the researchers, who included Sarah Rydell, MPH, of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

Their findings appear in December's edition of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Little paid attention to food facts

With many menus putting out calorie counts do we really pay attention or do we think that in our "Enlightened" calorie and cholesterol days that they are protecting us, even looking out for us?
That would be were we are wrong, many restaurants are taking advantage of those who don't pay attention.
First find a reliable Calorie Daily Amount for you to set as a daily standard for me these are my "magic numbers"

You need 1847.2 calories per day to reach your goal weight slowly and maintain that weight without exercise.

If you reduce your current caloric intake to 1602.4 calories per day you will lose one pound per week without exercise.

Now that we all feel more informed and empowered with our special new numbers what do they really mean? Well if I were to eat Chili’s Smokehouse Bacon Triple-The-Cheese Big Mouth Burger with Jalapeno Ranch Dressing

with all these yuckies added in I would not be able to eat the whole burger let alone a drink or fries and that would be the only thing I could eat the whole day.

2,040 calories
150 g fat (53 g saturated)
110 g protein
4,900 mg sodium

for other bad vs good burgers you can see a quick look here although you can't click on any links unless you are a "member" of their magazine. Still a good quick look at how the restaurants take advantage of people many restaurants only post the calorie counts on their "low calorie, low fat menu". Take the Ruby Tuesday Bella Turkey Burger
1,057 calories
65 g fat

As a big for instance, this is a Turkey burger, swiss cheese over sauted mushrooms and still packs a whopping one thousand calories that would still be almost my daily limit and if I had fries and a drink it would be my daily amount. Talk about eating for a day, and people wonder why they can't shed the pounds or why America is going obese fewer people are eating home cooked meals which are lower in fat and calories and they are eating more and more restaurant food full of these wonderful hidden calories.
So we should find some "Super" foods (for women) beans, onions, tomatoes, broccoli, garlic, sweet potatoes ect for every one adding them into our every day with very few extra calories like wads of butter or other sweeteners. Another good thing to think about is how to add fresh healthy foods to part of our every day lives.

However if your idea of eating healthy is grabbing a salad at a fast food restaurant instead of a burger you may still get burned. Again the fast food industry is taking advantage of people not reading the labels or understanding what the numbers mean to them for instance these salads

• Chili's Southwestern Cobb Salad: 970 calories.
• Pizzaria Uno's Chicken Waldorf Salad: 920 calories and 62 grams of fat.

They both sound good and look good however they pack a huge punch with some very high numbers. Here are a couple of links to see different salads and how they match up. So how can you be healthy and not leave behind your fast paced life? I suggest you try to eat foods in season, fresh is Great and frozen is still a good option. Get a couple of easy healthy recipe books and try making food a day ahead. Find something that works for you and your life style, staying informed on every little detail can be very hard which is why many choose diets as its easier to follow a set list then try to navigate their way through all the hidden calorie traps.

For me I try to stay with local grown food in the right season, this is not easy with our markets today but as a stay at home mama who cooks it is easier for me then the on the go mom. However no matter the pace of your life if you add 10 minutes a day and 1 hour extra shopping a week you can change your diet eating healthier with out sacrificing the taste.