My thoughts on fast food

The last time I ate at a fast food restaurant was in 2004 when faced with the choice of eating an Egg McMuffin from McDonalds or eating nothing at all. When I say fast food, I don't count Chipotle, Wahoo's, Planet Sub or other places selling food that tastes like food. I'm talking about the scary stuff - McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell, and Sonic.

Recently I was faced with the dilemma of eating breakfast at a cafe while inhaling second-hand smoke or eating breakfast at Sonic. Even though I chose Sonic, I'm still second-guessing that decision. Sonic doesn't use cheese on their breakfast burritos; they use a glossy, yellow substance that is supposed to look like cheese, but is probably received by the body as a foreign substance. After two bites, I gave my burrito to Steve. I managed to eat 3 deep fried french toast sticks while trying hard to ignore the ingredient list on the package of maple "syrup" and wondered if anyone consumes these things on a regular basis, and if so, how long do they live?

I have colon cancer on both sides of my family, which was my original motivation for adopting a healthier lifestyle and quitting fast food 20 years ago. When you go that long without eating it, fast food becomes terribly unappealing. It's so easy to eat fresh and healthy, and I'm happy more people are doing this, along with supporting local farmers, and demanding more organic products. Look into joining a CSA if you haven't already. Hen House's CSA program is a good one. I find many fabulous recipes using good ingredients - with reader reviews and suggestions - at epicurious.com.



Yikes! What is this?