Fast Food vs Parental Responsibility

Today, Parents Magazine posted this saying that McDonald's is adding preservative laden apples and low-fat milk to their kid's meals. How are these "healthy" alternatives? Kids need the nutrients from milk. Taking that away is not serving any purpose.

First of all, why is this even a debate? Why are parents and even the government blaming the restaurants for unhealthy food menus? Did common sense really die? I mean, I did read an obit once... Why do we have any say in what a business serves? Stop griping about it and just stop eating there for cripes sakes. Tell your kids NO. I know it's hard, but you can do it. Really.. try it out... and laugh when they cry while telling them, "There's nothing to cry about. I'm saving you from a lifetime of potential health problems." They may not get it now, but one day they will thank you.

America is FAT. America is FAT because we make poor choices. And WHY we are asking our government to do something about it is beyond me. Seriously. Grow up and put your big girl/boy pants on and make your own decisions! We think that eating out is quicker, cheaper than groceries and more convenient. But, the fact remains that it is not cheaper to eat out. In fact, it has a long-term cost associated with it. Heart disease, cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity.

And is it really faster? It takes me 10 minutes to sautee up some zukes and mushrooms. It takes 20 minutes for me to make a homemade pizza. It takes 5 minutes to make a salad. Back in the day, when I ate a lot of fast food, I remember waiting 45 minutes one time in a Whataburger drive-thru line for my burger. How is that faster? That meal cost me over $7.

A package of hamburger meat is $4. Buns are $1. A head of lettuce is $1. Tomatoes are 88 cents a lb. If I really want to load it up, I can get a block of cheese for $5. Cheese that I can use for all sorts of things since I obviously wouldn't use it all for hamburgers. Then I can get a bag of frozen fries, or a potato for a couple of bucks. So, for about $8 I can make 6 hamburgers and have fries with that.

Cheaper? Ha. No. And, I know what's in my burger that I made myself. Do you know what's in your fast food burger? Want to know? click here.. Over to the right there's a list of categories. I don't know about you, but if I can't pronounce is, or know what it is, I really don't want to eat it anymore.

The bottom line is I'm tired of hearing from parents or even single people saying they don't have time. Make time. Budget your time better. If you are over scheduled, figure out why.Why people put their health as a lower priority on their list of things to do bugs me.