SubscribeNo Time to Eat Right? Try This Challenge
Fast food is popular because... it's fast.
Could you get something healthier - for the same price - and get it just as quickly?
Here Is Your Challenge
From your place of work (or wherever you are during the day).
- Put your stopwatch / timer on.
- Get yourself down to the nearest deli or grocery store (generally the smaller ones mean a quicker shopping experience).
- Order some real food (i.e. some fruit, maybe something nice like roasted nuts, and perhaps some protein - like slices of turkey breast, or some smoked chicken).
- When you have the food in your hot little hands - stop the watch and note the time.
- Take note of the cost.
Now we need a control... You'll have to repeat the same experiment with a fast food joint (all in the interest of science of course). Although I cringe at the thought of a burger and fries -- someone out there must be willing to do the whole experiment. Someone? Anyone?
Even if you don't accept the challenge - I suspect the first part at least forced you to think about some other options. However I would be very interested in your results.
The obvious answer for many is "bring your own lunch or snack with you". Here I am talking about the situation that many people face everyday. They haven't planned ahead, they want food and they want it now.
It's not just the speed, it's the availability. In most places fast food joints are open longer hours and in more locations than the healthy options. There's a golden arches in nearly every town but there isn't always a deli or sushi shop in every town
Replythis would make for an interestign experiement although i'm not that one brave enough to do it :P
i have to say that this: Fast food is popular because... it's fast is not all that true imo. i think it's popular because a lot of people find it to be tasty and it's cheap. i think if you could get drive-thrus for a health food style resturant, it wouldn't work. too many people view healthy food as some kind of chore or punishment...something you only eat when you are on a diet, not something that is really apart of your life.
ReplyIt's actually quicker for me to hit a deli with healthy choices. :-)
I can't help but think that for most, the time factor is a cop out...I think that Mia was spot on with her post.
Also, I keep a drawer full of jerky, nuts, etc, in my desk for those times when I haven't planned lunch well.
Brian
ReplyThe fast food isn't so much quicker as easier. Life is pressurised enough that taking the easy option is far too tempting most of the time!
ReplySomeone needs to invent the Deli-Drive thru. They'd make millions.
I tend to hit fast food joints, when I'm on the road, hauling two children all over the place (both in carseats).
It's also tasty and cheap. People crave the fat.
If I'm close to one I choose the Tim Hortons drive through, they have deli sandwhiches. I want a place where I can order fruit and veggie trays in a meal size.
ReplyIf I'm buying lunch out, I'd love to be able to do it at the little local organic grocery store, which sells pre-packed fruit salads as well as fresh-made sandwiches. Unfortunately, I work 20 minutes away from this lovely little store. I work 1-5 minutes (1 minute drive, 5 minute walk) away from a McDonald's, Wendy's, Subway, Pizza Hut, Arbys, Burger King, and at least a few other fast-food chains I am probably forgetting.
The world needs more of those nice little grocery stores.
ReplyI've done this before. Unfortunately the 24 hour fast food joint (I work third shift, and take lunch at 3:30 am) is about 6 minutes away. The nearest 24 hour food store (Kroger) is 11 minutes away, and I still have to gather food and check out at the one checkout line they keep open overnight.
Needless to say, I brownbag it!!
ReplySome FAST options - Wawa has some good choices - hard boiled eggs, celery and carrots sticks, apples; Panaera's has a great salmon salad (352 calories) and low fat soup; Subway is also a good option. Applebys has a drive by pick up you can order ahead of time (on your way home) - they have menu options that are made for Weight Watchers. Lady Rose
ReplyI'd take your challenge. Just because I *read* healthy doesn't mean I despise fast food.
HOWEVER. The real problem is that little deli's are not easy to find. I live in one of America's 50 biggest cities. I travel all over the city, usually. Sometimes the only food you can reasonably find is fast food. Thankfully that includes Subway. We have a drive-through Subway here too. Just one, but hey, that's a start.
The other thing about deli's vs FF: Deli implies dine-in. If they started making to-go preparation/packaging more prevelant, they'd fit our needs better.
ReplyNot to mention, as far as saving time while you're at work, if you've brought your lunch you don't have to take any time away from your desk. You just pick it up and go. I like bringing my lunch so I can space out when I eat throughout the day ... sort of graze. But then again, eating at your desk has its major downfalls too ... getting out to take a nice walk is always a good idea.
ReplyI was in and out of hannaford's yesterday between the end of my shift and a hair apt. in aprox. 5min. with 3/4 c. trail mix (containing nuts, dried fruit etc. from the bulk food section) and 2 bananas. Although I wanted (and drove by) McDonald's and Burger King to get there it ended up being worth it and cheaper to eat healthy. I was completely satisfied!
ReplyWell, i think it's the "fat" that i crave when i want fast food. Even when i bring my lunch to work (salad/fruits/veggies), sometimes it's just not hitting the spot.
ReplyEspecially when all you coworkers are heading to Wendy's for a burger,I want in!!
I find it difficult to order a salad at Wendy's/McD.
I make better salads myself.!
There seem to be many people using unavailability as an excuse. You can get a healthy deli-style sandwich at Subway. But in reality, those little shops are everywhere, you just don't know where they are. Most are in little strips of shops. Where I live, I found a Vietnamese place, meditteranean, and Israeli food places, all notoriously healthy, all within minutes of my suburban office, and all with a take-out menu.
It takes a little bit of an effort but once you find these places it is well worth it.
ReplyI dunno, if you see some of the mouth-breathers that work at fast food restaurants around here, it takes forever, and it's usually wrong.
ReplyI have to ask - how exactly are processed meats, sugar-laden condiments and white bread healthy?
ReplyBecause they're low in animal fat. Duh!! :-)
Reply:::slap forehead::::
I must have missed Memo#45
ReplyThis system is fast and affordible it took twice as long to get burger i lost 11 pounds in two weeks it was amazing it is so great that even my childern use it i have time for all my kids games and my work also there extra activitys and my husbens as well i am so glad i tried the challenge
ReplyThis article only says small deli to save you time. It doesn't say you can't go into your nearest Albertson's or Von's and try the same thing. As a matter of fact may supermarket deli areas have their own check out stands. If you want to be healthy you have to make a conscious choice to choose healthy. Trust me, I know, I've lost 65 pounds and it wasn't easy. I choose to be healthy.
Replyduring our lunch break at school (only 30 minutes but an open campus non the less) my friends and i usually go to the grocery store and buy fresh food. its way faster than going through a drive-through and so much cheaper... plus we beet the crowds back to school, by just eating in the parking lot, and ultimatly end up getting great parking spots.
ReplyI think eating lunch at the grocery store is a great idea, Mia. It is what I do too when forced to eat out.
ReplyI have been wishing for about two years now, that Subway would fix it's kid's menu. I have a toddler, and their "kids" sandwiches are on those HUGE round buns - MUCH too big for a little person to eat. When I'm on the road (Little Man is ALWAYS with me), and need to stop to eat, fast food is my only choice. Often, I don't have time to find a grocery store deli that will make food for me.
You see, I don't live in a big city like it seems many of you do. I live in "flyover country" - Iowa - land of plenty of farmer's markets, corn, and down-home-food, but we have the fast-food dilemma here, too. Only our groceries in small towns just aren't equipped to do to-order food.
So, those days when I'm out doing my Mom Stuff, it's McD's or BK for us. I don't like it, but that's the reality. (and yeah, I do try to pack a lunch or healthy snacks, at least, but often the errands run MUCH longer than I originally planned. Thank you, Murphy's Law!)
Hopefully, someone from Subway reads this, and causes some changes to be made to their kids menu. Then we'd be getting somewhere!!!
ReplyEven at 7-11 now you can get yogurt, hardboiled eggs, low-fat sandwiches, chopped-up fruits and veggies in ready-to-go containers, ready-to-heat soups, and many other low-fat items.
ReplyMost people also dont really feel satisfied with salads. Its a big step moving from fatty hamburgers which usually hit the spot, to a salad. Thats why it takes time to do such things, most people dont want to take that time. Why do you think Americans are the fattest than any other countries? Because of laziness thats why. We have fast food resturants to thank for that.
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