Year-old Happy Meal hasn't decomposed

[fivetails]

Year Old Happy Meal Hasn't Decomposed ~ given all the healthy eating threads kicking around for the last little bit, I thought some of you might like to see this. :001_huh:

[Annabel Lee]

On a similar note, I picked up & flipped through the yellow copy of "Eat This, Not That" at a store today. Inside was a spread titled "Coldstone" (the ice cream place), and I had to look, because what on earth could they offer that's slightly OK? The book was just showing the worst item on their menu: a caramel latte milkshake that has over 1,000 calories and over 100g fat. Crazy. It said a healthier option would be 3 McD's double cheeseburgers, and healthier still, a Big Mac. Their words, not mine. ;)

Blech.

[teachermom2834]

Ashamed to admit this but I have personal experience with a McD's hamburger not decomposing. I had driven a bunch of 8 yo boys home from a baseball camp and gone through a McD's. About 8 months later I found a hamburger in the back pocket of the driver's seat. I was super grossed out but really it looked the same as the day we bought it. Then I was even more grossed out.

 

Ashamed to admit again but dh was cleaning out his car and found a half eaten McD's chicken sandwich under a seat. It had only been a couple of weeks but the chicken sandwich didn't decompose either.

 

Super gross BUT there are days when I can justify chicken sandwiches off the $1 menu to save my sanity. Not many of those days but they do happen :)

[fivetails]

 

Super gross BUT there are days when I can justify chicken sandwiches off the $1 menu to save my sanity. Not many of those days but they do happen :)

 

Hey no worries ~ I should clarify -- I didn't post this as a 'nyah nyah in your face' kinda thing for anyone who eats fast food sometimes. How could I, when I do the very same thing sometimes? Just yesterday, dh sent me to Burger King for him. ;)

[tricia]

That's disgusting to say the least. I knew there was a reason I never take my family there. Or Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, all those places. I can't stand the thought of that stuff in the tummies of my kids.:tongue_smilie:

[KristenS]

Ah, stick-to-your-ribs food!

 

Seriously, that's gross. But man, I do love french fries.

 

What about Cheerios? Those sure last a long time hiding under the furniture, even when one does remember to sweep! LOL.

[LauraGB]

Dh bought a used vehicle. The truck had sat, unused and unopened for nearly a year (it had been in an accident). After it was rebuilt (add another month or so to the time frame) he did a thorough cleaning of the interior. He found several chicken nuggets in perfect condition under the seat. He also found a chicken drumstick (from where, I have no idea), also in perfect condition. The other interesting thing is that the truck didn't stink like old, icky food. :001_huh:

[Penelope]

I believe this was an April Fools article.

 

Nope, it's from a blog dated 3/3. Nothing about it being a joke.

[DarlaS]

You do realize a car is a pretty good dehydrator right? That's why people get so thirsty when driving.

 

I wonder about the humidity in her house as well.

 

Not that there's anything redeeming about a happy meal but still...

 

Oh and the same preservatives are used in most grocery store hamburger buns also.

[teachermom2834]

I believe this was an April Fools article.

 

Even if that is true I know it really did happen to us. And I'm not even anti- fast food. We still eat there once in a while.

[Crissy]

On a similar note, I picked up & flipped through the yellow copy of "Eat This, Not That" at a store today. Inside was a spread titled "Coldstone" (the ice cream place), and I had to look, because what on earth could they offer that's slightly OK? The book was just showing the worst item on their menu: a caramel latte milkshake that has over 1,000 calories and over 100g fat. Crazy. It said a healthier option would be 3 McD's double cheeseburgers, and healthier still, a Big Mac. Their words, not mine. ;)

Blech.

 

I've not read the book, but I have seen the author on the Today Show, and he makes me crazy.

 

From an article based on one of his appearances (emphasis mine):

The funny thing is, if you only knew the insider information, you could eat at any of your favorite restaurants—or chow down on everything from the company vending machine to your kids’ Halloween buckets—and know that every decision you made was smart, healthy, and the best possible choice for you. For example, did you know:

 

AT KRISPY KREME, all you need to do is order the Very Berry Chiller instead of the Mocha Dream Chiller, and you’ll save 500 calories? (Do that once a week and you’ll drop more than 7 pounds this year—without trying!)

 

AT CHIPOTLE, you can cut 498 calories out of your Chicken Burrito just by ordering it as a bowl (without the tortilla) and asking them to hold the rice. (Same great taste, but with 83 fewer carb grams!)

 

AT COLD STONE CREAMERY, you can save 40 calories and 2 grams of fat by choosing shaved chocolate, not chocolate chips, as your topping. (Sure, you’re indulging—but why not indulge smartly?)

 

AT McDONALD’S, an Egg McMuffin is actually a healthy choice, with just 300 calories. (The Hotcakes pack more than double that amount!)

 

AT CHICK-FIL-A, not a single sandwich tops 500 calories. (When it comes to fast food, this might be the healthiest no-brainer around.)

 

Quick and easy? Yes. But "smart and healthy"? :glare:

[mcconnellboys]

Yeah, don't they use formaldehyde as preservative, LOL?

[MyLittleWonders]

Yup, gross! ;) I showed my boys when it came through my email last month (I'm not sure if the original blogger was from Feingold, but the Feingold organization sent out the link). We talked about how all natural food is supposed to decompose before a year is up!

[SusanAR]

:001_huh: YUK!!

I think it would be interesting to see how long it takes a homemade burger/fries to decompose.

[MIch elle]

That is SO COOL (the experiment- NOT the food)! I showed my dc - WOW - I'm glad we NEVER liked fast food and we could afford better food and restaurants!

 

Thanks for sharing! :tongue_smilie:

[Annabel Lee]

I forgot to mention that my dog will not eat Chicken McNuggets. She'll eat homemade chicken scraps from our table, but she will not touch McNasty's food. If you knew my dog and some of the gross stuff she enjoys having in her mouth, it says alot about how bad those chicken nuggets must be.

[keptwoman]

I would be interested to see the same item from a home and see what happens to that. I would venture that the bread would dry out quickly and stay the same (even home made non-preservative bread) the burger and fries would be preserved due to the amount of fat coating them and preventing air getting to them and decomposing. I really don't get the big deal to be honest. I'm almost tempted to try it.

 

And fwiw I'm about as anti-crap-in-your-food as you can get, and seldom eat take aways.

Edited April 5, 2010 by keptwoman

[calandalsmom]

That is SO COOL (the experiment- NOT the food)! I showed my dc - WOW - I'm glad we NEVER liked fast food and we could afford better food and restaurants!

 

Thanks for sharing! :tongue_smilie:

 

how lovely for you. :001_huh:

 

I agree with keptwoman that we aren't seeing much here that should really surprise us.

 

As for the text- sodium propionate is a natural mold inhibitor and is widely considered safe. http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm Just bc you can't say it doesnt always mean its bad. Remember this little schtick?

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_hoax

[Tangerine]

They did this experiment in SuperSize Me. They had a control with a "regular" burger and fries from a restaurant.

 

As far as the comparison between Coldstone and McDonalds, I just don't think the "healthier option" comes down to calories. If (and I mean if, because I don't know) the shake is just milkfat and sugar it might still be the healthier option over feedlot beef/fillers/bleached flour/faux cheese, etc regardless of how many calories it has.

[LibraryLover]

What is the climate? Is it dry? Is it winter?

 

I am no fan of McD's--I havea couple of kids who have never had a happy meal-- but perfectly intact organic food items have been found in ancient tombs in Egypt and elsewhere. Some grains have even been sprouted by researchers, even after thousands of years.

 

Ok, here's my 'Doh' ETA lol: Anyone know the percentage of sodium in a fast food hamburger, a chicken nugget? Salt has been an excellent perservative of food for thousands of years. Not good for you in large amounts, and a killer to some, but it's not a human-made poison.

Edited April 5, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Dawn in OH]

We used to live on a sailboat in Florida. We moved off the boat once and put the boat in storage. Before doing so, we forgot to discard a bag of trash that was on the boat.

 

We left for two months and then returned to the boat, which had been closed up, on stilts, in the boat yard during the months of November and December in direct sunlight.

 

Upon our return I opened the bag of trash (not knowing it was trash) to discover a half loaf of "Health Nut" bread. Not decomposed and not a spot of mold on it.

 

Needless to say, we stopped buying that brand of bread.