How to say 'goodbye' to fast food -- Has anyone successfully done this??

[Mogster]

We have been on a mission these past few years of trying to make better choices in what we eat. We have slowly made the switch to mostly organic foods and have noticed a lot of benefits. The one big problem I can't seem to remedy is the occasional fast food meal. Between 3 different sports a week and trips out of town I can't seem to kick this habit for our family. I really hate to admit, but I am sure we eat a fast food meal at least once a week. I know that there our better choices now -- one can get fruit or a sandwich, but even those can be loaded with preservatives. I guess my solution is to pack a cooler, but what do I pack? Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!

[RoughCollie]

Fruit, juice or water, crackers & cheese, carrot sticks, sandwiches made at home, protein bars (Special K makes a type with 10 g protein in each bar).

 

If you want to deal with potential mess, you can pack ranch dressing for a dip and salsa for baked whole grain chips.

 

Arnold's makes double-fiber whole wheat bread and a whole wheat protein bread that taste pretty good. My kids will eat this bread because it is soft and not crunchy.

 

HTH,

RC

[Pata]

I used to be a Chick-fil-a fanatic(at least once a week)! I tried to convince myself that I could still go there, just choose the healthy options. The problem was, once I was in there the chicken nuggets and fries called to me, plus no meal is complete without a hand dipped milkshake, right?

 

I'm happy to report that I haven't been there in over 4 months. Here's what has worked for us. You can have pre-prepared meals frozen at home and ready to go. I also always have bread, luncheon meat & cheese along with light hot dogs, so I can throw together a light meal. If I know that I'm going to be home later for dinner, I will take a granola bar to tide the hunger over till I get there. If you have to grab it on the go, choose Subway or Quiznos, just don't get a 12" sub with twice the meat :D. Hope that helps!

[Gamom3]

I definitely will NEVER take my kids to McDonald's! There are TONS around us..so this helps.

I had a VERY, VERY, VERY nasty fry there one time...tasted like pee! Don't ask me if I have tasted pee before like my ds did, cause I haven't... You know how when you can smell something and you can almost taste it....that was it and I did taste it...N-A-S-T-Y!

 

If I know we are going to be out and about, I will definitely take something for the kids and sometimes us(we don't eat like the kids do--every 20mins!:001_smile:). We pack a sandwich, crackers, fruit and kool-aid/water, and a snack.

When oldest ds was in football, we would pack hotdogs/hamburgers, chips, drinks and a snack.

 

If we stay out longer than expected, then we MIGHT stop.

 

It is very expensive to just stop in for a burger. We normally end up spending around $30--and that's just at Burger King!..so fast food is very limited!

 

Dh is really bad about fast food. Most of the time at work he doesn't stop for lunch, so by the time he gets off he is starving.

[lwilliams1922]

we went from a few times a week to once a month.

 

we started cooking meals from scratch.

no MSG, hydrogoneated oils, high frutose corn syurp,...

 

We started feeling so much better, no one was getting sick.

And that once a month when we are caught out unprepared we stop in and always feel sick after eating it.

[JoyfulMama]

We have cut out fast food as well. Here's what we've been working on:

"Fast meal nights": I know when we will be out and not have lots of time to cook dinner. So I have a couple things in the freezer: precooked ground beef - ready for spaghetti with meat sauce, and a frozen veggie. 15 minutes to a home-cooked dinner!

I also have been cooking extra meals on nights when we have been home. I mix up four meatloaves instead of one (cook one, and freeze the rest for oven or crock pot meals later). And last night I took the remains of our roast beef, carrots, and potatoes, mixed up some gravy, and made a meat pie for the freezer. Once thawed (take it out the night before or in the morning), it can cook for about 30 minutes, or I can stick it in frozen for about one hour.

Also - mashed potatoes are great cooked ahead, then heated in the oven for dinner.

On the go snacks: I prefer dried fruit, nuts, cut veggies, crackers, and water. I ALWAYS have crackers and water in my bag.

[GailV]

We travel to compete in dance, and rarely eat at fast food places, mostly because dh can't eat most of the food they serve. Having food allergies and sensitivities forces us to be creative in travel-food.

 

We pack acceptable crackers, pretzels, fruits such as grapes or blueberries (my kids are old enough to eat bluebs without wearing them), those little individual packets of nut butters (I like almond butter so no one around me goes into shock due to peanut allergy, but dh can't eat almonds, so he packs the peanut butter kind), homemade jerky, acceptable energy bars (dh can eat a certain type of Clif bar), carrots, cheese

 

I have a cookbook entitled Garden of Eating (our public library has a copy), and the authors take coolers everywhere. They eat no grains, and carry around things like potatoes and hardboiled eggs. It really opened by eyes to the wide variety of things people tote around to eat; also, some of the recipes have tips for how to carry it (recipe) around and how many days it will last in a cooler. I also remember reading a book about an ex-pat in France who commented that when French moms picnic they take totally different things than US moms do -- they have a different take on what is "portable food". The only specific food I remember from that book is hardboiled eggs (I am apparently easily impressed with people carrying around eggs, as this is my main take away from books ... hmm...).

 

Also, I plan my meals around our schedule. I cook early in the day, if needed, so when we get home we can have a quick meal. Also, I take snacks for the car ride home from various lessons (swimming, dance) so hungry kids can make it home without needing to stop for an emergency meal.

[Doran]

Over the years, we've almost eliminated fast food from our diets. I say almost because we do still have to stop at a Subway on occasion when we're traveling. But, never a burger joint (though, really, I'm not sure there's much difference). My kids used to beg for McDonalds, and now, they despise them. One child actually gets a stomach ache from eating even the salads at a burger place. I think it's mental, but hey, I'm not complaining.

 

First, we pack snacks nearly everytime we go anywhere. Water bottles, pretzels, nuts, fruit (fresh or dried), peanut butter crackers (homemade), granola bars, Clif bars, cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs. When we travel, I'll either pack sandwiches plus more of the above, or a baguette and cheese plus more of the above. If we're traveling for more than a day, we might stop at a Chinese restaurant where at least the food is cooked fresh. Or, we look for diners, often asking a local for a recommendation, or seeking out a place with a non-chain name and lots of cars in the parking lot!

 

The same principles apply when you're eating on the fly at home. Think ahead, pack accordingly. It does take some effort at the front end, but it'll save you money and you can use that as your excuse if the kids balk. Oh, and a crock pot full of chili or soup is a lifesaver for busy families. Make up a pot of something on Sunday or Monday, and you can eat from it several meals a week then reload for the next round.

 

Good luck!

[GailV]

First, we pack snacks nearly everytime we go anywhere. Water bottles, pretzels, nuts, fruit (fresh or dried), peanut butter crackers (homemade), granola bars, Clif bars, cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs.

 

 

SEE! Doran, Queen of Cool, does the eggs too! Now I know I need to carry eggs around!

 

Okay, I'll be quiet now. Carry on.

[Laura Corin]

With sports classes, I feed the children early at home (for evening appointments), then they have dessert when they get home (biscuits and milk, usually).

 

I can't remember the last time I ate fast food, but then there are no McDonalds or KFC in either Cupar or St Andrews, which are my nearest towns.

 

Laura

[kls126s]

Not trying to highjack - but when you carry along all these snacks, what do you pack them in? Does it fit in your purse or do you carry along a food bag?

[Doran]

SEE! Doran, Queen of Cool, does the eggs too! Now I know I need to carry eggs around!

 

Okay, I'll be quiet now. Carry on.

 

 

Oh my goodness. Queen of Cool!? I'm all verklempt. :blush: But, I do loves me some eggs.

[Old Dominion Heather]

Well, we are in the same boat... I have not found a solution yet, but I have tried to replace the burger and fries dinners with cheese pizza.

[frogpond1]

Costco has some msg free turkey sticks that we like too. I make a lot of pb and J sandwiches. Really, since going whole wheat and whole grain- we don't care for fast food right now. If you just quit, after a while you won't even crave it. Watching "Supersize Me" made me almost barf when we had to stop at fast food and there was no other choice. Our last trip we stopped at a Taco place that makes everything fresh. That is a better choice. We also will pick up sandwiches from the Grocery store which are healthier than fast food.

[AmeliaBinMO]

The way I successfully stopped relying on fast food, was to read "The Omnivore's Dilemma." Even a die-hard fast food addict would have a tough time choking down a McNugget after reading Michael Pollan's analysis of the ingredients in his families McDonald's meal.

 

We try our best to eat at home or take along food made at home. On the occasions where we do need to eat out, we stop by the grocery store. We can always find something there that is better for us than fast food. Our grocery store has a great deli, and we can get fresh fruit or vegetables in "to go" containers. It is more expensive than fast food, so we make sure that it doesn't happen often! :)

[Doran]

Not trying to highjack - but when you carry along all these snacks, what do you pack them in? Does it fit in your purse or do you carry along a food bag?

 

We either carry a canvas bag which we call our "feed bag", or we carry a small cooler, usually a soft sided one.

[oakmom]

I've found that if I need to spend a lot of time preparing a portable meal ahead of time it doesn't happen and we're more likely to be desperate and stop for fast food.

 

I've started just grabbing sandwich stuff to put in the cooler, cold cuts, cheese, peanut butter, etc. I bring a loaf of bread and assemble the sandwiches on site.

 

I try to keep packable fruits on hand: apples, grapes, bananas, oranges.

 

My kids like baby carrots so I just throw the whole bag in the cooler.

 

I'm glad to see that my children aren't the only one who enjoy hard boiled eggs and they do travel well.

 

If all else fails, I've been know to stop at the grocery store to buy a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter and grab a plastic knife from the deli.

 

My children are trained to fill their Klean Kanteen bottles with water whenever we're heading out the door.

[PariSarah]

. . . sandwiches or burritos, apple slices, and . . . (looks around to see if anybody's listening) a serving of red wine in a Dr. Pepper bottle. Nothing that requires refrigeration.

 

Chicken and rice burritos, wrapped in tin foil, are particularly nice, because they still taste good tepid, but the rice and the foil tend to hold in a lot of heat. So they might still be hot when you serve them.

 

Have also done sandwich wraps--tortillas with chicken salad, tuna salad, hummus and grated carrots, or BLT fixin's. Carrot sticks are as easy as apple slices, but we just like apples better. Really, we just throw in whatever fruit or veggie we have handy.

 

The hardest part of making the change is getting organized to do it. The food is insanely cheaper, healthier, and tastier, so you don't miss the food part of the fast food. You only miss the fast part. And after you get used to the effort, you don't even miss that!

[Stacia]

Here's an article about A Better Bag Lunch. Maybe it has a few ideas for you.

 

My kids seem to like things cut up in little pieces & we take along crackers, so they can make mini-creations -- things like sliced egg, pickles, grape tomatoes, cheese, radish, cucumbers, tuna salad, etc.... Somehow, it being 'small' must make it more fun to eat.

 

If you really want to get more complex & upgrade the style of your take-along foods, you might enjoy Bento TV. :001_smile: I think it looks so cool, but I'm nowhere near being able to do this! LOL.

 

Kudos to you. We're trying to eat healthier/stay away from fast food too.

[CalicoKat]

We have been on a mission these past few years of trying to make better choices in what we eat. We have slowly made the switch to mostly organic foods and have noticed a lot of benefits. The one big problem I can't seem to remedy is the occasional fast food meal. Between 3 different sports a week and trips out of town I can't seem to kick this habit for our family. I really hate to admit, but I am sure we eat a fast food meal at least once a week. I know that there our better choices now -- one can get fruit or a sandwich, but even those can be loaded with preservatives. I guess my solution is to pack a cooler, but what do I pack? Any advice would be much appreciated! Thanks!

we're doing the same thing, cutting out fast food. My quickie snack/lunches:

 

a loaf of bread - we eat homemade whole wheat bread or another store bought whole wheat organic bread. NOTHING on it is how my kids prefer to eat it. We have brought along the peanut butter jar, but rarely.

 

Box of granola bars -- ever present in the diaper bag. My kids can be persuaded to hold on until home if I've got these along.

 

Water -- I recycle water bottles & freeze water in them. The water stays colder longer and the potential for a huge spill doesn't exist. When I'm outta bottles I do have a small cooler jug that works just fine.

 

I think the big thing is to get your kids buy-in to this whole change. It won't work, or at least not very easily, if they aren't helping. Ask your kids what are their fav. healthy snacks. Direct one of them to pack the cooler with snacks as one of the get-out-the-door tasks.

 

I do remember my mother bringing along cold baked potatoes. I loved sprinkling salt on them, yum.

 

And the hard boiled egg thingy --great for low carbers. :) I love them.

[Peela]

Do you have Subway over there? It's a healthy meat and salad roll fast food place. The kids and I are hooked on it for our once a week fast food binge!

[Rosie_0801]

We'll take bread, olive oil, salami, cheese and fruit, possibly something like carrot and celery too. None of this is terribly affected by sitting in the hot car for an hour or two, can be held in the hand and won't make mess (except for the oil.) No cutlery required either.

Yum, yum, but make sure you buy good quality olive oil. You don't want cheap refined stuff on your bread.

:)

Rosie