Fast Food Alternatives

Busy moms that have children involved in a lot of activities struggle with not going through a drive-thru once in a while to make things easier. At least I struggle at times with this. Earlier this year, I did a 3 month experiment; and we didn't eat fast food from any of what I call the "Big 4". My children had been sick so often the previous months, but their immune health improved dramatically during our experiment. Since then, I've tried to make fast food an increasingly rare thing.

Here are some alternatives when you (or your kids) want fast food:

Arby's
Saute some sliced onions and garlic in olive oil until tender. Dump in some leftover roast beef. If you had gravy with it, that's even better---dump it in, too. Simmer for a few minutes to heat through and allow flavors to blend. Serve it as it is or add some ketchup for barbecue beef. We've added horseradish and cheddar cheese as well. When everything is mixed/melted well, place mixture on buns and serve. Yum!

Burger King
Mix some of your favorite spices into grass-fed ground beef. Our rule of thumb is 4 hamburger patties per pound. Spread the inside of hamburger buns with butter and grill the inside only as you would for grilled cheese sandwiches. In the meantime, saute some onions and garlic and mushrooms if you have them in butter until tender. This will smell heavenly! When your burgers are done, put them on the grilled buns, top with provolone cheese and mushroom mixture and spread with mayo or Ranch. Delicious!

McDonald's
Buy or make some whole wheat English muffins or biscuits. If you like the scrambled egg-type muffins, scramble your eggs. If you like the fried egg kind, fry an egg, then break the yolk before putting in on the muffin. Top with sausage or bacon, then with a slice of cheese. I would recommend homemade sausage and nitrate-free bacon. So much tastier and without the stomach ache afterwards. Microwave or place in toaster oven for 30 seconds to 1 minute to melt the cheese.
You can eat this with a homemade granola parfait, and you'll never miss the Golden Arches!

Wendy's
Cut several chicken breasts in strips. (You don't have to do this, but it makes them cook faster.) Sprinkle them with your favorite spices and saute in a butter/olive oil mixture. When they're almost done sprinkle with garlic powder and a few tablespoons of lime juice. Stir well to coat. Put on grilled buns or on a salad for a delicious grilled chicken alternative.

We don't eat at Taco Bell, but if you do, tacos and burritos are very easy to make at home.
If you take just a little time to prep these ahead, you can wrap them in foil and put them in individual bags and call them kids' meals for your kids to chomp on as you drive around.

Still not convinced fast food is that bad? Read about Morgan Spurlock's experiment to eat only McDonald's food for one month. Warning: Not written from a Christian perspective, so there may be some objectionable language.
For those times you just can't escape fast food, this book offers the best alternatives plus many healthy tips and recipes for making good food for kids at home.

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