Fast Food – Healthy Options

Hopefully the last post, Fast Food Dangers, grossed you out enough so that buying fast food is no longer a temptation, or at the least, I hope it is now a very rare occurrence in your life. But what to do for those times when you’re too busy, too tired, or too whatever to spend much time cooking? (It happens to all of us.) This post will give you ideas for simple and quick meals to help you painlessly go right on by those nasty drive-thru windows.

photo by Simon Davison

LUNCH SUGGESTIONS:

Before we talk about some easy and fast dinner suggestions, first we should touch on the issue of lunch. If lunchtime is the biggest area of temptation for you, then the main thing that needs to happen, if you are ready to completely avoid fast food, is to PLAN AHEAD a little.

(Click here for healthy school lunch ideas.)

• When you’re at the grocery store, grab a variety of foods that will make you look forward to lunch and not even think about fast food. (Remember there’s lots of junk at the grocery store, too, though…avoid the middle aisles in the store whenever you can.)
• Even better, take leftovers in a thermos from last night’s healthy dinner.
• Try some new salad ideas and mix it up with different ingredients. (I load my salads up and never feel deprived – if you make them right, you feel like you’re eating a big treat!)
• Another idea is something Kent started doing a while back: he began taking healthy snack foods to munch on throughout the day while he’s at his desk, instead of having one big mid-day meal. He takes things like yogurt, all natural or raw milk cheese, crispy nuts, beef jerky from the farm (no MSG), granola, see other snack ideas.
• I’m sure all of you have more healthy lunch ideas: please post them below in the comments!

DINNER SUGGESTIONS

We all need a good list of quick dinner ideas to get us through those moments when you might be tempted to say to yourself, “I’ve had a busy day…” or “I deserve a night off from cooking…” or whatever the excuse might be to head for fast food. The best thing when it comes to dinner is also to plan ahead (and maybe do a crock-pot meal for busy evenings), but realistically, that doesn’t always happen. So having a Family Favorite Meals List is priceless on busy days. With only a glance, I can quickly figure out what I can make fast, and which meals we have the ingredients for. So now on our crazy evenings, full of soccer practices or games, dance lessons, school or church meetings, etc., what do we eat?

Here are some ideas:

• Grilled cheese (Healthy grilled cheese sandwiches: use 100% whole wheat bread, preferably organic and even better is a sprouted, fermented, or sourdough loaf, but for sure without trans fats or high fructose corn syrup! And use real cheese slices, NEVER Velveeta or American cheese – both are highly processed junk food! Even better: sliced raw milk cheese from a local farm.)
• Sometimes when we are REALLY pressed for time and have to get out the door, I’ll grab an apple and a cheese stick out of the frig for the kids to eat in the van to hold them over as we’re driving, then we’ll eat more when we get home. (Other snack ideas.)
• Another idea: if you know you’re going to be on the road at mealtime, try “Road Picnics“. I can quickly pack PBJ sandwiches, carrots sticks, apples & water, or whatever, and there’s just something fun about that for the kids, even if what we’re having isn’t anything new.
• Make meals ahead of time to have in your freezer for busy nights. (Or make enough one night for leftovers the next – talk about fast and convenient!) Recently I’d had a busy morning: I helped in my kids’ classes at school, ran some errands, came home to work on my posts, and forgot all about dinner. So I was out of time to make the supper I had originally planned. (I can’t stand it when I let the afternoon get away from me like that.) Thankfully, I had an extra pan of Shepherd’s Pie that I could pull out of the freezer at 3:30, defrost for an hour in the toaster oven, then convection bake it right in there for another hour, and it was ready by 5:30 to eat when Kent got home. Veggies were inside so we just had a little fruit for a side and I was done!
• Scrambled eggs (preferably pasture-fed) or whole grain toast/egg sandwiches.
• Quesadillas (using homemade tortillas, which I haven’t tried yet, or store-bought that have as few ingredients as possible, along with some all-natural cheese or even better: raw milk cheese.)
• Healthy hot dogs – if you were able to plan ahead, you could also make homemade buns. (Also at that post read in the comment section about a new twist on the topic of nitrates.)
• Hamburgers (best: organic, grass-fed beef from a local farm)
• Organic Sloppy Joes, Goulash, or Tacos (you could use meat you had cooked ahead in the freezer)
• Any pasta with a jar of organic (or home-canned) sauce – here’s an easy ravioli recipe
• “Italian Pasta” – preferably organic whole wheat or rice pasta with butter, garlic and grated parmesan cheese (my kids and day care kids love this.)
• A couple more easy meals that kids LOVE – make ahead pizza & calzones
  
• Fried Rice
• Burritos, or these grass-fed burritos that go over better with the kids because they’re less spicy
• Spaghetti
  
• 5 minute meal:  Egg Drop Soup
  

MORE HEALTHY FAST FOOD IDEAS FROM THE Real Food Wednesdays BLOG CARNIVAL

Comment below and add more to this list – I know I’m forgetting some good ideas!

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