Fast Food Vs Home Cooking

[Arbitres]

I like fast food. I also don't mind my own cooking. Really depends, can't cook in the car now can I? So I think fast food is good at times and an indulgence at others.

Cooking at home? Well... I can procrastinate and I tend to be lazy in a back and forth manner. Home cooking is fine, I suppose... or maybe not. Whichever.

Honestly? I love fast food. Little Caeser's Pizza is the place for me. I love bread and the pizza.

....I'm hungry for it now. Curses.

[Gin]

I like fast food, because I can get really high and get 20 cheeseburgers from Jack in the Box for like $15 at 3 a.m., but I can't just start cooking in my house at 3 a.m. or I will wake up everyone, and then they want my food.

[Urzu 7]

I got sick of fast food over the years. I agree, home cooking ftw. Quick Service restaurants are a significant step up from fast food, at least (for example, Panera Bread, Au Bon Pain, and Chipolte).

But home cooking is great. It isn't hard to become an acceptable cook, you could say. You don't have to become a chef to be able to do good home cooking. Earlier this year I stopped eating out from fast food places and the like almost completely. It was a drastic cut back. I did this to save money, and I ended up losing ten or so pounds in the process! I also drink less soda. Something that is good is to buy some fruit juice that has sugar and no HFCS, and then buy bottles of seltzer (I go with orange flavored seltzer) and mix them half and half in a cup. Kind of like drinking soda, but no HFCS and less calories. And it tastes good.

Recently I made stuffed cabbage. Came out really good. When it is fall time, I'll be sure to make more of this vegetable soup that I make that is great tasting. I'm starting to become a decent cook and I want to continue to get better.

[Master_Yoma]

I dont care if it fast food or a home cooked meal food is food to me but I like eating at home it cost far less then ordering it off a menu. I cant get 2 or 3 meals at home then getting a number 11 at burger king

[Kittenlady]

I don't like fast food, healthy stuff just tastes so much better. Cooking's easy to get used to, and doesn't take that long unless it's something special or whatever. I mean, some pasta only takes around ten minutes. No need to be lazy! Except I'm a hypocrite and often 'forget' to eat because I can't be bothered when we've run out of easy to do things.

I stock up on tins of vegetable soup for when I'm feeling lazy - 3 minutes in a pan and done! Or just feel like soup, it's gorgeous and healthy, so win-win.

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by Gin

I like fast food, because I can get really high and get 20 cheeseburgers from Jack in the Box for like $15 at 3 a.m., but I can't just start cooking in my house at 3 a.m. or I will wake up everyone, and then they want my food.

I've cooked a full pasta dinner with bison meat at 3 AM before

[Langus]

People from home always ask me "why are the Japanese so skinny?"

The answer is really simple - the vast majority of the population eats home cooked meals. Why? Because a majority of the female population works as homemakers or stay-at-home moms.

Additionally, exercise is a party of daily life here. People cycle to work or to the train station, all the kids play sports and have gym class, etc. etc.

Different cultural expectations, different results. If America wants to tackle it's obesity problem the answer lies in the basic structure of their daily life. The Japanese eat fast food too, but not nearly to the extent that we do.

[synaesthetic]

It's more their diet than anything. Even when you look at American home cooking--especially Southern food--it's very fattening. Americans eat more meat than any other country except perhaps France (and the French have a lower obesity rate, too... wtf?)

I think it's not so much fat intake as it is fake chemical crap intake. Americans just eat too much processed food (and I say this while snacking on junk food... shut up, I'm poor).

Which is actually another good point. Healthy food is expensive, junk is cheap, the economy is bad, people are unemployed and broke.

Do the math.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Langus

People from home always ask me "why are the Japanese so skinny?"

The answer is really simple - the vast majority of the population eats home cooked meals. Why? Because a majority of the female population works as homemakers or stay-at-home moms.

Additionally, exercise is a party of daily life here. People cycle to work or to the train station, all the kids play sports and have gym class, etc. etc.

Different cultural expectations, different results. If America wants to tackle it's obesity problem the answer lies in the basic structure of their daily life. The Japanese eat fast food too, but not nearly to the extent that we do.

Actually, whether it is one income or two income family, you can say roughly the same thing about much of the rest of the advanced world. "Lifestyle issues - poor choices" and "lack of available choices" drive much of the American problem.

[Ricky Controversy]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

It's more their diet than anything. Even when you look at American home cooking--especially Southern food--it's very fattening. Americans eat more meat than any other country except perhaps France (and the French have a lower obesity rate, too... wtf?)

Well, the missing part of the French equation is their eating method, which is true of the difference in many diets that wouldn't necessarily be implicitly healthier than the typical American's.

The French don't sit down to pound back three square a day in fifteen minutes per meal, with heavy snacking in between. You sit down and you take a while to eat. It's a social occasion, and since there's something to do other than just eat, you tend to pace yourself more, facilitating better digestion and a full-stomach-response that actually corresponds to your stomach's fullness.

[synaesthetic]

I actually mentioned that in the other food thread. Social eating means you eat slower and eat less, eating alone means you eat faster and usually, more.

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by synaesthetic

It's more their diet than anything. Even when you look at American home cooking--especially Southern food--it's very fattening. Americans eat more meat than any other country except perhaps France (and the French have a lower obesity rate, too... wtf?)

I think it's not so much fat intake as it is fake chemical crap intake. Americans just eat too much processed food (and I say this while snacking on junk food... shut up, I'm poor).

Which is actually another good point. Healthy food is expensive, junk is cheap, the economy is bad, people are unemployed and broke.

Do the math.

It isn't fat intake, it is mostly carbohydrates that are the problem. Meat being fattening is a myth, btw. It is very healthy for you if you eat lean cuts.

[Ricky Controversy]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

It isn't fat intake, it is mostly carbohydrates that are the problem. Meat being fattening is a myth, btw. It is very healthy for you if you eat lean cuts.

Er, well, yes and no.

Fat in and of itself is necessary, yes. Carbohydrates have a higher caloric density per gram than fat, yes. Lean cuts of meat are good to an extent, yes.

Conversely, the body doesn't treat all fat equally. The average American gets exposed to difficult-to-process Trans Fats as well as much higher concentrations of Saturated Fat than the body has a use for.

As far as lean cuts of meat go, those aren't really what gets used most. Why? Because fat provides some of the more robust flavoring for meat. Additionally, meat is good for the body assuming that it is taken in with the proper proportion of soluble fibers to aid in the digestive process. Even those Americans who don't eat too much fatty meat are still suffering because they don't get sufficient fiber.

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by Ricky Controversy

Er, well, yes and no.

Fat in and of itself is necessary, yes. Carbohydrates have a higher caloric density per gram than fat, yes. Lean cuts of meat are good to an extent, yes.

Conversely, the body doesn't treat all fat equally. The average American gets exposed to difficult-to-process Trans Fats as well as much higher concentrations of Saturated Fat than the body has a use for.

As far as lean cuts of meat go, those aren't really what gets used most. Why? Because fat provides some of the more robust flavoring for meat. Additionally, meat is good for the body assuming that it is taken in with the proper proportion of soluble fibers to aid in the digestive process. Even those Americans who don't eat too much fatty meat are still suffering because they don't get sufficient fiber.

It isn't about caloric density. Most of the American population have ancestors that never quite adapted to carbohydrate consumption. A large percentage of the Western European population is unadapted to regular consumption of grains (and sugars, etc). As a result we see both types of diabetes due to unhealthy levels of insulin sensitivity. Nutritionally, the biggest problem for Americans is hormone levels. Too much estrogen from food sources as well as xenoestrogens in the environment, too much cortisol from stress and overworking oneself, too much insulin from carbohydrate consumption, and unhealthy androgen levels that get converted into estrogen.

Meat - even with the fat - is a staple of human evolution. It can be substituted healthily by conscientious vegetarians/vegans but for the average Joe meat, with its massive amount of minerals, vitamins, protein, and fats is the mainframe of the human diet. I advise people to eat "paleolithically" - eat like a caveman, because that is how our bodies are programmed.

[Ricky Controversy]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

Meat - even with the fat - is a staple of human evolution. It can be substituted healthily by conscientious vegetarians/vegans but for the average Joe meat, with its massive amount of minerals, vitamins, protein, and fats is the mainframe of the human diet. I advise people to eat "paleolithically" - eat like a caveman, because that is how our bodies are programmed.

I'm not denying that at all, and I eschew vegetarianism or veganism because it's untenable for someone with my metabolic needs and also because flesh is delicious. What I'm saying is that it needs to be had in reasonable proportion with plant-derived food, and that's the part a lot of Americans flub on. Meat is processed best by a body that also gets sufficient fiber.

[ChainLegacy]

Oh of course I agree with that as well. It is all part of the paleolithic diet. Meat, vegetables, nuts, limited fruits, etc - things that our ancient ancestors ate tend to be the best choice, even in the modern world. Not only that, but greens, especially cruciferous vegetables are very useful in regulating hormone levels (cut back on excess estrogen, keeps androgen healthy).

[LMF]

I like both. Though I remember my mom's cooking isn't the best around.

Does buffet count as "fast-food?"

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by Ricky Controversy

Well, the missing part of the French equation is their eating method, which is true of the difference in many diets that wouldn't necessarily be implicitly healthier than the typical American's.

The French don't sit down to pound back three square a day in fifteen minutes per meal, with heavy snacking in between. You sit down and you take a while to eat. It's a social occasion, and since there's something to do other than just eat, you tend to pace yourself more, facilitating better digestion and a full-stomach-response that actually corresponds to your stomach's fullness.

It just appears normal for me to take nearly 45 minutes to eat dinner or lunch when I am with french friends (I am of asian descendance), since they talk so much during their meal. Then it shocked me when a meal with my american family was a little shorter.

[sergho]

Obesity is mostly a problem among the poor in the US.

[cheyannew]

Originally Posted by sergho

Obesity is mostly a problem among the poor in the US.

BZZZZZZZZZT wrong, hate to burst your bubble, but income has less to do with obesity than you'd think. Granted, the "cheap" foods are less healthy for you than, say, hitting the Farmer's Market, but there are a *LOT* of obese people in middle & upper tier pay tiers.

It's also most certainly NOT just an issue in the US, considering Mexico & the UK (and Austrailia, if I recall rightly) are catching up in terms of % of obese population.