Healthy, Hearty, and Home Cooked

M Z
M Z
Nov 5 · 4 min read

Preparing family dinner, while done nearly everyday, can be a very challenging task. One of the first problems that can arise is that some members of the family may want different things to eat, which can cause problems for the cook. Picking a meal to please everyone is stressful enough, without the added pressure of knowing that some family members do not even want to eat the dish they are being cooked. Another problem that can arise comes with having parents who both work. The major cooking of the household is usually done by the adults, but at times kids have to step up to the job when their parents have busy schedules. All in all, cooking for the family may seem like a stressful event. This is why many parents turn to fast food options as an alternative to a home cooked meal.

Growing up, my brother, father, and I, had a secret that we kept from my mom. She worked long hours late at the office, and often was not home in time to make it to family dinner, let alone cook it. This meant that the task of cooking fell to my dad. Although he was capable of making a great spaghetti, as well as french toast, my brother and I could only eat this food so many times per week before we craved something else. Although my dad led my mom to believe that he was cooking every night, he was actually taking my brother and me to fast food restaurants.

We called it, “The Trifecta”. It was the intersection of the streets Naper Plainfield and 75th Street, and 3 of the 4 corners had a fast food joint sitting on top of it. A McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell sat perched on the street corner, each one begging for our attention. It was so easy to please everyone, because my dad would not mind driving to a different restaurant since they were so close together. This charade went on for months, with my mom always being so tired when she came home that she never seemed to notice that my dad was not always cooking.

Although I enjoyed these trips to eat out, there was always something that slightly disappointed me. Every advertisement outside of the restaurant displayed glorious burgers, tacos, and fries. They looked absolutely delicious and fresh; I could not wait to get my hands on the food. Being the young, naive, child that I was, it never occurred to me that the food being shown wasn’t going to be the food that was served to me. Each time I was handed the bag of greasy fast food, I still clung to the hope that I would be receiving something that at least resembled the posters and billboards that littered the drive thru pathway. And yet, each time I pulled from the bag a sad excuse of the advertisements that enticed me.

[Here is where I would start using my sources on how fast food restaurants use glamorous advertising in an attempt to bring my customers into the restaurant.]

Not only are pictures drawing in customers to fast food restaurants, but so are the so called “health benefits” shown in the advertisements. [This is where I would use the sources to show that fast food restaurants trick customers into thinking that their food is healthier than it really is. For example, McDonald’s advertises what appears to be healthy and fresh salads, but upon further examination of the calorie count, it would be technically healthier to eat a burger.]

A great example of a group that often falls to the fast food restaurant lure is college students. This applies more to college students who are not on the meal plan, and instead have to buy their own groceries to make food. They see fast food as a cheap and easy alternative to cooking and preparing meals. While it is true that the average college student is very busy, they have to make time in their lives to give their bodies the nutrients it needs to be healthy and functioning. This means that fried, greasy, and rich fast food every night is probably not what is best for college students. [Here is where I would show my sources as to why meal prepping is great for college students, because it allows them to prepare food for days to come so they will not need to spend so much time cooking.]

Although the convenience of fast food restaurants can prove to be almost irresistible to some, a home cooked meal is usually the better alternative in the long run. Although some people in the family could want different things to eat, it forces family members (especially young children) to be less picky, as well as being appreciative that they have food at all. While having both parents working can be difficult as kids are left to prepare the meals, once again meal prepping can save the day. This is something that parents can do with their kids on a Sunday, so that meals can be ready for the rest of the week. This can also be a time to bond with the kids, since the parents week is already so busy. [More information can be included hear about meal prepping.]

Overall, although eating out at fast food restaurants can be okay every once in a while, cooking from home will pay off more in the long run. While it will take more effort from everyone in the family, it keeps you much healthier and gives you chances to spend time with your family.

M Z

Written by

M Z

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