National Fast Food Day

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Two all beef patties

Special sauce

Lettuce

Cheese

Pickles

Onions

On a sesame seed bun

By Chef Diane

For those of you who are too young to remember, that was the jingle for McDonald's Big Macs during the 1970's.  I remember this because we had to learn it over and over again when we got our first McDonalds in the small delta town where I lived.  If you called them and said this real fast, you would get a free big mac.  The night before this McDonald's open, my family was invited to a grand opening dinner where everything was free.  This was our first fast food restaurants, so this night was almost as exciting as going to the circus.  I remember I ordered a big mac, strawberry milk shake, fries and a hot apple pie.  I thought I was in heaven.  A school friend's mother would always pick her up some lunch from there, and bring it to her at school, while the rest of us sat amazed, while we ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

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These days, there are fast food places everywhere you look.  According to punchbowl.com, there are over 300,000 fast food restaurants in the United States alone. The first was a hot dog stand on Coney Island that opened in 1867.

Many fast food chains have been in the news lately.  There was an uproar over Chic Filet over controversial statements from the CEO.  There have been menu changes with offering better, more nutritious foods, there have been complaints about toys offered in kid's meals, diets consisting of nothing but subway sandwiches, and a controversial film about supersizing menu items.

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Today is National Fast Food Day.  With the availability, cost, and variety, there is something available for everyone.  There are several ways to celebrate this day.  You can start your morning off with some coffee and a muffin from Starbucks, have a nutritious grilled chicken and fruit salad from Wendy’s for lunch, a fresh fruit frozen yogurt for an afternoon snack from McDonald s, and a low fat subway for dinner.  Or, if you are like me, you can get some chili cheese fries, big macs, and deep dish pan pizzas.  This day only comes once a year, so splurge and enjoy!

National Potato Day

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By Chef Diane

I love potatoes! When I was growing up we ate mostly rice, my parent's parents ate mostly potatoes.  Now I am a potato generation.  My son was lucky enough to share his time with my parents and myself, so he had a little of both.

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I love potatoes cooked anyway, baked, boiled, mashed, fried, hash browned scalloped, you name it, I love them.  My mother used to tell a tale that when she was growing up, she would keep hot sweet potatoes in her pockets to keep her hands warm on her way to school, and then she would eat them for lunch. Recently I found out that never happened, but it was still a good story.

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Potatoes are very good for you, full of vitamins such as vitamin C, potassium, and iron.  They give you quick energy and fill you up.  My cousin, who is very calorie conscious, has one weakness, and that is French fries.  She particularly loves the ones from McDonalds.  My father has recently started making fries and potato chips from sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving, when he cooks the turkey.

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In the US, 45 billion tons of potatoes are harvested each year for the nation's consumption. So today, on Potato Day, why not gobble a few potatoes yourself, and help keep the farmers happy.  If you need a recipe for something to fix with potatoes, a favorite southern dish is potato salad.  Below is a great recipe from southernfood.com to try.

Potato Salad

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds potatoes, cooked until just tender, cubed, cooled
• 5 or 6 hard cooked eggs, cooled, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped celery, optional
• Thinly sliced tomatoes and cucumber, for garnish, optional

Dressing:

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise (a little more or less, as desired)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons prepared mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Combine potatoes, egg, onions, and celery. Stir in mayonnaise, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. (Stir the mayonnaise and mustard in a little at a time, until you have the flavor and consistency you like.)

Top with thinly sliced tomatoes and cucumber, if desired.

Serves 6 to 8.

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Fast Food Day

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By Diane Forrest

Almost every day someone is telling us how to eat.  You see it in the news, on television shows, even from the White House.  You hear it from your parents, friends, teachers and doctors.  Some of the information even sinks in, but there are times you just want some McDonald's French fries, or some Kentucky Fried Chicken, or make a run for the border for some Taco Bell.

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It is hard to resist the temptation of fast foods.  It's quick, easy, and inexpensive.  Many children are started on it at a young age.  I am guilty of getting happy meals for my son when he was young; I think one of the first words he said was Donald land.  He loved to go play on the playground at McD's, and even had one of his birthday parties there.  Over the years we shared many special times at a fast food restaurant.  Some days I would pick him up from school and take him out for a quick lunch, some days after school we would stop by for an ice cream cone.  We would go out with the team after a game for burgers, or have meaningful conversations over a banana split.

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Fast foods are not the root of all evil, just like everything else, must be taken in moderation.  So today is your day to have guilt free trip to your nearest or dearest fast food restaurant.  Today is Fast Food Day, so enjoy it while you can, you can get back on your diet tomorrow.

National Fast Food Day

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By Diane Forrest,

I have always been somewhat directionally challenged.  I frequently get lost, even with the aid of a GPS.  When my family first moved to this town I would have a hard time finding my way around.  My father had a solution to my dilemma.  He would provide me with locations that included all the food places, such as turn left at McDonalds, keep going straight til you see Kentucky Fried Chicken, the go right at the next light.  While I may have had problems finding streets, I could always find the places to eat.

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My husband ate alot of fast food.  In fact he would rather me just run down the road and pick up something instead of me standing over the stove cooking something.  I'm sure that was no reflection on my cooking skills, he was probably just tired of hearing the smoke detector going off.  We always had our special favorite items at each place.  Some nights I would have to go to 3 different places to get dinner, but luckily they were all close together.  I would go to Dairy Queen for the milkshakes or ice cream, then Burger King for the hamburgers, and then run to McDonalds for the French fries.  Every day I would go to Sonic for a large sprite with vanilla added, that was his favorite.  I would also make trips to Wendy's for the chili and baked potatoes, Pizza hut for the pizza and KFC for the pot pies.  There was also the occasional late night trips to Taco Bell for a taco salad and empanadas’.  When he had teeth problems he would only eat chicken noodle soup from Subway or get fried pickles from the Dairy Bar down the road.

Fast food has been around for a long time.  The concept of ready-cooked food for sale is closely connected with urban development.  In Ancient Rome there were stands that sold bread and wine.

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The first fast food restaurant in America was White Castle, which opened in Wichita, Kansas in September 1921 at the end of WW1.  They were the first hamburger chain and sold hamburgers for 5 cents each.  The United States has the largest fast food industry in the world, and American fast food restaurants are located in over 100 countries. Approximately 2 million U.S. workers are employed in the areas of food preparation and food servicing including fast food in the USA.

Today is National Fast Food Day, and there is a long list of choices for you to pick from to celebrate this day, so forget about packing your lunch today and head out for a burger, fries and a shake...or anything else that tempts your taste buds.

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