Can you live without fast food in your life?

Before COVID 19 i was a fast food junkie. Recently i'm living without fast food in my life thanks to Covid 19. Missus makes meals at home and i'm quite contend with it. No take aways even for over 4 months now.

After pandemic over i'll stick to home meals only for savings and health reason.I'm guessing i can live without fast food in my life easily if i want to.

Well?

Hell no.

I could, but things wouldn't be pleasant. I get McChickens pretty much every day I have work. 2 McChickens and a medium Coke.

Yes. Once you learn to cook you realise there are a plethora of recipes which can be made cheap which destroy fast food in taste. I don't mind a burger every now and again but I rarely don't regret it after. You're just consuming old salads and meat made from parts of animal left overs which you would think twice about feeding to your dog.

Ya. Rarely eat fast food as it is.

Yeah, I'd be fine. Was a cook by profession for quite a few years, and honestly the only reason I eat out at all ever is due to laziness and/or boredom. I never actually want to eat garbage from fast food places.

I meal prep as it is for my work days, so I'm pretty much not eating fast food as it is.

Except for In n Out. I might actually miss that place.

Pretty much.

I think "home ec" classes need to be mandatory in high school, no one knows how to cook these days, including kids' parents. Boiling water for noodles and reheating jarred sauce doesn't count, either. Not saying you need to roll your own pasta, but if you can't take a plain can of tomatoes, saute some veggies, and season it to taste to make your own sauce....you got problems. Or, you know, make a big pot of chili. Or braise some pork. It's easy!

Not trying to sound snobby, but cooking is so easy and nearly effortless once you learn a few techniques which, frankly, you can get decent at just by reading a bit.

R u a chef? :)

It fascinates me how people love to eat literal trash.

@magnum3000: Yeah, you only mean when eating out, right?

Considering I no longer get excited about fast food at all, yeah I can live without it.

Eating out, Ordering fast foods. Fast foods in general :)

So... no difference between a fast food chain like McDonalds and a restaurant that serves a hamburger?

I think there's a distinction between those two. There's different care put into creating these meals in terms of ingredients and cooking. You could even make yourself a hamburger at home and it wouldn't be considered fast food in my opinion.

Yes I can live without Fast Food Joints and I love to cook my own damn foods anyway.

We Humans been eating trash since we took our first steps on this planet. But hey, we work what we got right?

Ummm im trying to say not to cut off hamburgers made at home, but anywhere outside :)

Fast food is okay occasionally, but I do prefer home cooked meals, they taste better and you know what's in them.

Fast food? Yes.

Pasta? No.

@mrbojangles25: "I think "home ec" classes need to be mandatory in high school, no one knows how to cook these days, including kids' parents."

Home ec was demolished in the 70-80s. Board of Eduction system predicted the popularity of fast food increasing and women being a big part of the workforce.

"Boiling water for noodles and reheating jarred sauce doesn't count, either"

lol

Fast food should be banned.

Well then yes I can drop fast food. I only at those places a few times a year anyway.

I don't eat it much but sometimes it comes in handy.

Nope I like it all - McDonalds, Wendys, Taco Bell, Id eat fast food till I Die.

Ooof, talk about gender stereotypes.

Never saw a female chef in my 10 or so years as a cook. I know they exist, but demolishing home ec because the BoE thinks only women can teach it and/or have interest in it? Lame.

Whatever, don't call it home ec....call it "intro to adulting" or "How to cook the essentials, balance a check book, and live without mom and dad"

Good point. What qualifies as food food?

Just things with a drive through?

Or anything that provides a quicker meal?

You'd find me hard-pressed to call anything from my local taqueria "fast food" just because it takes five minutes for a burrito or some tacos. It's quality stuff man, not like a cheap burger made from beef leftovers.

Well, by definition, fast food is... ...well, fast. Produced in quantity for speed of service rather than dining experience.

Doesn't mean fast food can't be decent. Just has to be fast.

Nope it's crack.

Fast food is disgusting (McDonalds, etc.). I can't imagine eating literal dogshit.

@plageus900: I think the markets are the dog shit. sadly fast food has grown, in fact it should be eaten more than groceries.

In-n-Out is so overrated if you ask me.

The food isn't bad but it is way overhyped. If there is ever a random occasion I might be down for it, my cravings are always killed when lines are always ridiculous. I never drive by an In-n-Out without seeing cars lined up down the block. Not worth the wait.

I can live without drive-thru's.

The only thing I can't go without is drive-thru Mexican food. Now if that went away I don't know what I'll do. Lol

@mrbojangles25: " I know they exist, but demolishing home ec because the BoE thinks only women can teach it and/or have interest in it? Lame."

Originally i was just being sarcastic/funny. But now that i think about it, my statement my have some truth to it. Especially the last 20 years. Millenials/Gen Z most likely will rely on fast food.

@jaydan: For the cost it's pretty damn good. I mean it's barely more expensive than McDonalds. I get what you're saying, though, and even agree to an extent. Plus In n Out fries are just the worst.

I'd argue places like Five Guys (and I heard Shake Shack is also good, but have never been) might have better burgers, but if I want a cheeseburger, fries, and drink from Five Guys it's costing me 10+ dollars.

A double-double, fries, and drink from In n Out is like 7 dollars.

Plus I think In n Out quality is better. Not in terms of like how big their burgers are, but their ingredients are super fresh. Lettuce is always crisp, tomatoes are always great, onions always have the perfect balance of acid, sweetness, and sharpness. The cheese isn't an afterthought, it is actually present in the burger; at most places the cheese seems to fall to the background, like "here is your burger. Oh ya and there's a bit of cheese on there"

@mrbojangles25: Animal Style Fries are the best, in my opinion.

Like I say, it has less to do with the food and more to do with In-n-Out always being insanely busy. I've never gotten lucky going there to no lines, and every time I drive by one I notice extreme lines in the drive-thru. I've had literal times when I thought I'd go there and the moment I see those lines I'm just like "ooookay well I'll just go some place else, then." I only really go there if I'm hanging out with outsiders of the Pacific west regions, because outsiders tend to hype up In-n-Out as some sort of must-see attraction. lol

Insane crowds every usually kill my desire to get InO. If I was going to a drive-thru I'm more for quick service not sitting in a big line.

I think Five Guys is great, but I haven't had them in so many years. I think what turned me off from them is because every time I had their food, I did not feel great afterwards. They feel like literal artery-cloggers; and while I know all fast food technically is, I don't want to have to feel guilty every time after eating their food.

Luckily in California they have Mexican drive-thru's all over the place, and I often crave Mexican food more than a burger.

Yeah, I cook. But, if anything I do miss a good Whopper from time to time.

@jaydan: same. love me some al pastor or carnitas

Hell yeah. I'm a big fan of mole as well, such a unique flavor palette there. They don't have mole at every Mexican food place but I keep a look out for it and I go to those places. I also love chilaquiles, chile relleno and adobada. I've turned onto Salvadorian food too and been eating a lot of pupusas.

spicy chicken nuggets and buffalo wings. 2 things i cannot cook to decent standard... i will order for fast food. that about it.

Oh yeah for sure. I rarely ate fast food before and have not had any in over 4 months now.

Yea, pretty easily. Cooking is fun and rewarding. However, I'm not snob and will enjoy fast food occasionally.

Apparently, as indicated by the last 3 months.

I rarely eat fast food as it is. However where I live we have plenty of sushi-joints that could be classified as fast food restaurants. Getting your food usually goes lightning fast because they make the sushi in large batches.

However I usually eat out at a restaurant once a day. I really tried cooking all of my meals for myself at home when I started working from home but it became too stressful for me. And I don't like making like 3-5 lunch boxes every time I cook either. Eating them gets soooo tedious...

@magnum3000: I'd say there's a difference between fast food and junk food, and the difference is in the ingredients. A good burger using good quality meat can be fast, but a McD is always junk imo.

Yes, during this pandemic I've only ate fast food 3 times this entire year so far and those 3 times were because of my co-workers begging me to go with them.

I could, but I choose not to.

It has been years since I went to a fast food joint.

Never even as a kid enjoyed fast food. It is convenient and fast. I still eat it on long road trips or other situations. Used to eat it because it was actually cheaper then groceries but that is not the case now. But I do not see how fast food ever was affected by corona virus. They have been doing more business then ever.

Probably not; I'm addicted to it. One of the things I recently discovered was their poutine. It's pretty good, but a little on the small side.

No. I work myself so ardently day-by-day that I cannot call up enough energy to cook at the end of it. Plus, as a weightlifter, if I pump my arms as extra work, then its too much for me, with aches. Ordering fast food was one of the means I did, so I could be restful before the Outbreak, and still is. I don't but the cheapest kind though, I kind of like the middling tier ones, so it's toothy enough. I'll cook if I have time getting less busy, so I can hit mid tier myself.

Absolutely i survive 1 year quite easily because in replacement of fast food i am trying pakistani cuisine and men they wrok hard to make their dish taste epic, so many spices and masala.

Yes. I'm not an american.