Fast food is just a part of daily life

I don't cook. I only go to the super market because the four things I cannot live without, Peanut Butter Panic ice cream, Diet Dr. Pepper, paper towels, and bathroom tissue, cannot be purchased at any of the drive-thru fast food chains I visit on a daily basis.

I am kind of devastated that fast food is getting such a bum rap right now, even when I know most of what is being pitched is true. Fast food is not good for our health, but I console my guilt by chanting everything in moderation, and I have tried to cut back, no super duper size anything (well maybe just the fries) but I can't cut it out.It's not just about the food, but about the convenience, especially after working all day (I don't know what my excuse is for the morning drive-thru for my coffee and yogurt). It's about not having to do dishes because we just toss everything when we are done eating. I especially love that part, since I break out in hives when I go near my kitchen.

I really never thought of how bad my fast food habit was until I was balancing my check book recently and 90 out of 120 checks or debits for the month were to carry outs or drive-thrus. You are probably asking how I can afford this, but keep in mind I don't grocery shop, so instead of spending $300 a month on groceries I spend it on good stuff. Years ago my husband wouldn't touch fast food of any kind. He has really come a long way in 35 years, when the choice is starve or eat a burger, I guess anyone would relent after awhile.

I have made a lot of friends at the places I stop at on a regular basis. They don't know me by name but by what I order. I pulled up to the speaker to order at one of my favorite stops the other morning and the young woman recognized my voice immediately when I ordered a large coffee with two creams, she came back with "will you have your usual parfait with that?" I know that one of the kids there has enlisted in the Navy and will soon be leaving, his brother just re-enlisted and is going to Korea, and a lot of the workers tell me about how tired they are and they may have had to leave a sick child at home that day and I listen and try to say something encouraging.

The only problem I have with fast food is I think if I ever got one order that was right when I got it home I would faint. I used to check my order before pulling off, but now it's kind of a game to see what we really have when I get home and open the sack.

I hope the fast food industry carries through with their plans on providing healthier choices, especially for the next generation coming up. But if I have to choose between apple slices and a fried apple pie, I'm going to stick with the pie.