Category Archives: Fast Food

Drive-through Nightmares: What are PFOAs?

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I’ll be the first to admit that I have a soft spot for a good, greasy, drive-thru burger every now and again.  Really, who doesn’t?  However, the mission of this blog is to provide you, our readership with recipes and food ideas that hopefully inspire them to take a little extra time kitchen.  But incase you needed just one more incentive to stay away from the all-powerful Drive-Thru take a look at some of the newest (and scariest) research about the possible dangers of fast food.

So you’ve probably heard the health experts telling you how fast food burgers reek of calories, fats, and preservatives but every person’s drive-through nightmare does not end there. Apparently, a new chemical has been discovered and it’s not something you can find within your order. Surprisingly enough, this harmful chemical is found all around your burger.

Normally when you order food from any fast food diner you receive your order neatly wrapped with soft and smooth, glossy paper. Unknown to many, the glossy paper used to wrap burgers also contains chemical components that may be harmful to your body as it accumulates or when consumed in excessive amounts.

According to researchers from the University of Toronto, burger wrappings contain perfluoroalkyls which are known to protect your burger from grease and water. The very reason why paper wrappings are grease-proof in the first place is because these perfluoroalkyls repel all sorts of liquid from getting into the burger and from exiting the burger. Although paper wrappings were intended for a good purpose, it turns out that their contents are not healthy and may even be dangerous.

Side-Effects of Perfluoroalkyls

According to researchers, perfluroalkyls or PFOAs found in burger wrappings and other materials, may affect the sex hormones and cholesterol consumption of your body. An experiment conducted earlier this year on rats and mice exposed to perfluoroalkyls show that PFOAs may also lead to an even earlier death, delayed mental development, and sprouting of cancerous tumors on the body after a series of exposure to PFOAs.

The only reason why PFOA-injected burger wrappings are in demand in the first place is the need for grease-proof material to wrap food in. Take note, fast food diners are not the only place to find perfluoroalkyls; burger wrappings sold in grocery stores may also contain this deadly chemical. The only way to lessen exposure to PFOA is to stop using burger wrappings and use table napkins instead or store your food in any clean plastic-ware.

Now that you know what burger wrappings are made of, would you still wrap anything you eat with these potentially harmful wrapping?

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Fast Food Favorites Go Vegan: Vegan Big Mac

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McDonald’s Big Mac is one of the most popular giant burgers not just in the United States, but around the world. And,put simply, where there is McDonald’s, there is Big Mac.

Big Mac’s meaty taste and affordability has made it a favorite among families and individuals living on a tight budget—a single order would cost you no more than $1 while a Big Mac and a coke would fall below a mere $5. The Big Mac may be cheap but its nutritional benefits are limited, to say the least.

For vegetarians and vegans, the Big Mac’s highly meaty and highly caloric concoction is not something interesting to bite into. However, with a little bit of creativity, health buffs may now enjoy a Vegan Big Mac knockoff. This great recipe by Shandalulu of West Valley City, UT is easy to make and tastes great!

As always, start off by gathering the ingredients. This list is divided into 2 parts: the special sauce and the burger.

 

The Special Sauce (Makes about ¾ cup)

½ cup of Vegannaise or vegan mayo

2 tablespoons low fat French dressing

4 tablespoons Minced dill Pickles (Alternative: 1 tbsp. of sweet pickle relish)

1 tablespoon white onions, minced

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 ¼ teaspoon of white sugar

Pinch of salt

 

The Burger (Makes 2 burgers)

3 pairs of Sesame Seed burger buns

4 Vegan Burger Patties (Recommended by cook: Morning Star Vegan Patties)

2 tablespoons of Special Sauce, see ingredients above

Pepper and salt to taste

2 tablespoon of White Onion, diced

1 cup lettuce, chopped

2 Vegan American or cheddar cheese slices

4 dill pickles, sliced

 

RECIPE

  1. To make the sauce: Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and cover tightly. Store it in a fridge below freezing level for a few hours or overnight.
  2. To make the burgers: start off by slicing off the top of the third pair of burger buns. This pair will be used as the middle bun for your burger.
  3.  Put all 6 buns on a griddle and toast until golden brown in color.
  4. Season the vegan burger patties with salt and pepper; fry for about 3-4 minutes on both sides.
  5. Order the burger in this order:
  • Bottom Bun
  • ¼ tablespoon of special sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon of onion, diced
  • 1 slice of cheese
  • 1 piece of burger patty
  • Middle bun
  • ¼ tablespoon of special sauce
  • ¼ teaspoon of onion, diced
  • ¼ cup of lettuce
  • 2 sliced of pickles
  • 1 piece of burger patty
  • And finally, the top bun.

Enjoy this healthier and vegan alternative to the world’s most recognizable burger- the Big Mac!

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McDonalds Apple Pie…In Case Of Nuclear Fallout-Hide Under One!

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Good Morning Foodies!

So, my wife and I aren’t the greatest homemakers in the world. Sometimes, my car gets so full of stuff that it ends up in a box on the garage floor. Sometimes for months. Well, my wife was looking through one of those boxes yesterday and stumbled upon a McDonalds Apple Pie that was untouched. When we checked the sell by date, it read: 9:52 PM, 6/17/10! That makes this apple pie 4 months, 1 week old! The temperature has ranged from 110 degrees to as low as 35 degrees in that time period, in my garage. As you can see by the photos, other than dehydration, this apple pie seems to be in great shape.

Now, we’ll never know, taste wise, because I love this blog and its readers, but not quite THAT much! Suffice it to say though, there are apparently enough preservatives in that pie to last a long while. Sadly preservatives do the opposite of that to our bodies when we ingest them.

So, keep an eye out on how much of these fast foods you are consuming. The life you save, may be your own!

Until next time: Don’t forget to taste!

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