Could Live Without Fast Food

          Growing up I don’t recall eating out much but not because I didn’t want to but because it was just something my parents could not afford to do on a regular basis. I was just like any other kid drawn into the television ads so whenever I was able to eat fast food it felt like I was receiving a huge gift. I had the privilege of eating out about once every two months. Although, I was getting the fast food, it’s not to say I was getting what I wanted as a kid. For example a kid’s meals with the toy since those things were much overpriced. As I got older and my parents became a little more financially independent I did notice the amount of times we ate out had grown from once every two months to twice a month at the most. As a kid, when we ate out, it was usually McDonald's and as I got older the list grew from Dominoes Pizza to Burger King. When I got into my teens we ate out even more. My mom just seemed to not want to cook as much. Then when I turned 16 I started working at Subway so I ate there a lot and due to having my own money I was able to control how many times I chose to eat out. From the time I turned 16 until I turned 17 I encountered 3 very disgusting experiences while eating out at fast food restaurants.

Encounter #1: While biting into a burger at McDonald's I bit into a little white rock of some sort. The whole idea of biting into something that should be 100% ground beef but also biting something hard that felt like a pebble ruined my appetite.

Encounter #2: I ordered some chili cheese fries from Tommy’s Burger and it was honestly like I had ordered a hair ball on the side. I stuck my fork in and pulled out over 5 strands of thick long black hair.

Encounter #3: I ordered a western bacon cheeseburger from Carl’s Jr. but when I got home I realized it was extremely cold. I didn’t want to go back and complain over the cold food so I thought I would heat it up. When I went to pull the patty out it had some grey gooey stuff all over it. I’m sure it was probably just cold fat but it was so unappealing to me that I just couldn’t bite into it.

With that said, shortly before I turned 17, I gave up red meat all together and gave up eating McDonald's 100%. I won’t even order a soda at McDonald's  I stuck to chicken, turkey, and fish but thought I would eventually give those things up as well. It was very difficult giving up red meat so abruptly. For a whole year of my life I never felt satisfied when I ate. My body always felt like something was missing but as time went on I eventually became used to my new diet. Giving up red meat has impacted the amount of times I eat out now since I feel somewhat limited in the options I have. If I end up at a fast food restaurant it’s of course strictly for a chicken salad or chicken sandwich with fries. Now that I live on my own I hardly eat out because I rather spend my money on shopping or buying things for the duplex I rent. I must admit though, when I do have one too many drinks I will end up at a drive through to buy things off of the dollar menu. I’ve now been red meat free and McDonald's free for almost 9 years.