Lincolnite

I find it funny how wound up people, especially on the right (Spurlockwatch is typical), get about Spurlock.  Most people don’t eat McD’s for every meal for 30 days but I’ve known some people who came close.  Yes, people make their own choices about what they eat and fastfood companies aren’t responsible for it. 

People aren’t going to stop eating that crap, though.  The healthy stuff at McD’s et al. is expensive while you can get a double cheeseburger for $1.  Plus, the healthy stuff isn’t all that healthy if eaten as suggested covered with ranch dressing.  Who knows though, maybe some people who saw that movie cut their fast food consumption back a bit (although reading <i>Fast Food Nation</a> would have a bigger effect)?  Maybe that has saved some taxpayer money way off in the future in public health spending.

I don’t like to say it but I do eat a lot of fast food.  When I was working 11 hours a day, I would tell myself that it’s easy, fast and I was to tired to go grocery shopping.  After watching Super Size Me, I didn’t necessarily stop all together, but I did notice that some of the health issues that he had, I had too.  So, I decided to cut back a bit.  I went on a long strech where I didn’t eat a lot of fast food.  In the past couple of months, I went back to my splurge of fast food.  And recently, I told myself I had to cut back, so I have.  It really isn’t healthy for you but again, it’s so fast.  The place where you should really look is your checking account.  It’s not pretty how much you spend on that stuff on a consistant basis.  I need to do one of two things: 1) learn how to cook or 2) get rich and hire a cook.  I’d rather 2 but 1 seems to be the most logical course of action.

MN, I found that two things helped me learn how to cook: 1) having to; and 2) starting with meals I was familiar with. You can simulate (1) by restricting your eating out budget each week. Say, $20 per week (or whatever you decide). For (2), get recipes for all your favorite meals from your mom. Since you are already familiar with those meals, and you may have even watched your mom make them a time or two, the learning curve is less steep. You’ll screw up a time or two, but basic cooking doesn’t really consist of much more than following directions. If you can program your VCR, you can do basic cooking.

Also, experiment now and then. I found that potatoes were the most fun to experiment with, and they were pretty hard to screw up. Slice ‘em, dice ‘em, mash ‘em, bake ‘em, and throw miscellaneous ingredients on or in them. You’ll quickly begin to learn what ingredients go well together, and which, *ahem*, definitely do not go together.

Oh, and here’s a random tip: trust in the power of medium heat. Overuse of high heat (i.e. on the stove or on the grill) can have very untasty results.