Sorry I’ve been away for so long. Things have been busy, and I haven’t been setting enough time aside for Hell Food. No longer! Hell Food is always a good time to think about my own health, as well as inform the public. A month or so ago I promised to write about eating healthy at fast food restaurants, and I shall start that now. My first fast food restaurant to investigate is McDonald’s.

McDonald’s has made a small effort to offer healthy options on their menu, though they still sell mostly hamburgers. It is possible to eat somewhat healthy now. The offer their own version of a healthy diet right here. In terms of calories, the meal choices look okay, but there is one obvious thing you will see once you order their meals. They’re not very filling. Most of McDonald’s food is very calorie dense, with lots of added sugars. You will not feel full after having a hamburger, small fries, and small Coke. Your body will continue to feel hungry and for 650 calories of intake, you’ll not have much to show for it.

However, in recognizing that for some families, McDonald’s represents a cheap source of food, I will lay out here what I would recommend you eat there:

1) Snack Size Fruit & Walnut Salad (without yogurt)
2) Caesar Salad (without chicken or cheese)
3) Side Salad
4) Medium French Fries
5) Apple Dippers

That’s it. That’s all I can recommend. As a vegan, I can’t endorse a meat product. As a health food site, I also can’t endorse a meat product. Oh, and if you want something to drink, just get water.

In my last post I listed five tips for losing weight and the first one I listed was:

1) Unless you’re like the 0.5% of the population that actually has some some sort of glandular problem, you’re fat because of you. It’s your fault, it’s your responsibility. While this might sound harsh, the positive side is that it means you can fix it, because you can control it. Don’t feel bad, feel empowered.

My wife Kelly informed me that tip came off way too harsh. That, of course, was not my intent. The point Kelly brought up, was that not everyone lives in a situation where it’s easy to buy healthy food for a good price. I live close to the suburbs, so I have an infinite choice of what to buy. Someone in the inner city may not have any choices other than McDonald’s or a convenience store. Point made.

The point of Tip #1 wasn’t meant to make anyone feel bad. I just wanted to be clear that your weight is controlled by your food and exercise regimen. It’s not an outlandish or rare metabolic disorder. In retrospect, I should have fleshed the tip out more, or changed the tone somewhat. So, to start over, I want to empower you with the idea that you control a lot of the factors that go into your weight, and you have the control to change. I realize some people may be in tougher situations than others, but I do hope maybe to pass on some information that will help those people. To do that, I will be expanding the number of posts I do pertaining to Tip #1.

First, I will look at the top fast food restaurants in the inner cities, and try to work out a better meal plan for those who find it cheaper to buy fast food than groceries at their local store. I know it can be done, since you can read about it here.

The first menus I will look at will be Burger King and McDonald’s. They should be pretty much close to ubiquitous in the inner cities. Taco Bell and KFC will follow. After those four, I’m not entirely sure. However, covering those four should give people a lot of options.

Big thanks to my wife for reminding me not everyone has my options.

It’s that time of year again, when we give way to the temptations of holiday meals and desserts. Some of you are looking at your waistlines and thinking about your upcoming New Year’s Resolutions. I have faced the New Year many times and resolved that “This was the year I lose the weight. This year is different.” Invariably, the year wasn’t any different, and I lost not a pound. However, 2006 was different. I lost a lot of weight, and after a year I don’t feel in danger of putting it back on. I’ve changed my eating habits, my exercise habits, and my knowledge of nutrition was expanded.

So, to kickoff 2007, I’m going to give my list of tips for losing weight, and I will expand upon each of these in later posts in early 2007. Here we go:

1) Unless you’re like the 0.5% of the population that actually has some some sort of glandular problem, you’re fat because of you. It’s your fault, it’s your responsibility. While this might sound harsh, the positive side is that it means you can fix it, because you can control it. Don’t feel bad, feel empowered.

2) You have time exercise. The biggest excuse I hear is that people don’t have time to exercise. I’m calling BS on that. You prolly spend at least thirty minutes a day watching TV, smoking, surfing YouTube, etc. You have the time, period.

3) “Low-fat/fat-free” foods are a scam. In a nation where we have a diabetes problem, the last thing fat people should be eating is sugar infested “low-fat/fat-free” food.

4) Eating vegan will lead to a healthier lifestyle. I’m not saying you will to be 110 years old, but it will make you eat healthier.

5) Eating out is the worst thing you can do. Learn to cook, even if you can only cook pasta dishes.

That’s it for now. I will have five posts expanding on each one of these tips. Follow these tips, and 2007 can be different.

Happy New Year!

Today for lunch, I had a simple meal, plus I was snacking on sunflower seeds all morning:

2 oz sunflower seeds
3 cups steamed broccoli
16 oz spring water

Today for breakfast, I had:

2 cups Cheerios
1 cup fat free soy milk
8 oz apple cider
16 oz water

For dinner, I had the same as lunch:

1 piece of pita bread
1 cup of salad (lettuce, tomato, onion)
2 tablespoons hummus
16 oz water

Yesterday for lunch I had:

1 piece of pita bread
1 cup of salad (lettuce, tomato, onion)
2 tablespoons hummus
16 oz water

I was running a little late this morning, but I fit in:

1.5 cups flax seed crunch cereal
1.5 cups fat free soy milk
16 oz water

Tonight my wonderful fiancee Kelly made us dinner. I had:

1 large slice of homemade bread
1.5 Boca burgers
1 pickle
4 oz of mushrooms
2 tablespoons mustard
2 tablespoons ketchup

The Boca burger and mushrooms were fried up using olive oil and garlic. Then, the burger and mushrooms are mixed together with the shreaded up bread, chopped up pickle, and condiments. It’s a great meal.

This is what I had for lunch today:

1 piece of pita bread
2 tablespoons of hummus
0.5 cup black olives
0.5 teaspoon Frank’s Original Red Hot

I also warmed the pita bread in the microwave 30 seconds to make it warm and pliable.