NYC Artist's Happy Meal

Just wondering: how often do y'all eat at McDonalds? Once a day, once a decade?

Oh lord!! this experiment just goes to show how unhealthy the stuff at the Golden Arches restaurant is. I rarely ever go to Mickey Dees and I have yet to go to one in NYC. If I want a burger I tend to go to my local Energy Kitchen, http://www.energykitchen.com/ , I love their bison burgers. I sure hope they are as healthy as they claim to be.

@Uraniumfish: I never eat at McDonald's. Actually, I don't eat at any fast food places. I don't want to feed my body that junk.

@hhusted wish more people thought that way unfortunately the cheap prices at fast food joints have earned them a loyal patronage.Alas If only everyone knew what they were putting into their bodies.

@Uptowngirl: It is the marketing. And plus, most people, who visit fast food places, are not educated about nutrition. So they don't know what they are feeding their bodies. Thankfully, I studied nutrition while in college.

McDonald's is the worst-tasting fast food ever created. Admittedly, I used to go once in a while in college - but late at night, you know the sort of night. Nowadays I quench my fast food cravings with my local Five Guys.

That's just creepy! I have eaten at McDonalds 3-4 times in my life - at camp and at a rest stop on a bus journey. Slightly more regularly I've enjoyed their free wifi and had a "safe" cup of tea there at a train station near me...but that's it!

@Everyone MickeyD's now allows you to host your wedding at their premises in Hong Kong

http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/life/mcdonalds-hong-kong-offers-weddings-494226

can you even imagine what the guests will say about the food? does Mcdonald's offer this great facility in the US ? I wonder...

@uptowngirl I wonder if they make fresh food for the weddings the host or if they just give the guests whatever stale fries are left over beneath the heat lamps. Seems like every time I visit a McDonald's I have to send something back because it has the texture of rubber.

@NeverSleeps Hongkongers are avid foodies and I am sure they would send back the food as well if it was stale, perhaps Mickeydees makes a better effort for the wedding banquets. If I ever get invited to one will report back on the quality of food for sure.

@uptowngirl What a strange idea. Do Hongkoners have such a terrible taste for kitsch and greasy fries that they would do their wedding vows at McDonald's?

@NeverSleeps: It doesn't matter what people think. They can still be wrong, if they do not know the truth about food, especially fast-food. They go after such food because it is cheaper. And they use the excuse they can't afford better food. It doesn't cost that much to buy healthy food today. They are just hooked on the junk and don't want to admit it.

@Uraniumfish I am truly surprised as well because Hongkongers have refined tastes and a huge appetite for upscale and luxury goods and service. Can't fathom how any of them would want to wed at Mcdonald's. Maybe as you say they may have an appetite for kitsch will definitely ask around and try and get to the bottom of this.

@uptowngirl Yes, please do. This is incredibly....strange.

@hhusted But eating fast food isn't cheaper than going grocery shopping, which is the point.

@uptowngirl You don't even have to be much of a foodie to not want to step into a McDonald's on your wedding day!

@Everyone here's a step in the right direction- San Francisco has banned Happy Meals now NYC should follow suit.

http://www.organicauthority.com/foodie-buzz/san-francisco-first-us-city-to-ban-happy-meals.html

@NeverSleeps: Yes, fast food is not cheaper. Despite this, people crave it so much. I'll go get my food stamps, and buy the groceries I need. Then I'll know I'm eating healthy.

@hhusted Food stamps...?

@uptowngirl Wow, that's cool actually. But you know what? Happy Meals are the only meals on the McDonald's menu that are actually a decent size - 6/4 chicken nuggets vs. 10/20, a small amount of fries, etc. I usually opt for the kids meal at any fast food place; I just don't want to consume 1200 calories in one sitting.

Which is an interesting point - how come McDonalds and KFC flourish in areas where people are very poor and probably a majority are on food stamps? It's not like you can use your food stamps at either of those establishments...

@Uraniumfish; Good question. Unfortunately, no one has the answer, at least not yet.

@Uraniumfish that's a good point havent really thought about that.

@JenMac: i hear ya. There was a special on TV a few days ago about the dangers of eating at McDonalds and other fast food places. i don't know the impact it had, but maybe many people saw the show and it opened some eyes.

If we started subsidizing fruits and vegetables instead of high-fructose corn syrup, I imagine healthy meals would be muchmore affordable. As it stands, we're just contributing to the problem!

@Ajadedidealist: You are right. All the food companies are making additives they think are helping make our food taste better, when it fact, it is harming us.

@hhusted I have just been offered a writing job to compare Macdonald's with Burger King. I hardly ever eat at fast food joints so I am a bit stumped for material .. gaaah but I need the job so I have taken it on. I actually asked the buyer why he wanted to develop a site on this weird topic he said people were actually interested in it!

Ugh, @uptowngirl! Getting more work is always great, but I hope you don't have to go out and do "taste tests!"

@uptowngirl Bleh, what a subject!

@ajadedidealist I sure hope not I really can't stomach any of that stuff..

@Uptowngirl: Yeah, do research. Look but don't touch. Just do a lot of research. Go to each restaurant and get a copy of the menu, and ask for the ingredients contained in the foods they make. This should be enough to give you something to write about.

@hhusted I have found a few guinea pigs who will eat and taste the stuff for me as I refuse too so it all good for the moment.

@Uptowngirl: Great. I'm glad you worked it out. Good luck with your piece. I know you will do well.

@uptowngirl So what did you find out? which is the deadlier food?

@Uraniumfish got to say that the fries from Mickey Dees smell amazing and are immensely tempting but the chicken mcnuggets that I had a bite of were gross. The Burger King Whoppers definitely taste better than the Big Macs, again I had a bite of both before I passed them on to my guinea pigs who seemed to relish the Apple pie and the strawberry shake as well. Its amazing how popular these two brands are here in Asia.. Mcdonalds has two big restaurants within close proximity of my apartment and they are always busy and buzzing. Of course I studied the nutrition count of all the foods and I am amazed that obesity is not a problem here even though they seem to consume copious amounts of the food, maybe its all the walking and hiking that they do..there are trails all over and people seem to spend their weekends hiking ..

@JenMac Asians are very conscious of the way they look and small and slim rules in this city.. I can't tell how many normal sized expats I have met who bemoan the fact that they are thought to be too fat here and are often insulted by shop assistants who say they don't carry 'fat' clothes! However they tend to eat a high carb diet and eat constantly .. small portions at all times .. maybe that's what regulates their blood sugar level and keeps them slim.

@JenMac you are right you have to consume less than you burn in order to shift any amount of weight.Exercise alone just doesnt work.

@JenMac and Uptowngirl: I've read and seen women who went to the gym and lost 10 lbs in two weeks. And they claimed they didn't change their diet much. My girlfriend is an example, showing how going to the gym helps you lose weight. She went to the gym at the beginning of last week, and weighed herself. Yesterday, she went back to the gym and weighed herself again. After one week of going to the gym three times, she lost 3 lbs. And she did not change her diet much, except she didn't eat any bread or sweets. So I have to disagree with you both regarding working out and losing weight.

In fact, i have read books written by top nutritionist and doctors, who stated with evidence to support it, that those who exercise regularly will lose weight. Of course, if they eat the right foods, they will lose weight faster. That is commonsense.

@hhusted Your girlfriend gave up bread and sweets.. she changed her diet .. thank god I lover working out .. the gym is therapeutic for me its where I work out all my issues..

hhusted: I have written countless articles on weight loss and exercise. And, I exercise!! I'm also 5'8" and 115 lbs, so, no, I'm not struggling with weight and just not wanting to believe it doesn't do much. Do you read current published studies? Because I'm a health writer for two different websites so I read them every day. Unless you are obese and have been relatively inert your entire life exercise just isn't going to do much alone.

@JenMac True that. I never lose weight unless I modify the food intake. And I hit spinning class 3x a week and run at least three miles most days. Also, true story - one of the spinning instructors at my gym maintains a round figure in spite of all the cardio she does every day. Her reasoning: "My diet isn't that great."

@uptowngirl I love the gym, too - I can't imagine what else I would do with all of the stress I accumulate!

Don't know how I managed to miss this post for so long. Especially because of my love for fast food, et al. But not from McDonald's; lately I've been dying for some Shake Shack! I guess I can never eat McDonald's again.

@JenMac: I am also a medical writer and have been doing this for 20 years. One thing I can tell you is that there are people, perhaps like yourself, who have a metabolism that works in such a way that going to the gym just doesn't do anything for them. If you are one of these people, then I can understand and accept your reasoning.