# Got a craving for the Golden Arches?



## severine (Jan 20, 2010)

Think of this the next time you stop by...

http://bestwellnessconsultant.com/2...rger-karen-hanrahan-best-of-mother-earth.aspx


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## gmcunni (Jan 20, 2010)

severine said:


> Think of this the next time you stop by...
> 
> http://bestwellnessconsultant.com/2...rger-karen-hanrahan-best-of-mother-earth.aspx



i'm not going to watch this as I am planning on McD's for dinner this evening.


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## marcski (Jan 20, 2010)

No real surprise there, is it, Sev?  Over the holidays, in course of a 6 hour drive....we stopped at McD's...I couldn't even eat the french fries, they has so much salt on them. The girls loved every bite it.  I think that was the 3rd time they've ever had McD's.


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## severine (Jan 20, 2010)

I still remember my mom finding french fries in the car months after they were eaten there...and they looked like she just bought them. I am trying (once again) to kick the fast food habit (and have been mostly successful) but McD's is not a fave, regardless of my transgressions. I can't remember the last time I ate at one.


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## Grassi21 (Jan 20, 2010)

gmcunni said:


> i'm not going to watch this as I am planning on McD's for dinner this evening.



if you drive through torrington there is always wendys and burger king.


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## 2knees (Jan 20, 2010)

i'm eating mickey d's right now and loving every last bite.

and to drink sir?

meatballs.


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## wa-loaf (Jan 20, 2010)

I'm hungry now.


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## drjeff (Jan 20, 2010)

If you want to know somethign real funny about the buns McDonald's uses, one of the companies that supplies the buns for much of the Northeast is located in the town between my office and my house.  The name of that company,  United NATURAL foods  :lol:


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## deadheadskier (Jan 20, 2010)

I do not eat McDonalds, though I am quite fond of the $1 coffee these days.

One area that I give them props is that they employ Temple Grandin to audit their supply farms.  Temple is the foremost expert on humane raising and slaughter of animals.


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## WJenness (Jan 20, 2010)

severine said:


> I still remember my mom finding french fries in the car months after they were eaten there...and they looked like she just bought them. I am trying (once again) to kick the fast food habit (and have been mostly successful) but McD's is not a fave, regardless of my transgressions. I can't remember the last time I ate at one.



Trying here as well... I've been consistently bringing my lunch to work which has helped.

Having a gf who likes to make my lunch for me the night before helps even more.

-w


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## bvibert (Jan 20, 2010)

severine said:


> Think of this the next time you stop by...
> 
> http://bestwellnessconsultant.com/2...rger-karen-hanrahan-best-of-mother-earth.aspx



I bet it tastes just as good as a fresh one does too...


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## Trekchick (Jan 20, 2010)

McDonalds coffee and fruit smoothies are a staple for me, but I understand that the smoothies are only available in select areas.  Guess I'm lucky I'm in one of those areas.


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## frozencorn (Jan 20, 2010)

Wait, it's not good for you? Well, Super Size me to the britches.


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## 2knees (Jan 20, 2010)

bvibert said:


> I bet it tastes just as good as a fresh one does too...



50 bucks says the smails kid eats it......


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## ctenidae (Jan 20, 2010)

I have a weakness for the ice cream cones at McD.
And a small fry and a Sprite. Great snack.


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## RootDKJ (Jan 20, 2010)

I watched the movie _SuperSize Me_.  Morgan Spurlock did nothing but eat McD's 3 meals a day for a year.  He had to cut his experiment short because his doctor told him his liver was starting to shut down.  Watch it for your self.   I haven't touched the stuff since 2002.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...ei=HGRXS_54k9qrAqbGiPAH&q=supersize+me&hl=en#


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## severine (Jan 20, 2010)

RootDKJ said:


> I watched the movie _SuperSize Me_.  Morgan Spurlock did nothing but eat McD's 3 meals a day for a year.  He had to cut his experiment short because his doctor told him his liver was starting to shut down.  Watch it for your self.
> 
> http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...ei=HGRXS_54k9qrAqbGiPAH&q=supersize+me&hl=en#


Wasn't it supposed to be a month and it got cut short? I watched it, too, and yes, gross. IIRC, he also covered the fact that the food does not decay like it should.


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## spring_mountain_high (Jan 20, 2010)

severine said:


> Wasn't it supposed to be a month and it got cut short? I watched it, too, and yes, gross. IIRC, he also covered the fact that the food does not decay like it should.



but he also ordered the worst possible things in the largest possible sizes every time...i'm no mcd's apologist, but i thought that flick was more than a little skewed.


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## severine (Jan 20, 2010)

spring_mountain_high said:


> but he also ordered the worst possible things in the largest possible sizes every time...i'm no mcd's apologist, but i thought that flick was more than a little skewed.



No, he had to try every menu item at least once and only Super Sized 9 times.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me

Of course it's skewed. Though even he didn't expect it to affect his health so drastically, so quickly.


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## Warp Daddy (Jan 20, 2010)

We avoid fast food especially since the heart attack but if we caught traveling by car on superhighways we'll look for a Wendy and get the small chili and a baked potato ( least hit cal wise and makes sense from a lower fat point of view ------------------------------------but sometimes i still wish for a nice Quarter pounder but i avoid it


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## MommaBear (Jan 20, 2010)

Anyone know of a Wendy's in the Greenfield MA area?  Had to hit the McD's there last night on the ride home because I didn't want to take the time (or cost) to sit down in a restaurant.  Kids wanted Wendys, but the Wendy's that popped up on Google seemed to be above where we come thru.


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## mondeo (Jan 21, 2010)

Salt, nature's preservative.

Why on earth would McD's massively preserve their foods? With the volume they deal with, what's the point? It would only add cost. 

http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/nutritionfacts.pdf
http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/ingredientslist.pdf

Aside from a lot of salt, the hamburger really isn't that bad. Good source of protein, decent with iron. Which to me counts as nutrition.


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## ctenidae (Jan 21, 2010)

mondeo said:


> Salt, nature's preservative.
> 
> Why on earth would McD's massively preserve their foods? With the volume they deal with, what's the point? It would only add cost.



Salt is the favorite crutch of the bad cook. With all that salt, the burgers could be made of styrofoam and they'd have some flavor.


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## Marc (Jan 21, 2010)

mondeo said:


> Salt, nature's preservative.
> 
> Why on earth would McD's massively preserve their foods? With the volume they deal with, what's the point? It would only add cost.
> 
> ...





ctenidae said:


> Salt is the favorite crutch of the bad cook. With all that salt, the burgers could be made of styrofoam and they'd have some flavor.



Ding!  Winnar.  You can how haz a burger.

This lady should try the same experiment with all natural beef jerky.  Bet you'd get a similar result.  A McDonalds hamburger is close to that.

While I think a lot of folks in this country eat an unbalanced diet, and a high sodium, high saturated fat diet from McDonald's is not the way to go for good health, I think truthful education and facts are the best remedy.


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## Grassi21 (Jan 21, 2010)

Had spicy nuggets and a large fries from Wendy's last night on the way home from skiing.  Delic!


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## dmc (Jan 21, 2010)

Wolfed down some chicken strips with buffalo sauce and a huge ice tea on my drive back from NYC last night...

Moderation...


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## midd (Jan 21, 2010)

ctenidae said:


> *Salt is the favorite crutch of the bad cook.* With all that salt, the burgers could be made of styrofoam and they'd have some flavor.



ctenidae is apparently not anne burrell.


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## ctenidae (Jan 21, 2010)

midd said:


> ctenidae is apparently not anne burrell.



I will take that as a compliment, I suppose.
She does have snazzy hair, though.


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## midd (Jan 21, 2010)

hard to find someone that loves salt as much as burrell.  lydia shire may give her a run for her money though.


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## Geoff (Jan 21, 2010)

Cuisines from warm climates tend to be salty since you need to replace all the salt you sweat out.   Spanish, Portuguese, Creole.... all quite salty.   I don't think salt or absense of it is a sign of a poor chef.


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## drjeff (Jan 21, 2010)

dmc said:


> Wolfed down some chicken strips with buffalo sauce and a huge ice tea on my drive back from NYC last night...
> 
> Moderation...



Sweet tea or unsweetened???  If it's the sweet tea, you might as well throw that moderation concept out the door


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## dmc (Jan 21, 2010)

drjeff said:


> Sweet tea or unsweetened???  If it's the sweet tea, you might as well throw that moderation concept out the door



Sweet tea?  Bleeeeeech....  I'm no southerner...    Down south you have to say unsweetened... haha..

All I'm saying is - I don't think a twice a month fast food meal is going to kill you...


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## Geoff (Jan 21, 2010)

dmc said:


> Sweet tea?  Bleeeeeech....  I'm no southerner...    Down south you have to say unsweetened... haha..
> 
> All I'm saying is - I don't think a twice a month fast food meal is going to kill you...



Agree and agree.   

Sweet tea is nasty.   

Fast food once every two weeks is a non-issue.   The health problem comes when people use it as their primary source of calories.   Fat, salt, simple carbs, really short on vitamins and minerals.   If you eat off the dollar menu every day, you're going to have problems.   

I just keep to a "no fast food" rule and break it once in a blue moon.   I had Chinese at Dulles yesterday at 3:00.   I'd worked through lunch and got to my gate an hour early.   Orange Chicken over fried rice with a spring roll is just as bad as McFood.


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## ctenidae (Jan 21, 2010)

I like sweet tea. Of course, I'm from Arkansas.


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## dmc (Jan 21, 2010)

Geoff said:


> I just keep to a "no fast food" rule and break it once in a blue moon.   I had Chinese at Dulles yesterday at 3:00.   I'd worked through lunch and got to my gate an hour early.   Orange Chicken over fried rice with a spring roll is just as bad as McFood.



Eating on the road is tough....  I know exactly where that Chinese food is in most airports..


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## tarponhead (Jan 21, 2010)

Geoff said:


> Cuisines from warm climates tend to be salty since you need to replace all the salt you sweat out.   Spanish, Portuguese, Creole.... all quite salty.



Maybe. But I also think that salty/spicy food have historcally been associated with hot climates due to poor preservation of food (i.e., heat) in general.


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## ctenidae (Jan 21, 2010)

tarponhead said:


> Maybe. But I also think that salty/spicy food have historcally been associated with hot climates due to poor preservation of food (i.e., heat) in general.



I think so, too. Food from most colder climates (Scandinavian, especially, but also Germany, Poland, Russia, etc) tend to be blander, or at least less spicy. Not as much need to cover up the taste of slightly rotten meat.


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## MR. evil (Jan 21, 2010)

This thread has me craving the new 1/3 lb Angus bacon cheese burger from McD's......those things are tasty!


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## Marc (Jan 21, 2010)

ctenidae said:


> I think so, too. Food from most colder climates (Scandinavian, especially, but also Germany, Poland, Russia, etc) tend to be blander, or at least less spicy. Not as much need to cover up the taste of slightly rotten meat.



You sure about that?  You ever had kielbasa or bratwurst?


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## Geoff (Jan 21, 2010)

Marc said:


> You sure about that?  You ever had kielbasa or bratwurst?



Those are downright bland compared to pepperoni or portuguese chourico.


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## dmc (Jan 21, 2010)

Geoff said:


> Those are downright bland compared to pepperoni or portuguese chourico.



Both very good points....


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## ctenidae (Jan 21, 2010)

Geoff said:


> Those are downright bland compared to pepperoni or portuguese chourico.



Exactly.

Less heavily spiced does not mean less flavorful- good ingredients taste great with little extra flavoring. Spoiled ingredients need a habenero.


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## tarponhead (Jan 21, 2010)

Geoff said:


> Those are downright bland compared to pepperoni or portuguese chourico.



Both are good. I had some killer pepperoni from Mulberry St and Newarks Ironbound section has the best portugese cooking I've ever had.  Love that food at times. 

But I'll always take a kielbasa from a legit deli (think little Ukraine section in Manhattan) with the right mustard, or a good bratwurst (Union Sq) with killer kraut and roll and I'm in heaven. 

Sorry for the tangent. Just defending some great beer-food I grew up with. Hillshire farms do neither well.


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## severine (Jan 21, 2010)

dmc said:


> Sweet tea?  Bleeeeeech....  I'm no southerner...    Down south you have to say unsweetened... haha..
> 
> All I'm saying is - I don't think a twice a month fast food meal is going to kill you...





Geoff said:


> Agree and agree.
> 
> Sweet tea is nasty.
> 
> Fast food once every two weeks is a non-issue.   The health problem comes when people use it as their primary source of calories.   Fat, salt, simple carbs, really short on vitamins and minerals.   If you eat off the dollar menu every day, you're going to have problems.


Agreed. And yes, sweet tea is pretty gross.


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## snoseek (Jan 21, 2010)

Most quality meals out are LOADED full of evil shit. A simple meal like filet w/mashed and bordolaise is more often than not creatively loaded full of calories. Most sauces start and end with butter. You would never even consider putting that much butter in your food ever. There are exceptions but even then they are usually a crock of shit. Oh and I can think of two places right in Portsmouth that at least used to sell regular chicken and call it free range. Wanna guess how many calories are in a creme brulee. Hint-if you eat it your fuct!

What I'm saying here is that yes McD's totally blows dick but it's not really all that much worse than eating out anywhere else. Cook more often at home, the restaurants are not in the business of improving your health.


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## Marc (Jan 22, 2010)

ctenidae said:


> Exactly.
> 
> Less heavily spiced does not mean less flavorful- good ingredients taste great with little extra flavoring. Spoiled ingredients need a habenero.



I wasn't talking about spice per se, I was talking about the level of salt...


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## severine (Jan 22, 2010)

Marc said:


> I wasn't talking about spice per se, I was talking about the level of salt...


Iodized salt, no less. Sea salt, theoretically, isn't processed the same way...


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## ctenidae (Jan 22, 2010)

Marc said:


> I wasn't talking about spice per se, I was talking about the level of salt...



Good kielbasa isn't very salty, really. Bad (I'm looking at you, Hilshire Farms) is, for sure. Of course, cured sausage has to have some salt, right? But dishes like pierogie don't have much salt in them, and neither do golubki or zradzi. Of course, every Polish dish known to man has Vegeta in it.


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## Marc (Jan 22, 2010)

ctenidae said:


> Good kielbasa isn't very salty, really. Bad (I'm looking at you, Hilshire Farms) is, for sure. Of course, cured sausage has to have some salt, right? But dishes like pierogie don't have much salt in them, and neither do golubki or zradzi. Of course, every Polish dish known to man has Vegeta in it.



Well, I've never been to Poland, so I'll defer to your judgement on that one.  But my uncle gets this stuff out in Agawam that's supposedly made by Polish immigrants that's very salty, and pretty good at the same time.  Maybe they salt it up for the hypertensive Americans.


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## o3jeff (Jan 22, 2010)

Marc said:


> Well, I've never been to Poland, so I'll defer to your judgement on that one.  But my uncle gets this stuff out in Agawam that's supposedly made by Polish immigrants that's very salty, and pretty good at the same time.  Maybe they salt it up for the hypertensive Americans.



Try this for kielbasa, not sure if they have it in MA, but the Stop and Shops here in CT sell it
http://www.martinrosols.com/default.cfm

A lot of my family is from Poland and this is the only one they recommend.


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## ctenidae (Jan 22, 2010)

Marc said:


> Well, I've never been to Poland, so I'll defer to your judgement on that one.  But my uncle gets this stuff out in Agawam that's supposedly made by Polish immigrants that's very salty, and pretty good at the same time.  Maybe they salt it up for the hypertensive Americans.



Interesting- don't know the Agawam sausages (not, I know, shocking). The Polish store in Worcester gets all their stuff from Chicago, and we don't think their sausage is very good. The Baltic Deli in Boston gets theirs from Brooklyn, and we like it a lot better. Sausage is totally personal, though, so it's tough to make generalizations.  Even tougher to generalize a cuisine from something like sausage. 

I highly recommend Warsaw as an interesting city to visit in Eastern Erope.


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## Geoff (Jan 22, 2010)

ctenidae said:


> Interesting- don't know the Agawam sausages (not, I know, shocking). The Polish store in Worcester gets all their stuff from Chicago, and we don't think their sausage is very good. The Baltic Deli in Boston gets theirs from Brooklyn, and we like it a lot better. Sausage is totally personal, though, so it's tough to make generalizations.  Even tougher to generalize a cuisine from something like sausage.
> 
> I highly recommend Warsaw as an interesting city to visit in Eastern Erope.



Western Mass seems to be stuffed full of place that make the various kinds of Polish sausage.   I have a few friends who bring things up for tailgate BBQing in the spring.   It's way better than grocery store Kielbassa.   As the town just south of Springfield, it doesn't surprise me that Agawam has a place.

I remember in the early 1990's going to the Kielbassa festival in Chickopee where they made the world's largest kielbassa every year.

By southern European standards, Polish sausage is quite mild.   Spain, Portugal, and Italy tend to go much heavier with the spice blend and way heavier with the various kinds of pepper to give it heat.


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