<p>Bravo Coureur! It boils (or fries, or broils, or microwaves!) down to that, for sure! 
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<p>I merely started this thread for thought and discussion. I never attacked anyones opinion here, only debated and discussed it. Fendergirl told me to “grow up” because I didn’t like restaurants. And you see, coureur, vacations are a once in a life time experience. Vacationing to most middle class folks is not a habit when compared to eating out. A habit is a habit; a “treat” is something different.</p>
<pre><code> You know, going to a restaurant occasionally is not a sin. What perturbs me is the constant habit of eating out when cooking at home is a viable option. A family making 24K a year should not be eating at Red Lobster four times a week.
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<p>I don’t much care where the family making $24K eats REL, as long as they are not collecting welfare or food stamps. If they are doing the latter, people can be more judgemental.</p>
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<p>This is where you are going wrong. Why should it perturb you at all? If it is THEIR money, how they spend it, or waste it, or even flush it straight down the toilet, is none of your business.</p>
<p>Frankly, what other people do with their money and time is none of my business. And what I and my family choose to do with our money and time is none of other people’s business. </p>
<p>I started this post before I saw Coureur’s. Totally agree.</p>
<p>Tha family making $24K a year may actually have two members who work at Red Lobster…</p>
<p>I think how we eat is a good topic, I think one of the problems with obesity is that for low income folks, fast food can seem cheaper and easier than buying and cooking a meal- a huge thing of french fries can really fill you up & is cheap, but food value?</p>
<p>Also the things donated to food bank are also often high in sodium and starch, will fill you up, but again, little nutritional value.
WHen my daughters previous school would have food drives, I would notice cases of ramen being donated. I always tried to donate canned goods like pea soups, things that were high in protein, and not so much bags of noodles.
Since they are finding nutrition has a lot to do with brain development, especially in children, we need to get more information out there, about what growing kids need, and make sure that we make it available for everyone.
( ONe of my biggest peeves is students who are on free/reduced lunch are eligible for lunch and breakfast at school. However the kids who most need good food, are getting instead waffles and high frcutose yogurt for breakfast and hot dogs and french fries for lunch- they just don’t have good food even available in our area, it isn’t cooked at the schools anymore but “reheated”)</p>
<p>THe restaurants that seem like the “best deal” i.e. buffets and the ones that advertise huge servings, really isn’t the way we should be eating, not to mention food that has been sitting in a steam tray all day has probably lost a lot of vitamins.</p>
<p>Oh-[this]( <a href=“http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/0626/tv-dinners.php”>http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/0626/tv-dinners.php</a> )is hilarious.
Bars are required to serve $____ amount of food, but they are now allowed to call a freezer and a microwave a * kitchen*!</p>
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<p>Ive heard the drinks are good though if you don’t mind paying $10.</p>
<p>Coureur, you forgot one: DSL so that you can check College Confidential eight times a day and make multiple posts and responses with maximum efficiency.</p>
<p>EK:</p>
<p>Obesity in the poor is a very common phenomenon. Part of the problem is that filling food is cheaper (food stamps direct purchasers toward certain categories of food); part of it is that poor people don’t have the equipment to make nutritious meals; The may have a one ring stove or perhaps a microwave oven, no refrigerator or space to store ingredients. But that is a different issue from eating out.</p>
<p>Marite - I agree
it is different than "eating out"and I am not blaming the poor for having limited choices- on the contrary, I think that “we” should be paying more attention to health care & nutrition for everyone, because " we " ultimately will be paying the price in higher medical and educational support costs
( sorry for trying to go off topic)</p>
<p>Most poor people I know don’t eat out at all and are thin, not fat. There are far more lower income (but not poor) people I know who are overweight, eat fast food a lot, and spend most of their money on recreation, TVs, and cars. To me, their lifestyles appear to be a result of their choices, but I’m sure there are exceptions or maybe I live in an atypical community.</p>
<p>I believe in the US being overweight is most common among low income whites, AA’s and Hispanics. Not that is uncommon among high income folks too. I could use a 20-30 pound drop myself.</p>
<p>Yes, I do agree with y’all! Buying fruits and vegetables at the grocery store is quite expensive, particularly in the winter. I, myself, love red grapes and apples. Unfortunately, they are quite expensive at the grocery store(grapes are ridiculously high. Vegetable and fruit buying could be alleviated by home grown gardens. Tomatoes, for example, produce large yields of fruit, the plant costing a $1.00. A peach or apple tree in the backyard overtime will yield copious amounts of produce.</p>
<p>Home grown tomatoes and cucumbers are simply amazing. Now I am just waiting for someone to play the ‘not enough time card’.</p>
<p>^Agreed! “I do not have enough time” is a pretty common excuse here on CC.</p>
<p>Lots of time but too many deer and critters. Farmer’s markets for me!</p>
<p>Most poor people ARE overweight, because the choices available on a limited income are high in fat and calories, low in nutrition. Fresh fruits and veggies cost a lot more than a big bag o’ chips or some Micky D’s.</p>
<p>Actually cost is not the only issue. A big bag of chips or a McD’s meal are both $3-$4. You can get some good vegies in season for that.</p>
<p>My daughter has a friend whose parents eat take out drive through fast food 7 nights a week. The mother’s on the road alot because of the kids’ sports. mcD’s 7x per week wouldn’t do it for me, but we do go out for din every week once, with takeout 2x weekly. I don’t see a problem with that. Takes the heat off of me and I’m a TERRIBLE cook!</p>
<p>"Home grown tomatoes and cucumbers are simply amazing. Now I am just waiting for someone to play the ‘not enough time card’. "</p>
<p>Back in the day, my H and I worked our butts off in my parents-in-law vegetable patch and fruit garden. I am VERY grateful to this country for allowing me to be able to NOT do it. Couple of tomato and cucumber plants will entertain, but they will not really FEED the family. To feed the family, it has to be a full time job. Not for me, I’d rather go to a farmers’ market and pay money I made by doing something I can stand doing.</p>