A Healthy Fast Food Lunch - But At What Cost?

For years, fast food restaurants have been trying to provide healthier alternatives for their customers. Some restaurants, like Wendy's, have been successful at adding healthy options to their menus, but at what cost? From a sustainability (people+environment+economics) standpoint, these restaurants have only addressed one third of the equation, as packaging and costs are still an issue. My good friend and guest blogger The Painted Pisces points this out as she describes her lunchtime woes to us below:

Typically, I pack my lunch in a reusable container.  My meal consists of leftovers from the dinner the night before and it’s awesome.  However with the rest of my family starting school this week and making a business trip and having crafty things going on at night, I have been pushing my limits and did not remember to grab my leftovers this morning (super yummy spaghetti with turkey sausage!).

SO to make myself feel better about that I thought I would try one of Wendy’s new salads.  Yay veggies!  Also, as the winner of your first give away (woot woot) I had just finished some excellent end-of-the-season shopping with my reusable and washable bag.  I was feeling pretty good about my choices, but then ordered a salad and was given a price tag of almost $7! 

Really?!? How are people supposed to make better choices about eating, when a large chunk of the population eats on the go and is confronted with prices like these?  We all know that these salads also have gigantic pouches of dressing that rack up calories, fried croutons/chips/etc, but if you use the dressing sparingly or not at all, as well as the other carbalicious toppings, it’s not that bad for you. 

That had me a little frustrated and swearing not to buy a drive-thru salad again, but then…….. I was handed my plastic bag of individually wrapped plastic items and I almost peeled out of the driveway!  This over-priced salad was packaged in a plastic box, had 2 plastic pouches of dressing (1 was way more than enough), roasted pecans (sugar coated) in a separate pouch, a plastic fork in a wrapper, and a separate knife in a wrapper.  SIGH of EXASPERATION!  I understand the need for sanitary standards, but… can’t we be more creative? 

A lot of the time when I shop, if I don’t have my reusable bag (which is not often since my new bag is so compact and lives in my purse) I just carry my items.  It can be bulky, but really people, why are you putting a gallon of milk in a bag.  It has a handle!  Why do people put a bag of ice in a bag?  Is it really going to keep you from feeling how cold it is?  I digress…

Saving grace of the experience?  The greens in the salad were a mixed variety, not entirely iceburg!  And there was approximately ½ an apple in the mix.  Another downside though… squooshy chicken. Gah!

Lessons Learned

1. I will have to start refusing plastic items from fast food chains as well.  I do get slightly strange looks when refusing bags at the grocery store (yay for self check out now… although I feel that is taking jobs away from people… whole ‘nother post) and retail stores (when that rarely occurs).
2. I will need to be more diligent in bringing my own food for lunch…

-The Painted Pisces

I am totally feeling PP on this one. $7 for a salad that came packaged in more plastic than I use in one week? Ridiculous! By the way, if you're interested in the nutritional value (ha!) your favorite fast food salads or other healthy alternatives, check out the Stop and Go Fast Food Nutrition Guide.

Got any tips for The Painted Pisces on how to handle this plastic-wrapped, overpriced fast food conspiracy?

Save Water and Build Sustainable Homes!

Renowned kitchen and bath fixture supplier Kohler has teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to help create a sustainable future. With it's Save Water America campaign, Kohler is educating people about the Earth's dwindling water supply and ways we can save water. Here are their top tips:

• Replace older, less efficient toilets with 1.28-gallon High-Efficiency Toilets (HETs) to save up to 16,500 gallons of water per year. See HET Toilets.
• Swap out your 2.75 gpm showerhead with a 1.75 water-conserving showerhead and you can save more than 7,700 gallons of water per year.* See Water-Conserving Showerheads.
  * Based on an average of seven-minute for a family of four.
• Fix leaky faucets and install faucets with water-saving aerators to effortlessly save hundreds of gallons of water per year. See Kitchen and Bathroom Faucets.
• Use the appropriate water level and load size on the washing machine when doing laundry. Consider purchasing a front-load washing machine.
• Use a broom rather than a hose to clean off driveways, steps and sidewalks.
• Water your garden during the coolest part of the day, generally in the morning, and avoid watering on windy days.
• Turn off the water while brushing your teeth or shaving to keep excess water from going down the drain.
• Landscape with native or low-water plants to significantly reduce water usage outside the home.
• Use leftover water for houseplants, instead of pouring out a half-empty glass of drinking water.
• Make sure the dishwasher is fully loaded to maximize the dishes cleaned in a cycle.

As an added bonus, Kohler will be donating $1 million in water-conserving products to Habitat for Humanity's sustainable building projects. Help Kohler reach its million dollar goal by taking this short, easy three-question quiz. For every quiz taken, Kohler donates $1 to Habitat for Humanity.

How do you save water at home?

A Puppy Trainer's Dream Remedy

Puppies are so precious, aren't they? (I miss my little Leo!)

As for puppy training, well, that's often not so cute (or clean, or fragrant). If you're in the middle of puppy training, here's a natural remedy to cleaning up "doggie disasters"on the carpet, courtesy of the Gorgeously Green Sophie Uliano:

Fill a bucket with really hot water. Add 1 cup of white vinegar and one cup of borax. Submerge a rag or sponge and without wringing it dry, clean up the urine. When the spot is dry, add 20 drops of lavender essential oil to one cup of baking soda. Sprinkle the soda over the stain, leave for 20 minutes and then vacuum.

Pretty simple, right? Your carpet will love you, and your puppy will be safe from toxic chemicals! And the best part is that I bet you can use this for all types of carpet disasters, not just puppy training accidents. If anyone tries this, please let me know how it works.

What types of natural products do you use with your pets? Post a comment and share!