"Mom, what's a McDonald's?"

“Mom, what’s a McDonald’s?”

This was the question posed to me by my five-year-old the other day when he overheard his Dad and I having a discussion about fast food.

His question stopped me in my tracks—McDonald’s is a huge worldwide food chain whose golden arches are recognizable to nearly everyone. But here he was, at the age of 5, having no idea what this place was.

Let me first start by saying I am not a parent who refuses to give their kids fast food. My youngest would live off of Culver’s french fries if I would let her! There are times when you’re on a road trip or you’ve run errands all morning and fast food is your easiest option. We’ve all been there!

But he really got me thinking about how kids eat what is given to them, they eat what they’re exposed to. I mean, kids can’t drive themselves to McDonald’s or Burger King, can they?

I began to pick apart in my mind how he came to not know of McDonalds’ existence. Part of it is because by nature he’s a child that does not like anything that is offered at fast food places. He loathes french fries. He wouldn’t put a chicken nugget past his lips if you paid him. A cheeseburger? Not a chance. Another reason is that the county we live in refuses to allow fast food chains, so our nearest options are a good 20-25 minute drive.

But mostly, it has to do with being raised in a household that doesn’t eat out at restaurants more than once or twice a month, so almost all meals are prepared at home. He sees this, helps with the food prep, and that is his “norm”.

While the occasional fast food isn’t going to harm you, many children are consuming it as a regular part of their diet. In fact, Ohio State University ran a study and found that 52% of kids eat fast food up to 3 times a week, 10% had it 4-6 times a week, and 10% had it every day!

Ultimately, what we want people to get out of this post is to start thinking about how much fast food is prevalent in your diet and the diet of your children (if you have them!). And if it’s being consumed more often than not, to perhaps consider more ‘at home’ cooking. If you’re struggling with meal making, check out our recipes—we are busy moms with small children, we don’t have all day to be cooking either! There are ways to save time, but still eat healthy. A number of our recipes can be thrown together in 10 minutes, or all the prep done another day and ready to assemble anytime. And if you have little ones, have them help too! Kids love to stir or dump in ingredients, and it’s an excellent way to spend time together and also educate them about the food they are putting in their bodies.

All in all, just keep this thought in mind: the body is a machine and requires proper fuel to perform at its best. Everything we eat is either preventing disease or promoting it! ~Briana