You’re out in town, you’ve had a few drinks, it’s late, you’re walking back home…you have a CRAVING! You’re in at home, it’s been a long day, the fridge is empty, you’re warm and cosy watching a film…you have a CRAVING! There’s no point skipping around it, on occasion, we all love fast food. That naughty treat, that indulgent snack; when you’ve got that craving it really hits the spot. We know we shouldn’t. We know it’s bad for us…or do we? Just how bad is the question!

!Burger!
Calories: 540
Factoids: The cheaper the burger, the less meat content – who knows what else is put in them to make up the numbers.
Alternative: Good quality burgers made with fresh ingredients are much better for you and much more satisfying.



!Pizza!
Calories: 200-400 per slice
Factoids: Fried and stuffed crusts and latherings of fatty cheese are completely Americanised mutations.
Alternative: Real Italian pizza has thin, dried crusts and fresh, light toppings. Much better.

!Chicken Nuggets!
Calories: 485 for a 10-piece box
Factoids: Lawsuits against these outlets urging them not to describe the contents of their nuggets as “chicken” might not be a complete myth.
Alternative: Real, organic, well reared chicken is your best bet.

!Falafel!
Calories: 350 per piece
Factoids: Beware the unknown quality of ingredients in fast-food shops and the suspicious frying oil.
Alternative: The salad bar - you’re just eating vegetables and pulses anyway aren’t you? They might as well not be fried.

!Chips!
Calories: 530 (plus fatty, sugary toppings!)
Factoids: Deep-fried more times than necessary, often in multiply used oil. You don’t need me to help you imagine the effect on your cholesterol.
Alternative: Make French fries at home, using less oil that you will only use once. Or some fast food places offer salads as accompaniments to kebabs and burgers which are often not as awful as they sound.

!Kebab!
Calories: Between 500-800
Factoids: The wide variation in calories mainly stems from the fact that many different types of meat of not great quality are used and oily bad stuff is added.
Alternative: If you replace the pitta and chips with salads and have less heavy and fatty types of meat you will feel the difference quite quickly. Or if that doesn’t convince you, just try looking intently at the donner machine turning and try to imagine how that meat was prepared. Then go home and have an apple.

!Chinese!
Calories: 300-400 for most mains and 50 per spring roll
Factoids: Fast food “Chinese” is not from China. It is a really unhealthy Westernised version.
Alternative: Although no-one’s going to go to China any time soon just to taste the real thing, good quality Chinese restaurants are out there offering a much more accurate and healthy alternative. Or find a recipe and cook it yourself!

So there it is; the simple, ugly, fatty truth. The benefits of reducing your fast food intake and going for lighter, non-fried, home-made, fresh food will make such a difference to your body, your taste-buds, your physical condition and significantly, your wallet too!

Anna Leon
Illustrations by Tina Golubeva