By Alysa Leier
Thirty minutes of silence. Some days that’s all I need. Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Jimmy John’s, KFC. What do these all have in common? Well of course they’re food providers, but to me, they’re often sanity in a drive through lane.
You know the struggle. It’s real. The tears start – at least they do with my seven-year-old drama queen – and the inevitable sobs from the backseat, “But, I’m starving, and I can’t wait until we get home!”
Yes, my kids eat fast food. It’s not organic. It’s not GMO-free. Those are things we don’t care about in this house. Food-shamers? You hold zero clout in my mind or in my house.
My kids are healthy. Have I had their “levels” checked? No. I’m not that kind of mom. But I know they are healthy because we are rarely at the doctor’s office getting prescription medication for anything. I’m talking less than once a year.
They eat fruits and vegetables. They eat chicken breasts, lean meats, and fish. They drink milk. They eat a well-balanced diet. They take multivitamins. So do I. I’m not harming my children by feeding them fast food once or twice a week. I know they’re going to eat every last bite of food that they get there. That’s a total win in my book.
I know they need good, nutritional food. And they get that more often than not, but sometimes, momma needs a break, and if that break comes in the form of a non-homemade meal? Done.
We are farmers. You know the saying, “We Farm, You Eat?” Well, we farm it and we eat it too! I’m not going to feed my kids things that I wouldn’t eat myself. Do I personally like fast food? Some of it. Do I worry about what’s in it? Unless it’s human-derived, then no.
Organic foods are still grown with pesticides. GMO-free means nothing health- or nutrition-wise.
We don’t, however, eat at certain chains because of their fear mongering tactics regarding antibiotics, hormones and GMOs. And to be honest, we simply don’t eat a lot of fast food because we don’t live in town.
I dislike cooking. Baking is my jam. I think it’s safe to say we’d eat more fast food if we lived in town. But my family is getting fed and that’s what matters.