Fast Food Family

We rarely eat fast food.  But on our recent trip we became a fast food family.  Taco Bell, McDonald's...you name it, we ate it.  Fortunately we ate well at our beach party, but on travel days all rules went out the window. 

To be honest, I wasn't that concerned about the health factor.  A fast food meal or two isn't going to put us into the heart attack zone.  It was the packaging waste that was hard to take.   For our family of 4, each meal left behind a big bag-o-garbage and I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about it.  

As we munched our way through airports and car rides I came up with a few pointers on how to manage fast food waste...at least a bit:

• Hand-held foods like sandwiches or burritos are the most eco-friendly option because they are likely to come wrapped in paper and do not require utensils.

• Salads, soups and other meals require plastic utensils and usually come packaged in plastic clam-shell containers or styrofoam....so avoid them if possible. 

• Go vegetarian and skip the factory farm meat.

• For dessert, choose an ice cream cone over pre-packaged treats.

• Bring your own water bottle and skip the drinks in disposable cups.

• Pack cloth napkins or towels so you don't need paper napkins. 

• Consider carrying your own reusable utensils and drinking straws.

• Pick up fresh fruit, trail mix and other healthy snacks from home or a grocery store to help reduce the number of fast food stops you need to make.

{photo credit:  sputnik 57 via flickr}