I
think we can all now agree that junk food is not always fast and cheap….although
it often is.
And
that fast, cheap food is not always junk, although it often is.
Case
in point, in my part of California you can get a taco made with shredded fresh
chicken, fresh tortillas, fresh cilantro and chopped onions for a song. And it
is made in less time than it took to read that sentence. Add a few avocado slices to make it
fancy. So it’s a fast food that isn’t high (bad) fat, high salt, high sugar,
highly processed or any of that junky stuff.
The fun comes in finding those
fast, cheap and healthy foods.
Maybe the data geeks will help us.
Priceonomics,
a data research studio with a cool point of view, crunched the numbers to come
up with the most nutritious meals per dollar. In other words, the healthiest
fast food you can find. And on the flip side, what is the least nutritious meal
for the dollar.
First,
guess what they would be.
Okay,
now here are the answers.
Start
with junkiest for the money. From really bad to pretty bad.
1.
Mac and cheese
2.
Cheeseburger
3.
Meatloaf
4.
Corndog
5.
Hot Wings
Since most of these are fun
to eat, in my case, especially the corn dogs at the County Fair, this list is
kind of a bummer. But it also suggests these fun foods are kind of a rip-off.
They cost too much for the little nutrition that you get. Other
cheap, unhealthy foods that are a slightly better deal, nutrition-wise, include
fried chicken and Sloppy Joes. So
be advised.
Now
let’s look at the smart side of the food list.
The
biggest nutritional bargains are these. (and yes, I’m sorry about the kale)
1.
Kale salad
2.
Falafel
3.
Lettuce wraps
4.
Chinese chicken salad
5.
Cobb salad
The
winner here, hands down in my view, is falafel, which is like a sandwich with fried
“meatballs” made with ground garbanzo beans in pita bread—with greens and
yogurt sauce.
The
on-the-go salads are also nice to know about, but we sort of expected that.
The
surprise is that some fast, healthy meals are not really a great deal, such as
veggie burgers and black bean burgers. Go figure.
By
the way, my tacos made the list, but Priceonomics only counted fish (not
chicken) tacos, and they came in at number 6.
The
lesson: Mac and cheese is basically
a rip. Falafels and Cobb salads
(even with the egg, cheese and ham) and are tasty and a heck of a bargain, in
every way.
Falafel
Balls
If
you can buy falafels at a stand or food truck, buy them.
If
not, you can often find the dry mix for falafel balls at your local health food store or favorite food market.
You
can make your own from scratch, but it’s actually way too much work, at least for me.
You
can order the mix online at
or
write in the comments and I'll arrange to get some from my favorite market and
sell it to you.
Happy
munching!
Joan
(Photos via Unsplash: top by Amie Watson; center by Brooke Lark)
