Reply #19: exactly -- if you can clearly remember the last time you went into one of those places ...

[Lisa]

... that's better than if you are eating there so often that the days all tend to blur into each other.

Also I'm starting to think that the "cheapness" of the food is questionable. If you make up a big batch of chili and freeze it in portions, that's several dinners. I added up the cost of the ingredients, and it was actually less than buying it each time at the local fast food joint. Plus there is way less fat and salt in it. I used to eat out when I was working long hours and too tired to cook (or shop for stuff), but now I go for my freezer stash. I still go out sometimes, but it's more as a treat, or to socialize.

Thanks for bringing up that thing about the corporations and the food stamps. Can you believe the nerve of those lobbyists?