Yes, we are independent but still serve the basics hotdogs burgers fried chicken and soft-serve.

Curt, you hit the nail on the head. We almost never eat out and the fact that my wife makes all our meals from scratch guarantees that we eat well. Processed food is absolutely horrible. I ran across a YT video series done by a health professional that analyzed the ingredients of several items off the menus of McDonalds, Chick-Fil-A, and some others. What is in that "food" is astonishing. He looked at fries, of course. What should the ingredients be? Potatoes, oil, salt, right? No, McD's had something like 19 and Chick had 67 irrc. Gross.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1760637077.JPG
These are the burgers we sell.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1760637077.JPG
Our fries made by Simplot the same Co. that makes the M store's.

I don't think sugar/carb is really the enemy because I can eat an apple or plum without spiking my sugar much, but they do add sugar to everything. Sugar should not be the second ingredient in breads.

Also, HFCS will spike my sugar far higher than sugar for things with similar sweetness or calories, like the few times I splurge for a Mt Dew. The Real Sugar bottles are much better on my sugar levels than the HFCS version and less calories to boot. Plus it tastes better. Things sweetened with honey or maple syrup are even better.

We need to get back to natural foods, not process or ultra processed foods. I actually would rather sit down with a lightly seasoned home grilled flat iron steak with some asparagus grilled with garlic and olive oil and a small smoked sweet potato. I can't stand the way they make them at places like Longhorn, I have to ask for no seasoning so they are edible. (It is one of the places my BiL can eat in the town we meet up in)

Several years ago, in an effort to combat high chol, I mostly cut out sugars, and like you said EVERYTHING has sugar in the ingredients list, whether you buy it in the store or at a restaurant. The first time I had Chick Fil A, I told my wife "no wonder it's so popular, the chicken is so sweet it's like eating candy."

I do think added sugar is bad, but I also don't worry about eating fruit. Eating fruit has too much upside. I read a book or something that said (I don't remember the exact figures, but this seems about right) back in the 50s, the average person ate about 2# of sugar per year, but that now, the average is either 50# or 75#.

I used to drink sodas A LOT. I cut them out completely about 25 years ago. We spent 2 weeks on a boat on the Amazon in 2012, and I drank sodas then, but in the rest of the time, I've probably had less than 6. I do drink unsweetened seltzer water plain or flavored (water, carbonation, natural flavors).

Yeah, I think the sugar industry has everyone addicted to sugar, especially the corn industry. I don't think artificial sweeteners are any better for you and I read an article a month ago about the gut biome getting messed up by them may be related to some forms of dementia. More studies need to be done, but I would rather it be just less sweet. I don't need artificial sweeteners in my chewing gum to save 5 calories.

That said, aspartame gives me a terrible headache.

I drink mostly unsweetened iced tea or black coffee. I do have a Sprechers if I have pizza. The Sprechers maple root beer is great and comes in a 12oz glass bottle.

I can't eat CfA, it is way too sweet to eat. I prefer the main meal to be savory. If I eat fast food it is usually spicy chicken at Wendy's.