Burger, Vegetables, Fries, Dipping Sauce and a Drink

Food is a large part of Jamaican culture and we have a very lucrative industry to show for it. While we do have the regular cookshops and restaurants we have seen in recent times the increase of fast-food restaurants proliferating all corners of the island has also become very lucrative as well.

We have established our own unique fast food restaurants catering to our people and our culture as a whole. Examples of indigenous fast-food restaurants are Juici patties, Mothers, Tastee's, Island grill along with the internationally recognized K.F.C, Wendy's, Burger King, and Popeye's.

We have consistently been told that fast food is bad for our health and should be avoided as much as possible, because of the preparation methods and the large amounts served. However, it is a fact that sick people don't usually consume any one type of food that can be blamed for leading them to that state.

Fast food gained its notoriety because it is tasty, fairly cheap, and super convenient to buy. And it will continue to be very popular because of this. However, fast food is not inherently bad, and in recent times most fast-food restaurants have become more health-conscious to attract more customers, and have begun adding healthier options to their menus.

A plate with seared salmon, vegetables and a lemon wedge

While the benefits of home-cooked meals, if prepared in a healthy way are greater, we have to acknowledge that everyone does their own thing their own way, and therefore it is hard to measure or tell the difference between healthy foods, and fast foods in some instances.

Have you ever been a guest to dinner at a friend or family member's house and the food served is highly salted/sweet/greasy? more-so than you would have gotten at a fast-food restaurant?

If you are ever given reason to visit a dietitian's office you will discover that every single thing in the pot including the cooking method counts in the accounting of calories. A meal of rice and peas and fried chicken would need to be accounted for: the piece of chicken, size of the piece, skinless or with skin, amount of rice, amount of peas, salt, milk, etc.

And so you see that everything has to be accounted for as having significance. You are not able to do this with fast food and therefore this is where home-cooked meals have a clear advantage.

Home-cooked does NOT equal healthy but neither does fast food. As will always be reiterated on this blog, portion sizes are just as important as the content of meals and moderation is key.

Your cooking methods can and will make you ill as well and therefore researching healthier meal preparation techniques will go a long way in becoming more healthy.