We often prefer dishes that can be prepared quickly. Is fast food unhealthy? We are used to thinking that eating on the run is not healthy, because, as a rule, it is high in calories, as it contains a lot of carbohydrates. Eaten hot dog, pizza, chocolate are digested in our stomach for hours, eventually causing constipation, gas, belching, excess weight and disturbing sleep.

Fast food is, of course, unhealthy food, but you can have a snack in a way that is healthy, tasty and convenient. You just need to properly organize snacks throughout the day, and even if there is no time for lunch, you can have a quick lunch and benefit your health. Today we will try to list the basic principles of a quick full meal, we will analyze what a set of products for a quick and full meal can be, we will give options for a healthy and quick snack.

Principles of fast nutrition

Let's define what healthy fast food should be:

• a quick meal should be convenient - for this, it is a dish that is crumbly, non-staining;
• a snack should be healthy - the food should contain proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and trace elements.
• healthy fast food should be a source of energy, that is, it should contain complex carbohydrates;
• fast, wholesome meals should be perfectly satiating and must be suitable for consumption in any form - hot or cold.

Fast food food set

To make a healthy snack, you need products that contain most of the components that our body needs. They should not be harmful, fast food should be tasty, convenient, so that they can be eaten without special utensils and carried in a bag.

We list what can be included in a set of fast food products:

• whole grain bread, bran bread, wholemeal bread:
• dried fruits, bars with dried fruits and cereals;
• low-calorie cheese, low-fat ham, turkey meat;
• fruits, vegetables, legumes and berries;
• fermented milk products (ryazhenka, yogurt, kefir), vegetable juices.

Based on the listed requirements for a healthy meal, below we will offer you several fast food recipes throughout the day. Such food will be healthy, nutritious, balanced and certainly will not harm your body.

Fast food recipes for every day

Consider the options for healthy and fast food:

1. Yogurt or kefir, whole grain bread, apples, seeds or nuts;
2. Sandwich with turkey meat, multifruit juice in a bag, banana. The sandwich is prepared in advance at home. To prepare a sandwich according to fast food recipes, we need low-fat sour cream, low-fat mayonnaise, horseradish (one tablespoon each), lemon juice (1 tsp), two slices of rye bread, a small piece of boiled turkey, cut into thin plates, two slices of low-fat cheese . Mix mayonnaise, horseradish, lemon juice and sour cream, spread this sauce on a piece of bread, put the turkey on top, then sprinkle the sandwich with cheese and cover with another piece of bread.
3. A bag of a mixture of dried fruits and nuts, two tangerines, kefir;
4. Sandwich with slightly salted fish or low-fat ham, cottage cheese or cream cheese, fresh cucumber, spinach or green salad, orange and dark chocolate dessert. For dessert, we need a glass of orange juice, finely chopped orange peel, vanillin (a tablespoon), a bar of dark chocolate, cocoa and sugar (a teaspoon).

With a healthy fast food, you must definitely drink clean non-carbonated water. Thus, you will forever forget about hamburgers and soda, and you will eat properly and fully, satisfying your hunger and energizing for the whole day.

The rhythm of life in a big city is such that people are used to eating so-called fast food. Fast food is everywhere: in fast food chains, in cafes, pizzerias, in a stall selling hot dogs. Man is so accustomed to it that hamburgers and chips have become considered an integral part of life in modern society. At the same time, many people heard about the dangers of such food, so they began to think about whether they should eat it, or it would be better to take care of their health. Especially people with diseases of the heart, blood vessels and stomach should think about this.

What is attractive fast food and what harm can be from it? Fast food, at first glance, has advantages: it has excellent taste, it is inexpensive, you can have a snack quickly and conveniently, it saturates for a long time. All these imaginary virtues disappear as soon as a person learns about the dangers of such food. Eating cheap potato chips at McDonald's or another cafe can result in stomach, intestinal and even heart disease. As a result, a person will spend many times more on hospitals and treatment than he saved on food.

Has there been fast food in the past?

The words “fast” and “food” are of English origin, they denote food that does not require long preparation and can be eaten literally on the go. It is very convenient, and many people use the services of various cafes and pizzerias.

But the idea of ​​fast food appeared in ancient times. Such food arose in large cities, where people came to fairs, for trade and shopping. The inhabitants of Rome in ancient times used wheat cakes with meat in various eateries. The seasoning was olive oil. The food was prepared right in front of the guests, it was fresh and very healthy. In Rus', there was also fast food - these were the most ordinary and familiar pies for us. There were no flavoring additives, harmful seasonings and preservatives. This cannot be said about modern pizzas, hamburgers, cutlets and potato straws at McDonald's and similar establishments.

Now it is clear that fast food has always existed, and this is not a novelty. What is fast food? It is both fast food and junk food. With the emergence of megacities and the appearance of large concentrations of people in them, the production of such food has assumed a large scale. The industry began to produce chips, crackers, nuts, cookies and noodles, which are brewed with boiling water. People have very little time to have a normal lunch during a break from work. Therefore, fast food has become a part of the life of almost every person.

Since food produced in food factories must be stored until it is delivered to the consumer, there is a need for preservatives. Most people who eat fast food have literally become addicted to it because of the flavorings and no longer feel the taste of simple homemade food.

Varieties of fast food

All fast food can be divided into several categories. It depends on where it is produced, from what products, what is its shelf life. Such food includes:

• mashed potatoes, noodles and bagged soups;
• chips, crackers, popcorn;
• pizza, hot dogs, pies and belyashi, shawarma;
• french fries, hamburgers and cheeseburgers.

When people ask what fast food is, they usually mean food that can be eaten for lunch or a snack at the nearest cafe. Semi-finished products do not belong to this category: frozen dumplings, meatballs, sausages, soup sets consisting of chopped vegetables. Although their benefits are also doubtful, because nutritionists recommend cooking only from fresh products at home.

Why fast food is junk food

Eating fast food, people expect to get certain benefits. Firstly, it is comfortable: to go to a cafe and quickly get ready and very tasty food. The second plus is the cheapness of the product. In addition to a pleasant taste, due to the content of additives such as monosodium glutamate, such food is high in calories. There is a rapid saturation of the body and if a person does not move much (for example, at work in the office), then extra calories will be deposited in fats. Fast food gives instant satiety, but then all the harmful effects from it begin to appear.

In addition to flavorings, fast food includes preservatives. In order for such food not to spoil during transportation from the producer to the consumer, substances are simply needed that preserve it and prevent the growth of bacteria. The effect of these substances on human organs is negative. Preservatives are harmful to the heart, blood vessels, intestines and stomach, they negatively affect the entire body. There is evidence that these substances cause.

Fast food (hot dogs, shawarma from stalls, pies and whites, which are sold by hand) often causes food poisoning. Wanting to have a quick bite somewhere in an unfamiliar city, on vacation or at a resort, people do not think about the fact that food is often prepared in unsanitary conditions, not caring about the buyers who will eat it. As a result, a person falls ill with intestinal infections, suffers from diarrhea, dysentery, and colitis. Chronic bowel diseases further lead to disruption of the activity of all systems of the human body as a whole. This is a very weighty argument that can be made when talking about the dangers of fast food.

Also, such, at first glance, simple food, like fast food, can cause diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Manufacturers are replacing butter with margarine to make hamburgers and hot dog buns cheaper. Margarine is made up of trans fats, which are produced by turning vegetable oils into solid fat. There is evidence that trans fats impair digestion. Because of this, toxic substances and toxins accumulate in the body. In addition, artificial fats are found in mayonnaise, ketchup and sauces that are seasoned with fast food. In addition, there is too much cholesterol in such food, which is also very harmful for blood vessels, as it leads to atherosclerosis.

It should be noted that when frying products in sunflower oil, trans fats and acids harmful to the body are also formed. Therefore, nutritionists advise using raw vegetable oil, and steaming or boiling food, but not frying.

Ordinary fats, such as lard, butter, consumed in large quantities, can lead to, but trans fats also have a negative effect on blood vessels and the heart. In addition, trans fats lead to vascular dystonia, cause atherosclerosis and are very dangerous for people who already have heart disease. Even healthy people should not eat fast food more than once a week, and such a diet is strictly contraindicated for patients.

How to switch to healthy eating

Why do people often prefer fast food such as hamburgers, chips and crackers to ordinary food? The answer is simple: manufacturers add flavors to this food, to which a person becomes addicted.

The taste of fast food (for example, from McDonald's) is fundamentally different from ordinary cutlets and buns precisely due to flavorings. How to get rid of addiction to such food? First, you need to make a firm decision to switch to a normal diet, excluding the purchase of cheeseburgers and snacks in different pizzerias. If you follow this rule for 3 weeks, the body will get rid of the habit.

If you can’t immediately give up junk food, exclude it from the diet gradually, replacing it with healthy foods. Instead of a hamburger, eat an apple or a homemade pie. In the future, you may have a desire to try fast food, but its taste will no longer be so bright. In addition, due to flavoring additives, a person constantly feels the desire to eat such food even more.

How to replace fast food

The problem with fast food is that there are no vitamins in such food. Getting used to eating on the go, a person deprives himself of useful trace elements, without which the body will not function normally. To all the other shortcomings of fast food, one more is added - it contributes to the development of beriberi. This has a particularly negative impact on the health of children and adolescents. Therefore, this food is categorically contraindicated for children.

What, then, to give the child for lunch at school, what to eat at lunchtime? To do this, you need to purchase plastic boxes designed for food. They have compartments for different types of food.

Take an example from Japanese mothers who give their children to school such containers, where they put homemade buns, salads, fruits. Food, including meat cooked at home, will not have time to spoil in 3-4 hours, which will pass from morning to lunch break. And then there will be no need to buy food of dubious quality such as whites or hot dogs. The quality of food from public catering is always much lower than the same pies that are cooked in the home kitchen.

If a person is categorically against fast food, he can completely refuse it in favor of homemade food. At the same time, if friends invited to a birthday party in a cafe where there will be pizza with drinks, then you should not refuse the offer, because this happens infrequently. Once a week, nutritionists are allowed to eat something from the category of fast food, this will not bring harm.

Olga Lukinskaya

It's not easy to stick to healthy eating habits when you spend all day at the office or university, and even get there and back for a long time. Of course, the lunch issue is solved by the right choice of a business lunch in a cafe, but hunger can overtake even in the midst of working at a computer or in a traffic jam on the way home - and satisfying it with cookies or chocolates is not very useful. We have compiled ten options for snacks or breakfasts that you can take with you and eat at work, right after a workout in the gym or right behind the wheel - just don't forget napkins and cutlery.

Overnight oatmeal

In New York, such oatmeal is sold in different versions in culinary shops, and we suggest making it yourself. There are only two main ingredients: oatmeal and a liquid of your choice - water, milk (regular or, for example), juice or kefir. But you can add a variety of components, salty or sweet: coconut flakes, raspberries and blueberries; sea ​​salt, olive oil and parmesan; protein powder and peanut butter.

This is oatmeal that doesn't need to be boiled - just pour all the ingredients into a tall glass the night before and refrigerate overnight. In a few hours, oatmeal will soak in milk or water (the choice is yours), swell and become soft. It remains only to mix the contents of the glass with a long spoon, connecting all the layers. Overnight oatmeal tastes best when cold - so you can cook it in a thermo glass, which will keep the temperature for several hours.

Chopped vegetables and hummus

Gnawing whole vegetables is boring, and preparing salads is time consuming, so we offer an intermediate option: cut crispy vegetables into sticks in advance and put them in a container. Not only cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, celery are suitable, but also broccoli inflorescences and, for example, turnips or beets (although the latter can stain your hands).

To diversify the taste of vegetables a little, you can take a sauce for them - what is called “dip” in English, that is, a mass for dipping. From ready-made store options, hummus or cream cheese are suitable. You can take sour cream or Greek yogurt and add salt, hot pepper or other spices to your taste. For yogurt, by the way, it is quite possible to run to the supermarket during the break - so at home you will only need to cut vegetables.

Fruits and peanut butter

A variant similar to the previous one, only more sweet than salty. If it is no longer possible to look at the usual bananas as a snack, then it's time to diversify your diet in terms of fruits, including. Fruits that can be cut into slices or sticks are apples, pears, quinces, peaches or mangoes (only it is better to choose firm and not juicy ones).

As a fruit dip, peanut butter (we recommend making it yourself if you have time) or yogurt is suitable. Or maybe even chocolate sauce - although this is not the most useful product, you only need a couple of spoons of it. Whatever it was, such a snack is healthier than a chocolate bar.

Eggs, cherry tomatoes and pita

Getting enough protein is quite difficult, because meat and fish are more difficult to cook than, say, pasta. To add a protein component to snacks, you can use eggs - they can be boiled at once for several days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. It is convenient to take a container with two compartments with you to work: an egg is placed in one, and tomatoes or other vegetables are placed in the second.

If the office has a kitchen, then you can quickly make a salad out of these components - cut the egg into four parts, and the tomatoes into halves, salt and pour olive oil. If you know that you will have to eat on the way and with your hands, you can still turn the combination into a sandwich at home - cut the eggs and tomatoes into slices and put them in pita bread or pita.

Pasta, red fish and vegetables

You will have to spend a little more time on this dish - you will need to cook pasta - but it may well become a full meal. For a salad, short al dente cooked pasta is suitable - “spirals” (fusilli), “feathers” (penne) or “butterflies” (farfalle). The rest of the ingredients can be taken from home or even bought from the store during the day to mix in a bowl or straight into a plastic container.

A tasty and healthy protein component that is often forgotten is canned fish. Choose salmon or pink salmon in its own juice - you can safely add a whole jar to pasta for lunch. It remains to put a few cherry tomatoes or chopped cucumber, a handful of spicy olives or a few balls of mozzarella; mix and eat.

Cheese, pasta and olives

As a carbohydrate component, you can again use cold short pasta - or you can choose your favorite type of bread, from pita bread to Borodino. Choose your cheese accordingly: hard cubed cheese is suitable for salad, and creamy feta can be spread on bread, supplemented with halves of olives.

It remains to add vegetables - for example, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Juicy tomatoes with olives, feta cheese and pita are typical components of a Greek salad. If you have the strength to cook it again at home on the weekend, drink ice-cold white wine (the office is unlikely to have such an opportunity).

Avocado, bread and ham

It all depends on your preferences and choice: buying an ideal condition avocado is not so easy. A ripe and soft avocado can be spread on bread, peppered and put on top of a few slices of chicken or turkey ham - it will turn out healthy. Harder - cut into slices and also use as part of a sandwich or just take it with you, and eat it with a knife and fork at work.

Avocado also goes well with eggs - there is even a way to cook scrambled eggs in avocado halves. For the canonical execution of the recipe, you need more time and an oven, but you can try cooking this in the microwave - just remember to pierce the yolk with a fork so that it does not explode.

Buckwheat, salmon and tomatoes from a can

Buckwheat, rice or pearl barley will have to be cooked the day before - but the vegetables will not even need to be washed, just open a tin can with tomato cubes and pour it directly onto the main component of the dish. Reheat or eat cold - it's up to you.

Of the protein components, you can add canned fish, ham, boiled eggs, or even pre-cooked chicken breast - however, the latter option will take a little longer to cook. As always, salt, pepper, spices and a good olive oil will only enhance the taste - if possible, keep them at work.

Cottage cheese, berries and nuts

If you didn’t manage to cook anything at all in advance and take it from home, the nearest supermarket will save you. Cottage cheese is a great source of protein, and you don't need anything more than a bowl and a spoon to snack on it. Although you can still diversify it: strawberries, raspberries or currants, apricot quarters or banana slices, nuts or seeds will complement both the taste and texture of the cottage cheese.

Unsweetened ingredients, like greens, can also be added. With cucumber and sea salt, the cottage cheese will resemble tzatziki, a Turkish yogurt snack. True, garlic is also added to traditional tzatziki, but it all depends on the order of your office - maybe strict colleagues will not appreciate the smell.

Sandwich with cheese and anchovies

Anchovy is a small fish found in the Mediterranean Sea. It is quite expensive, but even a small jar will last for a long time: one or two fillets are enough for one large sandwich, because anchovies are very salty. They go great with soft cheeses like brie or goat and the fresh taste of cucumbers.

Fatty fish is not only a source of protein, but also beneficial for the heart and blood vessels. Anchovies can also be added to previous recipes - for example, pasta and tomato salad, avocado sandwiches or pita bread with a boiled egg.

Misha (ideas: 10, wins: 1)

If the language in the name is not a fundamental thing, then you can consider the following options:
-Nice meet (analogue in Russian "Pleasant meeting"). The name immediately evokes the client's disposition with its "non-staining" and dissimilarity to other similar establishments.

S&S.

Minute (the name speaks for itself, but the problem is that it is banal). The previous ones were much more interesting.

Continuum (Analogue in Russian "Continuum"). The name is quite loud, evoking good emotions and giving the impression of a prestigious institution.

You can come up with a lot of things, but as a consumer, I prefer the second name - "S & S (read: C and C). Since the sign & in abbreviations evokes something familiar, because this symbol is used in many products.

The above names can be used in both English and Russian.
Example: Nice meet, you can call it "Nice meeting".

I can create a logo, and design booklets for an institution --

Other examples, but without a detailed description (did not think):
- Grotesque
- Tip-top (Tip-top).
- Rubicon
- Tasty piece (tidbit)
All names were designed to evoke positive emotions in the client and remember them.
Good luck!!!

The fast food market is constantly growing and developing. Regardless of the internal and internal factors of the economy in the country. This is facilitated not only by the modern pace of life and the constant lack of time, but, as a consequence of the first reasons, people prefer a five-minute "snack" instead of tomorrow, lunch or dinner.

And this way of life is unlikely to ever change. Therefore, the opening of fast food will always be a profitable business. The main thing is to start and choose a niche that best suits the spirit of the times.

How to open a mini-cafe - location, equipment, business plan

Before you open your own fast food restaurant, you should immediately decide on the menu. Initially, a fast food outlet can get by with a minimal but original assortment. Consequently, the set of necessary equipment will be small, and therefore inexpensive. For example, the sale of coffee and ready-made pastries will require the presence of only two types of equipment - a coffee machine and a microwave oven or roaster for heating finished products.

Roaster, translated from English as "brazier", it is also called a "mini-oven" or "mini-oven". The roaster is a compact electric oven, similar in size to a microwave oven.

One-time capital investment required to open a mini-cafe or fast food outlet:

• Acquisition of commercial equipment, interior items and furniture, organization of a counter - new or used.
• Kitchen equipment (coffee machines, ovens, microwave ovens, grills, etc.), disposable household items - napkins, dishes and more. Depends on the direction of your fast food.
• Purchase of cooking products.
• Promotion expenses - signage, branding of the premises, menus, flyers, etc.
• In addition to the above, you will need - a room (15-30m²) and trained staff up to three people.

The total cost of opening a bistro ranges from 180 thousand to 1.2 million rubles.

Having decided on the equipment and assortment, you will need to choose a location. When choosing a location and organizing a mini-cafe, you need to take into account some factors. So, a point in a passing place can bring less profit than opening a fast food outlet at a point of growth or decline in traffic, for example, fast food on the way to a metro station will bring less profit than a fast food outlet near the station.

This is due to the fact that despite the large client traffic moving towards the metro, passers-by rush to the train. And that means they will hardly stop for a “snack”. And there are a lot of factors that influence demand.

Before opening your own fast food, you can do research, or you can open your cafe next to other points, this will definitely bring an additional flow of customers. Since a person always likes to compare, and is prone to diversity. This is especially clearly reflected in gastronomic preferences.

Also, we want to note that people trust the brand and the original name more. For example, customers are more likely to buy shawarma at the Doner cafe than at the Shawarma cafe. And they are unlikely to buy shawarma under the sign "Delicious food". Not the scale - no trust.

So, having decided on the initial menu, placement and brand, you can think over the details of the menu assortment, delve into the essence of your selling proposition.

Classic and unusual trends in fast food

Basically, everything that can be cooked in 5-20 minutes and eaten or consumed right away belongs to fast food. Even a coffee point, without an additional assortment, is an entry-level fast food. With the right placement of such a point, it will be profitable and popular.

However, it is always more interesting to serve some more nutritious food with coffee. "food", to increase profits and quickly "fast" customer satisfaction. Therefore, we present a list of the most popular fast food destinations.

• Shawarma. It was with her that the procession of fast food began in modern Russia. We already wrote -.
• Pizza. A versatile dish that is prepared in restaurants and fast foods. Valued for ease of preparation, variety and taste. Learn more -.
• Burgers, sandwiches and hamburgers (burgers). It does not matter who and when invented this type of fast food, but the direction itself is becoming more and more popular, due to the fact that the world's fast food brands - McDonald's, Burger King, etc. offer us this particular fast food. So, this direction of "fast food" is always in sight.
• Potato. Potatoes in any form - fried fries, potato balls, baked in an oven with filler. Versatile dish. Low cost of raw material, high popularity. With the original recipe of the dish, you can become out of competition.
• Bakery. Various pastries. Pirozhki, hot, with potatoes, with podvil, with meat. More than 50 years in the fast food market. The variety is amazing - pies, belyashi, permyachi, puffs, samsa, flat cakes. Anything baked with flour, water, and fillings is considered fast food.
• Chicken. Nuggets, spicy wings. Again, thanks to global brands, fast food made from chicken, chicken meat and nothing more has become very popular. Ready-made semi-finished products are cooked in boiling oil, consumed with sauce. Very tasty and fast.
• Dumplings. Hello from the past. Nevertheless, nothing threatens the popularity of dumplings. They are loved and eaten. All segments of the population. we wrote. In addition to the workshop, by opening a network of fast food outlets, you can market your products and earn even more money.
• Sushi. 10 years ago, sushi revolutionized the Russian fast food market. Cooking requires little knowledge and some specialized (but inexpensive) equipment. Despite the abundance of points for the preparation and sale of sushi and rolls, the market is still capacious and profitable. You can learn more about sushi from our article -.

The fast food market has always been and will be capacious, without upper limits of saturation, because it is constantly on the move, looking for new directions. And to eat ... people will always want to eat.