Dining out used to be such a big deal.  When I was a little girl growing up in St. Catharines, a rare family outing to our neighbourhood Chinese noodle house was as exciting as life could possibly get.

Today, Canadians spend over 30% of our food budget at restaurants (compared to 42% for our American friends!)   The average household goes out for a meal, snack or beverage an average of 11 times every two weeks. Of all the money spent on food in Canada, 40% is spent in some of our 62,000+ food service outlets. But with the growing popularity of drive-thru, take-out and delivery services, 60% of restaurant-prepared items are now consumed elsewhere. And on any given day, 30% of kids living in North America visit a fast food restaurant.

That’s a whole lot of fast food, and a whole lot of salt.   Continue reading “If the fat won’t kill you, the salt will…” →