5 Fast Food Meals for under 3$

Image by brtsergio via Flickr

5 Fast Food Meals for under 3$

If you’re anything like me (a poor college student), then you are probably always on the lookout for a cheap edible dinner from a fast food restaurant. Here, I give you five ideas for five decent fast food dinners you can eat for under three bucks each – a good deal by any definition. To be enjoyed as an occasional treat only.

I have ranked them in order from best to worst.

1.       KFC: Buffalo Sandwich, potato wedges and a drink combo: In my opinion, this really is the king among super cheap fast food meal deals. The sandwich is an excellent value, both size and taste wise, for the money, and the potato wedges are very filling. Best yet, it only comes in at about 750 calories – enough to fill you up without making you fat in the long run.

2.       Wendy’s:  Baked potato, small chili, and value drink: This is another good meal that I buy almost as much as the KFC deal. The baked potato makes a great quick meal, especially when topped with delicious chili. Better yet, the whole combo has only about 550 calories (if you hold the butter on the potato) and is probably slightly healthier for you than most fast food.

3.       Taco Bell: Three dollar gordita combo:  This is another solid option for a cheap but edible fast food meal. The Doritos add a nice kick to this meal, letting it beat out the number four entry.

4.       Wendy: Value size double stack combo: This is another nice and cheap option for someone looking for a value meal. Obviously, you could do this in several places, including Burger King and McDonalds. However, what pushes Wendy’s over the top here is their fries, which are just plain better than the competition’s fries.

5.       Del Taco: Six tacos and water: This is a decent option for anyone who really wants as much food for as low of a price as possible. In fact, it’s so much food that I can only eat about ½ of the tacos during a single trip, making it possible for me to turn this into a 1.50$  meal.

These meals, while cheap and edible are best only eaten about once or twice per week, and only if you’re eating lots of fresh fruit and vegetables in between. Still, in a pinch, they can be used to fill a stomach without depleting a pocket book.

Related articles

• a call to die - day 32: fasting (follow2serve.wordpress.com)
• You Deserve a Break Today (mohighlibrary.wordpress.com)
• Paris Hilton "Not Eating Fast Food Anymore" - Are You? (fitsugar.com)
• Hot Trend in the House: Fasting Lawmakers (newser.com)

How To Get The Best Value Out Of A Cheap Walmart Bike

Walmart sells some cheap, terrible bicycles. However, the cheapness and terribleness of Walmart bikes can be mitigated somewhat if you follow five simple steps when you buy a bike from Walmart.

1. Ride the bike around the store before you buy it: To me, if the bike doesn't even ride correctly when I'm in the store, there is no way that I'm paying money to take it out of the store. Specifically, before you buy a bike from Walmart or any of the other big box stores, check to see if a) both the front and rear brake work correctly and b) the bike shifts through all of the gears on both the front and the back. By far the easiest way to check this on a bicycle is to get on the bike and ride it down a couple of aisles. If it doesn't pass muster, look at another bike.

2. Take the bike to a shop and get everything checked and tightened: Before you ride the bike any further, I would take it to a local bike shop to get everything tightened and checked. The employees who assemble bikes for Walmart are usually the same people who assemble the patio furniture, meaning that they don't understand how a bicycle works mechanically or how tight they should tighten the bolts. The adjustments will likely only cost around 20 dollars or so, and it will save you from having dragging brakes, misaligned gears, etc. later.

3. Get the tires upgraded to road/hybrid tires: If you don't take your bike off-road at all and you want to spend about 30 or so dollars more, you can get the tires upgraded to road/hybrid tires. This will literally save you probably about 10-20% off your total trip time if you're riding on the highway or sidewalk. In fact, this is the easiest upgrade of which I am aware that you can make to a cheap bike that will make a significant, immediate impact on your commute time for a novice or average rider.

Well, I hope that this gives you some starting points for buying and making the most out of cheap bikes from a place like Walmart. Good luck riding!

Related articles

• REI Announces its Exclusive 2011 Novara Bicycle Line -- New Mainline Collection Covers a Continuum of Distances (prweb.com)
• Women's Road Bikes Under $1,000 (metaefficient.com)
• Smiles for Miles (eon.businesswire.com)
• How do I winterize my bike in a rainy city? (ask.metafilter.com)
• Carbon fiber bike weighs only six pounds! (slashgear.com)

We all Contribute to the Beauty and Prosperity of the World.

The creatures that inhabit this earth--be they human beings or animals--are here to contribute, each in its own particular way, to the beauty and prosperity of the world.

~His Holiness the Dalai Lama

James: Being someone who deals with chronic depression and other mental health difficulties from living with schizo-affective disorder, I sometimes wonder what I have to contribute. It is easy to feel isolated in this busy, hectic world and feel small and insignificant. This stems from a deluded society that focuses on the accolades of the individual. Thus since not everyone can be millionaires and Nobel Peace Prize winners, it is easy to feel that we are worthless, bland and unworthy of respect, admiration and value. This is an illusion a very convincing illusion but a false reality none the less. A dangerously deceptive mirage.

If we focus on the bigger picture we can see that just like pixels on a big screen television which on there own seem tiny and insignificant but when seen as a whole create a profound, beautiful and vibrant reality. So too our seemingly small and limited life when seen as apart of a bigger essence is suddenly seen as critical to this grand project we call existence. Nothing and no one is out of place in this intricate tapestry. The circle of life is broken and degrades quickly when just one thing is taken away. This in Indras net that allows for each jewel to add their brightness to the group so that the overall light will shine brighter and stronger.

Try as we might, we can not separate ourselves from the tapestry that we are interwoven through. Each one of us is an important part of a large, complex and important machine. Some of us are small screws or nails and some of us are larger components but can we say that a washing machine is a washing machine without one of its parts whether big or minute? Of course not.

Here's another example, an automobile. Can an automobile work and help make life easier without the tiny spark plug? No. So if even the littlest plant adds beauty and life to the world through turning poisonous carbon dioxide into fresh, life giving and life sustaining oxygen then without a doubt each one of us makes this time and place better, happier and brighter.

We may never know how many lives we touch and have touched. The slightest talk with a total stranger could change their life completely and inspire them to shine brighter than they might not otherwise not be able to accomplish. I think about many people in the history of my life who have done such things for me without asking anything in return and usually not knowing how deeply they impacted me to be a better, happier, kinder, more compassionate and confident person.

When I get depressed I sometimes feel that my life has been a complete waste because I am disabled and have to stay at home because of my condition. I have too many times longed for what could have been, a professorship to teach history. However, that was not meant to be and just because things don't turn out the way we want does not mean that our life is ruined and worthless. Yes I haven't achieved many of my dreams but I have still made a big impact on many lives and society in general. Through this blog I have touched many and helped people feel a greater importance in their lives. Who knows but if this is my true calling and without having this disabling illness I wouldn't have the time necessary to devote myself to this blog and my readers.

I think about the squirrels and birds that I feed at our house and how important I have become to their lives. They rely on the seeds that I leave out for them during the brutally cold winter. Think about your pets if you have any, they rely on you for so many things and they give so much back to you in return. They wouldn't even be alive without you. Do you think that they don't have any value because they do not do any of the things that society deems "important" and "valuable?" Or because they don't talk and make money? Absolutely not. They give us unconditional love in return and that is worth more than gold. They teach us how to be sincere and full of love not only for others but also for ourselves and self love and appreciation is so important to our well being.

In addition I think of my wife who was very timid before meeting me and I helped her gain confidence in herself and now like the lotus, she has broken through the mud of self doubt to bloom into a strong and successful person. And perhaps if she had not met me she wouldn't have achieved all that she has. Just by being born and entering this world my mother has told me that I have changed her life for the better. It is o.k. to be proud of yourself sometimes because it helps you remember your Buddha Nature, your true importance to the big picture.

We just don't know what impact we have on others. So don't give up, you are adding value to this world and many lives whether you realize it or not.

~Peace to all beings~