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One Hundred Dollars a Month

I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

McDonald’s Struggles as People Choose Healthier Options

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McDonalds Struggles as People Choose Healthier OptionsI’m sure you’ve heard or read that McDonald’s profits are in the toilet right now. Declining sales and patronage have led to McDonald’s decision to close 350 stores worldwide AND fire their CEO.  Times are a’changin’, and peeps are opting instead for healthier fast options, like Chiptole {ironically, a chain that McDonald’s sold about a decade ago}.  Bet they are totally regretting that decision…

BIG mistake, indeed.  Julia really knows how to break it to ’em.

I have been wondering a for a couple of years now why McDonald’s hasn’t gotten ahead of the health trends.  I think they thought that when they offered calorie information on all of the their food items right on your tray they were doing the healthy thing…when really all it did was remind you how crappy you were eating.  Even the salads seem to be packed with the cheapest possible ingredients.  I guess their game plan was to stick to cheap ingredients so that they could offer cheap menu items?

According to an article on CNN Money, McDonald’s will be rolling out a new game plan on May 4th, but until then, they are experimenting with serving all-day breakfast.  While I get people love Egg McMuffins, I think they are missing the whole point–people are drifting away from crappy over-processed poor quality food and moving toward fresh, healthier sourced options.  Hello!?

What do you think?  Will McDonald’s stand the test of time?

~Mavis

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Chipotle Pulls Pulled Pork From the Menu

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baby pigs

Are you a Chipotle fan?  If so, I am sure you have heard by now that they recently put up signs in about 1/3 of their stores saying that carnitas would not be available.  No carnitas stems directly from a suspension of one of the Chipotle pork suppliers.  The suppliers were apparently in violation of the Chipotle’s animal welfare standards.  According to an article on NPR, the exact violation is unknown–though, it could have something to do with the farrowing crates {confining the pigs} or slatted floors {rather than deeply bedded floors the pigs can dig around in}.  Either way, until they are up to compliance, Chipotle will be looking for a new supplier, and not serving pork in the meantime.

I personally LOVE Chipotle, and support a business who stands up for and by what they believe in.  {If you are new to the Chipotle philosophy, there is a quick 20 minute documentary about their business standards that is free to stream on Netflix, called Inside Chipotle.}

What do YOU think, do you like knowing where your food comes from?  Will you be more inclined to eat at Chipotle now that you know they put their money where their mouth is…literally?

~Mavis

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

New Chipotle Ad Takes a Poke at Food Standards in America

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Have you all seen the new Chipotle ad?  It is dark and disturbingly telling.  It exaggerates {kind of} the state of our food system and how removed we’ve become from our food–and HOW we get it.

Whenever ads start to reflect a grass roots trend, I always take notice, because it seems like it’s an indication that the mainstream on a whole is starting to change their mindset.

Watch it, tell me what you think.  Do you think the message of whole, responsibly produced foods is finally taking off?

~Mavis

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.

Mavis Butterfield Etsy