National Fast Food Day.

 National Fast Food Day.

We've always had those moments or maybe not but most of us have had that insatiable craving. You get peckish, you can't resist the temptation of biting into that elusive bar of chocolate when you're stuck out in the middle of nowhere and the sweet shop is quite literally miles away. So you then indulge in comfort eating, raiding your fridge for something or anything that can properly satisfy your immediate appetite. You're hungry, you've had a gruelling day at work, school or university and you're just stressed out. You need a gastronomic break, you'd give anything for a large packet of crisps, a small portion of chips or a sweet and savoury snack that keeps your hunger at bay and does the trick again.

Guess what everybody? It's National Fast Food Day, a day of super indulgence, pleasures of the palate, grabbing a bite to eat and just wolfing down something excessively unhealthy and induces feelings of permanent regret. If only you'd settled for a quick sandwich, sushi or a juicy salad. Now that would do very nicely. Only it won't be enough. You think you deserve a treat, a cholesterol delight, something naughty and full of calories and guaranteed to add several stones to your midriff. You just want a delicious burger and chips followed by a delightfully sweet smoothie strawberry or chocolate flavoured drink, and perhaps a chocolate chip biscuit just for good measure.

For as long as any of us can remember fast food has always provided with the most obscenely excessive amount of fattening calories, food so bad for you that if your doctor is informed about your hedonistic lifestyle then they may be inclined to give you one of the sternest warnings you've ever had. Throughout the centuries our tastes in food have become so remarkably diverse and eclectic that it's hard to imagine a time when anything was actually good for you.

During the 1970s we were suddenly confronted and spoilt with the ultimate in fast food. After years of fast food restaurant supremacy Wimpy was suddenly knocked off the top spot and its global domination challenged by a certain Ronald Mcdonald whose more popular brand name became Mcdonald's. Now to say Mcdonalds is a fast food phenomenon would be the greatest understatement of all time. Mcdonalds swiftly displaced both Wimpy and Burger King as one of the most satisfying meals for those in a hurry.

Suddenly, burger bars, fast food restaurants ranging from pizzas to a dramatic proliferation of yet more hot dog stalls and, more recently, Subways sprouted up all over the country. Here we were given the luxury of choosing  nutritious baguettes with all manner of flavourings, cheeses, turkey fillings, olives, onions, tomatoes accompanied by crisps and chocolate chip cookies. Fast food had never it so good although we were still embracing our favourite fast food meal of them all. It had been around for simply decades and ages but we'd always known about its warm place in our hearts and stomachs as one of the greatest dinners of all time. 

Fish and chips had always been regarded as the guiltiest pleasures of them all. Fish and chips shops were liberally sprinkled all over the United Kingdom from the local high street to the sleepiest village in the countryside where all the residents would converge on their chippie with a ravenous relish. Fish and chips had beautifully battered fish such as cod, haddock, skate and any other fish from the sea that just looked irresistible on the plate. So we devoured the said plate famished and ready to eat yet more given half the chance.

So there we are folks. It's National Fast Food Day, a day of divine decadence, mixed grill kebabs with lashings of sauce, thousands of chips and very little in the way of anything could be even remotely considered as beneficial to your waistline. And before we forget it should be remembered that Indian takeaways have always been regarded as spicy, hot but full of addictive nan breads, onion bhajis, curries, chicken masalas and all manner of sauces that set your tongues on fire relieved by jugs of beer and lager. 

Oh and then there's the traditional Chinese fast food fixation, a feast of rice, egg fried rice, noodles, chicken chow mein and a vast variety of good, old fashioned food that gives you that wonderful feelgood factor. So folks. It's time to ring your Deliveroo outlet and gorge on your delectable diet of the kind of food that would be otherwise forbidden if you were training for the London Marathon or hoping to be chosen as late candidates and participants in next year's Olympic Games in Paris. Go on treat yourself. Of course you'll put on tons of substantial weight and you'll be full of self reproach but this is not the time to blame yourself for the one food alternative that always leave us with the broadest of smiles on our faces.