Listen, I understand that times are tight, and many families are hit with layoffs and worries about how much longer their jobs will be there. I’m afraid the belt-tightening with the family budget may end up with more belts getting loosened if American families flock to fast-food joints in search of a cheap burger.

Take Jack in the Box’s Junior Bacon Cheeseburger—please. Now selling for a buck, the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger was ranked the “most unhealthful” value item among the offerings of fast-food chains, according to the non-profit Cancer Project in Washington, D.C.

That’s saying something because I couldn’t find a fast-food burger that I’d feel comfortable eating. The Junior Bacon Cheeseburger topped the rankings because of its “hefty helpings of cheese and mayo-onion sauce,” said a Cancer Project dietician.

I don’t eat bacon, so you wouldn’t catch me eating this burger, even if Jack in the Box was giving them away. Even the Cancer Project dietician noted that bacon is a processed meat associated with increased colorectal cancer risk. At 23 grams of fat, no thank you.

Of course, you won’t hear nary a word about fat grams from the fast food chains who tout the “great value” of their cheap eats. McDonald’s new $1 McDouble sandwich and Taco Bell’s 89-cent Cheesy Double Beef Burritos are other examples to drive customers into stores. The Taco Bell burrito was a close second to the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger in the rankings because it contains processed meat and nacho cheese sauce, which is about as synthetic a food as you can get out there.

Apparently, the popularity of these inexpensive items has risen as the economy has deteriorated in the last few months. Please, as you’re making choices on what to grab for lunch or feed the family at dinner time, please don’t succumb to the “value” hype.

I still insist that you can eat wonderful whole, organic foods for the same cost as taking the family out to McDonald’s. Sure, you’ll have to prepare the meal yourself, but what an investment you’re making in your health and in your children’s health.

Here’s an example of a simple meal that doesn’t cost much and takes five minutes to prepare. Nicki and I like to make EZ Pizza by taking sprouted grain English muffins and splitting them open and spooning some pasta sauce on them. Then you sprinkle on Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese, thinly sliced green onions, and Herbamare. You bake them in an oven or toaster oven, add a salad, and then you’re good to go for way less than a few bucks on an unhealthy fast food meal.