(This entry was originally written as a comment in someone else’s blog. This may explain stylistic inconsistencies as I try to clean it up, stretch it out and generally make it more palatable than the food it describes)

The following statement will shock and surprise no-one:

Cheap restaurant food is extremely greasy.

Seriously, if you want to eat out for less than $20 per entree here in the US, you’re going to get greasy, greasy food. It doesn’t matter if it’s Mexican, Chinese, pizza or the ubiquitous McClones – you want to eat healthy, you’ll have to shell out.
I’m trying to think of equivalent cheap-eat places in Israel. While some are fatty and greasy enough to satisify any American fast-food devotee, Hummus by itself is less of an instant cardiac case and fresh vegetables are much prevalent even in the cheapest eateries.

Another thing – I heard a radio commercial a few days ago urging housewives to make sure their family eats 3 servings of dairy a day – milk, cheese and cream. Even if we ignore the 50’s-ish Lady’s Home Journal tone, we’re talking about urging people to add even more milkfat to their already saturated diet. This is prevalent in most places I’ve eaten – if all else fails, smother it in cheese. If really desperate, use two different cheeses.
You can say what you want about the importance of keeping Kosher but at least it prevented the cheese-smother from invading the Israeli fast-food mindset.