There's a drug store in the community where I work, with an old-fashioned soda fountain that might soon have a new-fashioned menu.
The store's new owner is a self-professed health nut. That's why he's considering offering, along with the chili dogs and chili burgers (or maybe instead of them), some new concoctions that he says are sources of fuel, not fat. They're powdered, and you mix them with water or plant-based "milk" to make a smoothie.
I have no reason to doubt that these powder-and-liquid smoothies are indeed as nutritious as the store owner claims. And maybe I'll try one someday. But to be honest, they have little appeal to me.
I prefer to get my fuel from, you know, food.
I like to eat now as much as I liked to eat 125 pounds ago -- more, in fact.
And while it's been about 14 months since I last consumed a Culver's double Butterburger with cheddar and grilled onions (formerly my comfort food of choice), I've made all kinds of new food friends since I started rethinking the way I eat. Grilled salmon with lemon-pepper seasoning. Grilled chicken breast with mesquite or brown sugar-bourbon seasoning. Steamed veggies. A six-inch Subway sub (on 9-grain wheat bread) loaded down with onions and peppers and just a few jalapenos. Whole-grain rice. Whole-grain crackers. And, if I want a little chocolate, a 100-calorie chewy granola bar, an 80-calorie chocolate-raspberry yogurt or a 45-calorie ice cream bar.
Do I miss the Butterburger? Once in a while, yeah.
Do I miss pizza? Sort of. Once in a great, great while, I'll have a 6-inch frozen cheese pizza topped with shrimp and a little garlic. That's pretty close to 500 calories, which for me is a lot to consume at one sitting -- but it's only an occasional treat.
Going out to eat, especially when I'm traveling, takes some strategy. At a Mexican restaurant, it's always a fajita, eaten with a fork and without the tortillas. Fajitas have lots of veggies -- OK, they're cooked in oil, but it's an occasional treat. At a Chinese restaurant (or for delivery), I opt for hot-and-sour soup and veggie-heavy Szechuan beef.
At any restaurant, I will order nothing breaded, and no fried meat, fish or eggs. I go easy on the cheese and bread. And usually, I get two meals out of whatever I order -- one in the restaurant and one to eat later.
Is my diet perfect? No. But it's balanced. It includes healthful foods, like lean meat and veggies. It includes foods I enjoy. And it includes foods that are fuel, not ballast -- consumed when I'm hungry, not when I'm bored or blue.
Meanwhile, I wish the new drug store owner a lot of luck, and I hope his soda fountain smoothies sell at least as well as the more traditional (and ballast-like) offerings. Now, if I can get him to whip up a nice grilled salmon, or a chopped salad with raspberry-vinaigrette dressing, I might just pop by and belly up to the counter.
(And by the way: When I was hospitalized for my knee replacement surgery, I had some of the best food I'd ever had. UW Health at the American Center makes a marvelous, and wholesome, salmon dinner. This is not "hospital food" -- not a container of yellow Jello in sight!)
The store's new owner is a self-professed health nut. That's why he's considering offering, along with the chili dogs and chili burgers (or maybe instead of them), some new concoctions that he says are sources of fuel, not fat. They're powdered, and you mix them with water or plant-based "milk" to make a smoothie.
I have no reason to doubt that these powder-and-liquid smoothies are indeed as nutritious as the store owner claims. And maybe I'll try one someday. But to be honest, they have little appeal to me.
I prefer to get my fuel from, you know, food.
I like to eat now as much as I liked to eat 125 pounds ago -- more, in fact.
And while it's been about 14 months since I last consumed a Culver's double Butterburger with cheddar and grilled onions (formerly my comfort food of choice), I've made all kinds of new food friends since I started rethinking the way I eat. Grilled salmon with lemon-pepper seasoning. Grilled chicken breast with mesquite or brown sugar-bourbon seasoning. Steamed veggies. A six-inch Subway sub (on 9-grain wheat bread) loaded down with onions and peppers and just a few jalapenos. Whole-grain rice. Whole-grain crackers. And, if I want a little chocolate, a 100-calorie chewy granola bar, an 80-calorie chocolate-raspberry yogurt or a 45-calorie ice cream bar.
Do I miss the Butterburger? Once in a while, yeah.
Do I miss pizza? Sort of. Once in a great, great while, I'll have a 6-inch frozen cheese pizza topped with shrimp and a little garlic. That's pretty close to 500 calories, which for me is a lot to consume at one sitting -- but it's only an occasional treat.
Going out to eat, especially when I'm traveling, takes some strategy. At a Mexican restaurant, it's always a fajita, eaten with a fork and without the tortillas. Fajitas have lots of veggies -- OK, they're cooked in oil, but it's an occasional treat. At a Chinese restaurant (or for delivery), I opt for hot-and-sour soup and veggie-heavy Szechuan beef.
At any restaurant, I will order nothing breaded, and no fried meat, fish or eggs. I go easy on the cheese and bread. And usually, I get two meals out of whatever I order -- one in the restaurant and one to eat later.
Is my diet perfect? No. But it's balanced. It includes healthful foods, like lean meat and veggies. It includes foods I enjoy. And it includes foods that are fuel, not ballast -- consumed when I'm hungry, not when I'm bored or blue.
Meanwhile, I wish the new drug store owner a lot of luck, and I hope his soda fountain smoothies sell at least as well as the more traditional (and ballast-like) offerings. Now, if I can get him to whip up a nice grilled salmon, or a chopped salad with raspberry-vinaigrette dressing, I might just pop by and belly up to the counter.
(And by the way: When I was hospitalized for my knee replacement surgery, I had some of the best food I'd ever had. UW Health at the American Center makes a marvelous, and wholesome, salmon dinner. This is not "hospital food" -- not a container of yellow Jello in sight!)
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