After all my blathering yesterday about not eating at fast food and
chain restaurants, guess where we went to dinner last night? No, not a
fast food place. Fast food is evil. I thought we established that, but
in case we didn't, let me be clear: fast food is deep-fried Satan.
No, we ate at a chain, and not only did we eat at a chain, we ate at a dangerous chain: a buffet.
Buffets are minefields for anyone who is trying to eat nutritious,
healthy foods and appropriate quantities. By nature, they are the worst
possible environment. You pay one price --- usually fairly cheap ---
and have unlimited access to a vast array of tempting foods, much of
which is of extremely questionable nutritional content. It's so easy to
eat too much, and too much of exactly the wrong thing. You can even be
fooled by salad bars, where the add-ons add so many calories, fat, and
carbs that your so-called healthy salad becomes a diet disaster.
It takes a lot of self-control to eat well at a buffet. And yet, it is possible.
We went to
Fresh Choice, which is probably the only chain buffet I
would ever actually recommend. And I do recommend it, with the caveat
that if impulse and portion control are big issues for you, you're
better off waiting until you've had a chance to do some work on those
areas. Here's what I like about Fresh Choice: first of all, the name is
accurate. The produce is extremely fresh, beautifully presented, and
there are many healthy choices (alongside some not-so-healthy ones).
When you enter, you are greeted by the giant salad bar, which unlike
many is chock-full of excellent fresh veggies and plenty of non-meat
protein choices, including tofu and several kinds of beans. A vegan
would do well here. Sure, there are the usual pasta, potato, and
chicken salads, and nutritionally "expensive" add-ons like croutons and
fatty dressings, but remember what I said about impulse control?
Further down the line, there are several soup choices, usually a couple
of which are healthy, vegetarian, and broth-based rather than
cream-based. Last night's visit featured a lentil soup and a
tomato-black eyed pea, both under 200 calories per serving. Then there
are the pasta, pizza, potato, and bread bars, which you may visit at
your own risk.
Here's the other thing I really like about Fresh Choice: they put the
calorie per serving count on EVERYTHING. Right there on the label, so
you cannot fool yourself about what you're eating. Frankly, as I have
discovered on my Starbuck's runs in New York City (where by law chains
have to display calorie content on the menu), having the calories stare
you in the face is a great deterrent. Do I really want 400 calories in
a scone for a midday snack? No, I do not.
Armed with this knowledge and a firm limit in my mind about how much
from the bread and dessert bars might make it onto my plate, I can
navigate Fresh Choice fairly successfully. The trick is to pile your
salad plate high with the "free" veggies --- all those great low-cal,
high-nutrient items --- and just have a tiny taste, if you must, of the
prepared salads. Stick to one of the lower-cal soups, or take half a
serving. If you fill up on these healthy items first, you can then go
back and sample --- sample, mind you --- the other goodies with a clear
conscience and no fear of the next weigh-in.
Incidentally, the trick of filling up on lower-calorie items works at
home, too. Always start with the veggies. Once you're not very hungry
any more, a small amount of the other temptations will taste just as
good as a large plateful. It'll taste even better the next day when you
get on the scale.
It's all about being a good consumer --- pun intended. And speaking of
which, over on Tara Parker Pope's Well Blog at the New York Times,
there is a very interesting
article about suggested makeovers for food
labels. Those labels can be very confusing, and the Center for Science
and Public Interest
(never heard of 'em, but I sure like this idea!) would like to make
them less so. In the comments, one reader suggested the addition of a
pie chart to show nutritional content at a glance. I think these are
great ideas, but I bet the USDA* won't employ them any time soon. The
food lobbyists would go nuts.
*Edited to add: orginally I mistakenly typed "FDA", but it's the USDA that governs the nutritional labels and offers that iffy pyramid. I prefer Dr. Walter Willet's model.
It's quite a maze out there, figuring out what is and isn't really
healthy. I promised to write about my personal guidelines for choosing
food, and as I've been thinking about it, I realize it's not very
cut-and-dried. It's hard to quantify. But I'll give it a shot.
First of all, my basic criteria: it has to taste good. There is
absolutely no point in eating food that isn't delicious. One of the
things I have learned over the past few years is that I am ABLE and
ALLOWED to remove food from my plate, or not eat it, if it's not good.
I did this last night at Fresh Choice. I had taken a small taste of
some creamy pasta salad and when it wasn't as good as it looked, I took
it off my plate. It may have only been 25 calories worth of food, but
that's 25 calories I could save, or spend on something that tasted
amazing. And like pennies, those calories do add up.
Whenever possible, I want it to be organic, fresh, and locally
produced. Now, organic can be tricky. Just because something says it's
organic doesn't mean it's healthy. You have to know the nutritional
content and you have to have some idea about the source. Also, there
are certain types of produce that should always be purchased organic,
because of the amount and types of poisons used to farm them, and
others that are fine to eat conventional.
I think that food is healthiest when it is pretty close to its natural form. I'm not willing to go as far as the raw foodists, though I enjoy many raw foods; but I believe in avoiding most processed foods, especially anything with artificial stuff added, or lots of high fructose corn syrup. Now, the big industrial food producers would like you to believe that these things are just fine enjoyed "in moderation", and they probably are, but one of the problems with processed food is that it is designed to make it very difficult for you to enjoy in moderation! Do a little reading about the addictive combination of fat, salt, and sugar, and how it encourages you to eat more. Then check out the label on your favorite bag of chips, candy bar, or can of soup.It's no coincidence.
I also prefer to eat food fresh as opposed to canned or frozen, although I do use both. Canned and frozen food from good sources are lightly processed and thanks to improved processing, these days retain a lot of their nutritional value. They can also be more convenient than fresh; but fresh will always be optimal. I also like locally produced stuff because, let's face it, I'm kind of a neo-hippie and I believe all that stuff about being good to the earth and supporting local farmers and not using more fossil fuel or polluting more than necessary by importing food from far away. Also, most of it time, food that is fresh, local, and in season just tastes better.
Finally, when I'm planning meals, I make it a point to try to eat as low fat, low sugar, and low carb as I can get away with and still enjoy my food. Here's where it gets little complicated to quantify. There aren't any official definitions of "low sugar" or "low carb". Low fat is defined as less than 3g of fat per serving.
Here's what I do: I don't buy butter or margarine, unless I am making a specific (and usually special event) recipe that calls for it. I use a canola or olive spray, or a small amount of one of these oils, to grease pans or for recipes that simply must have oil. I often skip salad dressing --- I find that if I am putting nuts, avocado, olives, or a little bleu cheese, along with some juicy fruit like pears or clementines on a salad, that's enough fat and flavor that dressing isn't needed. Or I make a fat-free dressing. I substitute pureed banana or apple in baking instead of using fat. I use fats like cheese primarily as a condiment --- a little sprinkle to give some flavor. I buy fat-free or low-fat versions of any dairy products, which I use sparingly at any rate.
I don't drink much fruit juice or eat anything that contains sugar, except as a special treat. I bake with agave syrup, which is lower on the glycemic index and also sweeter, so less is required. I do use honey and maple syrup in small amounts.
Carbs are a little tougher to handle; but generally speaking, I try to get most of my carbs from fruit and other unprocessed sources. I don't eat a lot of rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes. This is a holdover from when I was diabetic; they just spiked my blood sugar too much and it wasn't worth it for the tiny amount I could have. I save my carbs for dessert! Or a nice glass of wine!
You may find the idea of doing all this overwhelming, but remember that this is an evolution that took place over a long period of time, and also that I do not deprive myself of anything I want to eat. I simply choose when and how much I'll have, and make sure that if I'm eating one thing that is calorie, fat, sugar, or carb-dense, that the rest of my food that day is on the lighter side. I eat what I eat now because I like it and it tastes good to me, as well as being healthy.
Long story short: if you want to be healthy, you and no other must take ownership. You have to educate yourself about nutrition and fitness and figure out what works for you, and that means delving deeper than what commercial sources (by definition untrustyworthy insofar as they have their own best interests at heart rather than yours) tell you. Health and fitness are anything but one size fits all.