There are several reasons for this:
1. I am lazy
2. I only have a hot plate, a chopping board, a microwave and two square feet of countertop to prepare meals with at home
3. Fresh produce is expensive here in Maui
4. I work at a restaurant that provides a free employee meal with every shift
5. I am lazy
All of the reasons mentioned above does not stop me from borrowing cookbooks from the library, perusing recipes online and dreaming of fresh fruits and vegetables. However, I still end up getting most of my meals outside of the house.
Right now, one of my favorite places to get food is Bamboo Fresh, which I have mentioned previously in other posts. I can get a ridiculous amount of fresh, local and organic produce rolled into a delicious wrap for about $5 a pop. Since I go often--I am ashamed to write here how often is "often"--the owner has begun to tone down her sermons on the benefits of organic and healthful eating, and now she seasons my food with her Himalayan rock salt without going on and on about it as she did before. She's a lovely woman, and I appreciate her business, her food and her friendship. It's just nice that we no longer just talk about nutrition. I can be a fitness nut, but even I need to talk about other things.
Although I try to convince myself that I make healthy choices when dining, I don't always get an organic vegetarian wrap at Bamboo Fresh.
I also eat a lot at my restaurant. Not only do I get my employee meal for every shift I work, I get 50% off all menu items, and the menu for lunch and dinner is expansive and relatively inexpensive after my discount. Although we serve the freshest fish in town, most of our preparations are not really intended with a guest's health in mind. This is not unique to our restaurant. This is the typical M.O. of any restaurant. They want you to like your food, and most people simply cannot resist the delectable taste of meat and fish and vegetables lacquered in butter and oil. Of course, you can still order sensibly at our restaurant, or at any restaurant for that matter--assuming you have the will power.
Sometimes I do, but most times I do not.
Actually, will power does not have a whole lot to do with it. When I fall prey to less nutritious items on any menu, it's less to do with my will power than my whimsical powers of persuasion. The cheeseburger that I disregarded at first for being too fatty begins to look more and more appealing as I realize that the slice of cheese provides dairy that contains calcium, and I don't want to get osteoporosis, now do I? The vine-ripened tomatoes and shredded iceberg lettuce is a good dose of vegetables, and the pretzel bun the burger is served on could possibly be whole wheat--but why bother a server to double check? The cheeseburger is most definitely not the worst nutritious choice on the menu, so I'm ordering it...and possibly going for a run later in the afternoon to make myself feel better about a slightly dubious choice.
I realize that I could possibly rationalize myself into obesity.
And I do miss preparing my own food. Granted, I'm still lazy, but I've been known to whip up some tasty fare in one pot or pan in less than thirty minutes.
But with the hot plate situation at home, I feel less than inspired. Whenever I think of perching on one of my kitchen barstools and plucking my hot plate from above the cupboards, any desire I had to cook gets instantly squashed. Especially when my hot plate cannot decide what temperature it would like to remain. It either barely warms my food or burns everything into a blackened crisp.
Discouraged as I am with the hot plate, I decided that I need to have food at home to inspire more healthful eating and will myself to stay home and eat.
I went to Foodland, the grocery store a block from my house, this afternoon and purchased fresh fruit, sprouts, salad greens, hummus, tomatoes, whole wheat bread, eggs, slices of turkey, garlic and artichoke stuffed sausages and vegetables to steam in the microwave.
I'm not used to having so much food at my disposal. I made myself a mega-sandwich this afternoon with a side of fresh snapped peas, followed by one of the sausages.
I went to the movies shortly thereafter to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie (highly entertaining) and promptly ate a second sausage upon arriving home and have now just had a serving of fruit in the middle of typing this.
My wonderfully willful powers of persuasion is telling myself right now that really, I didn't eat that much food and at least the portion that I ate was all very healthy (minus those two sausages).
I'm sure my ravenous appetite is simply the result of having 24/7 access to food rather than relying on restaurants that are open and affordable at any given moment. I have every confidence that tomorrow my desire to eat every single thing I bought (including all 12 eggs) will subside, and that I will once again crave hot meals prepared especially for me by someone else. In a kitchen. At a restaurant.
I never said this was going to be easy, now did I?
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