Can We Talk 2

Too Many Food Choices

         We all love buffets. Especially "all you can eat buffets". You might not want to be piggish at a wedding buffet or in someone's home, but at a restaurant, many people feel they need to get their money's worth. And we tend to be wasteful as well as overeat. Something looks good, but we don't like it after all, so after a bite or two, it's left on our plates. In our minds, we didn't eat that, so we get to try something else on the next trip to the service line. Oh, just a little of this, a taste or two of that. We tend to get one whole day's calories in one meal, even before dessert.

         Potluck suppers are just as bad. You go to a club or church dinner, and what do you see, but a lot of different comfort foods! There will be store bought things slipped in, but most will be handmade. Potato salads, macaroni and cheese, baked beans with ground hamburger, various vegetables, casseroles, fruit salads, and pies. The thinking there is "I get to try somebody else's cooking." So you take a few spoonsful of almost everything. And you might hurt someone's feelings if their dish is not disappearing. You couldn't hurt a friend's feelings. You have to take a little. And it's worse than in a restaurant because you don't want the cook or baker to see you leaving their dish on your plate or trying to dump it discreetly in the trash.

         Learning self-control at buffets and potlucks is very difficult. A half hour on a treadmill does not burn off the calories of one piece of pie. It takes several days to get back on track and do damage control. For me, I try to limit portions, but I still succumb to choices. I hate cucumbers and mint. Almost everything else I will tackle if given the option. Meat is not a big temptation for me, especially if there are plenty of vegetables and fruits and starchy things. And we tend to take healthy vegetables and add fats and starches or cheese to them to take to these potlucks.

         I am currently trying to recover from such a potluck before I go to a brunch on Saturday. I know that a friend will be bringing eggs Newburg. We'll also be having Mimosas, monkey bread (sweet and sticky), fruit, and many other things, since most of the guests are experienced cooks. Oh, well, amp up the exercise and skip lunch. I'll waddle through.