Good Morning! I don't know about you, but I just cannot believe that it is Thursday already! This week has just slipped right by me.
The traffic was merciful this morning and so I was able to stop by Starbucks for an early week treat. Typically, I do Fridays, but my week has been nutty enough already. So, I went in this morning to order my "usual" (decaf tall vanilla mocha) and stood against the wall waiting with everyone else. I am typically in and out of there and don't pay much attention to the menu boards or any other advertisements, but today I noticed a few things:
1. THE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE IS BACK YA'LL! I really don't know why I get so excited about posting that since I have never even tried it! I guess it is because so many of my friends love it. I just love making them happy. Of course, to me, it is just another acknowledgement that Fall has arrived.
2. STARBUCKS HAS SUGGESTED FOOD PAIRINGS NOW. I actually think this is pretty neat. Similar in concept to pairing food and wine, Starbucks has issued suggestions of food pairings for their coffees. If you are hosting anything, this is great. Their website even provides recipes. You know how much I LOVE food! I wonder what goes well with french toast.
3. THE WORLD IS MOVING IN A HEALTHY DIRECTION! Ok, so as I am waiting for my drink I notice that now Starbucks defaults to 2% milk! My first reaction was complete horror! I hate to cut the fat out of anything. It always meant sacrificing flavor. I actually pouted for a minute because I thought my coffee would maybe even taste different. Much to my surprise, it didn't! It was simply heavenly, like always.
I notice that I give the impression that I don't worry about my health at all. This isn't the case. Of course, I must give my husband credit for the pushing. He's always been the driving force of health in our home. When we first got together, he wanted the 2% and I wanted whole. Pretty soon, I adjusted. There have been so many things like that over the years with the most recent being the war of bread. My husband prefers a whole grain variety while I like the white varieties (french, sourdough or just plain white loaf). Most of the time, I just get what he likes, but sometimes, we have two loaves of bread. Harris Teeter has very cute mini loaves that work very well. On my end, I like to push mixed green salad instead of just iceberg. Iceberg is not only disgusting (maybe that is too strong), but has zippy nutritional value. Also, I like to push fish regularly. I'm very careful on this one. My husband loves to watch fish swim in a tank, but he's not the first one in line with a plate.
I think it is wonderful that so many restaurants are offering healthier alternatives (i.e. fruit instead of fries, juices instead of soda, apples instead of chips, etc.). I won't always take them up on it, but it is good to know I have the option. Truly, I think a lot of it is just a matter of habit.
6 comments:
I've been trying so hard lately to eat healthy too, especially now with Tib's biggest loser contest. I love going to restaurants that have the calories and fat on the menu. Makes it easy for me!
My starbucks confession: to keep it as cheap as possible, I order a Grande drip with room for cream. I take it to the condiments table and add the milk, sweetener, and then...I unscrew the top of the chocolate powder shaker and put two tablespoons worth of it in my cup and stir it up! Volla! It is nearly like a mocha, but a third of the cost :)
Isn't it sad that eating the healthiest is also the most expensive? This spring, I spent four hundred dollars on healthy food in only like 6 weeks. Crazy. So now I take what I can get from the farmers market etc...
Did you see the thing on CNN.com about BK's new kids' meals coming out next spring (I think)? It's all about a more healthful kids' meal. Pretty cool.
Hannah was our health-o-meter, always asking if something was good for you or junkfood. Too funny for one so young. She first became concerned when she was about three. of course, by the time she was five, she wanted those Oreos and "breakfast bars" as much as the rest of us. :oP
So I shouldn't tell you that we only drink skim. Brian hates it, but he only drinks it maybe, once a week, if that. You sound great. Hope all is well. I want a belly pic.
Out of guilt I always buy the real whole grain/whole wheat bread. I even read the label and if there is any part of "enriched" in the first ingredient I won't buy it. I did treat myself to squishy white bread during Ella's pregnancy, though!
As for milk, we were a strict skim family until Ella started drinking milk recently. I forgot how good whole milk tastes! I am buying 2% for Ella and me for cereal and cooking and Bob still will only drink skim.
Oh, and iceberg lettuce is so disappointing. It is pretty much all water- I agree, the greener the better!
I used to be like Marc about fish but Bob has prodded me out of my food safety zones so I will eat several varieties now. I won't do fish if there are bones to pick around, though. Blech.
I LOVE the autumn drink choices at Starbucks. The hot caramel cider is absolutely to die for and I am heading out tomorrow to get a cup. Ahhh, SO GOOD (and so bad for you, lol!).
I am all about the healthy alternatives - on every day but Saturday. Then I want the good stuff! All kidding aside, I really do like it. It helps my kids make more nutritional choices too. We try anyway b/c of Ethan and the diabetes but this just gives us more of a reason. On the rare occasion my kids get Mickey D's they usually choose the apples over the fries anyway :)
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