In the store, I resolved to stick to the outer perimeter, which is what they always tell you to do to avoid the processed foods. But I think someone at HyVee Central came up with a very clever way around this. I'll elicidate momentarily. So the first thing I see is a bank of fruits and vegetables. I considered an apple or a pear, but caught a row of convenience packs out of the corner of my eye. I wanted berries to optimize the healthiness, so I picked out a tub of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and big chunks of kiwi. Seemed like a good start.
next, I was off to find the dairy section. I'm back on the low-carb train and avoided the bakery like the plague. I was looking for serving-sized tubs of cottage cheese (which I did not find! Aargh!) and found myself distracted by the sliced cheese. I shrugged and grabbed some sliced fontina. It turns out Fontina is a whole milk, soft cheese- I think I knew this but simply forgot- and this particular Fontina tasted a little too funky even for me. Total waste!
Heading back toward the checkout, I see this intriguing wall of goodies near the center of the store. It was a sort of convenience store within the store, but of organic foods. Wow! I thought. What a way to get you into the middle of the store. I spent way too long consider the various options and finally settled on something called "Australian-style Yogurt." Australian? And the flavor, Orange -passion fruit, was too tempting.
Conveniently next to the organic convenience foods were all the chips and soda and crackers they hoped you'd go for. I guess. I did want to grab some almonds, which takes you right into the belly of the beast. I grabbed some and wanted a bit of variety, maybe a ry-crisp type thing or... oh my god. Ritz crackers has this new cheese cracker sandwich thing that has bacon flavoring. Damnit, I thought I would make all good choices, but I could not resist that little bit of decadence. I still curse them under my breath as I write this entry.
I drove to work and settled into my office chair. By about 9:30 my stomach was rumbling, so I started as healthily with possible, trying to stave off hunger with the fruit. It wasn't in the best of shape, but it was not spoiled either. Just roughed up. the real problem was with the kiwi, which bummed me out because I was looking forward to some. Firstly, it was too green. Secondly, it was too mushy to taste that green. Thirdly, the chunks were enormous. If you are trying to idly snack on a two-inch-thick section of kiwi, it becomes immediately obvious just how tough the inner core is. Pretty tough! Almost inedible. So that was a bit of a wash. The blueberries were probably the highlight.
Well, acidic fruit on top of nothing makes me feel even hungrier, in a way, so I soon had to dive into the Ritz cracker sandwiches. I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed the first one. But the second one, which I had around 11:30, sat in my stomach like a lead balloon. Not enough fiber to make me feel full, heavy enough to make me regret it. Not a good move at all!
In between crackers, around 10:30, I decided to give the yogurt a try. After all, it was sitting in the igloo bag with no freezy pack. It was now or never. I tried it. I was underwhelmed. I detect no difference between garden-variety yogurt and Australian yogurt. Maybe a tad runnier, which puts it more in the Gogurt category. Plus, the flavoring could have been a lot more purely fruit-y and less just more sweetness. Two big thumbs down for the Wallaby Yogurt.
Lunch was a saving grace. As it's intersession for Olivia, Abbey had taken the day off to be with her. They very thoughtfully packed a picnic lunch. I wish we were back there now, watching the fluffy clouds float by the Capitol while we laid back on the blanket and digested. But I am back in my office. Sigh. The menu consisted of Abbey's deliciously onion-y egg salad on low-glycemic Ezekiel Bread (the sesame variety, my fave) and- funnily enough- fruit salad, which was far superior to my HyVee salad, with puckery green grapes, sweet cantalopes, mild but pleasing slivers of cherry, crisp apple chunks and strawberry halves. This is probably the healthiest menu I've had all week!
Almonds have been on my work snack list for a long time. They are satisfying, tasty, and, of course, healthy, as long as you don't overdo it. A couple around the 2:30 mark felt just about right. All the while I had been swilling water to counteract the salinity of the crackers and the almonds (and the bit of nasty cheese I had), and I was uplifted by an iced blend of Irish Breakfast black tea and mint Abbey thoughtfully provided for our picnic lunch.
now, I have a dilemma. I am burned out on fruit. The Ritz crackers make me feel vaguely ill- not to mention the novelty of bacon-flavored cheese expired after the first couple of bites of the first cracker. Plus, I really didn't want to make it THREE bacony cheese cracker sandwiches for today (they are three inches long and two inches wide!). What might be nice is a green salad, or some pieces of chicken or beef, or some cottage cheese, damnit. Things to keep in mind for next week. So, let me see here. If I did have a little thai beef salad or chicken stir fry or something, that would equal four flavors total: fruity, sweet, acidy; creamy, sweet, fruity; savory, crunchy, earthy; and savory, spicy, crunchy and soft mixed. That's a lot of flavors- but it seems like a good template for a healthy day of snacking.
I've learned something important: good snacking starts at home. A quick trip to the grocery store can work in a pinch, if you stick to low- or un-processed foods. But it's too easy to let someone else make food for you, and the quality suffers. Next time the crackers will be history, and I'll attend my 2:30 appointment with hunger armed with a meaty green salad of my own making.
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