Let's Talk!

This week, I was in Trader Joe's (so dangerous!) and before managing to not put pumpkin bagels in my cart (hear, hear! small victories are still victories,) I found myself stopping to think in the dairy section. I know, complete nutritonal nerd moment.

Being a health-conscious consumer today has shifted into who has the most "pins" on Pinterest, and how many skinny six-packs in bikinis we see on our Instagram feed (also known as "fitspo.") Yes, of course -- how many calories you consume and what quality of foods you choose to eat are very important. Having a sense of motivation is important. Please know that I agree with these conclusions. What's sad about this, though, is that we get caught up in the numbers. As someone who works in finance, I know first-hand that it isn't always the number that matters by itself -- but rather -- what that number means. So when you have X amount of calories to eat in a day -- that number matters -- but what you need to look at is what's behind that number -- what makes up that number. There's a huge difference in eating 1200 calories of french fries, and eating 1200 calories of chicken breast, asparagus, an egg white omelette, and some roasted tilapia with brown rice for dinner. Even better -- eating 1500 calories of what I just listed, and getting in a 300 calorie workout after work (so your calorie total would still equal 1200.) Does that make sense?

In the dairy aisle (where this epiphany placed itself in my head,) I was shopping for half & half. Ever since starting my health journey -- I've heard that eating "clean" includes drinking water (very important, I agree,) but if you must "indulge," you can drink unsweetened tea or black coffee. Umm, what? That's not indulging. Ever since starting a full-time job after college (quite frankly, even before that -- when I was a Wall Street intern) I've learned that not only am I more productive in the morning with coffee, but I really love the taste of it (it's so delicious, no?) I have to admit, its become a habit, but I like it. And I'm proud of the fact that I'm not one of those people that have to have a coffee at 2:30 pm too -- because by then -- I've started well into my daily 8 glasses of water and am full of energy. That morning coffee (note: singular) makes me proud that I can indulge in moderation, and yes, I add cream and sugar (Amen.) Anyways, instead of using the regular half & half they have on tap at work (literally on tap -- you pull the lever and watch it pour into your cup, not knowing how much you are actually drinking) -- I bring my own fat free half and half -- store it in the fridge, and put it in the coffee I buy when I return to my floor. Fat-free half & half has about 20 calories per 2 tablespoons, while regular has double that. Its only a 20 calorie savings, but if I'm going to have "my coffee," that sacrifice isn't much to bear.

Back to the story. I was reaching for the fat-free as usual -- and for some reason, I thought to look at the back label to make sure this brand at Trader Joe's was still the same 20 calories. It was -- but something else caught my eye -- the long ingredient list! What the hell is corn syrup doing in there? And dipotassium -- what? That doesn't even sound attractive -- and in cream? HUH?

 

Then I dared to look at the regular half & half -- surely I thought that if the "healthy" version had so many additives and just plain unnatural things in it (since I'm a baker, I knew that half & half literally was made from half milk, and half cream, hence the name.....) then the regular version MUST have crap in it too -- after all, thats what "extra" calories were made of.... right?

Well -- to my surprise:

As a well-informed person that is trying to eat better for yourself, its really important to know what you are eating, instead of just how much. Milk & Cream is what Half & Half is SUPPOSED to be! And those are ingredients that don't sound like a chem lab! That is what you want!!!

Let's just say -- my mind and my body feel alot better with the regular. My coffee has never tasted better. That "extra" twenty calories was made of the real stuff -- and that's better than cutting corners and eating a "fake number" any day -- whether in finance or in life.

Sometimes, it is true -- when it comes to ingredients -- less is more.

xoxo n