Bellying up to the Bar
I didn't bring my lunch today, and I didn't feel like going out atnoon, so this left my mid-day meal to the whims and fancies of ourbuilding's cafeteria. Now, please bear in mind that there's nothingwrong with our building's cafeteria, it's just that no matter what's onthe menu for the day or how many heart-friendly meals they offer, Iwalk through the door, smell what's on the grill and feel powerless toorder anything other than a cheeseburger and fries. (Considering howmuch time I've spent staring at Carroll Krieff as I do my MalibuPilates workout, I'm very much trying to kick thisimpulse-cheeseburger-buying habit. I've also been avoiding checking themail so I won't be tempted to go for my 4:00 peanut M&M's either.My life is hard.)
After checking around and seeing the aforementioned cheeseburgers,some roasted meat saturated in good-smelling juices and cheesypotatoes, I felt that my safest bet in light of my new goals was thesalad bar.
Now, you see, I'm not good with salad bars. And it's not about theprevalence of leafy, raw, green things that are actually healthy. Thething is, I have a problem with buffets.
The moment there's a large array of food with no establishedregulations on quantity of combination, I lose all sense of reality,portion size and taste. I am the proverbial kid in the candy store.Suddenly, I want anything and everything, and I completely disregardcommon sense, my own health and well-being and what I've learned inyears of dining experience.
Example: There was a very popular lunch buffet in the basement of myoffice building in D.C. I only went there once because when I did, Icame back with a to-go box full of baked ziti, egg rolls, hash browncasserole and roast beef with horseradish sauce. Sure, all of thesethings are wonderful. But, they're also all wonderful on their ownand as the centerpiece of a meal (except for the egg rolls, but go withme in that Chinese and Italian cuisines are not to be enjoyed at thesame sitting). These items are not meant to be consumed at once. Trustme. My taste buds revolted. My stomach revolted. And I'm pretty sure Ididn't do my arteries any favors either. Plus, I spent $9.00 becauseyou paid by the ounce. Nine dollars at a lunch buffet?!?! Oh, theshame.
I also cannot order anything that comes with the salad bar atJason's Deli. It's like being outside of my body and watching someother poor, misguided soul eat her weight in mini-muffins and softserve ice cream long before her sandwich ever hits the table.
Even today, at our cafeteria's salad bar, I had to fight hard tokeep myself from loading cherry tomatoes, red onion, broccoli,mushrooms, carrots, cheese, hard-boiled egg, chicken, craisins,croutons, goldfish, bacon bits, sunflower seeds, radishes and a littlecornbread (from the soup selections) onto my soon-to-be-drenched-in-three-kinds-of-vinaigrette salad. Because it's there, Ithink I have to have it, and therein lies the problem.
Whether it was the added decorum that comes with being in my place of business or the lingering effects of other incidents,I'm proud to say that I restrained myself at the salad bar today. And,in my world, any day I show the slightest restraint is a good day.