Dining Out On A Stupid Diet

So. Grumpy.

Human beings are fantastic at adapting to their surroundings. I mean, just look at all those people who manage to live on Manhattan and actually enjoy it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great city. But even when I considered myself a city person the population density would have driven me bonkers.

In my heart of hearts I know that this transition period will pass. I also know that I don’t have to be cutting back nearly as much as I did on day one of this new stupid diet. But I do want to kick start the process and get my body moving in the right direction.

That’s all fine and good. But I’ve got plans. Big plans. Take today, for example. I’ve got both a lunch and a dinner out. Lunch should be fine because it’s at a relatively healthful place downtown. Dinner is going to be harder, because I promised the kids McDonalds.

Even eating at places that offer relative healthful choices is going to be a challenge. Part of that is portion sizes. The other part is that it’s going to be hard to ask for things without the cheese.

And when I’m going out, I don’t want to hobble the experience. Instead, I’m going to try and look for the most healthful option. Unless, of course, I’m going out for a treat. Then I’m going to eat the wings, and the pizza, and the mozzarella sticks. It’s just that I won’t eat as much.

That’s going to mean wasting some amount of food, and I’m just going to have to find a way to live with that.

The McDonald’s situation is another matter entirely.

I’m well aware that I made a deal with the devils, also known as my children. But Wednesday nights are challenging, because my son has a late afternoon activity out in Schenectady. By the end, he’s hungry And we don’t have time to make it home, prepare a sensible dinner, and get everyone to bed so they are well rested for school the next day.

So fast food it is. One night a week isn’t going to kill us. And so we don’t fight, or argue, or feel disappointed about where we eat, the kids and I have negotiated a six restaurant rotation. See if you can guess which spots are mine and which spots are the kids: Five Guys, Taco Bell, Chiptole, Blaze Pizza, I Love NY Pizza, McDonald’s.

The golden arches was a compromise I made to get a second pizza stop in the rotation. Which you wouldn’t imagine should be an issue. But one of the kids isn’t feeling pizza these days.

Anyhow, the good news is that McDonalds now has breakfast all day. And they have oatmeal. Granted, their oatmeal comes with a lot of sugar in it, both in the form of brown sugar and sweetened dried fruit. However, they’ll prepare it for you however you like. You just need to know to ask for it without the raisins, brown sugar, and cream.

I suspect it won’t be good. But if it keeps me away from pre-boxed salad, deep fried things, and other highly processed foods, I can use my treat meals for things I’m going to truly enjoy. You know, like Saturday’s Tour de Buffalo Wing – Schenectady Edition.

That’s still very much on. I’ve had a few people already tell me they are in. It’s not too late to sign up for the event. And I have to tell you, with that event on the horizon, I can live with the small daily depravations.

But it doesn’t make me any less grumpy about the whole thing.