Drew was kind to invite me to share a meal with him at his college dining hall, Gracie's. The last time we had eaten there, he was exploring whether to apply at RIT. Now, he confesses, in his meal plan he has to use up 3 meals before the end of the day or he will lose them. I am happy to tromp up the ramp to the cashier and explore the delightful cuisine of college prep. He discovers that he cannot give his meal to me, but that he is allotted 3 comp meals per month, and he can use one of them. So I get to eat there after all.
I wander from food bar to food bar, seeing what is on the menu for the day. Lots of fried foods, lots of "ethnic" cuisine (Mexican, Italian, Chinese). The usual cereal, pudding, ice cream, soda stuff. Hum. Drew has already selected his meal components, and I scramble to find something both appealing and digestible so I can join him at table. Eating never used to be like this. You were handed a balanced meal (in our home, it was meat, potatoes, vegetable, salad and bread). If you didn't happen to be crazy about the menu, tough luck. You ate it anyway because it was good for you, it was healthy (or so we thought at the time), and one should be exposed to a wide variety of tastes and types of food - aka not be a picky fussy eater.
Now you select what your taste buds tell you to want. It matters not if you get a balanced meal with the appropriate components and correct combinations. Just whether you are happy with the selection. I have found this approach ends up with a general malaise about eating and not very healthy choices. When you eat from desire instead of necessity, it is easy to go astray. We always crave what is least healthy unless we have very strongly ingrained habits.
So there I was sitting across the table from Drew, poking at an odd assortment of food (he kept putting fries on my plate alongside the cottage cheese) and wanting to have a conversation with him. But he was watching three TV screens, all set on different channels. He scarfed down his food, went back for more, added in a second glass of chocolate milk (he claims it tastes like ice cream), all the while patiently answering with one word sentences my attempts at engaging him in conversation. He was very solicitous of my well being.
I thought back to meals when I was younger, everyone sitting around the table, choking on rutabagas with liver and trying not to talk all at once. There was no TV, no phone (Drew's cell went off a number of times while we were eating), and no one left the table until everyone was finished. Pretty drastic change. I wonder what Drew will do when he is married and has children of his own. Will it be crazy or calm? Connected or disconnected? He jokes about the freshmen 15 - pounds they gain. I am more concerned about body function and strength. Who can I find to encourage him to make wise choices here? I shall have to find some sports person or comic book character who believes in eating healthy. Meanwhile, I have my own issues to address!
I wander from food bar to food bar, seeing what is on the menu for the day. Lots of fried foods, lots of "ethnic" cuisine (Mexican, Italian, Chinese). The usual cereal, pudding, ice cream, soda stuff. Hum. Drew has already selected his meal components, and I scramble to find something both appealing and digestible so I can join him at table. Eating never used to be like this. You were handed a balanced meal (in our home, it was meat, potatoes, vegetable, salad and bread). If you didn't happen to be crazy about the menu, tough luck. You ate it anyway because it was good for you, it was healthy (or so we thought at the time), and one should be exposed to a wide variety of tastes and types of food - aka not be a picky fussy eater.
Now you select what your taste buds tell you to want. It matters not if you get a balanced meal with the appropriate components and correct combinations. Just whether you are happy with the selection. I have found this approach ends up with a general malaise about eating and not very healthy choices. When you eat from desire instead of necessity, it is easy to go astray. We always crave what is least healthy unless we have very strongly ingrained habits.
So there I was sitting across the table from Drew, poking at an odd assortment of food (he kept putting fries on my plate alongside the cottage cheese) and wanting to have a conversation with him. But he was watching three TV screens, all set on different channels. He scarfed down his food, went back for more, added in a second glass of chocolate milk (he claims it tastes like ice cream), all the while patiently answering with one word sentences my attempts at engaging him in conversation. He was very solicitous of my well being.
I thought back to meals when I was younger, everyone sitting around the table, choking on rutabagas with liver and trying not to talk all at once. There was no TV, no phone (Drew's cell went off a number of times while we were eating), and no one left the table until everyone was finished. Pretty drastic change. I wonder what Drew will do when he is married and has children of his own. Will it be crazy or calm? Connected or disconnected? He jokes about the freshmen 15 - pounds they gain. I am more concerned about body function and strength. Who can I find to encourage him to make wise choices here? I shall have to find some sports person or comic book character who believes in eating healthy. Meanwhile, I have my own issues to address!
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