Damn you, healthy eating!

Have you ever noticed that healthy foods take longer to eat? I mean, it takes one much longer to eat a salad than an order of fries. Theres a lot of extra chewing, to be sure, but there's also extra time required to spear all the bits with one's fork.

So anyway, I have a dilemma. I get a half hour for dinner. If I bring food that needs to be heated, it takes between two and fifteen minutes (depending on whether I had time to thaw said food) to be at an edible temperature. If I bring raw food, there's all that extra chewing. At any rate, I almost always need longer than 30 minutes, just to get my nutrition. On the other hand if I cut all the corners and walk across to the SUB and buy a slice of pizza I have time to eat it, but I get about half my daily intake of calories from the cheesy, greasy fast fix. I am beginning to see why I have weight problems.

The good news is I am getting smarter. I have started packing my dinner at the same time I make breakfast, that way anything that needs to thaw will likely be almost ready by the time 5:30 rolls around. Since I know it takes me a while to eat salad, I'll pack a cup of frozen vegetables instead. If I know I am likely going to wait for my meal to heat, I will pack an appetizer snack (maybe a bit of cheese and some fruit) and skip the extra veggies.

Ultimately, I am glad I have to leave the building and walk across the street to get to the pizza, because it means I seldom make the trek. A few years ago I worked in a different building that included a doughnut and coffee shop on the main floor. I probably ate twice my weight in doughnuts during the six-months I was there.