Just One Garlic Knot Please: Part 2
Just One Garlic Knot Please: Part 1
I opened the foil package and saw the extra garlic knot. I know I could have thrown it out or given it to the dog or even eaten it. I also could have given it to a homeless person, but, in my experience, they only want money. But, by now, this foray for fountain soda had become an exercise of principle and an exploration into societal norms.
New York City hosts a cultural cornucopia of food;each block provides and opportunity to consume more calories than needed. Plus, it's much easier to pull your feet up to a vendor than park the car and head in to a restaurant.(Fast-food is unappealing to me in any circumstance and therefore will not figure into this discussion. We know their portions are Ginormous anyway) We don't have many chains here and most mood is freshly prepared by independent owners. Though, freshly prepared does not always translate into healthy or lower calorie.
Most of the independents in this city are foreign born, from countries without the obesity epidemic in this country. And we know from books like, "French Women do not get fat" and "The Mediterranean diet" that lower portions are the key to enjoying higher fat food without major consequences. Which begs the question: Why do these purveyor's insist on larger portions? Are they ingrained into the American Way of food? Are they just giving consumers what they demand? Or are they part of the grand conspiracy to keep Americans fat and sick reaping billion dollar balance sheets for the pharmaceutical and medical industry? Let's not forget the corporate farms and genetically modified food. (that's an entry for another day)
You may be thinking, chill out Shiny, it's just one Garlic Knot. The Garlic Knot incident is just one symptom of the many little things that add up to a large problem.
A few examples in support:
A fresh fruit cart offering cut pineapple, mango, and papaya plus blended shakes, made only from fruit and ice, parks near my hospital each morning. They know me pretty well-I get a shake for breakfast three times a week-, yet he still asks me if I want a large. At McDonald's we were trained to size up it the customer neglected to include a size, but at the fruit cart for a regular customer who always gets a small? My favorite is banana, pineapple, and strawberry and I wish I had a website for you. For New Yorkers seeking a lower calorie alternative to Jamba Juice-you have to beg them to nix the yogurt- head to the southwest corner of 168th street and Broadway.
Across the street from my other hospital sits an upscale deli complete with brick pizza oven, cold-deli case and 20 item salad bar for the lazy New Yorker. Yes, in New York we don't make our own Salad Bar salad's. After choosing the base, either Romaine, Spinach, or Mesclun, you hand the container to the counter person who then empties the greens into a large, steel bowl. Using chef style tongs, they toss the add ins you choose which can be as simple as croutons and exotic as marinated peppers, finishing up with dressing. The resulting combination is thrown together, Iron Chef style. We New Yorkers like it fancy. In eating these salads I've noticed a trend:When asking for an item perceived as "healthy", and therefore less flavorful, I get much less than a serving. Like he doing me a favor. "Sir, I promise you I really love broccoli; In fact, I'll pay for a double serving. When asking for an item that is perceived as tasty but not necessarily good for you, I have to stop them before the tongs clang on the bowl. "Sir, please that's way too much." Oh, the looks I garner.
Before moving to New York, coffee provided enjoyment and relaxation, but did not hold the same priority as my morning pee. Enter the coffee cart. The Coffee Cart, a New York institution, serves coffee, bagels, donuts, and fried egg sandwiches on just about every street corner in Manhattan. I frequent the cart next to the fruit man. They know me as well and I ask for the same thing each time: Large coffee, two sweet and lows with a little bit of half and half. Emphasis on the little, although they always give me something that looks like milk. Yes, I could head into the hospital and make on myself but where's the fun in that. I need New York Moment #852: getting a scalding coffee in the "Law and Order" cup from a foreigner while dodging blows and profanity from other desperate New Yorkers in search of morning fuel.
So the question remains, Why, with all we know about how one becomes obese and it's emotional, physical, and financial effects do we continue to demand, expect or accept unnecessarily large portions. The man who served me two Garlic Knots when I asked for just one probably thought he was being nice. At the time, I laughed thinking he couldn't wrap his brain around the idea of one. ONE is not such a bad number. The points I've made are small things, the things most don't notice, and over time they become excess we don't need and never recall we had or enjoyed.
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