Michael: Diet and Location

The aviators,
With their colorful wings and
Whistles, rule the skies.

Saturday, July 4, 2015

Before moving here I didn’t think about what the effects on my diet would be. We visited last year and did a cursory check of the grocery stores and they seemed to be just like the stores in the states. And though they are for the most part, they are missing a few of my favorites from back home and I’ve had to make some unanticipated changes.

At home, we shopped at Trader Joes and Whole Foods. They had some breads , trail mixes, coconut bars, and pastries that we (really mostly I) enjoyed.

I don’t like the breads here, so I’ve given up bread.

I still eat pastries occasionally, but not the packaged types from the store. Here, those are pretty much the cellophane kind you find at gas stations. In L.A. just about every morning I’d walk around the corner to the coffee Connection and have a cup of coffee with some type of decadent chocolate monster. But the nearest panaderia here is a 20 minute walk away. They have smaller, less calorie dense sweets, still quite tasty, but not worth the 40 minute round trip. So now, unless we make a trip into town, I’m going without.

And where is my Chocolate Stampede trail mix? About 3,000 miles away. I’ll be diving into a package next month on a return visit to L.A. But that’ll be about it for the year. They’re not big on trail mixes here. Here, I buy a box of raisins and a can of mixed nuts and mix them. I’m also trying to reduce my portion size, which is far easier now that my mix doesn’t have those huge chunks of dark chocolate in it.

No Coconut Dream Bars either. But there are plenty of bananas. We’ve got bunches hanging in our backyard. So as a substitute for the frozen bars, I’m making a banana smoothie everyday; one frozen banana, a little almond milk, a sprinkle of coffee and I’m good to go.

We’re also only eating out once a week instead of the twice a week we did back home. But get ready Chipotle’s, next month as soon as I’m done with my veggie burrito, I’m hopping back in line for an entrée of veggie tacos. After that I’m rolling over to Blaze Pizza for a spicy white cheese fire roasted delight.

I’m sure once we’re back in the nirvana of food choices that is Los Angeles, many other indulgences will come to mind…wait a minute…that Indian restaurant on Lincoln…L.A. Vegan on Centinela…Denny’s…Denny’s? Yes we even miss having breakfast at Denny’s.