Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Do you eat the same foods over and over?

I do, I'm a creature of habit. I've eaten oatmeal for breakfast for the past two weeks, and I don't know how many 6" turkey subs on wheat bread with cucumbers, green peppers, swiss cheese, lettuce and just a few jalapeno peppers for lunch. The order is always the same, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm actually enjoying what I'm eating or if it's just a reflex.

I worked late last night, so my boss offered to buy me dinner. (Yes, folks, FREE FOOD). I was in the mood for sushi, and typically my order would be: edamame, cucumber roll, two pieces of eel sushi, one piece of salmon sushi and one piece of black pepper tuna sushi. I almost went with my usual order, but decided to switch things up at the last minute. Here's what I got:

I ordered from an all-natural, organic Japanese restaurant in Soho called Souen. I started off with part of my usual order--a cucumber roll. The organic rice added a different twist though. It had a softer texture than white rice, and it definitely tasted healthier. I liked it.

My entree was two pieces of salmon wrapped in rice paper with a side salad. This is where I mixed things up. The old Ellen would never have gone this route, but I'm glad I broke my stale routine. It made the meal more exciting and enjoyable, and lord knows I need a little variety in my life when it comes to food.

After all this, I'm still thinking about getting my usual turkey sub for lunch (Subway's $5 footlong is just so economical because it can be split for two meals). I know people say that eating healthfully doesn't have to be expensive, but those people are damn liars. All of the health/food blogs I read feature meals that have at least eight different components in them. I can hardly afford milk and eggs these days, so sprinkling coconut, brown sugar, almonds and fruit on top of my oatmeal is just not realistic. Liars I tell you.

So tell me: Do you eat the same things over and over like I do? Or do you mix it up?

10 comments:

  1. Oh, I never switch it up. You might have noticed that I ate the same salmon-apple-avocado roll every...single...day for a year at Twist :)

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  2. I knew that your first commenter on a food topic would be K! No, she never changes it up. I could order for her in any reasaurant and get it right. I'm not one to talk though. When we go to our favorite restaurant I get the same salad all of the time. We tried to figure it out once and I had eaten at least 150 of these things. I still love it. Your regular order sounded way better than what you got...IMHO.

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  3. You two are so funny! Yes, Kara, I do remember your apple-avocado roll. I ordered it one time to be "cool" with the rest of you guys, but I wasn't feeling it.

    George, what's in your favorite salad? Maybe I should try it!

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  4. I usually eat very similar meals too. I think when you're young and on a budget and probably only cooking for one or two, its really hard not to. I drink a lot of Green Monsters - have you seen them on any food blogs? They're good, good for you and good on the wallet. We also eat a lot of rice in our house and sometimes cook big dinners on Sundays to have enough for a few days of the week.

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  5. i eat the same things ALL the time. i think it's like i'm used to it, i know it tastes okay....and i'm boring. =D

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  6. Well, it is better than it sounds, but it has:

    Lettuce, grilled chicken,Pasta,tomatoes,pepper jack cheese, bacon, and ranch dressing. It comes with an entire loaf of garlic bread too.

    Of course its healthy, its a salad!

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  7. Haha, so you're one of those people who eats salads that have a calorie count equivalent to a Big Mac and fries. Sweeet.

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  8. I'm with ya, Traynharder, I'm SO boring when it comes to food. Same with haircuts--get the same thing every time.

    And no, twentyfifth, I haven't heard of Green Monsters. What is it? Does it TASTE good and what are the health benefits, if any?? Thanks!

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  9. Check out my blog for a post about green monsters on Oct. 28. The recipe is at the bottom - they are AWESOME!

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  10. I just did...I'm definitely reporting back!!! I'm trusting that you wouldn't steer me wrong, right? RIGHT?!

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