Food chemistry

I ended up at Starbucks to work again today after making an unsuccessful attempt to get to a Panera instead. It just felt like it was too many stoplights away and I didn't want to have that variable on the back end when I'd need to pick kids up from camp. So today at Starbucks to avoid everything sweetened on their regular menu, I selected a bottled juice "smoothie," which is really nothing like the kind of smoothie I eat, though it certainly wouldn't count as a clear liquid, either. It was a green drink but was still a LOT sweeter than the smoothie I made this a.m. that included cucumber, celery, squash, pineapple, and mango. It said there was no added sugar but then I spied a statement saying it contained "dulse." I wondered if that was a different name for some type of sugar, since I am sure there are hundreds of names for sugar.

Along with this $4.95 beverage, I got free WiFi. And a restroom.

The main point of this post is that I was not hungry until past noon time, and all I had was the smoothie I made at home (after my one cup of coffee to get the party started) and this green juice thing. I am absolutely certain that if I'd had my usual four or more cups of coffee by noon, I would have been STARVING. I probably would have eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for breakfast or some cheese and a protein bar, and maybe prunes. I would have consumed large amounts of milk with the coffee. I may have eaten rice cakes, a lemon fiber bar, yogurt with fruit and nuts. If I waited too long to eat I would have eaten too much and felt crappy and had more coffee after lunch to perk up.

Instead, I had packed a little lunch bag with leftover hamburger and some potatoes that I overcooked this morning (which made me wish there was a setting on the smoke detector called "just cooking") and I had some carrots and cucumber cut up on the side. I ate some of this before I picked up the kids; I ate the rest of it when I got home.

There is a lot of conflicting advice about nutrition. Some people say eat three distinct meals but I need to eat more often than that. I don't know if flax is bad for you or not. Is soy better than whey? Some people say cut out all dairy and wheat/grains (in addition to the sugar and caffeine). I am still eating a little cheese; I am not sure I would cut out all grains. I have heard sprouted grains are okay. Do I want to eliminate meat? I am not sure I would eliminate all animal products because I like eggs. And what about honey?

I think I'll have to take it one step at a time. The first step will be possibly eliminating coffee entirely. I probably could start my day with any hot beverage...it could be lemon water, miso soup, or some mildly caffeinated tea, like chai. But I think the chai I have contains stevia...and that is another thing I wonder about. It's still kind of a fake sugar, even if it's "natural."

So, perhaps step two and beyond will be figuring out the bit about artificial sweeteners, soy vs. whey (maybe pea protein is the answer going forward but I still have to use up all my soy-based proteins), and animal products.

Come to find out, dulse is some sort of seaweed. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)