Eating Out...Yadda, Yadda, Yadda, Yadda

First, there was this luncheon.

Then, a colleague moved on.

Now, another colleague is leaving and there is, of course, a goodbye luncheon.

I wrote said colleague an email letting her know that I would not be attending but it had nothing to do with her yadda yadda yadda yadda. I would like to go -- yadda yadda yadda yadda but my RSVP did not go over well.

We played email tennis for awhile. Her final email stating that, BTW, she would not be happy if I did not attend.

Later on, said colleague stopped by and said that the Mexican restaurant had boiled chicken and that I could also get vegetables. She told me, in a clearly annoyed voice, that it was one day.

The one thing the restaurant does not have is an online menu. I could always get some water and just sit there while everyone else is eating but that would be rude.

I am completely jaded when it comes to restaurants and, in particular, the work lunch outing since, usually, there are at least 15 people and while the time restraint is relaxed a bit, there is a certain hurrying through lunch. For me, it's not pleasant on several fronts, including the fact that most restaurants are using the axis of evil -- salt, fat and sugar -- to make meals tastier.

Of course, after the exchange, I felt bad. I swear, though, I exercise hard and I do treat myself but I don't want to treat myself with restaurant food. I am also jaded about people diminishing fat grams et al. For instance, why would I eat cheese with nine grams of fat when perfectly good reduced fat cheese is available? And why is cheese always my barometer?

I certainly don't want to forsake people but I don't want to abandon my way of eating each time an event comes up because they seem to occur often.

I won't even get into the whole splitting the check evenly when I've only had, say, soup...

Someone told me that their strategy is to send half of the meal away immediately. That's a method that doesn't sit well with me for two reasons: wasting food and if something is crappy -- eating half of it doesn't make it less crappy.

I'm being too rigid, aren't I? Don't answer that question; it was hypothetical.


Here's some info to chew on. Or not.

50 Fattiest Foods in America


Seven foods that experts won't eat.


Resource: Making Healthy Choices at Mexican Restaurants