Tuesday, November 18: A couple of days ago, Parade magazine—a Sunday morning supplement in your local newspaper—had a cover story with this intriguing headline: “What America Eats” based on a new Parade poll.
Wow, I thought. Finally, an expose on all the fast food junk that fills up hundreds of millions of American tummies each day. Well, the article didn’t tell us what America really eats. Instead, we learned that 33 percent of Americans ignore expiration dates, and that 71 percent always wash their fruits and vegetables before eating, and that 21 percent said the most exotic food they’ve ever eaten is sushi. Whoop-de-do!
We also learned that in the face of trying economic times, American families are choosing less expensive cuts of meat (59 percent) and relying more on sales and coupons (61 percent). Again, not earth-shattering news. I was pleased to learn, however, that 21 percent said they are planting their own vegetable gardens. While that number sounds high to me, even if a few families are growing some of their own lettuce, tomato, or squash, that’s a plus since they’re putting fresh and probably organic produce on their dinner table.
Okay, so I really didn’t learn what America eats in Parade magazine. Thanks to a sidebar, though, I did learn what Brian Williams, the anchor of the “NBC Nightly News,” likes to eat—and that’s a whole bunch of processed meals and junk sweets.
In a first-person article written by Brian, he jokes about not being an adventurous eater growing up. The “goulash” his grandmother made was a mix of one can of SpaghettiOs and one half-pound of ground chuck. He intimated that he’s not a fan of ethnic foods.
Then Brian reminded us that he travels a lot, which makes it hard to eat anything healthy in the back of a cab or on an airplane. So he’ll grab a slice of Sbarro pizza, an A&W cheeseburger—“underrated” in his book—or a Cinnabon on the go. “And when I’m on the road and see that friendly Arby’s, Cracker Barrel or Waffle House sign, it might as well read, ‘Brian, Welcome Home.’ ”
No wonder the NBC news anchor confesses in his story that “now my dessert is always Lipitor.”
Hey, Brian, eating healthy, organic whole foods—salads, fruits, vegetables, and oily fish—would certainly decrease your need, I would think, to take a cholesterol-lowering drug that’s known for having some nasty side effects.
As for difficulties finding something good to eat while on the road, I always bring my food with me when I travel, or I make a beeline for a Whole Foods or a health food store when I’m on the ground.
And I have a smoothie for dessert, not Lipitor.