This aricle originally ran in The Hamilton County Herald on November 26, 2010. I read an article this morning that stated that getting rid of belly fat is as easy as eating whole grains. Diet drinks and artificial sweeteners add inches to the waist also. Well, today, I am adding to that list: the amount of food we eat.
Have you noticed lately that when dining at a restaurant, the server brings out enough food, on your plate alone, to feed everyone sitting at your table? And if you don’t eat it all, they give you that sideways frown and ask if you want a box. Well, why give people more than what they can eat at one sitting? Why can’t they figure out to lower the prices and serve less food? “Clean your plate!” was heard many times during my childhood, especially if you wanted dessert later! Now, as an adult, I put only what I can eat on my plate, but when at a restaurant, my plate comes so piled high I can hardly see over it! There is no way I can eat all that food.
Recently, I read of a news clip on the radio about a New York City Restaurant charging their patrons extra for any food left on their plate after they had finished dining! Hayashi Ya Japanese Restaurant is a buffet-style eatery where diners can load their plates with a variety of foods for $26.95 ... unless, of course, you don’t eat every last bite. According to the news report, diners will pay up to an extra 20 percent for the uneaten food. However, on the flip side of the coin, they offer a discount if you make a “smiley” plate.
This is fine if you prepare your own plate, but in most restaurants, that is not the case. So, the results are overweight people and a lot of food in the landfills. Here are a few statistics I found about what Americans throw away:
• More than 40 percent of all food produced in America is not eaten, according to research by University of Arizona anthropologist Timothy Jones. That amounts to more than 29 million tons of food waste each year, or enough to fill the Rose Bowl every three days. Nationwide, food scraps make up 17 percent of what we send to landfills. And as we all know, restaurants’ massive portions fill their large plates, our stomachs, and then their dumpsters. Every day, Jones calculates, American restaurants throw away more than 6,000 tons of food.
• Also, cultural shifts have hastened food waste. Due to obesity, increased portions, and a diminished valuation of food, the “clean your plate” ethic has evolved to “eat what you like.” This contributes to elementary students wasting more than 25 percent of their lunches. “On the days they’re serving broccoli or cauliflower, you look in the garbage and it’s all green or white,” says Ethan Bergman, a professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance at Central Washington University who studies school nutrition.
Well, there is not much I can add to this other than “eat wise and exercise.” Here’s a good, quick cookie recipe for the holidays! And it has grains and fruit! If you don’t like raisins, substitute with dried cranberries.
Apple Cobblestone Cookies
2 cups quick rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup All-Purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 14 oz. can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 1/2 cups chopped apples
1 tablespoon molasses
No-Stick Cooking Spray
Combine oats, raisins, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Stir in sweetened condensed milk, apples and molasses. Let set about 30 minutes to allow oats to absorb liquid. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat cookie sheets lightly with no-stick cooking spray. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons on prepared sheets. Flatten slightly. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from baking sheet to cool completely.