I had an interesting conversation with my friend Shannon earlier this week that fit with the topic of being mindful of health habits. (I have written about Shannon previously, but not for some time)
She was telling me that one recent evening she drove to three fast food restaurants to get dinner for her family. Apparently, she wanted food from a different place than her husband, neither of which worked for her kids. As they sat down at the dinner table she became mindful of how ridiculous this was.
First, she spent almost an hour driving to fetch the food. This was time she could have spent doing any number of things, including actually preparing a meal for her family. Second was the cost, including the food itself and the gas required to drive to three different restaurants. Third, looking at the food they were eating made her realize that it wasn’t healthy. In fact, their meal included no fruits or vegetables (beyond french fries) at all!
What struck me was that the quality of the food they were eating was the last thing Shannon mentioned to me, almost as a afterthought. What got her attention was the time and money she sent on the food. Cooking at home could have taken less time and certainly would have cost less. It would have been healthier, too.
At least they ate dinner together.
Dr Parr Says... 