Fast vs clean

I think sometimes, we tend to forget how food is nothing but fuel for our bodies...

LP asked to go to Five Guys for his birthday dinner. Now it's certainly yummy and great quality for fast food, but let's not kid ourselves, it's junk nonetheless. And even though I used to eat a lot of that stuff (and much worse), in the past few years it's become very rare. So my body is now reacting to it kind of weirdly. Every time I have a burger, fries and a soda as a meal, I end up deeply regretting it after. This was no exception: the next morning, I was in a state that can only be described as hungover. I had no energy, I had a bit of a headache, I felt weak, my tongue was tingling (because of all the salt), I was completely off. The task I had to do at work required some extra focus and sharpness, but all morning long, I could barely manage.

I hadn't packed a lunch so come noon I decided to go try this nearby organic and vegan takeout counter warmly recommended by a friend. We're not vegans, we're not even vegetarians, but we do eat fairly healthy and I'm always on the lookout for new options so I was really curious to see what it was all about.

So my lunch consisted of: a small green salad and toasted orange-ginger crispy pumpkin seeds with an almond-lemon sauce, and a "tree-rice" pilaf (brown, wild and barley) with celery, cranberries and walnuts, topped with barbecued tofu and roasted squash (which tasted a lot like home fries and was probably the best part). I also added a large glass of green juice, which tasted really fresh (mostly like apples and parsley, which surprisingly is not a bad combination at all). It was a good meal. Really good, more than I expected it to be. There was great attention put into incorporating different textures and tastes, and it didn't feel like a sacrifice or a compromise at all...

And you know what? I started to feel myself coming back to life with each bite, and especially each sip of that potent liquid chlorophyll. The difference was striking. Within minutes I felt rested, full of energy, in a good mood. The headache and slight dizziness were gone. I had no afternoon slump (which rarely happens), and I tackled all my work quickly and efficiently.

Between the junk and the vegan, there's a lot of middle ground, and it's very rare that you'll experience both extremes like that so close to one another... And we clearly shouldn't generalize from this one example. But still. It was kind of an awakening for me. Food for thought, really.