Doctor, Doctor

My morning started today with a wonderful whole milk latte from La Farm Bakery.  This is nothing like a Starbucks latte with thick milk froth that looks like detergent suds.  This is true art from skilled baristas who can coax the steamed milk into the tiniest mico-bubbles and hand pour it into perfectly pulled espresso shots to create a delicious morning treat that is as tasty as it is beautiful.  (Yeah, I know how cheezy that reads, but their lattes really are that good!)

BREAKFAST

small whole milk latte

Just before lunch time I picked up my 11 year old daughter from school to take her to the doctor for a regular check up.  It went well, she's very healthy.  During the check up the doctor did a routine talk with us about healthy eating and gave us a hand out about making good food choices.  The 10 key points in the hand out are:

1. Sports drinks like Gatorade can be harmful to your health.
2. Vitamins are not a substitute for eating fruits and vegetables every day.
3. Skipping breakfast won't help you lose weight.
4. Cereal bars and granola bars are not health food.
5. Everyone above the age of 2 years should drink skim milk (not whole or 2%).
6. Hot dogs and chicken nuggets are not a good source of protein.
7. Most cereals that boast "made with whole grains" are actually processed foods made with white flour.
8. People eating in front of the TV will actually eat more food and make less healthy food choices than they would at the table.
9. Juice is not a necessary part of a healthy diet.
10. Not everyone likes vegetables, but everyone can learn to like them.

As far as common nutrition wisdom goes, this list isn't too bad.  I disagree with item 5, but I can go along with the others.  In fact, I was feeling pretty impressed with the nutrition advice... until...

When we were all done and on the way out of the office my daughter was handed an artificially colored, artificially flavored, artificially sweetened lollipop.  (Sigh.)  It's hard enough as a parent to steer the kids away from sweet, processed foods like that.  How frustrating when your own pediatrician is undermining your efforts to discourage such junk food by handing it out the kids! 

(Heavy sigh.)

We drove from the doctor's office in search of lunch and ended up at our local Chipotle.  It was a really beautiful afternoon so we got our meal to-go and took it to the local park for a picnic before returning to school and work.

LUNCH
Chipotle Salad (1/2 Carnitas, 1/2 Chicken):  Lettuce, pork, chicken, pico de gallo, sour cream, cheese, guacamole
Unsweetened Iced Tea

After we finished eating we took a short walk by the lake.  Here's the view from our picnic table and some friends we met during our walk.

We had to pass La Farm Bakery on our way back from the park to school/work.  I started thinking about how much I enjoyed my morning latte and decided to stop in for another.

DESSERT after LUNCH
another small whole milk latte

It was a busy family evening (softball practice, overtime work, end-of-the-week homework, etc), which meant we all ended up eating dinner at different times in order to get everything done.  My dinner was a big salad and a beer.  Yes, beer is made from grain.  No, beer is not primal.  Yes, I still drink it anyway.  That's all I have to say about that. :)

DINNER
Big Salad: Lettuce, mixed greens, crumbled bacon, avocado, broccoli, carrots, cucumber, bell pepper, artichoke hearts, feta cheese, Irish cheddar cheese, tomatoes, basil, Garlic Gold Sea Salt Nuggets, olive oil based dressing
Beer