Well, it doesn’t have the gravitas of an Interregnum, but we’re in the season of in-betweens.
There’s “in between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” and there’s “in between Christmas and New Year’s.”
And we spend so much of that time “in between” eating the leftovers from the holiday that marks the beginning of the in between.
So in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it could be turkey soup, turkey tetrazzini, turkey sandwiches, yadda yadda yadda.
And in between Christmas and New Year’s, it could be ham sandwiches, sliced tenderloin steak or roast beef sandwiches, beef vegetable soup, or ham and pea soup, among other things. (The cookies and other baked goods – don’t get me started.)
I’m really not a fan of leftovers, but in our culture of excess, we over-prepare and so there is always too much food at major holidays that invariably gets wrapped and stored in the fridge. Eventually, if it doesn’t get eaten as a snack or as the basis for a variation of the main protein, then it gets thrown out.
What a waste.
So while I’m being hurtled through the sky inside this metal tube, where there’s not enough room between the rows of seats to fully open up my laptop, I’m thinking about ways to cut back on the waste. The airlines have figured it out. They just don’t serve anything, so there’s no waste.
Here’s one thing I tried recently: I wrapped up a turkey sandwich, loaded with leftovers from Thanksgiving: turducken meat, cranberry sauce, stuffing, a little mayo on home-baked bread, and I handed it out the window of my car to the guy who every day is there in the median begging with a hand-printed cardboard sign announcing that he’s hungry.
So I handed him this package and he asked, “What’s this?” I said, “It’s lunch.” He said, “I need money.” I said, “Your sign says you need food.” Then the light turned green. I hope he ate it.
But I digress.
Most of us need to go on a diet. I don’t mean that New Year’s resolution diet. I mean a diet that reduces our appetite for excess. For instance, those double-cut pork chops, masquerading in the guise of “America’s Cut.”
Most dieticians and nutritionists will posit that we only need about four to six ounces of protein on your dinner plate. So why are we eating 12 to 16 ounces of it?
Can we prevail upon our favorite restaurants with all-you-can-eat buffets or all-you-can-eat specials to come up with a different way to attract customers?
Can we ask our supermarkets to post the food pyramid more prominently (actually I haven’t seen one posted in any market I shop in) so that we become more aware of the real nutritional needs of our bodies?
You’re probably sick and tired of hearing about the obesity epidemic in this country, but it’s real. I know I’m overweight and I really want to do something about it. I’ve had two successful New Year’s resolutions in my life. One was to stop smoking (this marks my 20th smoke-free year), and the other, I just completed – was to stay out of all fast food restaurants. While the latter was successful in one aspect, I didn’t lose the weight I had expected.
Therefore, I will be adjusting the way I eat at home and the way I eat at restaurants. I will resolve to be more helpful to my clients, too, nutrition-wise, when I cook for them.
So I got a little bit of a head start on the resolution during the “in between Christmas and New Year’s,” while I’m in between the U.S. and Sint Maarten/Saint Martin, where I normally go on a food binge. My chef friends there, especially the ones on the French side of the island, will be shocked when I don’t order foie gras (you don’t know how much that hurts just to write it).
While we’re “in between Christmas and New Years,” will you join me in resolving to reduce your food excesses, too? You’ll save money; you’ll save calories and cholesterol, and you’ll probably save your life.
Then donate half the savings to your local Food Bank. Because there are too many of our neighbors in between real meals.