Food

-dary!

Now that I've had a little time to settle in, I've begun to venture around the Montgomery area in search of places to eat. Normally I'd cook (I love cooking), but the temporary housing I'm in has extremely little as far as cooking ware goes. I have a small pot, a sauce pan, a smaller sauce pan, and a regular pan. I also have a cutting knife, measuring cups, a spoon, a spatula, a cheese grater, and that's about it. The place did not come equipped with mixing bowls, a cutting board, casserole dishes, baking sheets, or a variety of other tools I like to employ. If I just pan cooked steaks or chicken it wouldn't be so bad, but I enjoy my toys. I like eating nice food; it's tasty, I can experiment with a wide array of cuisine, it comes out cheaper in the end, and I usually end up with plenty of leftovers. I found out today from a coworker that these places are normally better stocked, so I might have to kick down some doors this weekend, when I'll actually have time to do so. Either that or break down and make a trip to Target, right after I leave a flaming bag of poo in front of the leasing office.

With my preferred method of dining rendered incapacitated, I've been forced to eat out a lot. And so far, I have to say, it's pretty good, both in taste and value. The day I flew in I ordered a pizza from a place not too far from my apartment, and for $10 I got a large five topping pizza and marinara dipping sauce. There's a regional southwest food chain, Moe's, that makes a good burrito plus free chips and salsa for around $7. (Still doesn't beat Chipotle, though.) I've also had wickles: pickles that have been peppered and deep fried (more on that later), and found/was taken to a really sweet Mexican restaurant where I got two enchiladas, a tamale, and rice for $6.88. As an added bonus, there several Sonics within a couple miles of my place, which, as far as fast food goes, is pretty f'n fantastic. (Side note: I apologize for those of you who clicked on both those links. Apparently no one let either company know poorly designed Flash-based sites died years ago.)

On the flip side, if you want to eat healthy, you're pretty much shit out of luck. Tonight, for example, I went out looking for something light, like a salad or sandwich, to mix it up from the aforementioned burritos, pizza, and Sonic. Instead, I came back with a meatball "sub," which looked a lot like a medium deep dish pizza folded in half and sprinkled with parmesan cheese. The healthiest restaurant I've been able to find so far has been a Red Lobster, and I'm pretty sure that doesn't count. If I didn't know any better, I'd guess that the only four food groups were pizza, fast food, assorted fried food, and fried chicken. There are at least five different fried chicken franchises within a three mile radius of my place, possibly more since I haven't ventured very far north. On every menu I've seen you can get some fried chicken item, and it's gotten to the point where my chest and left arm start tingling when I drive by a Popeye's or Church's. The portions, as mentioned, are also pretty big, so even if you are trying to lose calories by eating less bad food, it won't work. It's really easy to see why the South has the highest rate of obesity in the nation. Unless you have the money to dine at more upscale $16 - $20 restaurants on a daily basis it's really easy to give into the temptation to get a bucket of fried chicken and call it good, especially if you have a family and/or are working. Eating healthy is definitely a choice, don't get me wrong, but being in this kind of environment is like trying to live an ascetic life working for Sterling Cooper.

It's because of the unhealthiness that I've decided to start working out again. I might die out here if my eating habits stay the way they are and I don't do something to balance the load. It's also one of the other reasons why I want to start cooking again. I know I'm young and my metabolism is still pretty good, but I can see myself gaining a decent amount of weight if I'm not careful. And I really don't want to see Fat Mark back in action. Finding time to do so, in addition to working 8+ hour days and being busy cooking, is going to be really difficult, but I need to get more active before I fall prey to sloth and gluttony.