I blame the Girl Scouts

Everyone has their “fat” days.
Days our pants fit a little tighter, our shirts feel a little more snug or our spring jacket doesn’t seem to have as much give as the previous season. OK, maybe women have more fat feeling days than men, but we all know what I’m talking about.
Perhaps the overindulgence of Valentine’s Day candy or the cases of Girl Scout cookies I’ve eaten lately has also contributed to these issues, but calling it a series of fat days is so much better than saying you’ve actually gained weight.
Overindulgence of high calorie foods is the easy part. It’s what makes Americans, Americans. How many other countries in the world have an overabundance of food, can sport shows such as “The Biggest Loser” and still have issues with anorexia and bulimia? Self-inflicted starvation in third world countries is really moot and there’s not a show featuring 500-plus pound contestants wanting to be svelte scheduled for their television line up in the near future.
Darn our consumer ways and those sadistic Girl Scouts.
Because Americans seem to have so many fat days in general it has inspired English celebrity chef Jamie Oliver to tackle the problem. Oliver, who has a new series “Food Revolution,” wowed American viewers when kindergarten children in Huntington, W.V. couldn’t identify a tomato from a potato and thought an eggplant was a pear.
Yes Americans have issues with food.
Yes we like it a little too much.
Yes a majority of people in this country eat more processed foods than fresh ones.
We get it.
Who wouldn’t like French fries over a baked potato any day? But at least I know that fries are derived from the root veggie. I’m guessing I wouldn’t have known that little fact in kindergarten, however. I can also describe to you, in detail, the loveliness of a Girl Scout Samoa cookie.
I’m not sure I would have known an eggplant either, but I’m banking on the fact I could have picked out a red tomato verses a brown potato at age 5. Perhaps Oliver is on to something here.
A healthy diet is all about balance and that’s a hard concept for Americans as a whole to understand especially when a box of macaroni and cheese is cheaper for families on a tight budget than a head of broccoli. Things are out of whack – yes. But financially can Americans afford to make the switch and can our health afford not to?
I’ll think about this the next time I watch “The Biggest Loser” weigh in while munching on Samoas. Maybe I should be on Oliver’s next show. I wonder if he’s ever heard of a little group called the Girl Scouts?