Making Peace with the Nutrition Information on Fast Food Restaurant Menus

About a month ago I did my first photo shoot in New York City for the magazine First for Women on the Go. I’ll be one of the women featured on the body confidence page in the July 23 issue. I was interviewed as a coach and body image expert and asked to share my experience and secrets on how making peace with food and lovin’ the skin I’m in has led to a breakthrough in my 19 year relationship with my husband, Angel.

I was on the way back home from the photo shoot and I stood waiting in the Port Authority Bus Terminal for my bus to arrive when I realized that I was pretty hungry. I hadn’t eaten since early morning. At the photo shoot, they had a lovely buffet, but I wasn’t really hungry. That’s become pretty regular with me. I’m happy to say that food doesn’t have much of an emotional tug over me anymore.

As I stood on the line at Jamba Juice, I noticed that each of the shakes and smoothies had nutritional information prominently posted next to the items on the menu. Up until reading Anna Dubrovsky's Holistic Girl blog today, I didn't realize that this was now being done in accordance with a new citywide regulation that went into effect several weeks ago, stating that fast food chains with 15 or more outlets must display calorie counts alongside menu items. 

For a moment, upon reading that the 16 oz. small size of the Orange Dream Machine that I wanted had 340 calories, I got side tracked and started thinking in the old way about food. Should I? Shouldn’t I? Is this too many calories? How can I slurp up this amount of calories instead of eating a real meal?

Then I dismissed all the chatter and asked myself, “Andrea, what do you really want?"
I realized that I really wanted to taste a Jamba Juice smoothie. I’d always seen them in New York, but never considered drinking calories if I could eat them instead. Now I feel differently about food. I just eat and drink what satisfies me. That way I don’t overindulge and fall into the trap of gluttony that comes with dieting and watching your weight.

Immediately upon realizing this, I ordered up a small Orange Dream Machine smoothie, wondering and hoping that it tasted like the Creamsicles that I used to know and love as a kid. It had all my favorites, orange juice, soy milk, sherbet, and frozen yogurt. Yum. I decided to give it a try.

That first slurp of orange creamy goodness made my taste buds swoon. I’d like to say that I drank it slowly with great restraint, but I was enjoying it so much, that I was slurping it and fighting off brain freeze for the next 10 minutes as I stood on the platform waiting for my bus to arrive. The next time you’re looking for a nice cool refreshing drink, try out Jamba Juice’s Orange Dream Machine. It’s just like those old creamsicles you used to love. Enjoy