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When is the last time you ate at a chain restaurant? There are some that are better than others. I have been pretty impressed with the efforts of fast food joints such as Chipotle that uses meat never given antibiotics or added hormones, local/organic produce, and dairy not treated with rBGH and Baja Fresh that uses no freezers, can openers or microwaves. A similar kind of progressive thinking is what’s behind the new laws for menu labeling in some states.

Menu labeling is hot right now. Starting in New York, and spreading to cities in PA, WA, OR, and the state of California, there’s a move to educate diners who, until now, have been ‘forced’ to eat foods they knew nothing about. The final act will close when the newly-passed health care bill will ‘force’ all restaurant chains with more than 20 locations to post food calorie counts on their menus.

What’s really going on here? Who’s forcing whom? Do chain restaurants other than Chipotle or Baja Fresh even care about the health of our country at all? Do American restaurant-goers even want to be educated? Take a look at what some diners said in a New York Times interview inside a McDonalds that had already posted calorie counts on their big menu boards.

“It’s just cheap, so I buy it. I’m looking for the cheapest meal I can.”

“I don’t really care too much, I know I shouldn’t, ’cause I’m too big already (though).”

“Life is short,” (I used to be a light eater.) “I started eating everything now that I’m pregnant.”

I can’t really speak for restaurants; some of them are opposed to the financial and logistical burden to come in the 3-4 years it’ll take for the FDA to enforce the law. However, since my mission is to ‘put holistic health in America’s hands,’ I can say:

• Being food-smart is DIFFICULT!
• Some people truly don’t want to be educated on these matters.
• Some people do want to learn more and do better, but even when the information is available, it is too confusing.

Fox news writer, Radley Balko points out, “We’ve been labeling packaged foods for decades now, and we’re still getting fatter.”

• Yes, it is true that labels are of no use if we can’t first interpret them, then have enough energy to change old habits.
• But, being food-smart is DIFFICULT! Sometimes it’s like a full-time job!

Where do you see yourself in these issues? Consider these questions:

1. Shouldn’t everyone be in favor of more progressive approaches to food like meat without antibiotics or added hormones, local/organic produce, dairy not treated with rBGH, and no freezers, can openers or microwaves? (actually, I like to put my leftovers in my freezer sometimes, but you get the idea)
2. Has your city or state already made menu label changes?
3. Do labels on packaged goods and/or fast food menu boards make sense and help you make choices?

Holistic Health In Your Own Hands. Take these steps:

Those of us who don’t have the time to devote to making sense of tiny, confusing labels and piles of conflicting health claims should:

• Start small and only seek out health advice that makes sense to you.
• Beware of health advice offered in conjunction with the advertisement of any product.
• Find someone you know that is already living the kind of healthy life you desire.
• Post a comment. Tell us where you see yourself in these issues now and where you’d like to be in the near future. Tell us what you plan to do to get there so that we can all get some good ideas.

With all the craziness surrounding health care, prevention is the best way to go for those of us who are worried about insurance and health care costs.

40% of American households polled by Reuters at the beginning of the summer planned on skipping any routine doctor visits because of the recession. Time Magazine reported this as a health care disaster waiting to happen, but I think more people than ever are realizing the value of getting in control of their own health in a holistic way!

Lets start our own informal poll here. We can get ideas from each other on ways to take steps toward taking control of our own health care.

What do you do to make sure you will need less medical attention this year and in the long run?

What’s Fo’ Suppa’? Change Yo’ Name?

Have you ever experienced a thought so funny that it tickled your funny bone the whole day? In my experience, those things that make me giggle the most are completely lost to others around me.

There was a new Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Sapa, near our home in Phoenix, AZ that my husband and I wanted to try out. I had driven by it on numerous occasions without paying much attention. This time, as we pulled into the parking lot and as I saw the name in large letters across the front of the building, I came down with an incurable case of the giggles.

Do you know much about Vietnamese food? I don’t know about it too much, other than that my favorite dish is Pho. Pho is the word that means noodle soup. I’ve had it with beef, with just vegetables, or just like chicken noodle soup. I love it! I’ve even made it at home! Also, in my limited knowledge I’d have to say that everyone in Vietnam probably eats it regularly.

Like I said, most things that make me giggle are lost on others. My husband and I were opening the door when I told him what I thought was so funny. I was really hoping he wouldn’t leave me to be alone in the joke, but unfortunately, he didn’t get it. Maybe he wasn’t in a good mood. Maybe he didn’t know what I knew about Pho. Maybe I didn’t tell it right. In any case, I just wanted to feel understood. If he couldn’t humor me, I’d have to tell the waitress . . . What would her reaction be like?

The staff in the restaurant didn’t look like me, I’d have to assume they were of Vietnamese decent (not that wait-staff must always descend from the same country as the food, it was just my best guess at the time). The name of the restaurant indicated that they served a regional cuisine from the north west corner of Vietnam near the Chinese border, called Sapa. No matter where it was from though, I knew the soup would be exquisite.

When the waitress came to our table, before we ordered, I was so excited to let her in on my little inside joke! I could just imagine that her reaction of laughter and enjoyment would satisfy my need to be seen as comically clever. Unfortunately, I forgot to factor in the possible language gap. (Oh, why hadn’t my husband just humored me?)

“Hello,” I began, “I like the name of your restaurant because I really love Pho.”

She was with me so far. “But do you want to hear something funny?” I said. She wasn’t too committed to listening, but allowed me to continue by nodding.

“It’s the perfect name for a restaurant also because when you say the name, ‘Pho Sapa,’ and butcher it with an American accent, it sounds like ‘For Supper.’” …Silence.

I had to go on, “You know, it’s great because if somebody is hungry, they’ll remember to come to your restaurant for dinner whenever they ask themselves, ‘What’s fo’ suppa’?”

I thought that was the most comically clever name of a restaurant. And, I felt pretty special to be, apparently, the first person to ever point out the most marketable similarity to an English phrase the Vietnamese food industry has ever seen! Right!?! Well, as it turns out, maybe not.The waitress did not seem to join in my excitement. Neither did the owner/manager who, by then, had also come to see what my story was all about.

The worst part of the story is when about a month later I was driving down the same street, I saw a brand new sign with a brand new name. Pho Dalat. I guess I won’t be telling anybody if I think it sounds like “Fold A Lot,” and it might be bad for business to start franchising in Las Vegas.