Saving Calories, Money, And The Environment

It's the common question we're all asked when we go out to restaurants: "What can I get you to drink?"  Although sometimes its phrased, "What would you like to drink?" or "Can I get you something to drink?"  I most commonly answer this question: water.  That's really all I ever want to drink at a restaurant, although I'll occasionally order a beer when I'm out with friends or a glass of milk on the rare occasions I'm at a restaurant for breakfast.  Water though seems to be the most eco-friendly option.  It's also the cheapest option.

When Kyle and I go out to eat alone, we both always get water.  The other day, I was curious as to how much money this had saved us over the course of our 8 year relationship.  So I did a little math, let's say Kyle and I have gone out to eat twice a month over 8 years.  8 years X 12 months X 2 eating out two times a month = 192 times eating at restaurants.  Now, lets pretend Kyle and I both ordered soda or iced tea each time we went out.  192 times eating at restaurants X 2 drinks each time = 384 drinks.  That actually doesn't seem like much over the course of 8 years...  Now, let's figure out how much money we would have spent on these drinks.  384 drinks X 1.46 average dollars per drink = 560.64 dollars.  Now, we can't forget to add in the tip, we'll be conservative and tip exactly 15 percent, so (560.64 X .15) + 560.64 = 644.74 dollars.    Also, can you imagine the calories it's saved?  192 drinks per person X 100 calories per drink (min.)= 19,200 calories or 5.48 pounds per person- now that's A LOT, even over 8 years! As can see, we've saved a huge chunk of change and calories over the years just by answering the age old question, "What would you like to drink?" with one simple word: water.

For breakfast today I had two sweet potato pancakes and an orange.

After enjoying this monocromatic breakfast, I challenged myself to eat a FOOD RAINBOW  today.  In other words, throughout the day, I will to eat foods representing all colors of the rainbow. No, candy doesn't count.  Although, it would be easy to chow down on a bag of Skittles and call it a day....  For now, one color down- six colors to go!