Day 53 - Fast Food Goes Organic

In an article from Natural Health Magazine online called "Fast Food Goes Organic", I read about a new fast food chain that has opened up in West Hollywood, California that in an all-organic fast-food-style restaurant called O!Burger.

According to Natural Health, their menu consists of "grass-fed beef burgers and hot dogs, free-range turkey burgers, krinkle fries cooked in organic soybean oil, probiotic shakes sweetened with Aseel dates, bananas, and vegan chocolate - and the signature veggie burger made entirely of organic ingredients, including oats, spinach, and corn".

Natural Health also tells us that their organic philosophy even extends to the products used to build and decorate their restaurant. They use recycled wood from farms, led-free paint on their walls, and buffer their tiles rather than re-do it all. They also clean their whole restaurant, including all their equipment, with non-toxic products. Their utensils and straws are made out of biodegradable corn plastic, and the wrappings on their products are made from soy film, allowing them to be composted.

In eating at an O!Burger, you can expect to pay about $4 more than at a traditional fast food restaurant, but the owners (Chang and Soboil) are working to find a way to reduce their prices and make them more compatible. I think that $4 extra is totally worth it for fresh, organic, healthy food instead of the cheaper re-cooked burgers at most fast food chains. The store owners have their restaurants buy their products when they are in season, since produce is at its peak in healthiness and is usually cheaper as well. They usually buy new inventory about every three days to ensure their dairy, produce, and meat are as fresh as possible. The restaurant hopes to make a few additions to their menu; such as sweet potato fries instead of white potatoes.

While the restaurant is fairly new, tons of people are traveling from all over to visit this organic fast food restaurant. Already, the store owners have received requests to franchise. Hopefully we will be seeing more of these around the country!

Exercise: Today is a swimming day and mostly working on freestyle. Here's the workout:

200 freestyle warm up

2x100 freestyle

3x4 sets of 50's freestyle (swim, pull, kick, swim) - see last Tuesday for an explanation

2x100 freestyle

3x4 sets of 50's (swim, pull, kick, swim)

200 freestyle cool down

TOTAL: 2000 meters/1.25 miles

Eat: When I got home today, I decided to make myself a delicious smoothie since I didn't get one at work earlier. My favorite kind that I get at work is a combination of strawberry, banana, whey protein, and orange juice. Since I didn't have orange juice or whey protein I improvised a little on my recipe. Here is its: Combine 3 strawberries, 1/2 banana, 1 carton of strawberry (or strawberry banana) yogurt, 1/2 milk in a blender. Blend until smooth and enjoy!

Relax: For the first time in a long time, I picked up one of my fiction books tonight to enjoy reading before bed ("Catching Fire" is the name of my book). Once I started reading, I just couldn't put it down. I just love getting lost in a book. Reading something you enjoy right before bed is always a nice finish to your day. It is not only extremely enjoyable, but it is also very relaxing and takes your mind off you day for a bit.