My Daily Meals

A few people asked what I eat every day. I think that what I eat is of minor interest, but maybe the reasoning behind it might be more valuable.

First the what. My friend Dick Talens suggested that I do intermittent fasting, which means that I eat during only an eight hour period each day. There’s some compelling evidence that this is good for longevity, but not enough that I can say for sure that it’s true. I was attracted to the diet because it meant that I could spend less time eating each day.

When I first wake up, I drink green tea. My staple is Green Ecstasy from Samovar, but sometimes I have something else just to mix it up.

The beginning of my eating period is two pm. I make three open face sandwiches consisting of the following: one piece of ezekiel seed bread, hazelnut almond butter, a small handful of walnuts, one third of a banana, and a lot of chia seeds. Sometimes I have some nice organic berries to put on top.

I eat this meal mainly because it takes very little time to eat and no time to clean. The chia seeds and walnuts are specifically to get a ton of Omega 3. The Omega 3 from them isn’t as good as the Omega 3 you get from fish, but it’s still good, and easy to consume. The bananas are just there to make it taste good.

For dinner I eat at Chipotle. I get a bowl with no rice, both types of beans, double steak, peppers and onions, two salsas, sour cream, cheese, guacamole, and lettuce.

The meat is grass fed and most of the vegetables and other stuff are organic. This isn’t a 100% perfect meal, mostly because they use soy oil, but it requires no clean up on my part and no preparation. The bowl costs about $12, but a couple times a year they have a promotion where you get a free bowl for buying a $30 gift certificate. I buy a new gift certificate every day, effectively cutting my cost down to around $9 per bowl. Not too bad for such high quality food and so many ingredients.

You might think that such a diet gets boring, but I really like it. I’ve tweaked it over the past year little by little, and I really look forward to each meal and enjoy each one as much as the last.

When thinking about diet, it’s really important to consider why you’re choosing your diet and whether or not it’s meeting the goals you intend. In my case, I’d rate my diet an 8.5 out of 10 in terms of health. If the Chipotle didn’t use soy oil and I ate a bunch of kale, I’d consider it to be a ten.

Why do I settle for 8.5? Right now my top priority is SETT. It’s not such a high priority that I’m willing to sacrifice my health and eat junk like McDonalds, but I don’t mind dropping down to an 85% perfect diet to focus all of my time and effort on SETT.

In extreme situations, I’ve seen people with such complicated and time intensive diets that any longevity they’re gaining is being spent preparing and sourcing food. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad trade, just that it’s something to be aware of.

So I eat the same thing every day. It’s two really nice meals that I enjoy, but it’s also a compromise designed to eliminate the burdens of making meal decisions, preparing those meals, and cleaning up afterwards.

Photo is two of my daily sandwiches.

Thanks for all the offers of tea/lunch/dinner in NY. I ended up spending a lot of time with my family in Jersey so I only had a few days in the city. Next time I’m back here, which will be this summer at the latest, we’ll do a meet up!