There is no such thing as "lifestyles that demand too many meals in car from drive-thrus". A lifestyle may demand too many meals in cars, but only a lack of planning demands that be accomplished via fast-food. Sounds like passing the blame to me...

I'm a bit perplexed by the drive-thru mentality. I understand that parents and kids are busy, but why not just cut back on activities and eat at home? Granted, I am not yet a parent, but I know that there were activities I wanted to do in school that I was just not allowed to do. I was expected to be home for dinner. And that was that. When I turned 16, I was so happy to be able to eat junk food and use my job as an excuse not to eat at home and now I could just kick myself. I could also kick myself for years of eating Honey Buns and Dr. Peppers for lunch. Thank goodness I always had a good breakfast and a good dinner or there's no telling what shape I'd be in right now.

I feel that we often forget that, as consumers (and, optionally, voters), we have considerable choice in our lifestyles and, better, the ability to change the world around us. Nothing other than affordability dictates that we must sacrifice neighborhoods or infrastructure, and even then, it usually just means you trade cost of living for extra work. Infrastructure in an urban environment is important to me, so I spend time and energy on it, and I specifically looked for a house that was affordable for me and in a neighborhood with some density.

The energy it takes to complain would be better spent on organizing neighborhood associations and talking constructively with councilfolk about zoning issues.

It helps to recognize that there's no silver bullet. I have used a combination of local restaurants, CSAs, Wild Oats/Whole Foods, and Plumgood Food to lead a healthy life in Nashville, all without owning a car. And I'm working to improve the infrastructure to make these options even more appealing and, ultimately, even more affordable.

I'm praying medical science can save me from the consequences of my dietary sins.

Angioplasty & Zocor here I come!

this topic makes me crazy. even corky's bbq has a white meat turkey option. if you gotta do fast food - hold the cheese and substitute for the mustard for mayo on your grilled chicken sandwich. will it taste as good? you probably won't think so. but it is all about choices. and weaknesses. we are humans and we screw this food thing up for the most part. it is no one's fault but our own. could we educate people better? sure. rice and beans for instance, do not have to be made with lard or even large amounts of vegetable oils. and then it gets back to the whole poverty thing where the poor can pretty much only afford unhealthy food - and that is correct to some extent. chicken breast is much higher than crappy beef or pork cuts. fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive to a family on welfare or a very limited income. but if it matters to you. if you choose health - it ca be done. and with a busy schedule. you just say no. you eat less. you exercise a little. this is not rocket science.

but we do not want to do this. we know better and we opt for immediate gratification...

look, i struggle with this big time. BIG TIME. most of my friends too. my guy weighs himself daily and if the scale moves up - he makes different choices for awhile. it is a difficult scenario. we want what we want and we grab it and go. but to blame anyone or anything for this when it is all about our personal choices - is crazy. no one is making you eat mcdonalds multi times a week. no one is making you eat that ice cream or that third slice of pizza. there are NO excuses...

i am on day 4 of a quasi fast. do i like it? NO I DO NOT. but i needed to reign in the weight gain train i was on. so i didn't have any great thanksgiving leftovers. big deal.

our health is declining. we are getting fatter as a nation, no doubt. but in the end - aren't we just responsible for our own decisions?

i was at vanderbilt hospital two weeks ago waiting on a friend. i went to the cafeteria there... a wide range of choices - but a lot of fatty foods. a lot. a big pastry island in the middle of the salad bar. AND a mcdonalds...

ps - i looked longimgly at the fried chicken and cakes and pizza - and grabbed a container of sushi, sans fried stuff and cream cheese... and a bottle of water.

these kinds of decisions are not natural for me... they are a constant fight in my head...

I don't think anyone's saying that people aren't responsible for their own decisions. The author of the blog post, for example, says: "Look, I am not trying to make excuses for my lack of discipline and struggle with an addiction to a lifestyle that makes losing weight difficult. There is no doubt that the responsibility lies with me, and that there is only so much a society can do to help those addicted to food."

Now, I think part of the underlying issue is that when we look out at the U.S. and say, "that's how it is," and think that yes, if you really try, you can eat healthfully in spite of it, you lose sight of the fact that the country was designed a particular way, not by accident, but in order to serve the interests of the auto industry. Not surprisingly, the car has become central to American life in a way unlike in almost any other country on earth.

So, I think, the issue, where infrastructure is concerned, is that there is not some natural shape that infrastructure inevitably takes—it is planned, designed and built by people with very specific goals in mind. And if that is the case, then shouldn't we, rather than saying, "well, if fat people would pay more attention to the food they eat, they wouldn't be so fat," try to actively create an environment in which the car is less central, in which more healthful food options are available and in which information about healthful eating habits is more readily available to all?

and then let's outlaw cigarettes and booze because those are totally abused and musused.

i do hear you. and i read 'fast food nation'. but i think that won't help. i think better food options are available and people don't want them. taco bell had a light menu for awhile and it was pretty good. when on the road it was my food of choice. they scrubbed it years ago. no one wanted it.

this topic hits a nerve for me because i struggle so hard. daily. i have physical limitations and it's harder for me to exercise. does that give me an excuse? no...

the better infra-structure thing sounds all fabulous - but i just don't buy it. but that's just me...

Y'know, beloved and I were just discussing "why we never see a single bike in any of the bike lanes that the city put up?" Runners, yes, esp. on Belmont blvd., but cyclists, never.

All the northern cities I have visited have the infrastructure for mass transit, but below Mason-Dixon only Miami seems to have it. So we're stuck with a car-culture.

Markets are full of cheap carbs in carboard boxes, drive-thrus beckon with "McRib is back" and .99 cent menus, so no wonder, as my South African friend in college used to say "all the people are fat"

Carrington and I were just talking about this today. I used to live in SF, where I could actually eat better in restaurants than I do at home, and I'm even what most people would consider a health nut. Why do we have so few places here where you can get something healthy that isn't a salad? I'm not a salad person, but as a vegan, my options are usually a salad (hold the chicken) or a plate of white pasta, which I only eat when I'm out. I think that these days a lot of people are getting more educated and want better food choices. Unfortunately, I can't find them at most of the restaurants around here.

I long for Cafe Gratitude, Millennium, Laughing Seed or Cafe Sunflower, and I know I'm not the only one. Right, Lesley? ;)

Oh, and I do ride my bike. At home on my trainer. I'm not crazy enough to ride out there on the roads and I'd have to drive through bike-unfriendly neighborhoods to get to the few bike lanes we have here. Sad, but true.

We need to ban orange cheese.

cafe gratitude - all raw. i'd kill for a place like that here... i don't mean to sound negative today - but it just wouldn't fly. too weird for the masses...
i was vegan raw for 4 months this year beginning in january. it was pretty cool. obviously - i ate at home and was "cooking" like crazy. heavy on the nuts. bought 8 books on the topic - and videos. subscribed to all the stuff i could... had a number of very interesting dinner parties...it didn't stick but it was a trip.

i know to say that 'i give up' is pointless - but year after year i wait for a really cool healthy place to open and it's pretty much just not happening here.

jeremy at tayst made me a lovely dinner last week based on a request for lighter, healthier fare. i'm sure all the nashville chefs would be happy to go there if one were so inclined to ask. but every day creative vegan cuisine here in this town? geeshk... i dunno.
who's going? if it's expensive, tobin the gnome won't touch it and most people i know want a steak. or a pork chop. or a heavy creamy kinda thing...

maybe i'm way off base here.

Right Yvonne!

Incidentally, I got rid of my bike as soon as I moved here. Being from West Tennessee, I'm not accustomed to much of an incline and I moved to one of the hilliest neighborhoods in town. I can barely walk up my street, much less pedal. And I'm even in decent shape (I swear!).

I think that's my point: often, the lack of infrastructure does just happen. Short-sighted development is simply easy. As long as zoning is compliant, developers have no implicit incentives to develop pedestrian-friendly lifestyle centers like the new Hill Center in Green Hills where Whole Foods is located.

Once each development is ensconced in its own parking lot, the demand winds up being for widening our roads rather than condensing our developments.

Eminent domain has typically favored the car. Getting multiple developers on differently owned lots of land to come to the table requires community pressure, usually in the form of zoning changes.

I had always assumed there were no bike riders on the trails because of the dangers presented by Nashville drivers.

Gas, cash, prescriptions, coffee and fast food are the only things I can pick up without extracting my litter of children from their carseats. The first person to open a drive-through with sushi, diapers, the New York Times, dry cleaning service, stamps, beer, toothpaste and toilet paper will have my undying gratitude. ("I'll have a spider roll, a pack of size 4 Huggies and some Quilted Northern.")

I don't know. I know a LOT of folks who long for healthier fare here in Nashville. I agree that a Cafe Gratitude probably couldn't fly here yet, but a Laughing Seed? Yes. If the food is great and it's a trendy atmosphere, you would be surprised. Think of how many artists are here and other who are trying to stay lean and healthy. So many Nashvillians moved here from California (like me), NY, Chicago, etc. Most of the people I know came from somewhere else and often mourn the healthy restaurants they left behind. In the last few weeks since Whole Foods opened up, I have met a ton of vegetarians and other health-conscious folks right here in Nashville. We're out there. The chefs just don't know how to cater to us yet. :)

Vegan it ain't, but Baja Burrito owes a lot of its success to a sizable craving for fresh, relatively healthy fast food. There's a model worth studying.

Carrington: the evil empire Starbucks will be happy to sell you a Sunday Times at the drive-thru with your peppermint mocha. Not that I would know such things firsthand.

I know a LOT of folks who long for healthier fare here in Nashville

a LOT =/= you and your circle of friends. It takes many hundreds or even thousands to support a restaurant. Me thinks that if the market were there, someone would be serving it.

A good vegetarian restaurant might fly here (Grins?), but vegan - nope.

ps. I think Carrington's experience is far more indicative of the typical Nashvillian's daily routine that are those of this board. Personally I have about 15min a night to cook. Finding food that is tasty, healthy and fast is tough.

pps. In before the neo-luddites come storming out of their caves.

I think Carrington's experience is far more indicative of the typical Nashvillian's daily routine

Except that Jeremy Barlow doesn't invite the typical Nashvillian to his restaurant for lunch.

grins is kept alive by vandy students almost exclusively...

gnomey - i need to give you some cooking lessons. you really can whip up great food in very little time...

and steve, sorry about my stupid alcohol/ciggy statement. it was not even on topic and well, i'm fasting and cranky so to talk about weight and fat and who eats what - not the best timing for me as i am being militant right now.
so i'll just keep quiet! what a concept...

Gnome, apparently you have not spent enough time in trendier parts of Nashville where neo-hipsters who think Nashville is their next step toward LA and NYC congregate. There are thousands of them here in Nashville and they all have money to spend on trendy food.

What we need is a celebrity restaurant here for this cause. Who's got Carrie Underwood's number?

I actually have Carrie's #'s, but judging by her meager size, her restaurant might only serve lettuce and rice cakes.

Gnome, apparently you have not spent enough time in trendier parts of Nashville where neo-hipsters

Lets see. I've lived in 12South and now live in East Nashville. Are those the hip parts you are talking about? Go outside those 'hoods (and a couple others) and you got nada, nothing, zippo.

Like I said, vegetarian will probably (maybe?) fly in Nashville, but vegan: no.

Ok Claudia. Please name me a weeks worth (5) dishes that I can try out.

Rules:
1)Total prep and cook time: 15min (+/-). Extra time granted for dishes that require time sitting in the oven (during which I can do other things).

2) Must fit within a $70/week food budget.

3) Must not include the following foods: asparagus, brussels' sprouts, beets, kale/bitter greens, squash, zucchini, whole wheat anything, liver and other innards, artichokes, corn, millet, couscous, brown rice, seaweed, most fish (sushi and cod are good), pickled anything (except kosher dills), mushrooms, eggplant, stinky cheeses (excepting Stilton), grits, cabbage, capers, hominy, miracle whip, runny eggs, salads involving vinegar, fruit cake, plums, prunes, dates, figs, sundried tomatoes, leeks, turnips, apricots, cranberry, tongue...

No caffeine or alcohol.

4) Must provide 1,500 calories.

you know gnome - quite honestly i'm just not up for this challenge. you're a downright virtual pain in the ass!

and may i say - god bless your dear mother...

Gnomey, my five-year-old has more adventurous eating tastes. But I don't see anything prohibiting a simple meal of steamed broccoli, carrots and sweet onion seasoned with a little lemon juice, served with a nice plump microwaved potato or sweet potato. Twenty minutes, tops.

And I'm telling you, once you spend five minutes stir-frying bok choy in a drizzle of sesame oil, a whole world will open up before you.

Actually, skip the microwave. Potatoes are so much better baked in the oven. Rub the outside with a little olive oil to crisp it up.

what pink said. with a cherry on top.

Laughing Seed is a vegetarian restaurant. I don't think I ever said anything about a solely vegan restaurant in Nashville.

Woodlands is doing just fine here and there is no meat to be found.

There are MANY health-conscious eaters in Nashville. And no, I don't just mean my very large and varied circle of friends.

Just because it doesn't appeal to you personally, don't assume there isn't a market for it.