Granola + College Nite = Hung Over & Stuffed

Do you remember “College Thursdays”? It’s the night all the college kids go out and party.  Drinks are usually cheaper and club covers are usually dropped or reduced.  I remember it being fun, but when I relived it last night, I realized…
I’m getting old.

Yea yea yea, I know I’m “only” 25; but 25 is the oldest I’ve ever been, so it feels old to me. Ya hear me?  Anyway.  Sitting there at the bar scene last night with my two best girl friends, I felt like that old judgmental lady who is shocked at today’s youth. You could hear me muttering that some girls really should wear more clothes when they go out and that some dudes are just pigs.  Then I had a couple drinks and the old lady went right out the window with my sobriety and I actually enjoyed myself haha

There is a point to this, I promise.  Drinking = less sobriety = less self-control when it comes to food!  I came home, called my boyfriend, and then, in a ravenous fashion, went after my tube of MixMyGranola….

MixMyGranola

My personalized granola mix came in from MixMyGranola a few days ago – it was a win from Jen’s blog.  My mix includes low-fat granola, coconut shreds, banana chips, chocolate chips, whole almonds and chia seeds.

I don’t like being cranky (ok, sometimes I do) but I wasn’t impressed with two things about the mix: 1. The granola is so thin that it has to be scooped out of the box, not something you can easily grab straight from the box and munch on.  You would think that would stop me from eating it directly out of the box, especially since it makes for messy, get all over the place, eating.  But, no. That doesn’t/didn’t stop the cranky one.  2.  I found at least two pieces of dried fruit in my mix that were not intended to be there.  And while I do love cranberries, I didn’t specify that they be in my mix.  That worries me.  What else was in my “personal” mix that I didn’t personally ask for?

The thing that I found inconvenient about the MixMyGranola tube is that it makes over-snacking waaaaay too easy.  This isn’t a complaint directed at MMG, but rather a note for anyone out there who is like me and is prone to box snacking.  Jen, I feel ya on this one! The serving size is 2 ounces.  Each serving of my mix has 253 calories. If you’re lame like me and are like “how freakin’ much is two ounces?!” it’s four tablespoons (I looked it up!).  Now four tablespoons is a lot if you’re patient and measure it out and add to your yogurt like a good little girl.  But if you’re impatient and still kind of drunk, you’re a) Not going to measure it out, and b) Not going to be satisfied with a little handful.  So when I ate like 8 servings of it last night in a “I need to feed the alcohol-filled belly to reduce the possibility of a hang over” justification mode, I didn’t realize then how guilty I would feel in the morning. REALLY guilty.  My advice, and what my m.o. will be from now on – No boxes/tubes of yummy foods allowed unless immediately after I buy them I portion out the serving sizes. This won’t guarantee that I won’t still overeat, but I might at least get annoyed with the process of unzipping zip lock bags and move on to a banana instead.  Hey, it could happen, right?!

Anyone else a tipsy snacker?

p.s. Tomorrow, May 9, is Stamp Out Hunger Day.  While I can write all day about my food issues, some people are genuinely hungry and that’s just not right. On Saturday, May 9th, 2009, you can donate food to help combat hunger through the United States Postal Service’s Stamp Out Hunger Drive.

1. Contact your local post office to verify its participation in the food drive.  (Search the USPS website for the contact information for your local post office.)
2. Place bags filled with non-perishable food items next to your mailbox.
3. Your letter carrier will pick them up and deliver them to local food banks.

Have a wonder-filled, healthy foods, day!  And if you go out drinking tonight, heed my warning — steer clear of the snacks when you get home!

Tags: calories, drinking, mixmygranola, overeating, stamp out hunger