I’ll never get asked to lunch…

but here I go again…

So, today I ate lunch alone at Panera Bread Company.  I consider it to be one of those places I can “choose one up.”  So instead of being in a rush and going to someplace featuring the colors yellow and red, I go to Panera.  I usually get a cup of soup or a salad.  There isn’t a lot of vegetarian choices and I don’t see anything advertised as organic or local.  Still, it feels like a more nourishing choice than the alternatives.

As I was waiting for my name to be called, I watched the other customers pick up their food and then I matched it to what appeared to be their Ayurvedic body type or imbalance. I then decided if they had made a good choice.  (Yes, these are the games I play in my head.)

First, I’d like to say that most people in Panera chose water.  Of course it was iced, but they were putting lemon in to stimulate digestion and they were not choosing pop which is a non-food item and causes disease.  There were very few coffees and only a few iced teas.  This was good.  A better choice for all would have been to get water with no ice or a hot decaf tea to sip after they ate.

The sweet taste of Ayurveda which is heavy, dense, and harder to digest was prevalent.  This includes meat, bread, and pasta.  The woman in general were choosing more non meat meals than the men.  All, including myself, couldn’t seem to resist the fresh baguette.  Better choices for the men who appeared to prefer the sandwich would have been whole grain bread and a veggie sandwich.  For all…skip the baguette and get the apple.

People were mostly dining with friends.  There was lots of talking and that was nice.  You should eat in a friendly environment and enjoy your companions.  Sadly, many many many folks were talking with their mouths full and gulping their food.  This causes gas, bloating, and indigestion.  When you eat, make sure you chew your food thoroughly and pay attention between bites.  Rest and let the food settle.  You will eat less, feel fuller, and avoid those situations.

The folks who were alone were engaged with their computers, phones, or books.  With the exception of me who was probably just making everyone uncomfortable, they had removed themselves from the room and the food.  This meant that they were not paying attention to what they were eating and again, gulping their food.  It’s uncomfortable to sit alone in a restaurant until you get used to it.  Choose a window seat and allow yourself to gaze out the window or people watch (with discretion).

Most people did not choose dessert.  There were two tables that had cookies.  Both had Kapha or Kapha imbalanced people and I’m sure they stood in line together and decided to have a treat together.  Treats are okay, but just once a week.  Kapha has to be strong not to succumb to the temptation of sugar.

I did see one man who was clearly a Pitta choose a salad.  It was cute to watch him methodically remove all the tomatoes from the salad (they give Pitta indigestion and heartburn).  He cut his salad into very small bites, sat up very straight, chewed his food, and rested.  It appeared he knew the trick of pacifying Pitta heat.  Sadly, his phone rang and he started talking, face turned red, turned off his phone, and then ate really fast to get to whatever had interrupted him.

Happy dining.  Om, Pamela