More Health "Fails"... and a few Wins

I wrote yesterday about nutrition no-no's that I am guilty of. While I have 6 minutes on my hands, here are some more:

• Margarine vs. butter. I am a huge believer in "real" food and butter is just superior to margarine in every way - including taste of course (and not including vegan-friendliness I guess - but so many times while I'm in the grocery store my frugal ways beat my nutrition knowledge. So a tub of Becel hits my fridge now and again. But hey, I use coconut oil more often than not.
• Sweet marinades/glazes/sauces. Calvin and I are foodies by nature, and also by Food Network TV addiction, so we like a gourmet-tasting meal now and again. And again and again. We find the best way to make something (especially something bland like chicken) taste good is to nurture balance - acidity, salt, sweet, heat. This quickly leads to my go to blend of soy sauce, lime juice, sriracha and brown sugar or maple syrup. Those four ingredients taste good on anything except ice cream. But I have to say "brown sugar or maple syrup" could probably leave itself out of our improvisational recipes a little more often.
• Ice cream. For all the times I invite friends for tea in the winter, I invite friends for ice cream in the summer. It's not even my favourite sweet food in the world, it's just very socially friendly. 

But there are some things I am proud of, and my friends can back me up on these:

• Black coffee/tea. I truly don't add sugar or cream to my hot beverages 99% of the time. Yes, it's healthier, but it also allows you to actually taste what you're drinking. Years of working in cafes, being friends with coffee-intelligent folks, and being a self-proclaimed coffee-snob have made me prefer this way.
• Veggies please and thank you. If there is a veggie-filled option (spinach lasagna vs beef; red pepper and goat cheese quiche vs. bacon; roasted red pepper sandwich vs ham n cheese) I will choose it ten times out of ten. I eat vegetarian nearly by accident on a regular basis. I love me some veggies.
• Unsweetened yogurt. This includes artificial sweeteners. I just like it plain!

Oh my goodness, am I actually going to be late for work again because of my blog?
You guys!