Saturday, April 12, 2008

An Apple A Day

In the produce aisle today, I bumped elbows with a lady who was also choosing apples to purchase. I commented on how expensive apples were and she agreed. Then the conversation turned to how many calories an apple had. I said that it wasn't much and that apples were low fat, fiber-rich and you could probably eat 2 or 3 a day, no problem. She said she was just starting a diet to lose weight and didn't know the caloric count of foods, etc. I gave her some advice as to how she could find out that information (she didn't own a computer) and she was ever so grateful. Really, she was so happy someone took the time to help her out.

It always makes me happy to help someone without it being preplanned. I feel like God put me in that place at that moment to have that conversation. Just a few minutes prior to that, I exchanged banter with an elderly lady and we ended up talking for at least 10-15 minutes (I loved how she said, "I'm 95, you know", and I couldn't believe it, she really looked at least 10 years younger!) Anyway, I could tell she was lonely and wished I could have talked with her longer but my sweet Carmen was patiently waiting and I knew she was really hungry for lunch. Poor Carmen, just as I finished talking with this lovely lady, a girlfriend I hadn't seen in years walked right up behind me and we talked for another 10 minutes. But Carmen was such a good girl. She never said a word, never complained. She was downright grouchy on the way home but that's o.k., she was good when she needed to be. But she did get rewarded for her good behavior.

Anyway, I got sidetracked here. What I've been thinking about all afternoon was how this lady I talked to didn't know how to find out the information she needed to help her diet. It's rather puzzling to think that, with all the ways of gaining information, doing research, etc, there are people that don't know where to start. I happen to love research and I also enjoy learning about nutrition, health, food, etc., so this kind of information comes easy to me. It just really struck me that someone didn't know an apple wasn't fattening!

I guess that is one of the most important things we can teach our kids: How to find the information they are seeking. If they can do that, they can learn anything. It just never dawned on me that someone may not know where to start. I don't know who taught me, but I'm glad they did.

FYI: I just checked and, according to one on-line source, a medium apple has 80 calories.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love spontaneous chats too. I have a feeling if we bumped into each other in a grocery aisle, we'd be there all afternoon! Isn't it fun to talk with elderly folks? I think it's so important to value them. They have so much wisdom and so many years to glean from.
Aloha,
Christa

Paula Vince said...

That is amazing. Sometimes the wealth of research options out there seem to leave the elderly behind. It's snowballed in the last decade.
Hey, after your homeschoolblogger post, it just occurred to me that crisp apples might soon be something you can't partake of so freely.
Enjoy,
Paula

Leingang Family said...

It always amazes Chris when I tell him all about someone I just met at the store. I guess that doesn't happen to him. :o)