A Light Dairy Scandal
I’m rarely the type to march through the supermarket, checklist in hand, darting from aisle to aisle like a woman on a mission.
More often, I meander through the shelves, half-lost in thought, on the lookout for inspiration.
That’s probably why the shopping cart of the lean marathon runner catches my eye - tofu, low-fat cottage cheese and a suspicious number of eggs.
It reminds me of a story a friend recently told.
In his office, an employee asked to speak with him urgently, in private.
Oddly, the man had skipped both his direct supervisor and that supervisor’s boss, going straight to my friend - the boss’s boss.
So our friend took the request seriously.
That same afternoon, he invited the employee into his office to hear about what clearly seemed to be a pressing issue.
“You should know that I consume three large tubs of fat free cottage cheese every day - and nothing else.“ the man began.
“I store my midday portion in the office fridge until lunch.
But someone actually stole my fat free cottage cheese today.
And now I can’t follow my meal plan.”
I’m convinced my friend might be the most compassionate boss of all time.
It didn’t even occur to him to ask whether the man realized how trivial this problem might sound.
Instead, he listened patiently, helped him cool down, offered a few constructive ideas and even suggested he could track down a replacement cottage cheese himself.
So now, as I glance over at the protein-packed cart next to me, I can’t help but wonder whether the runner has already made plans to safely refrigerate his groceries.
But I decide not to ask.
A mother’s voice pulls me out of my cottage cheese musings.
With the gravity of a general issuing commands, she addresses her four-year-old child seated in the cart:
“So. What did I tell you to remind me of?”
Without missing a beat, the kid fires back:
“Gummy bears.”
Her response - offended, almost betrayed:
“No! Organic soy sauce.”
I laugh so loudly at this sharp little guy that his mother shoots me a dirty look.
Maybe the boy noticed the runner’s ascetic selection too and just wants to make sure his own cart looks a bit more fun.
Instead, he watches the organic soy sauce join the jar of seitan, and I feel genuinely tempted to sneak in a small bag of Haribo when no one’s looking.
Now, let me be clear - i’m not mocking anyone who tries to eat clean.
I care deeply about not mistreating my own body with constant junk food.
Still, I truly believe those little culinary indulgences - the ones that make our eyes light up and our taste buds cheer - are part of what makes life worth living.
So, here are our tips for shops where sweet temptations are taken seriously:
Andersen & Maillard Kopenhagen
(PS: our friend’s employee now stores his cottage cheese in a coded lunchbox inside the office fridge - a private little protein insurance policy.)
