The Self-Serve Dilemma

The other night, my family and I had a hankering for frozen yogurt. We decided to try the newer local self-serve place, as opposed to our usual spot where you order a specific size, flavors and toppings and they make it up for you. The experience really opened up my eyes to how self-serve food establishments can either make or break an eating plan.

For starters, there are the cups. At our usual place, we can order a mini-size cup (about 4 oz., I think), or a small, medium or large. But at the self-serve, the cup choices are large or huge. There's a sign posted that reads "39 cents per ounce" in big letters, but how many ounces fit into one of those large cups? How am I supposed to approximate my "mini" cup in a gargantuan one? Since I can serve myself as much as I want in as many flavors as I want, it's very difficult to gauge.

Next, of course, comes the frozen yogurt itself. Both places offer low-fat and non-fat in several yummy flavors. They all sound good. But in my full-service place, I would never order all those flavors for risk of sounding piggish (plus it would get mighty expensive). However, at the self-serve, I can put a little of this and a little of that in my trough-like cup without anyone else knowing exactly what's in there. Very private--but the calories can add up quickly.

Finally, there are the toppings. Again, at the full-serve I need to TELL them what I want on top of the yogurt. And I'm certainly not going to ask for peanut-butter chips, almonds, chocolate-covered raisins, fudge grahams and chocolate sauce--yet I wouldn't hesitate to put a bit of each of these on my self-serve cup.

So what do I have in the end? At the full-service spot, I have a yummy snack or dessert with a reasonable calorie count. But at the self-serve, who knows?

Now, of course, I could do my research and find out exactly how much yogurt I need in my cup and exactly how much of which toppings should go on it without breaking my calorie budget. But do I really want to work that hard for my dessert? I don't think so.

Just some food for thought as you face life's temptations.