Letter from Boston
Meal On the Run
By MASAKO YAMADA
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急ぎの食事
最近アメリカでは、一個で一食分の栄養が補える「エネルギー・バー」が売れています。もともとは登山家や運動選手など、特に食事に気を使う人を対象に販売されていましたが、ここ数年は種類も増え、だれでも簡単に入手できるようになりました。人気の理由は?
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I used to have a teacher who would get up late, forget to
eat breakfast and lunch, and would then have her first
meal of the day at around 3 p.m.
Even then, she wouldn't even have a full meal. She would
run around the corner and buy a sandwich or something
she could eat while working. To my immature eyes, this
seemed to be a ridiculous way to live, or, at least, a
ridiculous way to eat.
However, more than once, I've found myself roll out
of bed at 10:00 a.m., rush to school, skip lunch and
become hungry in the afternoon. I have shocked my foreign
labmates by munching on potato chips or a chocolate
bar or a McDonald's hamburger for my combination
breakfast-lunch-dinner. I would then have a late evening
snack.
I certainly can't blame my lab-mates for being
surprised. Many of them take a leisurely lunch every
day, starting with a salad, and ending with a round of
coffee at a coffee shop. I certainly don't feel forced by
my labmates to eat in a hurry. Indeed, the opposite is
true.
I think many of them feel that a good meal helps them
work more efficiently in the afternoon. I wouldn't be
able to argue with them, since many of them are more
productive scientists than I am.
My labmates know that I like to cook and to eat at good
restaurants. We've eaten liver pate, pigs ears and
intestines together. For this reason, they seem
especially puzzled by my rather stark and efficient
lunches. They use my eating habits as proof of my
strange American ways.
I wonder what they think of the new American phenomenon
of eating "energy bars" instead of meals. It's common
for food-lovers to make fun of the longtime
science-fiction notion of eating just one pill a
day.
However, these energy bars, which are essentially the
same as what science-fiction writers wrote about, seem to
be getting more and more popular. The bars are full of
all the fiber, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and
minerals that one needs for a meal.
In theory, three bars are sufficient to feed a
person for a day. I was able to pack a few days' supply
of emergency food for my Belize vacation in a small
pocket of my bag.
These bars, which are marketed under names like "Power
Bar," "Think Bar," "Zone Bar" and "Bal
ance Bar," have actually been around for a long
time.
However, until now, I think they have been marketed
towards mountain climbers, athletes and dieters, who
definitely have to be careful of what they eat. Nowadays,
I see quite a few students eating them in place of
meals, including some graduate students in my department
(not the Europeans, though).
In the past year or so, I have seen these energy bars
being sold in increasingly commonplace stores,
including convenience stores on campus, pharmacies and
supermarkets. There used to be only one or two brands,
with just a few flavors, like chocolate and mocha.
Now, there must be at least 10 different brands at my
local supermarket, with over 20 flavors. I've seen
gourmet flavors such as blueberry, lemon meringue,
chai (spiced tea), oatmeal raisin and pecan pie.
There are bars with "brain-enhancing" nutrients,
and bars specifically formulated for women.
Unfortunately, the enticing flavor descriptions on
the label are rarely accurate; I would have to say that
many of the energy bars that I've tried are barely
edible. However, somehow this makes it seem as if the
bars are more effective.
I am reminded of weekend athletes who like to drink
"scientifically engineered" sports drinks like
Gatorade not because they like the taste, or because
they need the extra electrolytes, but because they want
to feel that they are actually exercising hard enough to
need such drinks.
I suspect that energy bars have taken off partly
because people want to feel that they need to eat such an
evolved food product, as well. Who doesn't want to eat
something that alpine climbers, slim and glamorous
movie stars and successful physics researchers eat? I
suppose there are plenty of people who want to believe
that their lives are just as busy, their time just as
important and their bodies just as deserving of all
those concentrated vitamins.
Shukan ST: Feb. 16, 2001
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