Having been on an "eating better" diet for several months now, I have come to realize some things. Pretty much the biggest thing is that not living at home where my parents cook meals sucks. Basically, I want to eat good-tasting food without much effort that is also decently healthy. And I have found that to be impossible. Thus, I present to you the "Greg Hendricks Law of Mutual Exclusion," or GHLOME.




Basically, this law states that no food may possess any more than two of the following qualities: Tasty, Healthy, and Convenient. Foods may possess less than two of these qualities, but never more than two. "Tasty" encompasses both the flavor of the food and the overall satisfaction of eating it. "Healthy" refers to the nutritional content of the food: being low in calories and containing nutrients in some form. The third quality, "Convenient," can be summarized by things such as: price, availability, preparation time/effort, and shelf life.

Some examples might be:

• Fast food: Tasty, Convenient
• Sit down restaurant: Tasty
• Lean Cuisine: Healthy, Convenient
• Fresh fruit or vegetables: Healthy
• Home-cooked meals: Tasty, Healthy

So, as you can see, there's no real catch-all meal. There are a few honorable mentions, such as Subway and Chipotle (Tasty, not quite Healthy, Convenient), cereal (not quite Tasty, Healthy, Convenient), and grilled chicken (Tasty, Healthy, not quite Convenient). In the event that any of you readers know of "the perfect meal" which possesses all three qualities, please share. Until then, I will continue to search.