After a recent ski tour on Teton Pass, my husband, Dave, and I stopped for some lunch at Pearl St. Bagels in Wilson. Though the homemade chicken and rice soup was tempting, I went for my favorite sandwich – spicy turkey, olive tapenade, banana peppers and greens on an everything bagel.
As I enjoyed my tasty bagel sandwich, I was glad to see the cozy space hopping with locals, still a social hotspot on the west bank. I thought about how tough the bagel biz must be these days, between decades of popular low-carb diets and more recent fads that shun grains altogether. Even health conscious folk who still eat bread may avoid bagels since they are typically made from refined wheat flour.
Back in college, bagels were a go-to for taste and economic reasons, with a dozen day-olds just $1! Though I still enjoy bagels, and they remain a fast, economic option on busy active days, the nutritionist part of me aims to balance them in ways that fit with my moderate approach to a healthier lifestyle. Pearl Street Bagels offers a variety of options that help me balance meals that can include their delicious freshly baked bagels.
First, eating high carbohydrate foods such as bagels during or after exercise provides quickly available energy for your activity. Normally we nutritionists steer you toward high-fiber whole grains and other carbohydrate foods that break down slowly, allowing a gradual rise in blood sugar along with more staying power to get you from one eating occasion to the next. It just happens that when we exercise, our cells readily take up blood sugar for energy without the need of excessive amounts of insulin so this is one of the better times to eat foods like bagels if you enjoy them.
Some other ways to balance the refined carbohydrate load of a bagel:
1. Pair the bagel with one of the yummy options that contain beneficial fats (or protein) — think wild salmon lox, avocado, olive tapenade, hummus and nut butters. Salmon, hummus and nut butter also have protein in addition to the obvious sources like turkey.
2. Make the bagel a vehicle for veggies (greens, tomato, peppers, sprouts, etc.) that add vitamins, minerals, fiber – and crunch.
3. Eat your bagel along with a cup or bowl of homemade soup – one that features beans, peas or lentils that will add fiber and protein.
One of the more difficult parts of the nutritional balancing act at places like Pearl Street is the variety of hot drinks and sweet treats in addition to the bagels. Sharing a sweet treat like one of their awesome homemade cookies is another way to balance your bagel meal without depriving yourself.
Hot drinks can be trickier to balance – our internal hunger and fullness cues don’t work as well with drinks as they do with food. If I’m in the mood for something sweet I usually try to decide if I prefer to eat or sip and make my decision from there.
Again, after an active day – especially in the cold winter months, your daily food budget likely has room for a Pearl Street Bagels lunch (or breakfast) and the balancing part happens over the course of the day or week. I am reminded of a Ben Franklin quote: “What one relishes, nourishes.”
Beyond Broccoli’s Mary Ryan is a new addition to the Dishing contributors team. Mary will help us navigate how to eat a little healthier at our favorite local establishments.
