The Power Of A Subsitute


I snapped the pic above this morning of my recycling bin. 95% of the material in there is plain old seltzer cans. Not the stuff spiked with grain alcohol for the carb-cutting crowd who still want to get wasted.  Maybe I am wrong in that determination. I can't see drinking that stuff for taste. I mean, it doesn't taste awful. It is just a zero compared to beer, wine, or bourbon.

That is not to say that I find non-alcohol seltzer to not be refreshing. I do. I like the cold and carbonation.  I suppose the flavor is a plus but I dig Pellegrino which has no flavor. Ever since I have been shopping at Scavengermart down the road, I have been picking up cases of cans of seltzer at 20 cents per can and stocking the Beer Fridge. Which brings me to the point of this post. The power of substitution.

I very much enjoy beer. That should not come as a surprise to anyone who knows me even slightly. I think it is a Gift of God for which I am thankful. Yet. like other pleasurable things, more can lead to less, what we are looking for eludes us. Trying to fill the abyss with alcohol. Mere willpower to keep beer drinking in moderation is not the answer to the abyss. It is finding a healthier alternative that captures at least some of the upside (cold and carbonated) while minimizing the downside (intoxication and calories and cost). 

This is true in many other scenarios of course, not just alcohol. Yet alcohol is a stumbling block for many and developing healthy alternatives reframes the battle. I have instituted some rules to measure this consumption issue. I don't think rules are an easy answer but it is a way to guide choices and measure compliance to goals,

I call it the Rule of Threes. Drink 3 or less alcoholic beverages on 3  days of the week. Leave 4 days completely alcohol free (usually Monday through Thursday) and hit the seltzer instead. I am convinced that  most addictions start small and grow. The normality of having a drink daily now becomes two or three per night. Worse yet, is to lose count and keep going. The battle is lost then. Casualties ensue which is a measurement of too little and too late. 

*After-Thought: I have been using measurement and metrics a lot to assess meeting my goals. And completing tasks.Taking a bit of time to measure saves a lot of guesswork. A new task is learning how to make a good cup of espresso and a buddy challenged me to buy a scale and stop eye-balling it. Tomorrow is the espresso test.

I did weigh my coffee beans this morning for both a Kalita Pour-Over and a French Press. My initial observations demonstrate that the digital scale will quickly pay for itself as I have been using too many beans for brewing. A lot of waste going on. With the espresso maker it is even more critical to be exacting about the beans and the grind. Espresso execution requires precision.  

               

  

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