Ewwww!

Confession: I HATE the Smart Balance peanut butter with omega-3's. It totally tastes like fish (not in the good way, 'cause I love me some fish!) and over-powers the flavor of peanuts! Any other hydrogenated oil-free peanut butter suggestions?

I commented on a fellow RD's blog this morning about "hitting the wall" in endurance sports. And in October when I'm not training for a marathon (my last one was 2005, sadly)...I get sentimental. Running a marathon was, without a doubt, an experience I would recommend to anyone and everyone. I know that sounds crazy, but the people who train for, compete in, and complete marathons include average Joe's from around the world, set out to accomplish one courageous feat. Today being Sunday and one week away from the Chicago Marathon, I am missing the training, the regimented workouts, and the feeling of being on a mission. While completing a marathon (at least the 2nd time) was by far the most difficult physical endeavor I've endured, it was also doubly as rewarding. My marathon medals hang in my office, proudly on display.

While running double-digit mileage on a daily basis is no longer my forte, I still enjoy running very much so. My sport of choice, however, has switched to ice-hockey over the past 6 months, and I continue to supplement my ice workouts with running and other popular aerobic activities.

I posted in response to a blogger's question regarding "hitting the wall" this morning. For those endurance athletes or marathon supporters out there, it may be of interest.

Also, I got an email today from my prior Dietetic Internship Director regarding a new USDA site that calculates Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) including macro and micro-nutrients based off age, height, weight, sex, and activity level. It's very neat - great, credible, and free resource for nutrition professionals!

Another (good) find this week was Lipton and Ocean Spray on-the-go mixes -- White Tea and Cran-Pomegranate. Though they are made with aspartame, they are a great caffeine-free option for those who have trouble getting down their water...or just want a tasty, guiltless beverage! I like them much better than the Crystal Light mixes, but that's just personal preference!

As for my diabetic diet reports, I am going to start reporting the previous day's intake in my posts. My days change too much to predict what will happen. So, here's yesterday:

Breakfast (10am):

1 1/2 c. Cheerios (2 carbs)

1 packet Truvia (0 carbs)

1 c. skim milk (1 carb)

cappuccino with 2 Tbsp sugar-free International Delight (0 carbs)

     Total: 3 carbs

Snack (1:30pm):

Full Bar (2 carbs)

Lunch - (5pm - husband insisted on using a gift certificate before it expired at a local bar...):

1 single-decker turkey and Swiss club on wheat (2 carbs)

lettuce, tomato, and light mayonnaise (0 carbs)

20 french fries (2 carbs)

     Total: 4 carbs 

Evening:

2 light beers (1 carb)

2 garlic knots (1 carb)

     Total: 2 carbs

Snack:

2% mozzarella stick (0 carbs)

5 Triscuits (1 carb)

     Total: 1 carb 

Exercise:

20-minute run (cut short because I couldn't miss Illini football kick off!)

So while I only got in 2 meals yesterday, I did have 3 snacks (one simply because I was drinking while watching college football). All-in-all, yesterday was a much easier day than anticipated. Weekend football with friends typically involves a lot of muchies laying around which are always hard to resist!

Looking forward to curling up with a movie and husband this afternoon, making an early squash and fettuccini dinner, and then off to my hockey game! Tomorrow, I'm looking forward to my first day wearing SCRUBS! I am beyond excited -- I think I'm going with the coral-colored pair!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

College Football Snackies

Question to bloggers: how can I get my text box where my posts go to be wider? There's so much wasted margin room...I hate that! Also, I've had some requests to not use white font so people can read blog posts on their Google Reader. Is there a way to change the font color of ALL my previous posts to make that transition easier? Thank you!

My poor Illini got pummeled by the Buckeyes yesterday...*tear*. I figured we were in for a tough game, but not even a field goal? Ouch! Yet, we were still able to enjoy ourselves with good drinks, good friends, and of course, good food!

Our weekend beer of choice as of lately has been Michelob Ultra -- lower in carbohydrate than nearly all other light beers. I'm gearing up for my 30 days as a diabetic, I guess!

And as for our snackies: Buffalo Chicken dip - yum! While it's certainly not THE healthiest thing in the world, it's a nice treat...especially if you enjoy it on celery stalks like myself! Also, in adopting this recipe into my arsenol, I did some research on "wing sauce". Ends up, there's more to wing sauce than mild, medium, and hot! Hooters wing sauce, for example, has 80 calories and 9 grams of fat (5 grams of saturated fat!!!) in just 2 tablespoons! Moore's Buffalo Wing Sauce contains 15 calories and 1 gram of fat per tablespoon. Both are packed with sodium, though...beware! Anyways, the Buffalo Chicken Dip is a fun crowd-pleaser, and a lighter version of many football weekend snackies!

Buffalo chicken dip

1 package (8 oz) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel), softened
1/2 cup fat-free ranch dressing
1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Colby Jack cheese blend or reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons chopped green onions (2 medium)
Whole grain crackers or celery sticks, if desired 

Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in dressing, buffalo wing sauce and water until blended. Stir in chicken and cheese. Spread in ungreased 1-quart baking dish or 9-inch pie plate; cover with foil. 

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Stir and top with onions. Serve hot with crackers or celery sticks.

Our OSU friends brought over chili...and if anyone knows how to make chili, it's them! It ALMOST makes up for the fact that they're OSU fans. And here they are in their OSU jerseys and their poisonous nut necklaces (*eye roll*)!

Josh and Tiffany

 Josh and Tiffany being silly...and our ugly red couch

And here's our happy family...even Pinky (our snake) came out to join the party yesterday (he's crawling on Mark's arm)! Not a great picture of anyone, especially of me...trying to hold up our 35+ pound bundle of joy!

Lily caught a nap at half time...

Enjoying a relaxing Sunday with plenty of sleep and the usual fresh fruit smoothie beefed up with flaxseed oil and protein powder - yum! Enjoy the rest of the weekend, thanks for reading!

Dinner, dessert, and stevia

I tried TWO new recipes yesterday -- chicken tortilla soup for dinner, and whole wheat chocolate chip cookies made with Southaven multigrain mix for dessert.

Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts -- cooked and shredded

15 ounces whole tomatoes

10 ounces enchilada sauce

1 medium onion -- chopped

4 ounces chopped green chilies

1 clove garlic -- minced

2 cups water

14 1/2 ounces fat-free chicken broth

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 whole bay leaf

6 whole corn tortillas

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

avocado slices -- for garnish

In an electric slow cooker, combine chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chilies and garlic. Add water, broth, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with canola oil or Pam. Cut tortillas into 2 1/2-by- 1/2-inch strips. Place on a baking sheet. Bake, turning occasionally, until crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle tortilla strips, cilantro and avocado over soup.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

*Per Serving: 235 Calories; 9g Fat; 24g Protein; 16g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 510mg Sodium.

*Nutrition Facts are not verified.

And dessert: multigrain chocolate chip cookies made with Southaven Farms mix!

Multigrain Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 tablespoons softened butter (I used Smart Balance)
1/2 cup Splenda Sugar Blend
1 egg (I used Egg Beaters)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 package Southaven Farm Multigrain Baking Mix
1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter (or butter and canola oil) and Splenda Sugar Blend on low speed until creamy. Add egg and vanilla and continue beating on low speed until well combined. Add 1/3 package Southaven Farm Multigrain Baking Mix and beat on low speed until everything comes together and forms a stiff dough. Stir in miniature chocolate chips.

Using about one tablespoon, make walnut-sized balls. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. (These cookies do not spread much.) Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes, rotating baking sheets from top to bottom/front to back after 4 minutes. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes and then remove to baking rack.

Both were DELICIOUS! A huge thumbs up from husband on the soup, especially. And our guests ate the cookies, so they can't be all too "healthy" tasting ; )

And last up: stevia. I found the position statement from the American Dietetic Association on the safety of stevia products. It is copy and pasted below. It's interesting stuff. Thanks, Sybil, for asking about it!

Title of Topic:	Stevia
Date of Release:	June 2009
Claim of Topic:	Are stevia-based sweeteners a healthier alternative to other non-caloric sweeteners?

Discussion of Topic:
Stevia (pronounced \'ste-ve-?\), is a bush native to Central and South America. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently released “no objection letters” to three companies that submitted Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notifications to FDA for highly purified Rebaudioside A (Reb A or rebiana) extract from stevia. It is expected that other steviol glycosides will also submit GRAS notifications to FDA expanding the non-nutritive sweetener market even further. Here are insights into the new stevia-based sweeteners and whether they could be considered a better option than the non-nutritive sweeteners currently available.

Safety:
In recent months FDA has recognized the GRAS status of highly purified Reb A sweeteners. As part of the GRAS process, experts reviewed published and unpublished studies and concluded that, under the conditions of its intended use as a sweetener, it can be safely used as an ingredient in foods and beverages. Derived from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni plant, Reb A is one of two main steviol glycosides. (The other is stevioside.) Both are 200-300 times sweeter than sugar and are calorie-free.

The safety of Rebaudioside A (and to a lesser extent, stevioside) for human consumption has been tested through peer-reviewed research, including metabolic and pharmacokinetic studies, general and multi-generational safety studies, including carcinogenicity studies; intake studies; and randomized, placebo-controlled human clinical trials. Studies with type 1 and 2 diabetics, as well as those with hypertension, have all shown no adverse effects with Reb A doses of approximately 4 to 15 mg/kg body weight per day. However, some consumer groups are calling for additional carcinogenicity and toxicology studies in a wider range of animal models other than rats and mice due to the possibility for potential DNA alterations and the metabolic and pharmokinetic differences between humans and rodents. In June 2008, the World Health Organization’s Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives, a global panel of food ingredient safety experts, completed a multi-year review of the available scientific data on high purity stevia compounds and concluded that they are safe for use as general purpose sweeteners. The Committee set a safe daily intake of 0-4 milligrams per kilogram of body weight as steviol glycosides.

Bottom Line:
Studies have demonstrated, and FDA concurs, Reb A-based sweeteners are considered safe for consumption as tabletop sweeteners or ingredients in foods and beverages. However, the studies supporting the highly purified compound Reb A should not be attributed to other stevia-derived sweeteners until approved by the FDA. At this time, no data exists that Reb A-based sweeteners offer a clinical advantage over any other non-nutritive sweeteners, although studies are ongoing to test whether there are natural plant compounds that offer some additional health benefits. While the sweeteners are marketed as “natural,” there is no official FDA definition of “natural.”

Opportunities for the Registered Dietitian(RD)/Dietetic Technician, Registered (DTR):
Stevia products are best used as replacements for calorie-containing sweeteners. RDs and DTRs can help educate consumers on the various issues related to new stevia-based sweeteners and products containing steviol glycosides so informed decisions can be made.

Resources/References:

1. International Food Information Council. Stevia Sweeteners: Another Low-Calorie Option. Food Insight, May, 2009.
   www.ific.org/foodinsight/2009/may/steviafi509.cfm
2. Kobylewski S, Eckhert C. Toxicology of Rebaudioside A: A Review. University of California, Los Angeles, 2008.
   www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/stevia-report_final-8-14-08.pdf
3. US Food and Drug Administration. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Office of Food Additive Safety. Agency Response Letter GRAS Notice No. GRN 000253. December 17, 2008.
4. World Health Organization. Safety evaluation of certain food additives/prepared by the sixty-ninth meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). World Health Organization, 2009.
   whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2009/9789241660600_eng.pdf

ONE DAY TIL COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : ) : )

Which sweet for me?

THANK YOU readers for all of your sugar insight! Turns out the real deal is taking a back seat to all that's out there. Between Splenda, Truvia, PureVia, turbinado, agave, etc...I do wonder how much granular sugar sales have been affected.

Anyways, while my husband (who still won't read my blog...) was napping...I went grocery shopping. While I typically avoid the grocery store like the PLAGUE on Saturday afternoons, I was interested in picking up some of your suggested sugar "substitutes" (be them calorie-free or not). So, here's what I ended up with: PureVia, Truvia, agave nectar, and turbinado -- all per your recommendations! And here's my cart:


I also picked up dates based of Gina's recommendation. I'm hoping to make some old fashioned crock pot oatmeal with the dates. Also in there was ingredients for my taste test #2 at work this week with my co-workers. I digress...

When I got home, I figured "Why not try them all and compare!?" So I did. And I took notes.

The contestants...

The set-up


The results!

Here's what I came up with...

1. Truvia: silky texture, heavier than Splenda; slightly bitter at first; granular - not powdery, if melted on tongue...tastes like room temperature vanilla ice cream : )
2. turbinado: large, sweet granules; less bold than brown sugar; maple-y
3. agave nectar: prune/date flavored; medium viscosity syrup; no after-taste
4. PureVia: sweeter and more bitter than Truvia; similar in flavor to Sweet'n Low; bitterness subsides

I have to confess that as I was leaving the store with all my new, healthy sugar alternatives...Sonic (which SHARES the parking lot with the grocery store, in my defense!) was having Happy Hour -- half-priced fountain drinks and limeades for those of you up north. Sooooooo I might've...probably...got a diet cherry limeade. While I know I won't ever be fully aspartame-free, I do think it's important to decrease the bad and increase the good in our lives. And for me, that includes diet cherry limeade. I HAVE, however, abstained from diet soda for over 3 weeks! This is huge for me...even though my habit was never more than 12 ounces a day, on average.

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend and enjoy the last football-less Saturday of the year! WOOT!

Do you know Hungry Girl? Do you do Vitas?

I’m hungry, yes…but not me. THE Hungry Girl.

If you aren’t signed up to receive daily email newsletters from HG, you ought to. Back in the day when I went from "unhealthy" to "more healthy" (to put it nicely), I guiltless-ly indulged in VitaMuffins and VitaTops. They have thus slipped my mind and out of my pantry's arsenal of healthy options...until now, thanks to Hungry Girl who advertises them regularly on her site. While I fully agree that I've gone slighly carb-crazy this week between No Pudge Fudge and now VitaMuffins and Tops...I all but apologize. Who doesn't need more guilt-free chocolate products in their lives?! That's what I thought. Go carb crazy here -- and don't feel an ounce of guilt over it! VitaMuffins and VitaTops offer lots of great varieties and flavors, and you can't go wrong. I haven't had anything I wouldn't walk a mile for! Plus, for 100 calories, lots of fiber, and minimal fat...rest assured, you're choosing a great treat!

And I couldn't stop at just ONE box of products...so I got 2! They were on sale buy 1 get 1 free!

And here's the contents...yumm!

And also from Hungry Girl, here’s a recipe I think I must try off her Tuesday emailing.

HG’s Boneless Wings

Ingredients:

4 oz. raw boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 8 nuggets

2 Tbsp fat-free liquid egg substitute

2 Tbsp whole-wheat flour

2 Tbsp sweet chili sauce

1 tsp seasoned rice vinegar

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

Dash of salt

Dash of pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and/or spray with nonstick spray.

Place chicken in a bowl, cover with egg substitute, and toss to coat. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, and black pepper. Mix well. One at a time, transfer chicken nuggets to the flour bowl, giving them a shake first to remove excess egg substitute – coat completely with flour, and then transfer to baking sheet.

Bake in the over for about 16 minutes, flipping halfway through, until chicken is fully cooked. Remove from the over and set aside.

Combine chili sauce, vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a bowl and mix well. Add chicken and toss to coat. Gobble up!

Makes 1 serving.

Per serving: 267 calories, 1.5 g. fat, 775 mg sodium, 30 g. carbohydrate, 2 g. fiber, 15 g. sugar, 31 g. protein

…Compared to Wendy’s boneless wings (8 nuggets): 550 calories, 18 g. fat, 2,530 mg sodium, 67 g. carbohydrate, 3 g. fiber, 27 g. sugars, 31 g. protein

For other great tips, food finds, and recipes visit Hungry Girl at hungry-girl.com!

Fat cells for life

If an overweight individual loses weight, do you think they lose their chubby fat cells? If you thought “yep”…think again.

(This is a big “aha!” moment for most people.)

The number of fat cells you acquire by your late teens/early 20’s are yours for life. When you lose weight, those cells do shrink in size, but they never go away. THIS is why maintaining weight after weight loss is so incredibly difficult – you’re predisposed to gaining it back. Literally. This is also why childhood obesity is a risk factor for adulthood obesity [1].

Think bariatric surgery can take some of those cells away for you? Not according to a study performed by Bruce Buchholz at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

For reasons as such, prevention is being shifted to childhood-aged population [1] – childhoods build lasting blueprints of what’s to come for our weight, health, and ultimately, our happiness.

On a lighter note, I got asked at work today to contribute to tomorrow's bake sale. With a hockey game this evening, I was short on time. I stopped on my way home, all sweat and picked up break and bake chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies... and of course: NO PUDGE BROWNIES! Mint AND raspberry. I taste tested just a bit and they are delicious!!! If you haven't tried these fat free brownies...you're missing out! They can be found in the baking aisle right next to their full-fat counterparts. The best part: you just add yogurt, mix, and bake. Does it get any easier than that? Try'em out!

[1]. Mahan, Rachel. Trying To Get Rid of Chubby Cells? Fat Chance. MSNBC. May 30, 2009.

Whipped out the crock pot!

Oklahoma has had some cool(ish) weather lately...leading me to believe summer is ending and the season of football and crock pots is on it's way in. I love fall! So in light of all that excitement, I whipped out the ole crock pot last night for it's first use of the season (and in Oklahoma). The delight: Cheesy Artichoke Chicken and Pasta. While I cannot credit this as a "new" recipe we're trying, it's been a long time. Last time, I made it in Chicago for Kristen...who gave it a big thumbs up. Mark and I give it a big thumbs up, as well. Super easy, SUPER cheesy. Enjoy!

Crock pot has been cookin' away on low for 6 hours. Boiling whole wheat egg noodles now...


There's the cheesy deliciousness


Italian wine ready to go : )


Add 4 cups of hot cooked pasta and stir.

Voila!

Cheesy Artichoke Chicken and Pasta

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts -- cubed (1 to 1 1/2)

4 oz roasted red peppers -- chopped (4 to 6)

15 ounces artichoke hearts -- quartered

8 oz fat-free American cheese

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 can 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup

2 cups fat-free shredded cheddar cheese

4 cups hot cooked pasta (I used whole wheat egg noodles)

to taste salt and pepper

In a 3 1/2-quart or larger crock pot combine chicken, peppers, artichokes, American cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and soup in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, add shredded Cheddar cheese and hot cooked pasta. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

Serves 5.

Per Serving*: 479 Calories; 2g Fat; 48g Protein; 67g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 51mg

Cholesterol; 809mg Sodium.

*Nutrition Facts not verified.

Leftovers today for lunch : ) Have a wonderful day!

P.S. We won both our hockey games yesterday - woot!

Exercise won't make you thin.

I can recall sitting in an undergrad nutrition class (who I believe was taught by the yummiest of professors) and having it explained how much more effective controlling diet for weight loss was than increasing exercise alone. Because really, weight loss is just simple math. To lose one pound, you need to create a deficit of 3,500 calories which can be done through the diet, exercise, or ideally, a combination of the two. With exercise alone, an average-sized adult owes the gym 35 hours of moderate-to-intense exercise, or approximately 35 miles of walking/running. Now that's not exact science, but it gets the point across: exercise alone will probably lead to osteoarthritis before it gets you to your weight loss goal (half jokingly). Needless to say, that yummy professor solidified my thoughts on proper nutrition -- it's important stuff, especially in regards to weight loss.

So TIME put out this article on August 9th explaining why exercise won't make you thin. In addition to the information above, the article explains that some believe exercise to increase their appetite, causing them to eat more and negate the work of their exercise. Some exercisers just make poor decisions because they exercise, likely overestimating the calories they expend during exercise [1].

The article states that there are more than 45 million Americans who belong to a gym, up from 23 million in 1993. Of course, that doesn't mean that people actually GO to the gym (unfortunately a membership alone does not qualify you as physically active). A study performed by the Minnesota Heart Survey found that more people say they exercise than the number who actually do. The 20-year survey found that the number of individuals saying they exercise rose from 47% in 1980 to 57% in 2000 [1].

Until recently, exercise was deemed an integral part of weight loss, when in fact, its role is largely over-stated. Exercise does, however, play an essential role in fighting chronic disease and in particular, heart disease...as well as cancer and diabetes [1]. So it's not to say exercise isn't hugely important...just maybe not so for weight-loss endeavors.

A recent study lead by Dr. Timothy Church randomized 464 overweight, sedentary women into 4 groups. The groups were asked to workout with a trainer for 72 minutes, 136 minutes, and 194 minutes per week for six months, with the last group being a control group. The women were asked to change nothing diet-related and to fill out monthly medical-symptom questionnaires. The results? On average, all the women lost weight. The three groups meeting with the trainer for varying lengths of time did not lose significantly more weight than the control group, however. Some women in each of the four groups actually gained weight -- some more than 10 lbs! What happened? Some of the exercising women ate more because the worked out. Some "rewarded" hard work at the gym with an extra treat. Some moved less when they got home because they worked out [1].

Current 2007 recommendations for exercise put out by the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association include 60 to 90 minutes most days of the week for weight loss. That's quite a lot for the average Joe [1].

A quote from the article:
"According to calculations published in the journal Obesity Research by a Columbia University team in 2001, a pound of muscle burns approximately six calories a day in a resting body, compared with the two calories that a pound of fat burns. Which means that after you work out hard enough to convert, say, 10 lb. of fat to muscle — a major achievement — you would be able to eat only an extra 40 calories per day, about the amount in a teaspoon of butter, before beginning to gain weight. Good luck with that."

So today during my TWO hockey games (makes me tired just thinking about it!), I will opt for water in place of my G2 (Gatorade's low-sugar option). While even I was thinking, "It's just 100 calories...I'm burning WAY more than that"...I am reminded of otherwise. Thanks, TIME.

[1]. Cloud, John. Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin. TIME. August 9, 2009.

Today's Confessions of a Dietitian

Sonic. 44 ounces, please. Now...

If you've never tried Sonic's Diet Cherry Limeade, you're missing a little piece of heaven. Sonic hosts their daily "Happy Hour" between 2 and 4pm where these amazing slushes are half off - SCORE! Mmmm...

While I almost decided to write, "It's DIET, don't judge" on my 44-ouncer (that sits on my desk all afternoon as I counsel the overweight and the diabetics), I recalled how conveniently guilt-free my indulgence is. For a mere 25 calories, I can partake in my afternoon delight...shamelessly. And so, I do.

When I was paying at Sonic today, however, I got to thinking about Sonic etiquette. I'm from the north as we know, and Sonic's are NOT more frequently spotted than gas stations anywhere but Oklahoma. So I quizzed local Oakie's as to whether or not tipping your carhop was an appropriate gesture, and if so, what's an appropriate tip?

Consensus: "Keep the change." I'm down with that, except that my $2.08 habit (not during 2-4pm) would run me another $0.92 on a daily basis. I don't make enough for that, now! I decided $2.50 was a fair compromise, and I loaded up my change receptacle in my car.

Crisis averted. But in all seriousness, you should grab yourself a little sip of heaven next time you pass by a Sonic. It won't disappoint.

Disclaimer: Sonic Diet Cherry Limeade is highly addictive. Consume with caution.