A quick post here since for some strange reason, I'm pretty tired tonight, even after a nicely moderate, party-free day. It's in honor of moderation, in fact, that I thought I'd share an interesting observation. I had two burgers today, one for lunch, one for dinner. Doesn't sound moderate, I know, but stay with me. The lunch version was a black-bean burger (Morningstar Farms), on a toasted Lite Thomas whole-grain English muffin (I love English muffins, and this version packs 8 grams of fiber and only 100 cals each), with a few avocado slices and a dab of salsa piled on as well. It was...incredible.

The second burger, for dinner, was the real deal: 90% lean ground beef, grilled, on a sesame seed bun, with tomato, lettuce, and pickles. I made it quite small to keep it somewhat healthful, and loaded up on the veggies. It was also delicious, but you know what? And here's the observation: the black bean burger was BETTER! I mean, I know that I love black bean burgers, but nothing beats a great hamburger, so I'm a bit surprised. But hey, I've never tasted the two (sort of) against each other, after a full week of rich holiday tasties (including hamburgers on the 4th). I guess my bod was ready for something, uh, lighter. More moderate. No! Plus, crazy as this will sound to you burger lovers out there - the spicy-salty-creamy-chewy thing the black bean version had going on pushed more flavor buttons than the beefy version. (Not that I'm giving up hamburgers anytime soon, mind you - even after watching Fast Food Nation - oh no.) I really like knowing that a meatless, much lower-calorie, high-fiber version satisfies me just as well as the beloved calorie-bomb version. Yeah, it's good to know.

So that's it. Not that fascinating, sorry. I'm weird, I know, that little moments of naturally-occurring moderation really jazz me, but I can't help it. My quest lives on...