The new Panera flavored lemonade is 150 calories in a twenty-ounce cup. This is listed at the very top of the banner on the app, above such paltry details as price and availability.
I’m two years postpartum, far enough from the birth of my second child to not really be able to call myself postpartum anymore. However, the extra weight from his pregnancy is still present, so I’m constantly mindful of what I eat. Counting grams of protein. Trying not to drink my calories. This lemonade doesn’t have any nutrients to offset that glaring 150 number: no caffeine for energy, no protein for fullness, no fiber for… well, you know. But it’s summer, and I look at the picture in the app for a long moment: the red flecked with green, the crushed ice. I order it—quick, no take-backs.
I’m a Sip Club member, so at least it’s free.
In the drive-thru, my kids wail in protest as I pause their Digger Rex podcast. “Just for a moment,” I say. “Just while Mommy talks to the person at the window.”
“Are we getting a cookie?” my four-year-old shouts.
