Acceptance

This week has been a convenience food week. Last night I threw some frozen broccoli into a Near East rice pilaf mix and topped it with Parmesan cheese. Tonight we had baked potatoes with butter and sour cream and a side of broccoli. Tomorrow? Maybe spaghetti or some tortellini in broth with some frozen peas tossed in.

I don’t know when I wandered so far into the “healthy perfection” of food that I turned away from frozen veggies. I wouldn’t buy any convenience dinners, no “meal in a bag” things, no “just add water” foodstuffs. Of course I was perfectly okay with a bag of Double Chocolate Milanos or a few York Peppermint Patties.

I tend to think in extremes; things are always very black and white for me. I’m either on a health-food warpath…buying tofu by the crate, using only local produce, baking my own whole-wheat bread…or I’m spending every night at the neighborhood diner, eating a burger and fries (sweet potato fries, at least) or a stack of tostadas.

There has to be a middle out there somewhere! Surely there is some balance between fresh, local, and real food and those packages of pop tarts. Balance. That’s what I’m missing here.

It’s easy to assume, from reading food blogs, that most food writers eat home-made goodness every day…that every meal is colorful and well thought-out. I have to remember that blogs are just a snapshot of a life…and we all tend to show only those snapshots that make us look great, right?

Here’s a realistic snapshot of me:

**I ate about 5 pieces of candy from various candy bowls throughout my office this afternoon (in a 3-hour timespan).
**I probably used about 1/4 cup or more of butter on my baked potato tonight, and then I topped it with sour cream.
**I have no idea which country my grapes came from, and I don’t think I bought anything organic this week at the grocery store. (Maybe the pasta?)
**I like Fanta orange.
**I miss things like hamburger helper, fried baloney, and Fruity Pebbles.

but…

**I love the taste of a ripe, local tomato, still warm from the sun.
**For the most part, I eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full.
**Sometime this week, I’m making a crockpot full of summer squash, local purple hull peas, carrots, new potatoes, and tomatoes, and I know I will love it.

The other morning in yoga class, I set my intention as “Acceptance.” I think that’s a good goal for me.

5 responses to “Acceptance”

  1. Apparently my idea of balance has been cooking Monday thru Thursday and then eating out the entire weekend. A few weekends ago I ate pizza, Jack In The Box, Taco Cabana, and Sonic within a 24 hour period. Ho-jeez, I had to rethink my idea of balance, and I’m trying to spread a little restraint thru my diet now. However, that didn’t stop me from eating a cookie while making dinner and a small bag of potato chips after dinner last night.

  2. it’s totally true about putting your best face forward when blogging. am i going to write that on friday i had plain pasta with butter and pepper for lunch because my fridge was empty? or that i ate a 200g bag of chips or a whole wack of roasted beets in one sitting? both happened last week. acceptance is good.

  3. You know, I think it’s all a question of balance. We’re all going to tip over to one side every now and again, and yeah, our childhood programming often dictates those tips (for example, I just ate my first Cheetos in, oh, probably a year). I don’t think you should beat yourself up too much about these culinary lapses. Just do your best to eat well as much as possible, and detox the hell out of yourself after a binge of “bad” food. It’s what I do! [g]

  4. what a straight up honest post. i love that you buy normal non organic things and struggle for the balance because that’s me too. surely we strive for these ideals but i personally cannot do it 100% of the time. I also like the acceptance goal because alot of times i struggle with realizing my limitations and sometimes that buttery potato just has to be….thanks for saying so.

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