Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Food ...

For some people food is a method of sustenance. For others it can be an enemy. For me, food is not my enemy. It's often TOO much of a friend.

I snack. Frequently. I use food to make me feel better. Comfort food. Ice cream. Chocolate. Potatoes. Avocados. Butter. Bread. Pasta. Cheese.


Food can be amazing. When you head to a restaurant for the exquisite cuisine, know you're going to have something fabulous to eat, and feel completely satisfied, because it's dinner time. Or time for breakfast. Time to eat.

Should there be a time to eat? Do you eat on a schedule? I don't really. I kind of eat my 3 meals, but when they happen totally varies. Unfortunately I'm setting a similar guide for my daughter. She eats her meals, but she also wants to snack. Fortunately (on a + note!) she eats and snacks when she's hungry, so she's still at that childhood stage of not eating emotionally. Thank goodness.

When do we learn to eat emotionally, I wonder? I was a chubby kid, but not a chubby toddler. Did it start in 6th grade? Or earlier? Wasn't I a little bit thin in Junior High School? I think I was. Ah, well, that reflecting won't get me anywhere. Somewhere along the way I established a not-so-healthy relationship with food.

I turned to Ben & Jerry after a break-up. They were all I had. And likely almost all I ate. So ironically, I lost weight. How did that work, anyway?

At various points in my life I traveled overseas, and enjoyed fish and chips (I don't eat fish, but I tried a bite in London), amazing chicken korma (Indian food in London), jacket potatoes (Ireland), cheese, cheese and more cheese (Spain, of all places), and chocolate croissants (wherever I could find them!) ... oh, let me not forget Marzipan (Spain, as well)!

For some places, more than food, I can talk about the drink. ;) Various kinds of alcoholic ciders from around the world. Ah, the thrill of it. The fun of it. The ... taste of it. The hangovers. Yes, I'm human. I've over-imbibed a bit. At home in the US, and overseas, as well.

Don't get me wrong, I never had to travel far for food or drink when I lived in NYC. So my vacations aren't the only amazing food memories I have. There's the pumpkin ravioli at my favorite Italian restaurant, none better. Cucina de Pesce. The pineapple fried rice at Sea Thai in Brooklyn. The nachos with cheese at the Big Enchilada. Bagels. Pizza. Bagels. Pizza. Have I mentioned bagels and pizza? Spumoni at L&B Spumoni Gardens. And so much more.

Anyway, I've always thought, how cool would it be to do a food blog? And you know what? I can't. My relationship with food is not yet healthy enough. Besides, I tend to buy processed frozen crap too often. Not all the time, but sometimes I do. And who the heck needs to see that?

So that's a small outpouring. I don't know if it makes sense. I just felt a ramble coming on and figured I'd share it. What does food mean to you? Care to share?

6 comments:

  1. This post made me hungry. I love food. I love trying different things and can associate places with the food I had there.

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  2. I *hear* you! I LOVE LOVE LOVE food, especially good food, but if I'm in a mood, it doesn't have to be good, it just has to be food!

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  3. i liked your ramble.

    i love food. but since i have pre-diabetes, i am now forced to cut back on my favs - (see your second paragraph).

    cut back - not eliminate. whew.

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  4. How funny to read this post as I snacked on sweet olive oil tortas, imported from Spain. LOL!

    Snacks are tough--so easy to grab food when you're home all day. I eat breakfast (6:30), lunch (12), and dinner (5:30) with dessert (!)and try to have a snack at 10 and 2/3. I don't always abide by this, but it's my daily goal at any rate. Otherwise I'd just eat all.day.long.

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  5. I'm an 'anything eater'.

    Happy, sad, mad, anxious... you name an emotion and I want to fucking eat my way through it!

    My drug of choice... M&M's or Lays Chips. Sometime both!

    I was chubby all through middle school and high school. After I had kids I was HUGE. Then I lost 50 lbs last year... and I feel fantastic! But, there's always that fat girl inside me screaming "YOU'RE FAT" No matter what I do I am always thinking and obsessing over my weight.

    It sucks.

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  6. I try not to snack much, but if I do, it's something healthy...like apple w/ PB or baby carrots with hummus or yogurt w/ granola.

    If you don't set examples for your daughter now, she will fall into the same patterns. So perhaps this is your A-HA moment and what will motivate you?

    I love food, too. But I try to eat it in moderation. If I want ice cream once in a while, no problem, but I have a small scoop in a cup. COokies? one or two. But I also work out a lot and I do that so I can have a little more freedom with what I eat. My metabolism has definitely slowed since I turned 30 and that's been hard.

    The good thing is that you recognize it and you want to do something about it. That is the first step. I'm glad it's on your mind.

    I agree also with whomever said you should get your license. Driving will get you out more, will give you certain freedoms, etc...

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