Have you ever parented yourself, to make sure you behave? How well did it work? Or did it just makes things worse? As I struggle to get through week 1 of low carb eating again, I am reminded of how much I hate to cook. Cooking is boring and just means more dishes to clean and put away. Unfortunately, it isn’t an option if you want to eat better. The parent, inside of of my head, wants to drill sergeant me through clean eating bootcamp, while the rebellious teenager, inside me, wants no part of it! Face the facts, Jeanne. If one wants to lose weight, one has to stop getting their meals handed out of a window! Learn to shop, cook and chop up vegetables! YIKES! It takes so much time and effort! Yep! Get used to it! You’ll save money, feel better and at least you know what you are actually ingesting.
Reminds me of going through a Jimmy Johns’ once. Yum, I love me some Jimmy Johns’ and used to eat the SAME sandwich 2-3 times a week. As I pull up to pay, I observe an older woman, I had not seen before, start to make my sandwich. A young woman, obviously a trainer, stood behind her and was coaching her. It was a warm day and the drive-thru window was left open and I could hear their conversation.
Trainer: “Ann, that is not the way you make an Italian Night Club.”
The older woman just ignored her and kept piling on various random meats.
Trainer: “ANN! STOP! THOSE AREN’T THE CORRECT INGREDIENTS!!!.”
The older woman spun around and gives her that fed up mom, dagger-eyes stare that screams!!!!!…”You kids will eat what I make! What does this look like? A restaurant?” Hahaha!
The trainer took a step back and I held my breath to see what would happen next. The older woman turns back around and silently wraps up my sandwich. She then hands it to the trainer, throws a stack of cheese back in the cooler and storms off. The trainer was speechless! She shrugs her shoulders as she hands me my sandwich and I drive off. To tell you the truth, at that point, I didn’t care what was on it, as I wasn’t going to argue with Mama about her sandwich artist skills either.
Even though fast food saves time, effort and energy, how often is it satisfactory? Too much mayo, stale buns, Mcmuffins that look like they have been microwaved instead of toasted. Or thinly sliced Roast beef that is so shiny and colorful that you wonder if it came from a Unicorn. Yum! Why do I (we) continue to do it? Because I think, in some way, it makes us feel loved and cared for when someone cooks for us. Even if it is a stranger and we have to pay for it. Especially when they smile as they are handing it out the window to you.
For my 2016 New Year’s resolution, I have decided to love myself through cooking real food. Yes I will! No matter how much of pain in the back pockets it is. Maybe I will also splurge and buy some lovely storage containers and a re-usable bag. Then if I feel like I am lacking some love or comfort, at lunchtime, I will give the bag to one of my co-workers and ask her to hand it back to me. With a smile. I can feel the love already!
Yep, this is the year of real food.
Jeanne, you will eat what I make you and you will like it! Yes Ma’am!
Image courtesy of joephotostudio at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Rambles, Rants and Revelations 