The skinny on my complicated relationship (part 1ish)

My mission president reminded me on several occasions I made my life too complicated.

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 Guilty as charged!

Oh the many times he helped me sort out the needless complications I added to life. Thanks President Swain!

I've been sorting out my complicated relationship with food for years, and even with the help of close friends and family, complete strangers, and even professionals, the clarity and peace has mostly come from lots of personal introspection and many long talks with God.

diving into the truly sticky stuff: Amish Sticky Buns
Reading Terminal Market (Philadelphia, PA)

As I grew up food was an important part of my family. There were a number of us kids. That number was 12.

If you wanted a second serving at dinner, you ate fast. Don’t get me wrong, we never went hungry. Ever. There was miraculously always a plentiful supply of crumbly, 100% whole wheat, homemade bread.

My mother is a hero and saint. I cannot think of a greater example of self-sacrifice and tireless work, other than my father. And Christ himself. But there were a lot of mouths to feed. What an expensive and time consuming undertaking. We had a lot of oatmeal, homemade bread, and potatoes, noodles, and rice. Cold cereals were exotic. Pizza from Dominoes was a sensory delight. And sugary snacks? Heaven.

There wasn't a holiday or tradition that wasn't connected to food. And those connections are ingrained in the recesses of my memory and come out in involuntary responses to everything I experience.

Name a season or holiday or place, I’ll give you a food.

Example: It’s the first day of Fall and the trees are turning orange and yellow in Provo Canyon, the air is brisk and ripe with the smell of wet, fallen leaves. I think of Ivan’s Spice Wafers with apple cider to wash them down.

Christmas Eve? Lasagna and whole milk.

Easter? Hand dipped chocolate pretzels and coconut candies.

Pool? The generic brand of Cheerios mixed with raisins.

Everything good and happy in my childhood is connected to distinct food combinations. Sounds wonderful, right?  Makes sense since the diet sustaining me had rare but exhilarating variance, especially when my mysterious health struggles cropped up and restricted my food consumption in many highly undesirable respects. 

Day One Sans Sugar

 Solution to cut cravings and resist the fruit bars = air-popped popcorn with olive oil and salt

Simple:

measure 1/2 c. corn kernels into an hot air popper and let it work it's magic!

drizzle popped corn generously with olive oil

sprinkle with salt

mix by hand

enough to share with a crowd of 4+ depending on how much you actually want to share...

In the Beginning

Who knew that no sugar and zero milk could look so luscious???

peanut butter candies...personal spin off of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup

Well they don't. This is full of both dairy and refined sugars.

To simplify and explain the fundamental beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there are The Articles of Faith. Most start with “We believe” and outline simple beliefs about Deity, religion, and our purpose on this Earth. As a summation of all the previous 12 statements of doctrine, the thirteenth and final article concludes that we believe, “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.”

And that is why I personally believe in eating delicious food.

I’m on a quest of learning to prepare and present beautiful, delicious, flavorful foods. Foods that will help me feel pleasure not only in the consumption, but in the whole process of production. I also want to understand and solidify my relationship with food. As I will explain in later posts, it’s needlessly complicated. Above all, I need to learn how to make foods that will help my body feel fantastic and show it that I actually appreciate it and want to take care of it.

Quality is everything. I am not anti-milk and I don’t plan on never eating sugar again as long as I live (although the latter may not be an entirely bad idea). I just know for my body in particular, these ingredients don’t enhance my ability to function. So if I’m going to use a bit of butter or indulge a sweet craving, I want to make sure I can savor high quality and flavor in every single bite. No fat-free, highly processed junk.

So whether you’re on a quest to become healthier, or are well versed in the ways of finding time to prepare quality vegetable dishes, join me in the journey!