Out Cold on the Floor of the Ring

Last week I beat a binge! Yes that's right I beat it down cold!

I could feel it bubbling up inside of me, calling to me: "get some chips" (I've been known to consume an entire bag of corn chips in one 30 minute drive home from work!) "stop to eat at any ol' mexican food place and eat, eat, eat (even the worst place would do - don't you know that's where the huge burritos are with all the cheese and corn chips a family could consume on one plate)" "open the rye crisp package, bring out the margarine and have at it girl (the substitute and precursor to the bag of chips)".   This went on for a couple of days! I was  feeling like  there was this boxing ring inside me and I was getting pounded.

Then I stopped.  I know I love Mexican Food and have to figure out how to enjoy it without going over the deep end! So here's what I did....

One evening I came home and fixed soft corn tortilla quesadillas with a nice salad. I almost took a pic but was too excited.  :-)

Then the next evening, before going to church, I stopped in at Santa Fe Tacqueria in NW PDX...enemy territory.  But I was determined to succeed!  So I ordered 2 soft tacos with chicken and black beans, no cheese.  And a very small basket of chips (like I said, my FAVORITE binge food!).  Well...I did pretty darn good if I do say so myself.  I left most of the corn tortillas, ate only half of the small serving of chips, and (most importantly) finished completely satisfied, beating the binge! It was out cold on the floor of the ring.


Give this girl a high five!

Hunger or a "desire to eat"?

I've noticed sometimes when food pops into my mind I'm not really hungry!  But rather there is a desire to go to the food, look at it, maybe pace around the kitchen a bit, fix something to eat, bring it back to where I started, get settled, and then eat.  All the while not feeling any true phycial hunger pangs...you know, the grumbling stomach, the tiny slight headache that tell you, "Gosh, it's time to eat now."  Sometimes this will happen an hour after I eat!

The reality is I'm not hungry!  Instead I'm restless or trying to avoid a task!  I have to watch for these times and label my search for what it really is - avoidance? boredom?  Then change what really needs to be changed instead of stuffing those feelings down with food.

Trying something new

I have been packing my lunch quite regularly and it's always good to have fruit and veggies to snack on through out the day. Recently I was reading how important it is to have a variety of foods in our diet. Last summer I experimented with making refrigerated pickles, so I thought I would get another batch made. This time I wanted a recipe with a lot less sugar but the problem is the sugar is replaced with artificial sweeteners.

So instead I made Ratatouille (yes, I did just watch the movie!).  I've never cooked eggplant with any success so it seemed a bit risky.  But what fun it was.  The smell of the basil made me feel the summer coming.  And while stirring the onions, garlic, tomato paste and chicken broth I was picturing myself cooking with Jamie Oliver!  I'll have a great dinner (a dish I can't remember ever having eaten before) and a couple of very tasty lunches in the next couple of days.

If you're feeling like you need to try something new, here's the recipe - :
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/227/Ratatouille