Week in Review: Kitchen Epiphanies

Okay, so I have a confession to make.

When I started this whole eating healthy and getting exercise thing, I was resistant. Okay, 'resistant' isn't quite accurate; I was utterly against it. Now that I'm just over 3 weeks in I'd like to apologize. I'm sorry I was so hard on this idea, so down and unconfident that it would even make a difference. I'm sorry I bashed it and I'm sorry I took the time to think up creative insults about it. I'm not sorry for shouting about being run over by a truck - every once in a while it's healthy to let off steam in a safe environment. But for the rest...

I'm sorry.

Why? Because I have already seen results. Because my body has responded so quickly to the changes in my eating habits. Because, after 3 weeks, I don't crave sugary soda but soda water instead. I know! Water! Who would have thought?

This past week I've made some new dishes and tried out veggies I wouldn't have normally tried. The Avocado Chicken salad (light on the mayo, use mustard to make up the difference) was amazing. The roasted articoke, while tasting all right, didn't rock my world and ended up being really hard on my digestive system (which is totally out of whack since the accident, but quite frankly, I don't blame it; it took a beating). The Italian Sausage stirfry was a total win. And all these things (wait for it...) were perfectly good for me.

Dun dun DUN. Kitch-epiphany.

And now, my second kitch-epiphany story of the week. Scene: Sunday night, tiny galley kitchen.

I was craving homemade chocolate chip cookies. I was almost drooling at the mere thought of them. And I said to myself, "Self, you are on a DIET, which means 'Don't Ingest Every Treat'. You are not on a DIAT, which clearly means 'Don't Ingest Any Treats'. You deserve cookies." So off to the kitchen I went, and made time with the Kitchenaid stand mixer I did.

The cookies came out perfectly: I use Crisco instead of butter or margerine (it has the exact same calories, fat, etc. as the margerine I typically use) because it makes the cookies fluffy and moist. I even used the regular recipe instead of the "lower fat" version because, sneaky of them, they replace the fatty egg yolks with more flour. So, instead of getting good-for-you Omega-3 fats, you are getting bad-for-you refined flour carbs. Naughty.

I put all 25 of the wonderful, delightful nuggets on the rack to cool, and I went back in the living room to wait. An hour passed before I went, "Zohmygawd, I left perfectly good cookies on the counter just waiting to be eaten!". This should have been my first hint. Diving into the kitchen to grab one, I bit into the chewy morsel and savoured the flavour. It was heaven. I took my time, finishing it slowly. And once it was gone, my very next thought was, "That was good. I should put the others away before I go to bed."

WHAT?! What was that?! Where was the immediate, "I need another one to put in my face RAWWR"? It didn't come. I waited for it. But it never came. One cookie was all I wanted.

One. Cookie.

Dun. Dun. DUNNNNNNNNNNN.

Anyone who has known me for a number of years would know that, prior to this, I would make up excuses to eat said cookies: "That one misses his friend", "This one is just a pre-breakfast snack", "This one is a post-breakfast dessert", and so on. I love cookies, and homemade cookies are my weakness. So where did this come from, this nonchalance about the whole cookie situation? It came from watching what I was eating, from drinking more water and less sugar, from just generally being mindful of my body's needs. And darn it all if I don't actually approve of it. It certainly saves me plenty of cookies for later, if I ever get the craving again. Plus, I know that Matt will have some waiting for him when he arrives home, which he will appreciate, and that makes me feel good.

Dammit. I like my diet. DUNDUNDUNNNN.