Last week, I asked on Facebook who really reads my blog. I'm curious to know who reads my efforts, who is following my journey, but mostly, I was wondering if there were any specific questions I could address here in my blog. I know if I was sitting back and watching a journey like mine unfold, I'd have a ton of questions but may be too inhibited to ask. Yeah, right... me inhibited. Funny, huh? Anyway, I'm an open book, hence the name "Paige" (I'm so punny, I just crack myself up!), so if there is anything you want to ask me, just do it. There is nothing I won't answer. Let me think about that... there is not much I won't answer, but there is nothing about the journey I won't answer!
So, reader Angela asked, "When you were eating clean, could you really tell a difference or were you just proud of yourself for the discipline? Did you miss the comfort foods?"
Great questions, aren't they?
When I was on the cleanse, I missed everything! I got to the point where I thought I would choke if I had to eat another bite of salad. The Green Smoothie that I loved so much in the beginning became something that would almost make me gag. And my wine and rum? Don't even ask me how I made it 21 days without them! I didn't like the cleanse, but I knew I must do it properly in order for it to be effective, so I did.
I enjoyed trying to cook healthy, though. I experimented several times making a ragout that, although it was a little different each time, I found it delicious every time! I learned ways to focus my meals on vegetables instead of proteins. I had several vegetarian meals which was really weird for me. But, I do think something that helped me was having the Farmer's Market available with lots of fresh produce. I liked trying new tastes and flavors.
Being a meat and potatoes girl all my life, my meals used to focus on what kind of meat I was going to have and how I would cook my potatoes; not rice, not pasta, but potatoes! Oh how I loved a potato! Baked, mashed, fried, french-fried, scalloped, instant, you name it, I loved it! Except sweet potatoes. Yuk. Ever since I can remember, mashed potatoes were my go-to comfort food. My Mimi's mashed potatoes are the best in the world. As a little girl, after church, Mimi and Grandpa and I would go to a local family-owned cafe for Sunday lunch (meat and three). I always ordered the same thing, every Sunday, for YEARS--ham and three orders of mashed potatoes and gravy. KFC mashed potatoes and gravy work wonders in a pinch when you are sick, by the way. To say mashed potatoes have been a life-long comfort food for me would be an understatement.
But now... I don't miss them. Honestly. Seriously. And I've had some here and there on the journey. They just aren't worth how they make me feel anymore. I DO feel healthier when I eat clean. Yes, I can tell a difference. Not everything clean tastes good or is something I like, but as I'm eating something clean, I know I will feel better than if I eat "dirty".
Something I am missing immensely is dessert. My Mimi nearly always has homemade desserts whenever she's cooked a meal, whether it be a simple lunch or a huge holiday dinner, there is homemade dessert (and no other type of dessert would do, mind you).
In the last year or so especially, I had gotten in the habit of having dessert after dinner. And to me, dessert is something fabulously rich, decadent and delicious. A cookie or brownie don't even begin to get called dessert in my book. Unless the brownie is warm, topped with a really rich vanilla ice cream and have hot chocolate syrup and pecans drizzled over the top. Tiramisu and Creme Brulee are my favorite desserts and you just can't beat a really good cheesecake (sans fruit topping, please... that just ruins it for me!). I've been known to make "Chocolate Soup" simply because I could and eat every sticky drop until I was sick. It started years ago as a PMS elixir... butter, heavy cream, sugar and cocoa cooked until it was a thick gooey mess. Oh my God how I wish I had some right now. BUT... I'd be sick as a dog in 10 minutes.
So, Angela, to answer your question, I do miss some comfort foods (some more than others), but there are some I don't miss at all. I can tell a difference when I eat clean and I am proud of myself when I do!
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