Thursday, November 15, 2012

A confession, a thought & WIAW

Confession:

So I'm still technically on my unprocessed challenge but over the weekend and the last few days I have struggled a little bit with snacking :-(
I had a few rice crackers for afternoon tea & some chocolate & some packet popcorn & a dollop of mayonniase with some tofu! 
I was feeling realllllllllllllly guilty about it!
I tried every way to comfort myself - it doesn't really matter, it was only a little bit, except for the mayonniase the other bits had less than 5 ingredients and that's one of Michael Pollan's food rules! Yet in my heart I know all of that is silly!

Yes, I had a few things that I shouldn't of had!
No, its not the end of the world!

Here's what my brain initially thought:
"You stupid girl, how could you do that? What about your challenge? You have no motivation whatsoever. You have stuffed it all up now & what's the point in going on? How is it that you can leave that chocolate bar in the pantry since Easter and now you have it? You have no self control - You're a failure!"

Here's what my logical brain thought:
"Sandy, don't let something so pitiful worry you! It's only a personal challenge that has been put on you by yourself and no one else! No-one is perfect & you have done soooo well to go 5 complete weeks without anything processed! Brush off the last few days & keep going! You are building healthy habits for life and that is what matters most!"


TODAY I CHOOSE TO GO WITH LOGICAL BRAIN THINKING!!!! ;-)



Thought:

Life would be so much easier if people didn't need to eat!

When I get hyper-think-on-ism this is a topic that often comes to mind. 
Why do we need food?
Yes, yes I know the simple answer is nourishment..... but in these times the fact that food is 'nourishment' is often forgotten! 
When was the last time you thought of food purely as 'nourishment' and not as anything else? I know for me, that fact rarely crosses my mind! Not for its taste, not as a treat or not as a social event! 
Food can often just become routine - "its lunch time now" and people can eat when they aren't really hungry, therefore not really needing nourishment. And then what about those times when we "just feel like something to eat"... are they really about nourishment?!?
Food is often the centre of social events - which I think automatically then connects our relationships to food too! Meaning that food becomes involved with our feelings!
And yet I think its not emotionally healthy to have a relationship with food itself but the fact is that we often do!
Think about the amount of people who use food as a crutch for them, and food becomes a comfort for them, either too much food or not enough.
The 'need' for food consumes so much of our time & energy. Not only for cooking and eating but grocery shopping and meal planning too.
Think about the emotions that are caused when people mention their meal preferences! ~vegan speaking~ I know just to mention that I choose not to eat meat because of the health benefits can cause people to instantly become defensive & its obviously setting off a certain feeling in them! And not even as far as that, when someone says "oh I don't like (fill in the blank)"  even that can be something that sparks emotions in people. Eg: "Oh that is sooooo tasty", "its my favourite", "how could you not like it?", "it doesn't even have a real flavour". I could go on but I'm sure you get my point!

I really do think life would be easier without the need to eat!

WIAW:

And yet despite my complaint over food - I LOVE cooking & blogging & sharing recipes! I join sooooooooo many other people in that fact I'm sure ;-)
What-I-Ate-Wednesday shows just want I mean! Look at all these bloggers taking pictures of the food they ate!!!! I love it! It truly makes me laugh that we can do it each week - and yet funnily enough, it really is a lot of fun!

Breakfast



After being super organisied last night I woke up to some soaked oats!
I love soaked oats! 

When they have been left overnight they are so moist & end up so much more delicious than just soaking in hot water in the morning!
I had soaked these in soymilk and with raisins.
In the morning I transferred them out of my rather wonderful leak-proof Tupperware container and into a bowl where I added a chopped banana! 

What a great way to start the day!



Lunch

I had some leftover bulgar & chickpea pilaf with a green salad busy day at work meant I forgot to take a picture :-( But here's a picture of the pilaf from the other night!
In the afternoon I snacked on strawberries & these very convenient walnut stuffed dates that I picked up at our little grocer down the road from work!


Dinner



I made some Peanutty Noodles.
Quick, easy & delicious!

























And... whilst watching a movie tonight with my hubby nibbled on some dried fruit & popcorn :-)

Question of the day:

Do you ever beat yourself up about food? If so, do you forgive yourself easily or do you feel guilty about it for ages?

AIM OF THE WEEK:

STOP BEATING YOURSELF UP ABOUT FOOD!
(That goes for me too!)

8 comments:

  1. What a wonderful aim. I think that I shall adopt it! I love that you recorded your inner dialogue. Thank you for being so open. I go through similar internal conversations but always thought I was a tad strange. I'm starting to see we all have our food challenges.
    Just keep moving forward, you've done so well already- I know you can do it!
    & Thanks for pinning my recipe :)
    p.s if you need extra motivation there's a fall challenge over at the healthy apron...

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    1. Thanks for your feedback - glad I'm not alone with these thoughts and feelings ;-) xxx

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  2. I DEFINITELY think you are right-I sometimes need to focus on eating to live and not necessarily living to eat. Your food looks beautiful-so yummy!
    Thanks for stopping by my blog, yours is great!!!

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  3. I'm definitely guilty of... well... feeling guilty! But food shouldn't be something that stresses us out! It should be an enjoyable thing!!

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    1. So very very true.... if only it was that easy ;-) lol

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  4. I'm so glad that your logical brain thinking won the day because you mustn't beat yourself up over the odd little slip up. In the grand scheme of things, it's no biggy at all is it?
    It looks like you had an amazing day of eats for WIAW. I LOVE the look of your pilaf and those dates & walnuts look scrumptious! That would be a great treat for the festive season.
    Have a great weekend Sandy! xx

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    1. Thanks Sharon - that was really encouraging to hear! And you are soooo right - it really is no big deal! xxx

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