I eat healthy, but not because I want to

Coworkers and clients are always surprised to learn that I hate vegetables. I recently had a lunch meeting at work and a coworker was extremely surprised to see me knock all the rabbit food to the side and remove the lettuce and tomato from my deli sandwich, I prefer just meat and cheese thank you (but it was a whole grain roll). I guess I just give off the vibe or appearance of someone who eats healthy? I hate eating healthy! I know I’m supposed to, I know it’s good for me, and I do feel better when I eat a light veggie-packed meal vs. this past Thanksgiving when I over-indulged on carbs and fats and couldn’t even sit without feeling sick for hours after. But I’d still rather cover my plate in gravy made from fatty pan drippings than eat a boring piece of plain grilled chicken with some asparagus spears any day! Unfortunately, I reserve those gravy covered days for the winter holidays and stick to my chicken throughout the rest of the year, with some exceptions of course. You can’t expect me to give up my vices entirely, can you?

As discussed, a few years ago, I started making over my eating habits. It hasn’t always been easy, and it surely isn’t fun to say no to a bedtime slice of cheesecake, but it’s a work in progress. I now eat vegetables, which if you asked my mother, is something she never imagined I’d give in on after 25+ years of refusing. I still can’t stomach a salad though, the taste and crunch of lettuce makes me gag; however, I can eat most vegetables if they are cooked. I’ve not yet worked up to raw veggies and please do not bring broccoli around me, the smell of cooked broccoli makes me ill. I have also cut down significantly on fast food, take-out, pizza (whimper) and even my regular fountain sodas. Side note: it wasn’t hard to cut down on pizza for my first 5 years in TX but unfortunately, I found a really good east-coast style pizza place recently and it has been so hard not to go get a slice every Saturday!!

Although I miss just ordering dinner and having it magically appear on my doorstep, I consider myself a fairly decent chef (no Kelly, not a “cook” like Bethenny), and so I enjoy the challenge of making over all my favorite recipes. It was a (mostly) win-win. I get to play around in the kitchen with new ingredients and still get to eat all my favorite dishes. There are some drawbacks of course, non-fat and low-fat ingredients don’t always melt and blend the same as the full fat versions and I hope with all my being that I am never forced to live a low-sodium lifestyle, but all-in-all; you can eat healthy while still enjoying your favorite foods. It just takes a little more work and a lot of experimentation. Thank goodness Dan has an iron stomach!!

I would still much prefer an order of mucho nachos, a muchaco and an extra large regular coke to my daily lunch of Campbell’s healthy request light soup (with the nasty chicken bits picked out), 4-5 whole wheat saltines and a big jug of fresh water. And sure I don’t mind my lunches as much when I have the time to make a vat of (healthy) homemade soup to freeze for the week or when I have the foresight to throw an additional chicken breast on the grill the night before, but nothing can or will replace my cravings for Bueno. Whole wheat lasagna noodles with ground turkey, reduced-fat ricotta and part-skim mozzarella fill my pasta void for the most part (as long as I have time to make homemade sauce); however, it’s just not the same!! I always thought once I started eating healthier, it’d get easy, I’d miss the bad foods less and less over time. I sincerely doubt I’ll ever feel the same way about turkey burgers or black bean burgers as I do about ¼ lb angus or sirloin burgers cooked to medium doneness perfection topped with a thick slice of aged cheddar and a few slices of peppered bacon.

I guess I’m just still waiting for it to get easier, I know I’ll continue to give in and get a Sonic bacon cheeseburger toaster from time to time, but I refuse to give up! And dangit, now I want tacos, stupid Bueno!!!! Oh well, maybe tomorrow ...