Friday, December 14, 2007

Holiday Eats

It's the holiday season so my traveling and dining has been more limited than usual. It does give me a chance to spend a bit more time in my own kitchen, which generally has the best cooking and food around our area. I think I naturally tend to be biased to my own cooking as I cook what I like, the way I like it cooked. I completely cook the onions, well all the veggies for that matter, and do not care for this "tender crisp" stuff that restaurants try to tell me tastes better. I know what my taste buds like and those unnaturally green things are not it.

I'm breaking out the cookbooks and recipes I've wanted to try lately to make a few holiday goodies to share. I get a chance to taste something that looks interesting, yet not keep an entire desert setting around the house to taunt me into the guilty pleasure of eating it all in one calorie laden feast. My friends get to sample the results of my kitchen time without over-indulging as well. Since I enjoy cooking, it ads up to a happy day for all involved.

Over the past year I've worked to develop a little better sense of self control when it comes to what I eat. (I say this after scarfing down vast quantities of chips & dip at dinner.) I love to cook and I love to consume and offer no apologies for that. I do not love what it does to my hips when I over-indulge. I flat refuse to live on some bizarre restricted diet to look like what TV and magazines promote as attractive. I'll take the healthy body of a woman from Runner's magazine over Cosmo any day. When it comes to the holidays and the plethora of food choices constantly presented, one of my personal trainers really summed things up nicely. "Everything in moderation, even moderation." Take a bite, maybe even two. This year I might even try to make those holiday treat eaters feel a little less guilt by including some homemade breakfast granola in the mix. Hopefully they won't take it as an insult but rather a helpful gesture. I like getting a nice homemade batch of cookies just as much as the next gal, but I appreciate the baker providing a healthier option for when I'm consumed by the guilt of eating the entire plate of cookies first.

Best gift to yourself during the holidays? Don't give up on exercise and eating healthy. I'm glad I have held it together so far, just don't let me back in the kitchen tonight. There's these Peanut Butter Cream Brownies in there ready to be sacrificed, all in the good name of hip expansion.

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