I'm Really Not ALWAYS The Healthiest Eater

At my old job, I was often asked if I ever ate anything 'bad' for me. This question usually popped up while I was making my lunch in the kitchen - either a salad or veggie burger with a side of veggies and an apple. I always found this question odd because everyone there knew of my intense addiction to chocolate. While there are arguments to be made about dark chocolate's health properties, I usually pass far beyond the nutritional threshold when I eat it.

You often see posts on this blog with nutritious meals and recipes, or about the nutritional value of specific foods, and while I have been concentrating more intensely on my diet these past few weeks and while I was training for the marathon, I can confidently say that I am not the healthiest eater at every meal of every day. I do try to fit in as many fruits and veggies into each meal as I can and I like to omit butter and salt as often as possible, but I love the taste of food too much to give up all of the foods I have grown to love over the years.

Sour and gummy candies have never really apealed to me, but put a brownie or ice cream in front of me and it takes all the strength I have to resist the temptation. In the past two weeks I have only had a tiny bit of chocolate once, which was last night, and I was trying not to be rude! And while I do plan to indulge in chocolate on Sunday, I am hoping that this little embargo will help curb my addiction. I think it's absolutely fine to enjoy foods we love, as long as it is in moderation. Unfortunately, around the holidays my affection for chocolate & sweets hit an unhealthy level and that's why I decided to go on this vacation from chocolate and baked goods.

Also, up until three weeks ago I was a fairly regular meat eater. I definitely have not eaten meat every day for several years, but after I finished my leftovers from a fantastic meal with Gracela and Special K (flashback here) I decided to take a break from meat. Many reasons for this, including health and all I've been learning by reading Michael Pollan books. On Sunday however, I cooked a meal with lean, grass-fed ground beef - our family's version of a Finnish Pasty. We had leftovers last night for dinner and I asked Woody to take the last slice to work for lunch today. While I love them and think they are delicious, probably mostly because of the sentimental value the dish holds, I am ready to go back to my non-meat eating ways for a bit longer.

While meat doesn't always have to be unhealthy I have found that I feel better without it. The same goes for the chocolate and baked goods. I will probably always think that one of the best meals is a really good burger with fries and a chocolate milkshake (again, childhood memories probably play a large role in this) and I know that I will indulge in all the foods I love many more times in my life, I'd rather live a healthy life and I don't feel the need to have them all the time.

The moral to this story is that while my posts about food and nutrition will overwhelmingly be about healthy foods and recipes, I do believe that it's okay to enjoy all the foods that I love as long as I eat them responsibly and I enjoy them with friends and loved ones rather than by myself or on the go. Food is just as much about companionship and culture as it is about nutrition and health.

So, what are your favorite indulgent foods?