Sunday, November 2, 2008

Choosing Your Battle

I'm sitting at my bistro table eating steak tacos from a place under the Addison Red Line station called "El Burrito". I'm pretty certain that the beans have real lard in them. It's a coronary in a to-go box, but I promised myself (after a half-hearted attempt at healthy eating last week) that I could eat whatever I wanted as long as I didn't smoke. So I'm gorging on lots of cheese, Doritos (Sweet Spicy Chili-it rocks!), scones & muffins, and various dirt-cheap Mexican food in large quantities. Oh, and the Starbucks' new hot chocolate. Four different kinds of cocoa mixed into what is essentially half-and-half, steamed to perfection, topped with real whipped cream & caramel sauce. I don't even like hot chocolate that much, but, really, it's any excuse to over-indulge in the one vice whilst I fend off the other.

This will not last long. The cravings will subside, and my pants will start arguing with my waist & thighs, and who wants their pants to lose an argument? I'm penciling in some workout time this week (now that I'm cough-free), and I'll be back to being my previously trying-for-a-healthy-lifestyle persona soon enough.

But in the meantime, there are all manner of affordable fatty & sugary foods at the ready. What did my old doctor say? That I would have to put on 100 pounds as a non-smoker to match the health risks of smoking at a lean weight? Quite the margin of error, don't you think?

-C.

3 comments:

Brian (Gus) and Kathy (Kat) said...

That hot chocolate sounds just a bit too yummy! Induldging is good, and it is a good time of year to do it! Keep it up! Lots of love, Kat

Anonymous said...

Lard.... mmmmm....

And no, I'm not being facetious. I have a cherished rye bread recipe that uses leaf lard as the fat (rather than butter or oil or shortening). Once upon a time, McDonald's fried its fries in lard (or at least, a concoction that included lard). Lard has properties that makes food taste really, really good. My Aunt, who was born in 1926 and grew up during the Great Depression, once told me about a coveted treat that some kids who lived next door occasionally had: a slice of bread, spread with lard, and sprinkled with sugar. Lard was sustenance in a very lean time. I love knowing that it is still being enjoyed...(albeit a bit guiltily)...

aworkinprogress said...

Kat-The hot chocolate is excellent! It's called Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate (how's that for pretense?). Just get the short size.

MCP-Pie crusts made with lard are ALWAYS better then made with veggie shortening ala Crisco. Always.