Even though I’m overweight, and have eaten junk for most of my life, now that I’m older and trying to keep my diabetes under control, I try to avoid most of the stuff I really like to eat. I have a sweet tooth and generally would eat any pie, cake, cookie or brownie that was put in front of me, not to mention ice cream, caramel corn, and candy. I remember that my girlfriend and I would visit the bulk food store and spend way too much on candy like sour cherries, candy corn, jellybeans, burnt peanuts, chocolate covered cherries, and butterscotch disks, peppermints, and cinnamon drops. My favorite was ribbon candy that usually appeared only around Christmas. Second best – Cadbury eggs at Easter.
But now I avoid candy, for the most part, and rarely have dessert except when I eat out. I still don’t eat vegetables, which I know I should, but instead I have adopted a limited menu of items that I can make quickly, are neutral or good for me, and aren’t too expensive or complicated. But I have found that I eat food every day that I don’t really like. It’s just fuel. Not exciting, but it fills the hole.
However, every once in a while, I discover a food I have not had in a while, or have never tried, and it becomes an instant favorite. Then I tend to go overboard and eat it daily, or almost every day, until I get tired of it, or until I develop a new favorite. I started calling these things “food fetishes” but that’s too extreme, and it feels a bit weird as well. Instead, let’s call them “food phases”, which is almost as alliterative and probably a bit less odd.
So here are some food phases I have had, or other people have told me about.
Autumn Squash soup – a local chain features homemade soups, including this one as an autumn special. One of my best friends ordered it a couple of times before I took the plunge and tried it out, and discovered it is really good. Then I found out that it is sold in the local groceries, and I can it there year-round. I buy them 2 or 3 at a time, and store them in my freezer. For several weeks, I had one every other day, usually with a piece of baguette or a couple of French rolls. I wanted to eat one every day, but I also didn’t want to decimate my hoard, so I spaced them out to make them last longer. I couldn’t bear to eat the last one without buying more.
Charcuterie – I don’t know how I stumbled on this habit, but am still in thrall to it. It began when I took a friend (who doesn’t drive any longer) to Whole Foods for a grocery run. Somehow, I became entranced by their cheese section – it is huge – and picked up a brie for myself. The next time I went back there with my friend, I had the intention of buying several types of cheese for snacking, knowing that, as a diabetic, cheese is a much better snack than chips, pretzels, and other carbs. I do add a few crackers, but the protein and fat ratio to carb is pretty high, more so than most meals.
When I started adding pepperoni, smoked sausage slices, and corned beef, I realized that my dinners had now become what is now called charcuterie, what used to be called a cheese and meat tray. It is so satisfying that I may stick with this one for a while yet.
Popcorn – I really have tried to avoid this one myself, but I have bought through my grandnephew’s fundraiser, and then I ate it every day for a week. I’m particularly susceptible to cheese corn and caramel corn. Another of my friends buys it by the case at Costco and goes through a bag a day.
Cherry Garcia – this one is my favorite ice cream at the moment, although I don’t really like the chocolate chunks. I would be happy with the cherry ice cream with cherries, whether or not the chocolate was included. Again, I strictly limit purchases or I would have it every day. In the past, I had similar addictions to peach ice cream with peaches, and with lemon custard. I also yearn for, and have searched for, peppermint stick ice cream, but apparently no one makes it any longer. But I have to space this out, as well, and I buy the individual size cartons, which is about four spoons’ full. It’s enough to kill the craving, and only has 27 carbs.
Fish sandwiches – when I was in college, Fridays were special in the cafeteria because we always had fish sandwiches. Most foods were not limited but we were only allowed two fish sandwiches each, and the cafeteria servers were strict. That made me crave them. Today, I almost always have fish sandwich makings in my freezer so I can have them whenever I want, although I usually only eat one at a time.
What foods do you eat several times a week, or would if you could, that you always enjoy? Email me or post a comment.