Meal X: Whole Foods Salad Bar - a variety of things, but invariably too much Cesar dressing and parmesan cheese
This doesn't even count on the scale. I can't face my kitchen, or I don't have a kitchen. I am one step away from plunging my head into these all-too-cheery plastic green bowls and letting my sobs echo across the Jamba Juice stand and the gelato bar.
If you see me eating this, I recommend: pretend you don't know me.
Meal A: kosher dill pickles (3), two spoonfuls of peanut butter, one fistful dried fruit, the remainders of any dessert-like items in my kitchen, a hunk of cheese
This meal has three possible interpretations:
1) I am in a hypoglycemic fit and will pass out if sugar is not consumed IMMEDIATELY. See: post workout, having walked a mile uphill from work, having just worked an overnight shift and completely forgotten what time/day/season it was.
2) Ooh, I should probably check to see if I need to buy tampons.
3) I am so depressed I shouldn't handle anything sharp, like a butter knife, or the edge of a frying pan.
If you see me eating this, I recommend you: flee the premises, dimwit. Can't you see? You're next on my list.
Meal B: boxed macaroni and cheese (hippie version) with smoked paprika and other spices, plus extra cheese of various kinds
Again, several interpretations:
1) The darkest days have passed, and I can consider cooking again. Probably still best to avoid knives.
2) Final exams, or something similarly deadline-locked, and comfort food is necessary to avoid complete panic.
3) My arteries were feeling a little too clear today.
If you see me eating this, I recommend: you nod and cluck sympathetically, and ask for a bite so I can later tell myself I didn't eat the entire box.
Meal C: sauteed collard greens with hot pepper with a sizable chunk of smoked salmon
Life is getting way better - considering that this dish requires a half-stocked pantry, foresight to buy smoked salmon at the farmer's market, and the use of knives. Mood: considerably cheery. Minus points if eaten wrapped in a tortilla, though.
If you see me eating this, I recommend: telling me it smells good. This will reinforce my memories of competence and happiness, which I know are now within reach.
Meal D: happy meat (grass -fed, local, organic yadda yadda yadda) hamburgers, spiced with garlic, coriander and chilies, topped with caramelized onions and happy meat bacon, side of sauteed chard, slices of raw tomato, on an organic wheat bun.
Clearly, Secret Agent Lover Man is over for dinner. Guests! Life is not half bad. Add points for getting meat from independent rancher at the farmer's market; minus a few if I just snuck over to Whole Foods and got their happy meat. Consider photographing the bacon; this just may be something worth an ounce of pride.
If you see me eating this, I recommend: pulling up a chair. Chances are, there's enough for you.
Meal E: sustainably-harvested tunafish salad with chopped peppers, scallions, fresh herbs, a pickle, plenty of mustard, curry-related spices and a dab of mayonnaise, served with a slice of whole-grain toast
I've been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution at work again, and feeling simultaneously inspired to completely change my eating habits and guilty about my boxed mac-and-cheese consumption. Also, the food we serve at work. And what my friends eat when I'm not cooking for them. Damnit! Why can't they all eat like this?* What is wrong with my generation?
If you see me eating this, I recommend: hightailing it before you get sucked into my rant about institutional food systems and how processed food contributes to the myriad of mental health issues for which my clients are/aren't being treated. I may also chase you with a forkful for you to try.
*(At least half of them eat better than me. It's just a figure of speech)
Well? What does your cooking tell us about you?
3 comments:
Interesting. I've thought about this for some time since I started living on my own in grad school and how my eating preferences relate with my family (now that I've moved back home).
Food isn't my therapy anymore unless I really, really, really am down. So I don't look anything as "comfort." It's fuel for me.
But how about different cuisines reflecting my emotions? Generally and when I'm happy, I balk at western-style and American food and prefer non-Western meals like Turkish, Israeli, Latin American, Japanese, Indian, etc. I suppose this choosing of non-western cuisine suggests that I "think big" and am feeling adventurous. I like to try to be out of my comfort-zone. But! If I feel the need to be in my comfort zone, then I'll choose American or Italian to fuel me up. So if you see me eating mac n cheese or considering a hamburger, something's up.
Something's up as well if I'm running out to Wegmans inside of cooking my own meal.
My meal of choice when I'm eating alone and don't want to spend any time on it - or haven't got more than 10 minutes to wait to eat - is Kashi's Mayan Harvest Bake, cooked in the microwave. It's full of sweet potatoe, kashi grains, ripe plaintains and black beans - so it's reasonably good, but it's starting to look and feel like glop.
When I really don't want to wait or cook, it's just a few spoons of peanut butter. It's not likely anyone would see me eat these - if someone else is around I can and will do better!
YVLM
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