One thing the Little House girls would instantly recognize in our living room: the candy cane.
Pearl One
Remember Laura and Mary being dumbstruck at finding an orange, a penny, and a peppermint stick in their Christmas stocking?
Well, you and I have our own Little House story because unless you’re a Vanderbilt, you grew up in the ‘70s back when eating in a restaurant was for special occasions only, and seasonal treats were relegated to specific windows of time like homemade ice cream in the summer and beautiful cookies in December.
Fast-forward some 40 years and we’re hard-pressed to come up with a food item that we can’t score within – oh – about an hour.
In Laura and Marys’ time, they only had special food on Christmas itself. The days of overeating on the holidays with the tired excuse of, I’ll only see red pepper jelly blanketing cream cheese in December. Better dig in, are over.
In this century we can find mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls, fancy chocolates and pretty cookies everywhere all year long.
So, don’t allow you to deceive you. This December ask yourself one of the most powerful questions I know:
Do I want to be a size 8, or do I want to eat the rest of the red velvet cheesecake?
I use this question often to save me from the gorgeous – but empty — calories.
My thought on why this question works so well is that when we first lay eyes on, say, a sumptuous December dinner, our cave woman brain is wide awake and “helps us” pile our plate (she’s great that way).
But the moment we ask ourselves do I want to be a size 8 or do I want to taste everything on the table and go back for thirds? our prefrontal brain kicks in, and “provides ‘top-down’, higher-order guidance.” (Nature.com/articles/nrn2648)
We can create the Smart Eating Lifestyle we want for ourselves, it’s just a matter of learning to wield the mental tools necessary to keep our cave woman happily snoozing in her cave. Because if she’s not bothering us, our prefrontal can get on with creating the life we most want.
Best December tip: when at a gathering, always fill your plate three-quarters full with naked veggies (only no sauce, no dressing or slight amount). ♥
Pearl Two
Have you heard of a mini-bucket list? (I just made it up.) Here’s what I’m doing.
My December and January bucket lists will include everything I want to do/try, but don’t always find the time for.
December
- See a neighborhood light show with my family (my sons are older but they still love the lights).
- Love sending out cards to my editors. Either all editors are wonderful people or I just got lucky.
- I love making Christmas photo gifts (Costco’s is great).
- I love waking up Christmas morning to cinnamon rolls that I made the night before. In the morning I just bake them and they’re good to go.
- I’m playing holiday music every day, but from a new bullet speaker I bought, not blaring from my computer like we once did.
- I’m giving a nice food tower to the guy around the corner who makes the most beautiful light display every year. His yard – on a corner where everyone who drives into the neighborhood sees his home – is blanketed in white lights and not tacky at all. He has a lit snowman, a lit manger scene, lit deer, there’s so much more. It’s his hobby. Year-round he keeps his yard nice, but he really goes to town in December. And he is not retired, he’s probably somewhere in his 40s!! (I’ll take a photo and share.)
January
- First, we’re pet sitting an African grey here in Atlanta. For only two nights, but still. (I’m very excited and reading up on the breed now.) He’s 27 years young if you were wondering.
- I’m doing a lot of writing in January because I have an important article due, and of course I love writing Inspired Eater.
- I’m doubling-down on finding really exceptional books to read. Right now I’m reading Tell the Wolves I’m Home. I’m a third of the way into it. My review: worth your time, it’s a page turner. This was the author’s first book and what a woza performance.
- My mom in California has Alzheimer’s, and she loves receiving mail. In both December and January I’m committing to send her several cards a month. I’ve been told they don’t need to say much. Boy, I wouldn’t wish this disease on anybody, ever. My dad is the caretaker and as heartbreaking as it’s been for him, he’s keeping the ship afloat.
And that concludes my two mini-bucket lists.
I’m curious, what will your December and January bucket lists include? If you don’t know, journaling is the magical portal to your heart. ♥
Pearl Three
New subject for December: How food “tools” make our lives easier.
I’ve mentioned I call actual food my “food-tools.” So today we’re talking faux-chicken patties. El Yumo. I toast a whole wheat English muffin, put tiny amounts of ranch dressing on each bun, spread on a bunch of green sprouts, pull the fake-chicken patty out of the oven and – ta da! – one heck of tasty sandwich. And it’s even quite filling.
If I don’t have sprouts, I’ll put on cucumber coins. And I really love it when I have baby tomatoes because then I take a bite of sandwich and pop a tomato in my mouth. Over and over.
Ah, good times.
I think Morningstar Farms was the first company to offer chicken patties, but these days a gazillion brands make them and you’ll find these tasty patties in the freezer section of most stores.
Nutrition will vary based on brand, but this gives you a good idea about how these guys stack up. One fake-chicken patty is a serving. Calories: 150, fat: 7g, fiber: 4g, Carbs: 13g, Protein: 8g. ♥
Pearl Four
Cheese. In my smart eating world, I call any kind of cheese “a spice.” The only time I make an exception is when I have a slice of pizza the rare two or three times a year.
There’s nothing wrong with cheese, per se, it’s just easy to overeat and high-caloric. So long ago, I started telling myself regularly, cheese is a spice. ♥
Pearl Five
Food is the most widely abused anxiety “drug,” and working out is the most potent underutilized anti-depressant.” — Anonymous ♥
Fifteen days until Christmas. And this is the first Christmas in maybe forever when I haven’t spent the month freaking out.
So, the Christmas cards don’t go out until Valentines? I mean, who really cares, right?
I love this quote and keep it on the side of my fridge year-round, “Don’t worry about being perfect. Make memories.”
Have a peaceful month, everyone.
♥, Wendy
P.S. Are you new to the Inspired Eater? Welcome!! This blog won’t make much sense until you first read the Aunt Bea post (and you’ll find Aunt Bea on this page to the right under my short bio). On your cell you’ll see it immediately following the first post. After you enter your email address, the Aunt Bea article will be sent to your email’s inbox. If it’s not there, you might check the spam folder. And always feel free to email me at Wendy@TheInspiredEater.com and I’ll get Aunt Bea right to you!
You know the scoop: I am an Amazon affiliate so if you buy something through a link at this site, I may receive a small commission that won’t impact your price at all.
I am not an expert, a doctor, a surgeon, a nurse or a nutritionist: the information within TheInspiredEater.com is based solely on my personal experience and is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. ♥
