Tuesday, October 28, 2014

The Incongruence of Healthy "Bad Food"


                      
     

With Halloween coming up, I always try to plan a simple but Halloween themed dinner to celebrate that night. I have no kids and I'm past the partying times. So usually, the meal is our way to make it fun. We all know about my love for Pinterest,so of course that is always my first stop. This year, unlike the past few I am trying to incorporate more fruits and veggies rather than have a feast full of fat and starches.
Last year, I dyed Frozen fries green and got creative with ketchup to make bloody witch fingers . I made huge cheeseburger jackolanterns. I also made mummy hotdogs and orange Mac n cheese, For dessert we had double fudge brownies with an assortment of candies on the side. Can we have a guess on how many calories that was? *shudders* As you can see, this time that menu won't do.
So I've been browsing, trying to find better choices and something has become very evident and it really has nothing to do with my Halloween menu. It got me thinking. It seems like even though different programs do or not do different groups of food, one thing they share in common is that people try to come up with "healthy" or " good" versions of " bad foods". Even when we don't follow an specific program, we still try to come up with low cal, skinny versions of everything.  One example of this,  A big blogging lady had made some " Healthy Paleo Apple Cake". I do not know everything about paleo and even though I understand that people get creative with the starches and stuff they use to stay within the program. To me there is something about paleo and cake in the same sentence that seems incongruent...am I alone in this? 
Its not that doing what she did was wrong. I am not bashing any of it.  I am just analyzing what that would do that me.Maybe it's because of my deeply rooted issues with food. I can imagine that if, at this point, I started adding healthy cupcakes or skinny versions of junk food to my diet, I would be setting myself up to restart my old bad habits. Maybe that's just because those are my triggers? I can just imagine that I could easily go crazy on skinny brownies if I started rewarding myself with those healthy versions of "treats". Because somehow, I would rationalize with myself to think it's good for me because they're skinny. You know what I mean? Maybe I have not really progressed as much as I think I have if I can be "scared" by the thoughts of a skinny brownie and losing control?
Anyway, I decided that this Halloween I will have what I would have normally had for dinner. Why should the meal be the center point of the day? Will cutting my veggies into pumpkins and bats be necessary at all? Nope!   I have decided on  a new tradition instead: We will have a normal dinner within my calorie budget followed by Halloween themed movies instead! I may go crazy and save some calories for some air popped corn!

8 comments:

  1. I feel EXACTLY the same way. In fact, I don't even 'frequent' primal or paleo blogs that promote (A LOT) 'healthy' desserts. Just not my thing, and seems to me it could be a slippery slope. I prefer to turn away from desserts in general, and just use fruit for a sweet 'hit' if I need it.

    When you were talking about your Halloween themed dinner, I thought the Jack O Lantern hamburgers could still be fine...just bun-free. But more than that, I thought "why does the food have to be themed' for Halloween? Why can't you just dress up or have Halloween DECOR around you while you eat, and just eat normal foods? If you can't eat or create fresh veggies, protein in a Halloween theme, why stick with the theme re the food? Is it that necessary? (you could do devil's eggs, with or without a face on them with pimento and/or olive pieces, too.) In other words, the focus should be on the food and the gaiety of the holiday, not creating concoctions that you wouldn't otherwise eat, just to satisfy a self-induced 'themed meal.' Does that make sense? That might seem rigid, but really, to me it's freeing, because it's freeing myself further from Society's Pre-conceived Notions that all holidays must be food oriented with sugars and grains to be happy ones. ;)

    Just food for thought. :)

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    1. Gwen, you get me! Lol that's why I comcluded that I needed no theme. That food didn't make or break a fun night. Definitely freeing myself from those notions about food and holidays is something I'm trying to do. Thanks for your comment!

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  2. One thing I've done in the past for Halloween dinner is a hearty soup served in a baked pumpkin. Very festive, but not over the top.

    I agree on the weird foods. I don't want "healthy" versions of special food. The reason it is special is because you don't have it often. It's not the food's fault that some people (like me) have trouble keeping some food special. There's no need to punish the food with weird ingredients.

    For example, for my birthday I have lemon icebox pie (I don't like cake). I've seen low fat versions out there, but I make it with full fat cream cheese and real butter in the crust because it is special. It should taste as amazing as it can. I only have one slice a year, so it is going to be worth it.

    If I decided to "unspecial" it and have a slice after dinner every night, well, no amount of low-fat sugar-free anything is going to make that situation better.

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    1. I'm Australian and don't do Halloween, but your idea of soup served in a pumpkin shell is the best Halloween idea I've ever heard!

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    2. Plus, Connie, low fat and fake sugar isn't healthy. It's bad chemicals. Better to do it RIGHT, like you said, and just own your 'evil' and enjoy it on a very rare occasion, and be done with it...than to doctor it up to eat it more regularly, but have a shit storm of chemicals raging in your body in the process. ;)

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  3. Connie, you are so right and you got what I was trying to say. That's how I feel if I wear to have a healthy something something every day, I'd be in deep trouble lol. Thanks for reading!

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  4. LOL .... If I could eat one slice of cake and leave the rest ... I would not be fat in the first place. And if those recipes are good I would overeat them too! Nope better off with out!

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