Thursday, November 12, 2009

Breaking up is hard to do...

Frozen yogurt and I used to have a nightly standing date. Without fail at 9 PM, good day or bad day, rain or shine, summer or winter, I would sit down with a small cup of vanilla frozen yogurt with a small bit of extra chunky peanut butter.

This nightly treat was something I could depend on, something I enjoyed, and initially something I looked forward to. However, eventually something kind of curious happened: my nightly rendezvous with fro-yo seemed to become more of a chore than a treat... I continued to turn to frozen yogurt for my nightly treat, but when the spoon was down, I often found myself lingering by the fridge, thinking about what I really wanted to eat.

Then, one day, as I opened the freezer door and reached for the frozen yogurt, I had a revelation: I didn't want frozen yogurt! In fact, in that moment, nothing-- absolutely nothing-- sounded better than a bowl of cereal. Slowly I backed away from the fridge and approached the cabinet. Was I willing to break with the one dependable relationship in my life? Was it worth it for me to betray my dear friend vanilla frozen yogurt for the unknown?

Still operating off the buzz of my revelation, I reached for a cereal box, poured a bowl, added some milk, and sat down to dig in. Perfect! Satisfying! Delicious!

After my slow, savored, and passionate encounter with cereal and cold milk, I walked confident by the fridge. I knew nothing would top the satisfaction I just felt.

That day I learned an important lesson: listening to my actual cravings is more rewarding than the most decadent of treats.
OK, goofy old picture... but, what can I say? Sometimes I just want green beans!

I now know that a "treat" is what ever I make it to be. I still turn to frozen yogurt on occasion. However, there are other days where I want nothing more than carrots and hummus. Or a slice of bread and peanut butter. Or even a bowl of veggies.

1 comment:

  1. For the past 2 days I have had a can of grean beans for at least 1 meal. Actually, last night I consumed an entire frozen bag of them. I can't get enough right now.

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