But I digress.
I never eat breakfast--never have, even as a child--and I spent most of my adult working life not eating lunch, either. But in the last several years, I decided to be better and eat actual lunch, even if it was just fruit or toast.
Today, however, as I said, Lunch got lost in the shuffle of the day's tasks and my fussy appetite. So when it got to be about 2:30, I needed a little snack. Unwisely, I grabbed the 4-pound jar of peanut M&Ms and did not first scoop out a little serving in a separate cup, instead opting to carry the whole damn thing out to the living room and sit there, watching Judge Judy, mindlessly eating peanut M&Ms one after the other. Now I feel absolutely horrible.
This is the same thing that happened to me with Cheetos years and years ago. First, I binged on Cheetos; then, I rationed the Cheetos; then I made Rick hide the Cheetos; then, I had to permanently break up with Cheetos altogether.
It was for the best.
I am currently On A Break from Lay's Original Potato Chips because of mindless snacking after skipping lunch and being unable to control myself. There is a bag of Sea Salt Pop Corners in the cupboard--unopened--because if I open them, I have no idea what might become of our relationship. (Have you tried them? They're unbelievably good. Try the cinnamon ones, too. Ridiculous.)
If I have to break up with Peanut M&Ms (aka The World's Most Perfect Food), I honestly don't know what will become of me. They were there for me when I couldn't eat anything else, literally, back when I was so ill and wasting away. They travel well. They crunch and provide chocolate and sweetness, but not too much sweetness. True, they added blue and took away the tan, thereby disturbing the fine balance of colour and ruining their original aesthetic, but I'm very close to forgiving them for that.
Obviously, Rick will be hiding the Peanut M&Ms when he gets home from work shortly. I won't even have to explain. He'll agree to do it, and he'll look at me pityingly. And tomorrow I'm back to having a proper lunch. Whatever it may be.
I regularly have to take a break from peanut butter because once I start, I cannot stop. It's so good. And way too many calories. Peanut M&Ms do not enter my house because I will just eat them until they're gone. I have no self-control. So, as long as you didn't eat the entire four pounds, you're doing better than me!
ReplyDeleteNGS--I hear you. I once at half a jar of Nutella, spoon by spoon, while watching television. This was after I "unequivocally" broke up with it. I am ashamed to tell you how recently this occurred.
DeleteAt least peanut butter is a source of protein. Nutella is all sugar and oil and empty pleasure.
JG would have to do a lot of hiding ... maybe a locked larder? And it is, mostly, his fault as he will make chocolate chip cookies. My addictions include chocolate. Anything chocolate. I recall M&Ms from my daughters' childhood(s). Their grandmother taught them to count with M&Ms. For my taste, there is just not enough chocolate in them. But, by the handfuls? Hmm. Reese's Peanutbutter Cups, though, have a lot more of both chocolate and peanut butter and require two locks on the larder door. A safe quality larder door.
ReplyDeleteThe blue ones stain small girls' teeth. A dead giveaway.
Mary--I've always been a great admirer of chocolate. My uncle was a chocolatier, and he used to make solid chocolate figures for Easter. My mother would work for a week in his shop, and for payment, he'd fill all four of our baskets. We each got a 16" solid chocolate bunny as well as smaller chocolate ducks, crosses, and chicks, among other wonders like nougat and creme-filled eggs as big as my fist.
DeleteReese's are another of my weaknesses. Nutella was, but I had a painful breakup with it as well. My self control is capricious and unreliable.
Locked cupboards sound abusive to me. At least right now.
You are killing me. Your details of the colors of the M&M's - too funny. I love the red packaged pop corners. Why do I not know what flavor they are? Well, because I can't buy them anymore. Damn them for being GF and therefore available.
ReplyDeleteI so hate it when I overdo some food and then I loathe myself AND my gut hurts and I don't sleep well.
Unlike you, I eat 3 squares a day. If I don't - well, keep your distance. I can't be trusted. I snack a TON too, but where would I be if I didn't eat oatmeal for breakfast and a cobb salad for lunch and meat and potatoes for dinner? I'm a creature of habit.
Ernie--Oh, gosh, that's right! Pop Corners are GF! I'm so glad. Those things are so darn good. I first tasted them at my son Jared's house during Football Sunday. I immediately took possession of the bag and did not share. Luckily, no one asked for them. (It might have been the scary look on my face. Whatever.)
DeleteOatmeal is one of my go-to lunches. I mash in a banana and a spoonful of peanut butter. No milk and no sugar. Great for my cholesterol and great for...well, my gut.
There's nothing wrong with being a creature of habit. I am, too, for the most part, and it's very comforting.
I'm that way with salt and vinegar kettle chips. I buy a bag and serve myself small servings, but then I keep going back for more, so really, I could have saved myself the trouble and just been honest and kept the bag at my desk. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWhen I know one of us might have a big lunch, I try to make something for dinner that we don't need to eat together. Well, really, there's never a time when you NEED to eat together. I say, eat dinner when you are ready for it, and Rick can have his when he's eventually ready. Too many times I have forced myself to eat early because Ted and Maya are ready, and then I feel gross.
I hope you don't have to break up with peanut m&ms. They are definitely my favorite flavor (though I like the blue ones!)
J--I think M&Ms should bring back the tan ones. Or at least have jars/bags available without the blue. Also, I cannot believe how long I've held onto my rather strong feelings and grudge against the blue M&M.
DeleteI guess Rick and I enjoy eating together, a holdover of The Family Dinner when the boys were still living at home. He's still working, and I'm home retired, so it's a nice time for us to come together and do the same thing at the same time and talk about our day, etc.
As far as your kettle chip situation, I like that you keep getting up and going back to the bag to refill your bowl. That way, you're more aware of how much you're eating, you're getting up and moving, and each time, you have to decide if it's worth the trip for your chip habit. All those things were lacking when I lugged the bigass jar of M&Ms to the recliner and stuffed myself for an hour.
I used to love Cheetos. Then one day I thought: they stain my hands orange. Probably not too healthy. So I stopped.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid, I was never into candy except for candy corn which I devoured around Halloween time. My adult candy addiction is Reese's peanut butter cups. I do not have them in the house because it would get out of control. Sometimes they appear in the office candy bowl at work. My co-workers always know who scoffed them down before they could even get near the bowl.
My meal times are completely random: sometimes a tangerine for breakfast (a meal I have always skipped as well.) Don't have time to prepare cute little Tupperware lunch kits to take to work, so I end up doing a lunch-dinner thing between 4 and 6 after I get home. Lately I am into eating wraps with a generous layer of hummus which I love. Mr. O. is retired and home most of the day, so he just heats up leftovers in the microwave when he's hungry. On weekdays we hardly ever eat the same thing at the same time except for our nightly telenovela ritual at 8 o'clock. There is always a bowl of Lay's potato chips on the table with some spinach dip (to make it seem healthier, of course). Sometimes I put little cucumber slices out as well. Food guilt, lol.
Ortizzle--I'm crazy about Reese's pb cups as well, but they're not nearly as handy and easy to snack on as peanut M&Ms. Once in a while I'll grab a package of Reese's at the grocery store and indulge, but it's not very often. Would it were that I had that same level of control with so many other things!
DeleteRick and I used to have spinach dip as our meal in the summertime at the lake. We bought mini naans and I also cut up veg. Then I ran into the family high cholesterol problem, and that went by the wayside. All that sour cream and mayo--not good.
I make Rick's lunch every night after dinner. I'd love to vary it, but he is boring and wants the same thing every day. I get it, though. I'm the same way, pretty much.
And hey, candy corn? I think you're the only person I know who likes that stuff. LOL
I am certainly susceptible to mindless snacking, so I feel this in my soul. I am a fellow non-breakfaster; usually I am just not that hungry in the mornings. Lunch is my favorite, though. If I'm skipping lunch, something has gone seriously awry in my day.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne--I mainly eat lunch to avoid a headache and to get fibre and sustenance. My relationship with food has always been complicated and perilous.
DeleteYou have a young daughter, so role modelling is important. I'm sure you do healthful snacking, too. I'd hide peanut M&Ms in the bedroom, were I you. ;-)
I just ordered The Husband to rid this entire house of any and all leftover Halloween candy...even though most of it were my favorites...because I have so little self control and my jeans were already getting tight. I also generally skip breakfast; just not interested in food first thing in the morning. I might have a piece of bread with peanut butter around 9 if I start to feel hungry; but generally I just skip it. A big (protein filled) lunch is something I need to have though, since I normally pass on dinner.
ReplyDeleteGigi--I get it. "If it's here, I'll eat it" is the mentality, especially if it's something that's not normally in the house. Rick will sit down and polish off an entire bag, box, or dish of candy and feel no guilt whatsoever, even if it results in tighter pants. He just buys bigger pants. Sigh.
DeleteAs someone on the verge of being an empty nester; this really spoke to me. I can totally see myself subsisting on snacks instead of meals...
ReplyDeletemaya--It's a dangerous existence. If you decide on that Lifestyle, prepare for it healthfully, else you'll be in the predicament I'm in. LOL
DeleteYou have a twisted relationship with snacks, but I totally understand this because I've have a break up or two myself.
ReplyDeleteIn my 20's, I could easily miss breakfast and lunch, but not any more. I wake up HUNGRY and I never seem to be full. :(
BB Suz--Oh, how we were in our twenties. If only we truly appreciated our wonderful bodies back then. Alas!
DeleteI don't think I've ever awakened hungry. These days I wake up terribly thirsty--so dried out. Do you think I sleep with my mouth open like an old, old lady? Horrors!