2016-07-27
2016-07-27
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When I am preparing dinner for family or entertaining, I tend to binge on snacks. Any advice?
I've noticed many strange phenomena around cooking, for myself, others, and for guests. Often, when I go to the trouble of food shopping and cooking something very special, I will totally lose my appetite when it's time to serve everything. The dinner is done, and it's amazing, but to me the food is either uninteresting or bland. I'm not alone in this; I've heard this happens to many people.
Could it be that since I've spent so much time with everything – all the chopping, seasoning, stirring, watching--I’ve lost my love affair with the supper? Nope, I think you put your finger right on it--more often than not I've snacked beforehand and filled up too early. I do want to make sure everything tastes right, of course, so I "pre-test" each dish. And all those little bites & tastes add up.
The simple answer, of course, is just to NOT SNACK! Don't eat anything while cooking. That, friend, is easier said than done. What I do is stay on my Joy of Weight Loss Food Plan. Since I am mentally (and sometimes on paper or PDA) keeping track of everything I eat all day, the snacks get monitored, too. In other words, I do my best to be conscious of what I put into my mouth; I think about it. Here's one of my mental scripts: "Have I had my 6 or 8 carbs for the day? Hmmm...only 2. I could have some crackers, and still eat some of the homemade bread I'm serving the family...Am I ravenous?...I should have a big glass of water, and some carrots and green pepper slices."
Other times, I might realize I don't have enough servings left for dinner if I snack. In that case, I ask myself, "What's more important, snacks or dinner? I cannot have both." I certainly don't want to overeat, because that could mean I gain weight. So in this scenario I pray to God to help me stay on the Food Plan, and make the right choice. As I have total freedom and am not dieting or depriving myself, sometimes the choice is to have both a little snack and a little dinner other times I opt to resist the snacking and have just dinner. The answer is to be conscious: Connect your mind with your body, along with your emotions and Spirit. Be whole, and be full in every way.
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