This is the beginning. The beginning of an experiment that is sure to be tedious and challenging. Hopefully, it will be a life-altering step with rewards that outweigh the fear of facing the next 364 days without the reliable, warm and beautifully lit (I have a lighting thing) world of restaurants. See, for me, these places are about more than just food. In fact, food is one of the lowest things on the list. What I am really purchasing is an experience, a party on demand. You know like TGIFriday's or Dave and Buster's. "In here it's always Friday!" There are bright lights!!!! Loud Sounds!!!! Fun people in stripey shirts!!!! "My life is soooo COMPLETE!!!" Yeah...sounds funny, but it's kinda true. I don't feel as lonely in there. I feel like it's a special day, like there is something to celebrate. That is what the advertisers want you to feel. YAY!!!! LET'S HAVE CREAMY THINGS WITH CHEESE! Well, it isn't willpower I lack (I have plenty of discipline). I lack clear thinking. What the whole industry wants to sell is the idea that if you consume you will be happier, more fun, sexier, have more friends and even be athletic. The last one really hit me when I saw a beer billboard featuring two runners as if to say, "Thank God I had the lower carb beer today. We certainly don't need a repeat of the Jager incident!" Well, whatever. I am fasting from an industry that broke it's promise to me. I am not sexier or more fun. NOR am I able to jog on a belly of booze. I do not have poker nights with Pizza Slut. I don't have a living room full of middle-aged men in football jerseys screaming at my TV while we chum around a giant-ass sandwich. What I have is a big ole empty. An empty where relationships go, where I learn about myself, where I find my legs and use them. I am doing this for the person(s) I love. Not from a place of "I gotta do something or I'm gonna die". It's not about that...it is about doing something because I really do care about myself. And I want to protect myself from harm. We will talk soon.
Roy
13 comments:
I made this same agreement with myself. It means having great meals I cook with friends at my house or theirs. It means having people in my home, which I was not doing before, which encourages the intimacy so many of us crave. And I'm learning to make new things! Yaa.
Hello Kristie and Roy,
For anyone checking out this blog,I am Kristie's mom and Roy's mother-in-law. Therefore, I will from this point I will sign on as "MomCarol"....Mom to Kristie and Carol to Roy.
Roy and Kristie, how excited I am about your new adventure!! This should be quite a challenge!!!!
Let me share a bit of food history since I am, as you all know, a full time free lance writer...with my writing niche being food history and cookbook history.
I grew up on a small hill far about a mile from Belleview,Missouri.... the youngest of six children. We were very self suffient....taking care of each other and producing and preserving our own food for year round consumption for the family table. (One summer Mom preserved 1000 quarts of produce from our large farm garden.) Looking back on our food experiences, I believe we were a generation behind most of the families living in the area. Our neighbors on surrounding farms and those in town had washers and dryers, and gas or electric cook stoves. We cooked on a wood stove and hung our clothes to dry on the cloths line in the back yard until we left the farm. The whole family sat down to three meals a day. We didn't snack in between meals because we knew another home cooked meal was on the way in a few hours.
I was eleven (51 years ago) when we moved to Ironton, a small town ten miles down the rode. I don't recall ever eating in a restaurant before this move. To support her children, Wilma Chambers, my mom and Kristie's Grandma, began her career as a small town cook at the Kozy Korner Cafe, what might today be called today a "meat and three." She became known as the best cook in town, preparing meats,vegetables,fruits,breads, pies and cakes just like those that had been served for years around our family table. I'm sure that she seldom used a recipe card at her work, just like she seldom used one at home. She was one of those "cook it from scratch" cooks.
I had learned to cook by following her around the kitchen. Consequently, the kichen wasn't foreign turf to me. When I went off to college, after eating dorm food for two years, I was ready for an apartment and my own kitchen. After I got married, preparing a traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner caused me little stress. It all just seemed to come naturally because I had learned my culinary skills from the best cook in town.
To this day, I prefer to share a meal in my own kitchen, with my family and friends, instead of eating at restaurants.
Kristie and Roy, as you take off down the road on your new food journey, I plan to stop by your blog every once in a while, and perhaps travel a few miles with you. I'm sure there will be much to learn and lots of ideas will be dished up by those interested in "sitting down at your table" literally or at the "blog table."
For now...my advice... Plan head. Organize a pantry and keep it stocked. Purchase a freezer...even if it is a small one. My freezer has become my most valued "tool" in my at home meal preparation.
Best to all.
MOMCarol
And Roy....about that restaurant ambiance...you can have that at home as well ie...table cloths, napkins, lighting, music, B-B-Grill, Fire Pit, Smoker, ....Just takes a bit of organization and desire to mix creativity, entertainment,food,fun,family, and friends.
I will admit that the "restaurant temptations" are definitely more limited in Kennett,Missouri,than in Nashville, Tennessee.
Question for you... Do you find that you are most likely to eat out when when you get an urge for ethnic foods? How would you suggest handling that situation?
Mom, I would say yes to your question. I was just talking on Facebook with someone who said it would be hard for them to give up sushi. I'm the same way. I'm sure for Roy it will be harder with Mexican foods. But it will be all the more fun to try making these things at home!
I think some easy Mexican, Chinese, and Italian homemade dishes with a shopping list included would be helpful to us.
MOMCarol
My daughter gave me a sushi cookbook. It's not hard. The tools are simple. Hey, if Kroger can do it............
Susan McBride
Mom, I will definitely post some ethnic recipes as we go along. This is fun! Susan, let's make sushi some night!
Kristie, Roy, I think this is a great idea! I look forward to hearing about your progress and I wish you strength, energy, and motivation for the upcoming year. It's not about luck, YOU can do this.
*hugs*
-Melissa Joy (MJ)
Hey Guys,
Great idea and a challenge I know you can handle. I have to admit, eating out is often a convenience for me and my family, but I tell you honestly, I much prefer eating in. My body (and mind) never feels as good after eating out even though the food may be excellent. Restaurants just prep in a way that is always heavier than what I could do at home and so I feel sluggish and often guilty after a meal.
Like your mother, I remember very clearly the first time my family and I ate in a restaurant. I was in HIGH SCHOOL (I'm not much older than Roy)!!! It was a very big deal (albeit not at all a fancy restaurant). We just ate at home. That was part of our family culture. Why eat out when you have good quality food at home? Plus, saving eating out for only very rare instances made it seem as if it was a very special occasion. Now it is just part of our daily busy culture... and I agree with you that this really leaves something to be desired.
Best of luck and I'm sure we will share some good meals around the table in the coming year.
xoxo,
Amy
I can feel some fun dinner parties a comin'!
Amy, thank you for your kind words of support. I look forward to breaking bread with you very soon!
XOXO,
Kristie
Wow, Kristie and Roy. What an incredible undertaking! I look forward to following this.
Roy, this really gave me some insight as to why I give in so often to the temptation of "going out." I'm not going to commit to a restaraunt-free year, but I am going to take some steps to make eating at home a more pleasant experience. Maybe I can save some $$ and lose some poundage along with the two of you!
N, that is awesome. I'm glad we have provided some inspiration! Let us know how it goes.
Hey guys! I can't wait to follow you on this journey! I envy your willpower and diligence. We look forward to having you over soon for a meal (I've got some extra sports jerseys I can loan to you).
As for me, I'm trying not to do fast food this year (for health and $)... baby steps!
Cheers!
Mike
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