Nutritionally Negative

This past long holiday weekend the husband and I traveled out of state for a wedding.  Weddings are a perfect time to really let your hair down and live it up.  Unfortunately, it's also a time to overindulge.  Doubly so because during the weeks leading up to the wedding, if you're like me, you watch what you eat like a hawk so as not to be an embarrassment in the photos that will never ever die.  Triply so when said wedding takes place where you grew up and in close proximity to familiar (but no longer easily accessible) foods.  Quadruply so when you add family and the traditional area wedding cookie tables into the mix.  And so on and so on and so on.

All of this over-indulging leads me to my newest personal eating discovery: nutritionally negative foods.  Have you ever gone to breakfast, indulging in the gloriously decadent or notoriously greasy offerings, only to feel hungry and unfulfilled a mere thirty minutes later?  Have you ever stopped in for a sandwich brimming with luscious meats and cheeses on fluffy white bread and then felt as if you didn't eat anything shortly thereafter?  Me too.  After plowing through more cookies than I have fingers on which to count them, eating a breakfast that was delicious but devoid of nourishment, and wolfing down sandwiches lacking sustenance, I was hungry.  Really, truly hungry.  One of the good things to come out of my "I will not look like a stuffed sausage" mantra pre-wedding, was that I was able to identify honestly substantial grub.  I made quinoa salads and ate whole fruits.  Lean chicken breast and grilled fish were the entrees du jour.  Anything less than 64 ounces of water in a day just wouldn't do.  I banished excess salt and limited sugars to just a bit of Splenda if the need arose.*

Given my strict adherance to a healthier way of living, why did I fall back into bad habits?  Probably because I felt I deserved a treat...or 15.  We all do deserve a pat on the back for putting ourselves and healthy living as a priority.  But eating junk mindlessly is no reward.  Who, after much dedication and progress, rewards themselves with a kick in the teeth? 

It feels very good to get back into the swing of things, but I can already see the storm on the horizon brewing.  It's a birthday weekend this weekend full of all the cake, drinks, and dinners out that come with it.  I'll be posting some healthy, filling and nutrtionally sound recipes this week partly as a reminder to myself to eat conscientously and partly if I need a penance for my misdeeds.

* Sugar, artificial sweeteners, agave, HFCS, honey, stevia, etc. are a whole other bag of cats.  The pros and cons of which warrant a post unto themselves.  We'll get there, promise!