I recently listened to the book Food, A Love Story by the comedian Jim Gaffigan where he talks about his relationship with food. I don't know much about Gaffigan and have never seen his stand up or a movie with him in it, but the book was available at my library and I wanted something light so I picked it up. It is read by the author and in the end, it was surprisingly funny. I am not always a fan of memoirs as they just talk about themselves the entire time, but he talked about himself in a depreciating but comedic manner.
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| One of my favorite places to think deep thoughts... |
In addition to that, this book made me think. Of course I was out hiking when I listened to it, and that already lends itself to deep thoughts, but I do love a book that makes you consider things you may not have thought of before. In this case, he made a joke about eating when you are not really hungry: “Ugh, I’m so full. I guess I’ll have some cheese. Hmm, I don’t even like this cheese. I guess I’ll finish it.” It got me thinking about how often I do this (a lot!) and how some people don't seem to have this issue. Why can I not open a bag of tortilla chips without eating the entire thing when some people CAN "eat just one?" I don't know the answer to this question, nor do I know if I will ever change, but it got me thinking! Here are a couple of other recent reads that have got me saying hmmmm lately...
The Measure: this is a book about everyone in the world receiving a box with a string in it. The length of the string indicates the length of your life. I will not tell you how I felt about this book, but it got me thinking... would I want to open the box? What would I do (differently?) if I found out that my string was long/short? The book also explores the politics surrounding the strings: should you be required to disclose your string length? Should you run for office or be in the military if your string is short? It was very interesting and really make me think about a lot of different social and political issues.
Living Without Plastic: this book is, not surprisingly, about trying to use less plastic in your life. It talks about some of the substitutions we can initiate, like some obvious ones such as our own reusable grocery bags, own own produce bags or some more not so obvious but easy ones like wooden combs and toothbrushes, bar shampoos and soaps, non-plastic straws and utensils etc. I try to do my part, and don't use a lot of single use things like plastic water bottles or takeout containers etc., but there are some changes I will make due to reading this. It even inspired me to finally take a load of old grocery bags to Sprouts for recycling (also did you know you can recycle plastic wraps, like the ones that are around a case of water or toilet paper, at some grocery stores too?) I still have a long way to go, but I feel like this book has given me some ideas to move in the right direction.
Can you "eat just one" chip? Would you open your box/want to know how much longer you had to live? Do you do any of the anti-plastic activities I mentioned or do you have any other tips/tricks for not using so much plastic?
I read that Gaffigan book; I can't remember anything about it, but he is funny and I CANNOT eat just one chip. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteI also read The Measure. It was fine, but didn't live up to the hype for me. I don't know if I'd look at my string or not. Such a complicated thing to think through. The whole premise makes me so sad, though - of knowing someone you love is going to pass in a relatively short amount of time.
I think I would have to look, because I would rather know and then take action accordingly. What I thought was interesting was the political divide that was caused by the string length. As if we don't already have enough things to divide us, we are now going to start being prejudice about people because of the length of their life? I thought that was an interesting concept.
DeleteSo, my husband has a lot of food issues and he actually doesn't like to eat and he has to force himself to eat food. If given the opportunity to just take a pill and never have to eat again, he would totally do that. I love food, but I absolutely do have a better understanding of how people can just eat one chip now. Maybe if every time you ate a chip, you got sick, you'd stop wanting them!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read The Measure, but I've heard the premise several times and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't look at my string because I don't think it would change how I live my life at all. But maybe that's just big talk coming from me!
Your poor husband! I really like to eat; I enjoy the preparation, the anticipation, the action itself and even the feeling of satisfaction (or overindulgence sometimes) afterward. I went on a liquid diet for five days once and I was really missing the process of eating, the chewing etc. I also realized that we (I) dedicate a lot of time to "food" whether it is prepping or thinking about what to eat or eating or cleaning up, and by taking it out of the equation, I had a lot more free time! I think my Mom may join your husband in the pill a day group, as she feels that food is just a necessary part of life, but is not always super excited to do all of the food related chores (including eating).
DeleteI would definitely look at my string as I feel that knowledge is power, no matter what it entails.
I think I would like Food. I can't think of any situation in which I would eat just one chip, but over time I've gotten better at only eating "as much as I want" which is probably more than one serving but not the whole bag;-)
ReplyDeleteI don't want to know how much longer I had to live, but if I had a way to find out I'd probably take a look.
I definitely think that my servings are bigger than the recommended size, and sometimes I do eat the whole bag, but usually it's just half of the bag... :) actually I ate only one Turbos Flamas the other day, just to taste it (it is like a spicy cheeto), but I think I have some sensitivity to corn syrup, so I did not want to overdo it. So I guess if something really messes with your gut, that will keep you from overindulging (sometimes).
DeleteI agree with you re the string length; I would have to know so I could plan what to do next, even if that meant that I knew my time left was short lived.
I definitely cannot stop at one chip, thus it's best to open one with others and share and have a conversation. I don't even want to be that person that is 100% of the time practicing discipline, not anymore :)
ReplyDeleteGreat point! I definitely curb myself when I am with other people and am enjoying a meal together and am focusing on the social aspect more than when I am alone in front of the TV, cramming chips in my face. I also agree re 100% discipline...sometimes you need to let loose, but this can spiral out of control sometimes so I have to be careful that I don't get into that "I already went overboard this week so I may as well just wait until next week to start behaving" attitude!
DeleteI can not eat just one chip. But Phil can. If there isn't much left of something, I will finish it off - Phil will leave a very small amount of chips or popcorn in a bag instead of finishing it off. He has the best self control of any person I know!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed The Measure, too. The plastic book sounds interesting. I did know that you can recycle wrapping that goes around toilet paper and things like that, although here you have we have to bring it to a grocery store where there is a bin for that kind of recycling. So we have a separate place where we store things like that and then Phil drops it off every 2-3 weeks when he does our grocery shopping. I have really tried to reduce our plastic use but there is always room for improvement!
I could never leave a very small amount of anything in a bag. I even get antsy when I am down to the bottom of the shampoo bottle; I want to use it all up since it is almost empty, but I don't really need to use more shampoo than normal so each time I pick it up, I hold back the urge to just dump the rest in my hand and throw the bottle away. So part of it is that I have no willpower when it comes to certain foods, but part of it is that I don't like leaving things unfinished, if that makes sense.
DeleteThe plastic book is actually a little silly at times (make your own hair gel, make your own mouthwash), BUT I do want to do my part as much as I can, and so I am interested in hearing what options I have. For example, she talks about travel sized toiletries. I think that we don't need to necessarily put everything in glass, but we can reuse the plastic bottle we have already used, or go to bar shampoo and toothpaste tabs, which I already did years ago. I have seen shows where the people show that their "trash" is only about a PB jar full each week, and I am not there yet, but I would like to decrease some of the waste I produce. I also wish they would do a better job at work or in the workplace in general about educating people. My coworker came into town from NY and he used four plastic bottles (at least) of water and I saw them sitting half empty on his desk and when I told him to just use the insulated bottle he was provided he scoffed at me. To me the solution is simple: DO NOT provide disposable bottles and cups to employees, or even go so far as to have reusable cups. Some companies have done a good job transitioning (Starbucks - no plastic straws for example) but I still see the products in the wrong trash bin and think that there needs to be more education.
I love chips so I wouldn't eat just one! But some things I do feel I could take or leave. I like sweets but I don't HAVE to have them if they are in the house. I am not an emotional eater but I am a very Taurus joyful-eater, in that I love how some foods taste and get a lot of pleasure from that. I don't tend to snack much though, but I do like my Friday popcorn and wine!
ReplyDeleteI am a Taurus joyful-eater too, although I did not even know that was a thing, but maybe now I have a reason for my madness... Actually I always thought Taurus were known to be materialistic, and I never really thought this pertained to me, but I guess you could put food in that category! I am like you with most things, for example chocolate. Usually, I can just eat one and in fact at Halloween I used to sell my candy to my Dad, because I cared more about having the money than I did having the candy.
DeleteI don't see a point of eating one chip, but I can stop at a 1/3 or 1/2 of the bag. I usually try to snack only if I really have a craving for a certain thing. Then I don't feel bad about indulging.
ReplyDeleteThat is very smart and I like the concept but it does not always work in reality! I think part of it is that I hate leaving things unfinished, but part of it is just silly. I can put the bag away at a third but then I think about it and I tell myself that maybe I will just have a third more and eat a salad tomorrow, or sometimes I even have a salad and chips for dinner, as if that makes it healthy. It's not just chips; that was just an example. I can also get pretty far into a bag of kettle corn before I realize it is almost empty!
DeleteI think I could eat just one chip but I am not super into chips. I am super into many many other foods though. Especially cheese. And also I realize I seem to eat based on what is avaliable rather than what I am hungry for - so if there's only a small amount of cheese left i'll eat it all. Or if I finish my dinner I'll sometimes get a bit more because I think I'm still hungry or I think I will still be hungry later. Which is silly because there is always food later!
ReplyDeleteI don't often read memior books either - it's fun to step outside of your normal reading though.
Yup, I do that too. I will eat things because they "need to be eaten" because they are nearly gone or they are older or nobody else likes them. I do sometimes get called the vacuum because I am the one who will eat whatever everyone else doesn't finish... I would say that when I was younger and had a faster metabolism and was more active, this was fine, but now I am starting to get a muffin top and I realize that I need to keep myself in check better!
Delete“Ugh, I’m so full. I guess I’ll have some cheese. Hmm, I don’t even like this cheese. I guess I’ll finish it.” Yep, that's me. #raiseshand
ReplyDeleteHow often do you hike? Looks beautiful!
I know! I sometimes just eat it so that it is gone and I don't have to think about it anymore. I usually do a short hike around my area about once a week, and a longer one every couple of months within driving distance, but I also like to do a couple of longer backpacking/camping trips in the summer as well! I love getting out into nature no matter what but there is something special about sleeping under the stars in a quiet place with fresh air and trees!
DeleteNope, can't eat just one. I definitely have the problem of continuing to eat past the point of fullness, or even if I'm not really enjoying something (why? Why is this so hard???) And I read The Measure. My feeling while I was reading it was that I would NOT want to know how long my string was. But who knows what I would really do if actually confronted with that situation...
ReplyDeleteInteresting, right? I wonder, would you want to know how long your loved one's strings were? Or do you think that would taint your life afterwards?
DeleteThe "just one" thing is annoying, because, like you said, why am I still eating it if I don't even love it or want it or need it. It's kind of gross sometimes because I will be thinking about why I should not be eating it as I am eating it!
I love Jim Gaffigan! If you enjoyed his humor in this book, definitely check out his Netflix specials. They're SO funny.
ReplyDeleteI am not one to eat just ONE chip, but I'm not someone who will eat an entire bag in one sitting. I also very rarely eat straight from the bag or something like that. I always pour it into a bowl, which helps with portion control! But I am such a sweets over salty person that most times, my chips get stale before I eat an entire bag. Crazy, I know!
What!? That is blasphemy! Stale chips!? I have to admit I went on a cracker binge and bought a bunch of crackers and realized months later that I do not eat that many crackers. I like chips, but I rarely buy them or eat them, but when I do buy them, I eat them pretty fast! I am not really a sweets person, but I do like kettle corn and can also eat a lot of that in one sitting... However, I don't think I would ever sit and eat an entire cake but who knows... I will check out the Gaffigan Netflix special; thanks for the suggestion!
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