Food-isms!
February 4, 2013 in Diet, Food and Recipes by Devin Lytle
Happy freakin’ Monday, Fittie-family!
To be honest, I really wasn’t planning on writing about food this fabulous February 4th. In fact, I had this whole video of me doing something pole-y, but after babysitting a 4 month old munchkin for 8 hours and then a 2 hour pole class, my body was all like “Yo, bbygir, Ima put u 2 sleep @ 10:30, aight?” Seriously, how can anybody resist an early slumber/the smooth Macklemore-esque baritone of my body’s voice? Furthermore, what kind of fitness blogger would I be if I denied myself the health benefits of going to bed early?
Or at least…thats what I keep telling myself. Anyways, I’ll have that video up for y’all next week…so hang in there!
So today, as I’m gobbling down my Think Thin bar (Brownie crunch, flavor, of course) and poking my mind grapes for excellent post ideas, the woman who I share my office with made a comment on how I eat my protein bar.
“Why do you eat your bar so weird?” said she. To which I wanted to reply, “Why do you speak aloud when you compose emails? Do you know you have the mental capacity to write without speaking?” …. but that would have been rude. And, as usual, I digress…
(however, she is literally talking one out right now. Jesus, take the wheel)
However, as jarring as her comment was, she’s right. I eat my protein bars differently than your average Think Thin consumer. I nibble on the perimeter of the bar first, making sure to get all the pure chocolate bits first, then I set it down, swig coffee, and break the body of the bar in half. Its my ism, my routine, my protein bar ritual. Its what makes the Think Thin bar eating experience so damn satisfying.
Everyone I know has an ism. I notice them all the time. Evy, for an example, will eat a handful of her pecans from the Whole Foods pecan bag, and then pour raisins into the empty space, thus creating a delicious pecan-raisin combo pack. My best friend from childhood, Arleta, used to set her lunch room plastic silverware in a perfect setting pattern, put her napkin on her lap, pause to examine her handiwork, and then dig in. At one point, my college boyfriend went through a sliced-banana-in-my-scrambled-eggs phase! INSANITY.
As bizarre as these isms might be, I think they are quite telling. If we take a moment to examine them, I think we’ll find we discover what it is we crave in food. Obviously, I crave chocolate. Otherwise, I wouldn’t take 10 minutes to eat all the chocolate off my bro-tein bar. Additionally, I believe Arleta truly savors her food when it is an event in her day, and Jason needs to have that sweet-salty flavor combination in his morning meal.
What’s your ism? Think about it! What are your motives behind taking in nutrition that way? Once you have an ism in mind, ask yourself how you can further satisfy that craving? Or, if its an unhealthy craving, how can you make it healthy? Tell me below! I really love rejoicing in people’s quirks…
Okay lovers, have a fantastic week!
No I did not pick this wrapper out of the trash so I could take this picture. That would be absurd!
IS THAT A FRESH MANICURE I SEE?! We’re getting mani/pedis in April. Okay.
Duuuuude I got a bunch of those bars for free at some race in LA last year. YUM.
I don’t have isms because I am perfect and normal. But no, really, it would be really difficult to pick out my own isms because, as you didn’t realize you have your own way of eating a Think Thin bar, I don’t know what I eat weirdly! I don’t do anything uniquely. I just stuff my face. I’m so boring. I think.
Yes! this is totally a thing. Everyone has their ism. I like to eat the outside of horse carrots, leaving the little inner bone for last. Also I used to dip chicken nuggets in chocolate puddinghahanoIdidnt byeee!!!
Haha also you said you like to eat your smoothies out of a bowl – TOTAL ISM.
Although, I don’t know what that says about your cravings…maybe you’re craving more cereal but since you’re gluten/lactose free thats the closest you can get? I dunno girr, I’m stumped.
SAM. That simply isn’t true! I’ve eaten with you!
I’m going to observe you closely the next time I’m with you. I’ll find your ism! IF ITS THE LAST THING I DO!!!
Oh, food-isms everywhere! I believe everything narrows down to how we love to eat. I, for example, love to put stuff in my oatmeal to make it more than just a soft consistency-meal. Flaxseed, Chia seeds, almonds, whatever I can put in it that’s healthy enough… and cinnamon!
It also translates to an unhealthy example too: ice cream. I can’t just eat ice cream, I have to improvise a homemade Coldstone Creamery dessert with as many cookies and yummy things (specially Chocolate-y) in it.
My conclusion: I can’t stick to one ingredient.
I am all over the food ‘isms.’ I like to eat my smoothies with a spoon, and cappuccino-froth (from the glorious dairy days) too. Then, of course, there’s the TYPE of spoon. When I’m eating an apple, I have to nibble all the skin off first, because I feel that it’s hindering my apple experience and life would be better with it out of the way.
I’m sure that some people don’t have ‘ism’ about food. But I’m not sure we should entertain or trust those people…
I chug every single drink. I don’t even know what a sip is (unless it’s a hot drink). I just tilt my head back and I guess open my esophagus and just pour the drink down. Sipping is a completely silly waste of time.
I used to not use a spoon with things like applesauce, yogurt, pudding, etc. I would just crush the container and then use my tongue for the rest. Somehow I got over that. I do smack my gum really loud though and it drives my boyfriend insane.
Wow, all of my -isms are things a sailor would do.
I have this thing with peanut butter: If the jar is closed, I am totally fine and I barely even think about it. But once it’s open, it’s a matter of seconds before I’m face-diving the damn thing.
As I was reading this I kept thinking of all my friends’ and family’s -isms but not my own. The only one of my own I can think of is that I refuse to drink water out of mugs. For some reason, water out of coffee mugs tastes different to me than the same water out of a glass. I have a feeling though that I’m going to be noticing my own -isms constantly now!
I don’t know if it’s an ism really, but I always eat everything on my plate at the same rate. So if I had a Sunday dinner I wouldn’t eat my carrots then my stuffing then my broccoli etc.; when I was about to finish the meal I’d have one little morsel of everything left- and then the last morsel of everything would be eaten from least to most favourite =P
I’ve totally been called out for this before! (By a really toxic person, who tended to mock me for that, and for being vegetarian, and this is a reason I have issues eating around people/talking about food! But ANYWAY.) I eat chips, crackers and veggie burgers/anything on a bun that’s round like Devin does, in a way. I eat all the way around the perimeter – like, I eat all the edges off. And then I eat the middle. Depending on how badly I want the salt in the chips, this happens quickly or slowly. But with the burger, it makes it so much easier for me to eat if all the edges are gone. That’s definitely an ism, and though I’ve become way more aware of it, and it makes me self-conscious, I also don’t stop doing it. That’s all I can think of that I do, but I’m SURE there are more. (Like the fact that I cannot use a twirling spoon when I eat spaghetti; I have to cut it, because my coordination will not allow me to twirl that pasta.)
I always eat my PB&J sandwiches equally on both sides. This may be me being just a bit OCD, but I take one bite from each side at a time until the crust is all gone, then I rip the middle bit in half. I don’t know how that started, but I can’t stop now.
I always eat my salad in a particular order- Lettuce/Spinach/Carrots, Cucumbers, Bell Peppers, Grapes, Tomatoes, and alternating Strawberries and Pineapples. Also, I count raisins when I eat them. I loved this post and I am going to figure out other people’s isms now!