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Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

Monday, June 1, 2026

Food For Thought

Hello, my name is Holly. I am an overeater who comes from a long lineage of overeaters who is now trying to teach my niece and nephew not to overeat. It annoys me that there are people who just get full, put their forks down, and go to bed. Even if I cut off my arms, I would find a way to get that last Pringle into my mouth. I have accepted that food issues are going to be my cross to bear, but I am hopeful that the tips I give my niece and nephew (that are obviously from offline, because what do I know about having consumption control?) will help them to avoid a fate such as mine. 

Everyone has issues, but why can't my issue be one that people can't see? Why can't I be a sex addict or a thief or a liar and still get to walk around skinny and cute with no one being the wiser? Why can't I be the adulterer that walks around judging overweight folks, telling them to "just stop eating" and to "get up and walk"? I would be just as good a hypocrite as the next guy. It's just not fair! 

I have gotten so upset with food that I have started to protest it. Even when I am hungry, I just find myself not wanting to eat. What is the point? I am just going to get hungry again, make bad choices, not feel full, then make the same overeater mistakes all over again. I need a break just as food, per usual, is breaking my spirits. 

The other day, I watched my 2-year-old niece eating a granola bar. Halfway through finishing it, she didn't want it anymore, threw it on the floor, and then walked away. I think the healthy people call that "portion control". Maybe there is hope for my bloodline yet! 

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Worth The Weight

When I was but a young fatty in middle and high school, music videos on BET and MTV were everything to me. This was back when the show Rap City stayed on for like five hours, and when Carson Daly was the man. Like many of the horny young boys I went to school with, my favorite part of the music videos was the women. If only I could be as sexy as the women in the DMX feat. Sisqo video for "What You Really Want"; if only I looked like the three Kims, Latoya and Tina. I can't think about how much time I wasted fantasizing about getting so small that I could show up at school in a jean FUBU short set. This I think about as I choke down the yogurt and tuna in my meal-prepped breakfast and lunch. 

I love you so I can't lie to you: meal-prepping has sucked butt cheeks. By my third week of doing it, I had stopped eating breakfast and lunch altogether. That's right, I got to a point where I would rather starve than eat the carrots and salad that I had prepared for myself. Eating these joyless meals was actually making me emotional and depressed. I mean, how many blueberries can one person eat?!

Last Saturday when I went to volunteer, I overhead the 20-something volunteers talking about what they were doing to manage their weight. And I say manage because if either one of these three girls lost so much as a pound, they would die. I interrupted the conversation when I heard one of them talking about putting some type of thick weightloss powder into their water. I just had to know how they are able to stay so small. They talked about not eating until they were full, not snacking, drinking meal replacements, exercise, all of which sound horrible to me. They talked about being hungry but deciding to eat what was best while still trying not to allow dieting to ruin their lives. 

Looking at these three beautiful young women, I realized that they had to be keeping something from me. How could they be content drinking Slim Fast shakes while everyone else had pancakes? Later in the week, it came to me: the one thing that keeps them small, more than the fad diets and cleanses, is the fear of getting fat! But I am already fat, so where does that leave me? I guess the fear of dying would be a motivator if I didn't already feel dead eating this nasty food. 

Somewhere along the line, they also got comfortable with being hungry and even not eating for long periods of time. This is something that happens young, for I remember watching those Lifetime movies about White girls with eating disorders and vowing to starve. I was typically binge-eating cookies before the next movie came on. 

I think I would be okay with dieting if anyone had been honest with me about how sad it would make me. Since I can't swallow my emotions with food, all I do is sit around and mope, thinking about hurtful things that have happened to me that Cheetos helped me to forget. So, I'm laying here feeling everything, wishing I had a piece of cake. IT'S A PARTY! 

Unlike the other diets I have tried, I am going to try to stick with this one. My doctor says that my goal should be losing enough weight to lower my blood pressure and cholesterol. My goals is to lose enough weight to bone whatever single/divorced African Alpha is available at my college homecoming. Whichever comes first I guess. 

Full disclosure: I had a piece of fried chicken for breakfast this morning because I didn't do my prepping yesterday. Rookie mistake. I'm really trying guys. 

Monday, May 6, 2019

Who Let The Dogs Out?

Did I miss something? When did Black people become dog people?
I have to be honest: I am not a big dog person. I grew up in an area of Atlanta where many households had pit bulls or rottweilers. They would keep them tied up outside, ready to attack you when you walked by their houses, or bark at you while you waited on the bus. But let's be clear: those dogs were kept out.side.
Recently, I was feeling down, so my friend invited me to her sister's house for a dinner party. I was excited to go and get out of my own head. I was eager to meet some new people and of course, eat. Once we arrived at my friend's sister's house, I was speechless. The house was so beautifully decorated, I felt like I was in a fancy interiors Instagram page. I was looking at some of her awesome pictures and nicknacks when I caught a glimpse of a small Black dog out of the corner of my eye.
My body got tight and I froze in place as I listened to the rest of the family greet the dog in the living room. This was a dinner party. Surely they were going to throw the dog outside or lock her in a bathroom. NOT!
I tried to ignore the dog as it freely sashayed around the house like it owned the place. It was hard for me to really engage with people, mentally dipping in and out of the conversation to keep tabs on where the dog was at and what it was doing. 
The party moved into the living room for dessert and I calmed down just a little. The dog got comfy on the floor and looked as if it was going to go to sleep. That was until two guests came late with their slightly bigger more aggressive dog instep. Everyone greeted him like he was part of the family with the same hands they were holding their drinks with.
"This is an animal, gross," I thought to myself as they continued their unhygienic hellos.
Then the dogs saw each other and about an hour of barking and fighting ensued.
How do you let a host know that you are uncomfortable with their animals when invited to their home? I ask because me screaming out loud and shielding my dessert and face with my arms didn't do the trick.
Other than those ferocious beasts hovering around, the dinner was lovely. I told my friends this story and they say I am overreacting. Apparently, dog lovers consider dogs people. Not I. Gross.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

The Perfect Cold Night Dinner with Explore Cuisine

Pumpkin Stuffed Green Lentil Cannelloni

Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 55 mins
Total time: 1 hour 40 mins
Serves: 3-4 servings
INGREDIENTS
For the Cashew Cream:
  • ½ cup raw cashews,
  • 1 cup water boiling water
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tsp nutritional yeast
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 6 sheets Explore Cuisine Organic Green Lentil Lasagne
  • 2 cups prepared tomato sauce
  • 1 t0 2 tsp red pepper flakes (to taste, optional)
For The Filling:
  • 15oz canned pumpkin
  • 1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ to ½ tsp salt (to taste)
  • ⅛ tsp black pepper
DIRECTIONS
  1. To prepare the cashew cream (this can be prepared ahead of time), soak the cashews in 1 cup of boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain, reserving ½ cup of the soaking water
  2. Combine the soaked cashews, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt and the ½ cup of reserved soaking water in a high power blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use
  3. In a large pot, bring water to a boil and add salt to taste. Add the lasagna sheets and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often to keep them from sticking together
  4. While the pasta cooks, prepare the filling. Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Set aside until ready to use
  5. Once the pasta sheets are cooked, drain them and run them under cold water (if any of the sheets are stuck together, separate them carefully). Set them aside
  6. Preheat the oven to 375F. Combine the prepared tomato sauce and red pepper flakes (if using) and pour on the bottom of a 10.5 x 7.5 inch baking dish. Spoon about half of the cashew cream over the sauce
  7. To prepare the cannelloni, place about a tablespoon and a half of filling on each pasta sheet and carefully roll each one. Arrange them in the baking dish, over the tomato sauce and cashew cream. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes
  8. Drizzle with the remaining cashew cream before serving. Serve warm
*Recipe by May I Have That Recipe for Explore Cuisine

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

The Chew Gives Us More Recipes to Nibble On

So many people tune into to ABC's "The Chew" for their witty banter and mouthwatering recipes. In their fourth cookbook The Chew: An Essential Guide to Cooking and Entertaining, "The Chew" hosts give us some of their favorite recipes that are perfect for entertaining. Within the five chapters of the book, you will find recipes for yummy dishes such as Chicken Meatballs Marsala, Fried Chicken Reuben, and Pecan Pie Pudding. 
Readers are also treated to: 

·      Answers to viewer questions that give you added details and insights from The Chew hosts
·      Delicious favorites handed down from the hosts’ families to yours
·      Mouthwatering meals that can be made ahead of time or in a slow cooker
·      Several innovative ways to put a new spin on a favorite recipe
·      A wide range of recipes from breakfast to dessert, from the lighter side to guilty pleasures, and everything in between 
 You can purchase the book The Chew: An Essential Guide to Cooking and Entertaining $19.99 at your local bookstore. 

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Daddy Follow-Up











So DaddyDo finally came to visit me yesterday. We spent all day together. Funny, I had been ROYALLY pissed that he showed up late, but when he showed, I was all extra happy. We went to Red Lobster, then the movies (where Pops caught a nap), and then we took a pic together. Just thought I would share.