Angel Food (lowfat)

I’m really excited tonight because I’m finally heading into the weekend having not totally blown my WW points this week. What’s funny is that I’m more focused on food than I have been in a long time, despite being hot and heavy into dieting. Food has long been a passion of mine, and, like many, food is at the center of fond memories of family, childhood, etc. More than simply having heartwarming thoughts about my grandmother’s heavenly biscuits, I’ve also just been downright interested in food for almost as long as I can remember. I distinctly remember learning how to make butter when I was in kindergarten. For me, it was the most exciting lesson of the year (far more exciting than learning my right from my left). I still can remember how it tasted, and how the taste was so different from the butter and margarine I was used to. When I learned that a great aunt of mine actually owned a working butter churn, I was ecstatic and fascinated. My family all thought I was a little weird.

My interest in and passion for food has continued into adulthood. For many years, I’ve been wondering just how to use this interest (culinary school? blogging? teaching?), introducing fear and worry into my love. Well, lately, I’ve realized that I don’t want to continue fretting about food. I want to recapture the joy and fascination I felt when I was a kid. Perhaps while dieting doesn’t seem like the best possible time to recapture my own personal joy of food and cooking. Yet, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing these past couple weeks. I’ve been cooking new recipes and old favorites. I’ve been reading cookbooks just for fun. I’ve been absolutely enjoying myself, choosing seasonal ingredients, cooking and eating things that I really love. I’m feeling more satisfied at mealtimes and am accepting the hunger that comes with dieting much more readily than ever before. (And, oh yeah, I’ve lost about 3 lbs.)