With Halloween weeks away, all I can think about lately are Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I have many food weaknesses but nothing really brings me joy like a melty peanut butter cup (or two or three or eight) at the end of a night, dressed as Flow from Progressive. When it’s not trick or treating season, my mind drifts from apple pie, to Christmas cookies, and then to ice cream when it starts to get hot. Eventually I come full circle back to my home girl, Reese. With all of this talk of sugary goodness, it would be expected to think that I wasn’t a particularly “healthy” person. But if I didn’t eat chocolate on Halloween, or birthday cake on my birthday, I wouldn’t be a very happy person; and health and happiness go hand in hand.
Contrary to my sugar addict alter ego (I call her Carol), I consider myself to be a really health-conscious person. I love learning about nutrition. If you are what you eat, I would probably be a medley of salad and granola. I plan my meals because it’s fun for me to make them, and I love finding new healthy foods to replace my favorite childhood foods. While I may be this self-proclaimed health-nut, I am also realistic; I have a sweet tooth and an appetite for experience. And over the years, I’ve found that I don’t enjoy or experience my favorite times of the year without the foods that make them so special to me.
While I really do try my best to eat clean and wholesome every day of the week, I always have dessert every night. I make sure to plan it into my day because for me, a piece of chocolate at the end of the night makes a good day, a great day. I’ve found a way to work with my sugar cravings in a way that has actually made me a healthier and more fit person. While I would bathe in a bath of sprinkles if I could, the majority of my desserts are made of unrefined ingredients that make me feel good. More importantly, my desserts taste good. Like really good.
But when it comes to days like my birthday, or Thanksgiving, my mind doesn’t just crave something sweet. It craves the experience that makes these special days so special and fun. On my birthday, it’s more about being with the people I love and having a slice of cake that is filled with love. Love and sugar. Good ole’ white sugar. With butter cream frosting and a lemon curd filling in between the many moist layers of yellow cake…I’m sorry, I’m back. Got lost for a second but now I’m back.
At the end of the day, part of being healthy means being happy and for me, dessert does the trick. It may be something different for you. To really learn to live and enjoy a healthy lifestyle, you need to be able to feel excited about food and remember that eating five (or nine) peanut butter cups on Halloween is not going to kill you. But if you don’t eat them, I will.
