I need to come clean about a few things.
1. I grew up on a diet of largely processed foods. The microwave was my friend. I ate things like frozen bagel dogs, Pop Tarts, and Little Debbie snack cakes on a daily basis.
2. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were one of my favorite foods growing up. They still are.
3. I do not consider myself a “foodie”. I’m not totally sure what the term means, actually. If it means “a person who likes and appreciates good food” then yes, I suppose I am a foodie. I don’t like labels though, so I wouldn’t call myself one.
4. There was a time when I absolutely could not cook or bake anything without a recipe. I clung to the recipe like an insecure girl clinging to an uninterested ex. I knew I should let go, but just needed that recipe.
5. I still have (at least) two crutches I turn to for help when creating a recipe on my own. The Flavor Bible 
and Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking
have been indispensable guides in learning to get creative in the kitchen.
6. Even though I won’t, for just one day I’d like to forget about all the chemicals, sugar, food dyes, etc. and just make these for Halloween. Aren’t they cute?
There. I feel better. I hope you are having a lovely Monday.
Any confessions you’d like to share today?
Excellent post. Thanks for sharing a nice post with us
I love your confessions and am now so curious about bagel hot dogs.
Fantastic post. Really your blog is amazing. Your tips were nice. I really enjoyed your full article.
Fantastic post. Really your blog is amazing. Your tips was nice.
Maryea,
I think your response was just what I needed to hear. It’s so good to be reminded that the extra expense and effort is worth it. Thank you!
I grew up on processed food, too! Although I am big into healthy foods, seeing that my brother and sister and I are “fine” makes me think if maybe I shouldn’t put so much pressure on myself to buy, cook, and serve as high a quality of food as I’d like (because I can’t always afford it).
Today’s confession?
I scarfed 3 slices of leftover pizza around 3:15 pm today…then an hour later, 2 cupcakes with extra icing. I’m still full!
You know the interesting thing about the prospective “well I turned out okay” when it comes to food and nutrition is that the results can be subtle or long-term, so you really can’t be sure. For example, my husband ate artificially colored fruit snacks every single day for lunch growing up and has a really hard time focusing and paying attention to something for a period of time (not full blown ADD, but similar). Studies show that exposure to food dyes can create neurological/attention problems, so are the two related? Maybe. We’ll never know for sure. That’s just one example.
I don’t think you should put too much pressure on yourself though. Just do the best you can! 🙂
I think this is most of us!
the cupcakes cracked me up!! i often wish i could forget all that i know about dyes, processed food, etc etc etc lol life would be so much easier! a lot of people think i am insane! like when i freaked out when a family member put one of those fake zero calorie grape flavored “water” things in my 20 month old’s cup! yuck!
they were like what? its just water? I was like did you read the lonng list of ingredients?
ugh!
love your recipes btw! make them all the time and they always work! taste awesome and are healthy, we have very similar food philosophys:)
I would have freaked out about the grape water, too! It’s frustrating living in a world that most people just don’t understand. *Sigh*
Perfect recipe, i’m going to give it a try with my girlfriend for dinner. Hope i get it right! Cheers
Oh, I want to check out those books. I am horrible at creating a recipe myself.
“When you know better, you do better”…right ?! I grew up on a bunch of processed, artificially flavored and colored junk as well. Thankfully, I no longer eat that stuff !
My confession…at one point, a few years ago, I was drinking 3 or 4 cans of diet coke every day ! At the time, I thought it was okay because it was “diet” soda. Now, of course, I know better.
Your book-tips sound really interesting so I’m definately gonna check them out!
My confessions are that I usually eat Ben & Jerry´s together with my husband on Friday evenings, after we’ve put our daughter to sleep… I occasionally also drink a diet soda. When I was in my early 20-ies I would have at least on a day, but now it might be one a month at the most.
I confess that PB&J is one of my favorites too and I never get sick of it. At one time in my life (college) I ate a PB&J on whole wheat every day for an entire semester.
I confess that after Zumba class tonight, Mario took me to Smash Burger for dinner. I got the black bean burger but still I’m sure it’s not healthy!!
Sounds like you made the best choice at Smash Burger! I confess that I’ve been tempted by real burgers my whole pregnancy.
I, like you, grew up on a diet full of processed foods. It was not unheard of for me to have Lucky Charms almost every day for breakfast or a snack. If it wasn’t Lucky Charms, it was Trix. But, this past weekend while traveling I felt major guilt for indulging in some peanut butter pretzels from Trader Joes. Not the healthiest of snacks, for sure. I didn’t buy them. My husband did.
You could do a lot worse than PB pretzels from TJ’s! I loved Lucky Charms growing up. It was magically delicious! 🙂
I fed my kids Cascadian Farms cinnamon toast cereal for dinner. I even thought to myself when I poured it “I wonder what kind of post this would make.” My husband and I ate brown rice crisp ceral for dinner too. Now that is blog worthy, right??
Won’t be the last time either.
That felt good to get off my chest! Thank you! 🙂
I’m confessing that I was unaware bagel dogs exist! I feel deprived. After imagining its taste, I really want a bagel dog!
I’m a junior in college and I still eat a pb and j (now ‘healtified’ on whole grain bread, with natural pb&j) almost every day for lunch.
I remember loving those bagel dogs. Ewww.
I confess that I would TOTALLY eat those cupcakes. 🙂
Since we’re all coming clean here, I have to confess that I just broke down and bought a bag of candy corn. My first of the season, which, in and of itself is a miracle that I lasted this long. One week before Halloween isn’t too bad. Right? Ahem. I just pretend that I don’t know how to read food labels, and it’s all good.
I admit I don’t get the obsession with candy corn. I’d just assume have some chocolate! 😉
Good confessions- I’m not sure what I know what a foodie is either. AND I’m not into labels at all! …..Confession of mine, I’m a total wreck in the kitchen. Biggest mess maker in the world!!!
I’m with you on that one. It looks like a tornado went through the kitchen when I’m done. It’s something I’m working on though…cleaning as I go!
I’d like to confess that I ate bologna today for lunch…. I pride myself at eating very little processed foods…. and that is the KING of all processed junk!
Oh wow. That just brought me back to my childhood. One of my favorite snacks was a piece of bologna heated up in the microwave. How gross is that? It tasted so good though!
we fried ours… gross!