Potato Chips

Last night I read in a magazine, "The bottom line is that it's got to be pleasurable. Otherwise you take away one of the most important aspects of food: It nurtures your body but also your sense of satisfication. ... Indulgence is a part of the balance of life."

Have you ever noticed that if you eat a bunch of bad, unsatisfying food, you feel bad? And, more importantly, you don't feel satisfied. What happens then is you start eating more food in hopes of becoming satisfied. However, if all your eating to satisfy your body is processed foods or foods made with cheap ingredients (for example, foods full of trans-fats and high fructose corn syrup), you feel, well, cheap and icky.

That being said, I love potato chips. I love the salt. I love the crunch. I love eating them after I have something super sweet. I love them with a sandwich. I love the oil that comes off on my hands that I wipe onto my jeans. I love the way fizzy water tastes after I eat a handful of them. In short, there's absolutely nothing I don't love about potato chips.

My husband loves them, and, now my children love them, too.

And, it is my childrens' love for them that has changed me. Pre-children (PC) I would pick up a bag of chips and not notice much other than if they were ridged. (Ridges? Who needs 'em?) But, now that I am the gateway to most of the food my children consume, I have changed my ways. No longer do I pick up any old bag of chips. Now I scan each bag and read labels so closely that usually wails are heard from the shopping cart sounding something like: "Mama, just buy them, pleeeeeeeeassssssssseeeeee!"

As with a multitude of other foods out there, I have come to adopt the snobby philosophy of: if it's not made really well and with good (read: good for your body) ingredients then don't eat it!

If you gotta eat chips (and I do!), Buy good potato chips. Really good potato chips. Potato chips that don't contain any of those nasty artery-clogging trans-fats. Buy the potato chips cooked in olive oil. Why not? Yes, yes, I know they're like five times the price. But, basically you shouldn't be eating them in the first place! When you feel like indulging, have just a few. Enjoy them. Savor them. Linger over every chip. The more you take the time to enjoy the chips, the more satisfied you'll be. Plus, if you know they're expensive, you're more likely to keep them a special treat and not be tempted to cram every chip in your mouth at warp speed!

So, as the blog states: EAT GOOD FOOD!