Food good. Eat food.

I was doing the StumbleUpon thing the other day, partly so I could search for networking sites on which to promote WiP (yes, I'm a shameless promotional whore. Welcome to my world), and I came across a fun little website, 5Min, a "videopedia", as it calls itself.

Now, I've always said, everyone's an "expert" at *something*. I've never sorted out how you could do it, but I've thought of setting up a network of skill bartering- I teach you how to make the perfect cheesecake, you teach me some yoga. Or I teach Bob how to do accents, he teaches Jen how to winterize her doors and windows, and she teaches me how to make risotto. Not sure how that'd work. Maybe it's a "group class" sort of thing. No idea, and someone's already probably thought it up.

This is a bit along those lines, but in video form, and in 5 minutes. Cute concept, and I'm sure I'll be back to the site. One of the videos I looked at was "how to make sage butter". I thought, m'kay, I've made garlic and cinnamon butters, how is this any different? Melt butter, add stuff, heat, and go. Not complicated. But this was how to make it from scratch- essentially how to churn butter in a tupperware container. Neat, simple, and something I might one day try, just to say I've done it (like gambling- done it once, lost my $10 after having won $5, and that was the end of that).

Anyhow, what amused/perplexed me about it was the comment that came just after:

"Is there any way to make a reduced fat version? Not all of us can stand to put
on more pounds from butter!"

Now, I get that it's a good idea to keep your cholesterol and fat intake down, and that eating mounds of butter isn't always the best thing. I get that for some, their diet is seriously restricted out of medical necessity. But I've tried the method of "replace everything bad in my fridge with something good for me". It stinks. It sucks all the joy out of food. I don't want to eat a pizza that's "good for me". If I'm eating pizza, I want it to have all the richest ingredients I can muster. I'm not interested in eating lowfat ice cream, or soy turkey. Yech.

I say this as my muscles ache from a morning workout, a bowl recently full of oatmeal lies in the trash, and I check up on the RSVP's for my pizza party. It's a fine balance, I think. I will cop to having overindulged more than my fair share, in both the food and the drinky-drink. And I've felt like ass afterwards, certainly. That's not a lifestyle that's healthy. But going overboard the other way just can't be healthy, and I don't mean in cholesterol/body mass index/LDL sort of way.

If I were to stress out over every calorie I eat, I'd never enjoy food again. But if I eat like a normal person, and every now and again get myself a Chipotle burrito, or nosh on some candy- not only am I more likely to *really* enjoy it, but I'm more likely to buy stuff that's a little higher quality than your standard fast food fare. I'm not depriving myself and gorging. I'm eating normally, and treating myself. Maybe it's all perspective.

I will never bake you a cheesecake that's made with lowfat cheese, margarine, Splenda, or egg substitute. If I ever claim I will... it's not me. Shoot me and look for the microchip.