Dirty Little Secrets

Most folks think because I am a chef, I must only want the finest foods. Foie gras, filets, truffles, all that stuff the celebrities on the food channels are raving like lunatics about. The fact is, I cannot stand foie gras. It's nasty. I have, and I mean this in the most sincere, but non-racist way, white-trash taste buds.
Honestly, yes, I've eaten in some of the finest restaurants that I can locate on a map, New York, Chicago, Charlotte, all the pretty restaurants with their world-renowned chefs. And what do I really want to eat? Burger King croissant sandwiches. Olive Garden breadsticks. Funnel cakes, hot dogs from street vendors, and plenty of other foods that are, if I read the nutrition labels, would probably cause me to bleed from the eyeballs. But it is what my palate wants. And now, if I want to be successful, I have to re-train my palate to love vegetables, salads, whole-grain breads, whole wheat pasta and brown rice. None of which make my taste buds dance.

So what is your dirty little food secret? Do you hide in your car and eat all the cookies for a meeting and tell people you forgot them? Do you eat a hotdog, wait till all your friends leave, and then go get a second one, so no one will think you're a pig? Come out of the closet with your culinary secrets! Order a salad on your date and then once you're home, eat the entire pint of ice cream?

I've done at least some, if not all, of those things. But here is the deepest secret...it is not eating these things that is the worst thing for us. It's hiding it. It's being ashamed of ourselves. It's eating our hearts out. I'm not saying that these are good food choices. They aren't. But I'm a grown-ass, independent woman and I say that I, and you, and you, should own our choices. All our choices. Even the lousy ones. Because when we stand on the scale, we know in our hearts, that we alone are responsible for that number.

So, when you're in the drive through, or at a state fair, ask yourself if it is worth it. If it is, then enjoy without shame. Eat what you want to eat. But own it. Or it will own you.

And I'm pretty sure no matter what I do, I'm still going to hate salads.