Baking, along with cooking, is one activity that calms me down and relieves stress. It is right up there with exercising. Along with yoga and my jump rope, the simple activity of crafting culinary deliciousness puts my mind back on track, and, to be honest, it is probably perfect that I love exercising as much as baking as it prevents me developing my own muffin tops.Yet, this wasn't always the case.
As a teenager and in my early 20's I would scarf down whatever sat in front of me that was salty, high in sugar or high in fat. Something happened after I moved from the South to Colorado for grad school. I gained weight and was depressed. I suspect that both were the primary result of that grad school plague, and particularly the Ph.D. plague, of constantly wondering why you made such a bad life decision. It took 2 years and a bought of sickness that lasted 7 months but I finally got my act together and started realizing that short cuts in cooking were killing the pleasure of food and were perhaps adding to my waistline. So, I made a decision to avoid pre-made, processed food that allowed for quick dinners and short cuts to eating. From that point forward, for my mental and physical health, I would join in on the slow food movement and eat minimally processed foods. In other words, if I was going eat cake, I was going to make it myself. If I was going to eat anything deep fried, then I was going to figure out how to do it and be responsible for cleaning up the mess. This was the most liberating decision I have ever made. It was more liberating than leaving behind my family and everything I have ever know and venturing 1,500 miles away from home with the mere promise of a TA position and tuition coverage.
It's now been a year and half since I made this decision a number of things have changed. 1) I am now smaller than what I was a year ago. I have only lost 5 pounds in fat but gained 8 pounds in muscle. I am now a lean muscle machine that lost approximately 15-18 inches on my body. I must admit I now like watching myself dance in the mirror. 2) I don't miss 99.9% of the "short cut" foods or take out from fast food places. In fact, eating fast food make me feel sick now. I would much rather chow down on a salad or soup than a hamburger or French fries. Go figure. 3) I have became much more saavy baker. I can now bake a variety of cakes, pies, and cookies from scratch and in high altitude. I was originally discouraged because a number of high altitude disasters, such as the center of the cake falling or horrible texture, but now can bake items that are the equivalent to store bought confections. 4) My spice variety has increased exponentially. This means less cabinet space but at least my cooking is bad ass. My current obsession is fennel seed. 5) I found out I love soup and stews. I always hated the canned variety and found more restaurant soups to be bland. Now I have a recipe repertoire bulging on over 30 varieties. My favorite to make is chicken noodle - such a classic. 6) My monthly food costs, combination of grocery costs and dining out costs, is soooooo much lower. For a household of two, we spend less than $400 a month on food costs. 7) I know how to stretch food into leftovers. As of today, I have only had to make lunch for myself four times in the past two weeks. 8) I like sharing my recipes with my friends and family. Of course this comes with the warning that I primarily cook based on smell and taste. 9) I find myself watching the Food Network or on cooking websites more often. This prevents me from endlessly searching for b.s. happening on Facebook. 10) I have learned more about myself and feel a sense of confidence that extends beyond the kitchen. I feel like I dress better, can explain my research better, and have began to lose the self-edification behavior of second-guessing and saying I can't. I am now a better person because I can and I want to cook and bake from scratch.
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