Call me a French-speaking elitist, but was it really necessary to take a term as easy as Mardi Gras and turn it into such a gross sounding phrase? At the very least, the original term sounds so much classier while you're inhaling rainbow-colored cake and donning beads instead of a shirt. Or maybe I'm just bitter that I'm studying for a midterm instead of partying it up tonight :)
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For snackage this afternoon, I packed the last of my Two Moms in the Raw tomato-basil sea crackers, as well as a package of spicy peanuts.
Since I'm going home for spring break tomorrow, my fridge is looking pathetically empty. As a result, dinner was a random assortment:
I heated up a Boca veggie patty and ate it atop two slices of Ezekiel bread topped with yellow mustard and spinach.
Steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots rounded out my plate.
And because dinner was on the light side, dessert was on the larger side.
Pineapple chunks and a huge portion of cashews
Plus a hefty serving of Antidote red hibiscus uber-dark chocolate. Hit the spot!
Oh, and a green apple Blow Pop I found in a drawer :)
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For the seventh year in a row, I'm giving up sweets for Lent. I began this tradition in 9th grade with a friend when I went to a Catholic school, so it was just kind of a given- most people gave something up! But the more interested I've become in food, the more appropriate this particular sacrifice seems. Cooking, health and good food have become my passions, which has brought so much enjoyment into my life. I believe that God put desserts on this earth for us to enjoy without guilt, but I also know that I can give them up for 40 days because they're just food, and nothing I eat ever should or could satisfy me in the way that strengthening my relationship with God will. It's a reminder not to take my passion too seriously, because in the scheme of things there are many more important things in life!
As a side note, I've never viewed Lent as an excuse to diet, and I've never felt deprived by giving sweets up. I also have another, more personal non-food related Lenten promise to work on, because I think that there's more to this season than giving something up.
Of course, obsessing over grams of sugar would completely counter the point, so I plan on being pretty lax about it. "Sweets" include cookies, candy, ice cream, chocolate, cupcakes and the like, but it does not include fruit (dried or fresh), nuts, nut butters, dates, trail mix, cereal, or any other kinda sweet foods- I'll be subbing those for my nightly "desserts." Basically, it's a no-go for anything you'd find on a dessert menu or at a candy store. Simple.
Hope you're enjoying your night of debauchery- or just a plain ol' Tuesday like me!
What are your thoughts on Lent? Have you ever given anything up/are you giving anything up? And are you celebrating Mardi Gras in any way?
