Triumvirate of Yumminess

We are creatures of habit. We have a few favourite things and often we can get a lot of pleasure by going back to them. To avoid things going off (I really hate tossing globby milk down the sink and stale bread into the bin), I tend to live fairly hand to mouth. Since branded stores have taken over convenience stores in the UK, things actually cost the same as the main shops and so it isn't a luxury to just pop into a small shop. So that's what I do. This isn't all good though because I am less good at planning what I eat since my elephant is doing the shopping. I shop when hungry. This means my fridge if very sparse, which is also a good thing since I don't tend to snack. It is not a good thing when the hungry elephant feels hard done by and enters the Sainsbury's. Almost on autopilot, I don't even grab a basket. I typically just grab three things - a curry, a juice and a white chocolate magnum icecream. 

The most cunning diet I have heard of allows you to eat whatever you want. The catch is you have to set up a whatsapp group with a few willing friends and you have to send a pic of whatever you eat. So just before you eat the chocolate filled doughnut, you send through a snap. Then you feel like another... but... and the embarrassment sets in. I have never tried this approach since I the only people who would really want to participate in receiving the pictures would be those involved.

I am also not a fan of diets that aren't sustainable. I would like to eat more healthily, but I don't want to set myself up on a pedestal where I am racked with feelings of self pity every time I look at what everyone else is eating. Food is a great pleasure in life and I don't want to deprive myself of that. My plan is to get into cooking and more specifically, to make a hobby of vegetarian cooking. If I can cook awesome meals that I look forward to and just happen to be healthy, I can wean myself off those ridiculously yummy tikka masala curries.

The trick will be that whatever I learn will need to be as easy as my triumvirate of yumminess. I know eating well is an important part of happiness. I know there are issues with factory farming that mean we should eat significantly less meat. Eating is one of the most stubborn habits to change and it isn't logic that is in control. Food brings comfort. It rewards. It triggers memories. It binds relationships. Changing your diet while keeping the good bits needs the most cunning of cunning strategic plans.