Diamond-Cut Life

Happy Thanksgiving! New disclosure: I am married to a foodie. Thor will spend much of today making something he’s never made before, a vegan macaroni and cheese dish, that we’ll bring to my sister-in-law’s house this afternoon. Food is Thor’s creative outlet, his art form, and I believe in supporting a person’s art. I also benefit from Thor’s foodiness because he favors the healthiest of foods.

But food is not my art form. I’ll spend my day writing, dancing and practicing my singing — I got to feature all of these at my recent 50th birthday party. Thor got to deal with the caterer.   I’ll put together a salad of romaine and red bell pepper at the last minute to contribute to the meal. I’ll greatly enjoy the sociability of Thanksgiving . . . ..  . but I don’t get much enjoyment from eating heavily. So I won’t do that.

Here is the piece I posted for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, with a few changes. Remember that The Very Best Diet is always available at zero cost and well-proven results, and so is The Very Best Diet, Part II.

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For the happiest possible Thanksgiving I’ll suggest (and practice myself) a novel idea: to not eat a great deal. Just a normal-sized meal, of food more lovingly prepared than usual, with more sociability and gratitude than usual.

“Unpatriotic!” I can imagine you criticizing me. “Killjoy!” “The economy would nosedive!” “Anti-consumption equals Anti-Christ!” (OK, pardon my drama.)

In truth, I’m very patriotic. I love our forebears. In fact I suggest we be more like them — by eating normal-sized portions of food and being physically active rather than mostly sedentary.

The average food item Americans eat travels more than 1,500 fossil-fueled miles to reach us. My household (Thor is our grocery shopper) buys all the produce it can from the Montavilla Farmers Market, one mile from our home. Lowered dependence on foreign oil: very patriotic. Here is a fun game called the Low Carbon Diet Calculator that lets you learn the carbon footprint of dozens of menu choices.

As for our GDP: to the degree that our national economy depends on overeating (and overconsumption in general) it is ill and needs to recover. A group of Americans resolving to eat moderately this Thanksgiving can be a step toward that recovery. Join Alison Wiley’s Thanksgiving Moderation Movement. Alternatively, try The Very Best Diet.

When I eat normal-sized meals I retain my normal personality afterward: alert, friendly, affectionate. (At least my husband thinks so.) When I eat to excess I become slow and stupid, almost as if drugged. How about you?

I’m not a nutritionist, but from what I gather, human stomachs can’t digest enormous amounts of food dumped into them. Excess food piles up and putrefies in our intestines, making us gassy and grumpy. How fun is that? For a truly happy Thanksgiving, let’s eat moderately.

photo courtesy of Umbradox

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