Most mornings I wake and have my usual cup of green tea, he has coffee with enough cream to turn it a milky tan. He consumes the entire pot of coffee as I enjoy my one cup of tea.
I make my typical morning smoothie, but slightly more indulgent today (hey it's the weekend) dates, almonds, raw sunflower seeds, lecithin, bee pollen, homegrown wheat grass, spirulina, flax seeds, psyllium husk, liquid minerals, cinnamon and organic almond milk. He eats leftovers from dinner out the night before of a half a steak, pepper jack cheese, mushroom, peppers and onions sandwich (mind you the half is the size of his face, you should have seen the whole!) and left over, crisped in the oven fries, 2 large glasses of local organic (at least something is!) 2% milk, as a slowly sip my health-nut smoothie.
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| Photo courtesy of two-views.com |
I can not tell you how many times we go out to eat and he orders all to his heart's content, greasy, meaty, cheese oozy-yumminess and I get a salad. Yay salad (sarcastic font here). Oh the glory of choices, I think to myself. The joy of eating that which sounds good (and looks good), not what is good for you or really only what is available to you due to allergies.
Oh, and did I mention he never gains weight! (Yes, I do love him)
Of course, he knows, and I remind him that he should watch what he eats, but right now, at this point in his life he doesn't and decides to not worry. Although I certainly have rubbed off on him. He graciously and enthusiastically eats my vegetarian and often vegan weeknight dinners, sure he might add cheese, but at least he is getting a more balanced diet. Plus he takes his vitamins and drinks green juice when I make it for him, but I always have to laugh at our eating differences.
One of the more prominent moments from our recent travels just makes me smile: he sits in a overstuffed chair reading the morning newspaper, drinking a full-fat, double latte, eating a bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich on a fresh made New York bagel, the buttery-greasy-bacony-yummness runs down his arm and permeates the room as I transition into a crescent lunge. I did my full morning yoga practice in a bacon, gluten-y, cheese smelling room and gladly went and made my morning smoothie after. Talk about strong will (namaste, mf-ing bacon!).
Our consumption choices are different, but so is our physical makeup. He has no obvious food allergies. He burns an obscene amount of calories a day being a construction worker. And subsequently can eat that which he chooses, which is meat, fat, cheese, dairy and gluten galore. And yes there are days I am gloriously envious. But hey, I get to live vicariously through him. I can smell it, whatever it might be in all it's oozy, gluten-y, dairy goodness, enjoy watching him eat it (of which he makes looks very enjoyable), but my strong will always kicks in. I can't and choose to not consume like that. I choose health, wellness and feeling good as more important that oozy cheesy gluten, well that and I am a little partial to breathing....
He knows better and is including a more balanced consumption into his daily life (perhaps thanks to me) and maybe one day he will come fully over to my "crunchy" "rabbit food" side, but for now I will continue to practice self-control as I watch him take a bite of cheesy, meaty, gluten-y goodness, while I casually slip good, wellness food practices into his daily life.
