Need Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

So the winter has never bothered me. The cold doesn't bother me. The wind chill of -10* doesn't bother me. The winter has little impact on my life. In fact, when I lived in Arkansas for five years my body needed to adjust to the minimal change of seasons. My body was looking for winter! It would ask me:
"What are you doing outside without a coat on in February?"
Me: "It's 50*, why do I need a coat?"
My body: "Why is it 50* in February?! It must not be February. Surely you mean it's May?"
Me: "I don't. We moved to Arkansas, remember? Arkansas is south of New York and as a result spends more time close to the sun. It's warmer."
My body: "It just isn't right."

But this year something has bothered me. I'M DYING. And it has all to do with the lack of fresh produce.

Last summer I radically changed the way I eat and drastically reduced sugar from my diet. Granted, I still eat carbs here and there but overall I run in the opposite direction from them. And if I'm going to eat sugar I make sure it's the best thing. A bowl of brownie mix or chocolate peanut butter ice cream. I don't go halvsys when I decide to give in.

Upon starting this new regimen, I realized very quickly that if I didn't start eating salads I would soon starve to death. I had no idea how addicted to carbs I was. I was hungry for the better part of two months trying to work my way in this new world of nothing ending in -ose. And I get mean when I'm hungry. So I had a lot of supporters during this process of trying to eat salad. I ate the first salad of my life last September. Before that time I couldn't bear the feel of lettuce. After trying many different kinds of salads since then I still do not like iceburg lettuce and can barely choke that stuff down. So my dad makes fun of me, but I do like the fancy lettuce salads.

Unfortunately, at this time of year all fruits and vegetables taste the same right now. They taste like NOTHING. They have no fresh scent. The two Granny Smith apples that I used to eat everyday taste like crunchy cardboard. Tomatoes taste like wet cardboard. Squash tastes like wet cardboard that everyone has walked on with their dirty boots.

On top of that problem, winter has always meant comfort for me - comfortable clothes that hide all the right areas, comfortable fires, and of course, comfort food. All I want is macaroni and cheese, lasagna, cups of coffee with chocolate-y pastries, cheesy paninis, etc...I think my body feels the basic need to eat up and hunker down for the winter. And you know, broiled tilapia just doesn't cut it on days of 6 inches of snowfall followed by ice.

While winter weather has never been a problem for me before, I now have to deal with the deepest human instinct of storing fat for the season on top of no tasty fruits and vegetable to try to ignore that instinct. What's a girl to do? Or the better question, what's Brian to do since I can't seem to stop complaining about it?

In the end, I'm just going to try my best to eat well but not beat myself up. I can't live like that and I definitely don't want my kids hearing me complain. But I'm not happy about it and Brian better bring me back some strawberries from Florida next week. The bushel of berries should be his only carry on and he will protect them with his life. In fact, I'm not opposed to him bringing back three bushels of strawberries and buying seats for them. I'll have to make sure that I check them in early so they get in the "A" boarding group and can all sit together.

In the meantime, if you live where you have access to tasty fresh produce - do not take it for granted. If you want to email me about it I will live vicariously through you.