Today is "National Carbohydrate Awareness Day" (Sorry, but I flatly refuse to call them "carbs").

I don't have anything against dieting. I don't have anything against reasonable programs like South Beach. As is always my case, I come down on the side of moderation and against extremism. You know what? I'm kind of a fat chick. I know I weigh more than I "should." I also know that my experiences with really strict diets left me cranky and unfocused. So I decided a long time ago - I can eat healthful food in amounts that keep me full enough and nourished enough, and exercise a reasonable amount, and be a happy fat chick, or I can starve myself and spend hours a day sweating, and be a boring, grumpy skinny chick. And fie on those who say carrying around the extra 20 pounds or so will shorten my life - I'd rather live to 70 and be happy and enjoy life, than live to 90 as a sour ascetic.

I dislike mania and food crankery, which is what I've seen low carbohydrate dieting turn into in some of my friends (it's not to say that one can't diet reasonably; it's just that so often the diet seems to become a "oh, my gosh, you're eating THAT?!?" evangelism program to friends).

And what the Amateur Gourmet is describing is the low-carbohydrate/no-carbohydrate mania that's gripping the country. I swan, it's worse than the low-fat mania that happened 10 years ago.

I watch, dismayed, as the granola bars and such I purchase at the grocery store are crowded out by "Atkins approved" foods (I don't need my food approved by anyone but me, thank you). And for the love of all that's pure and good, people: pork rinds are being promoted as a "healthy" food by some on this diet. While they deny themselves whole-wheat bread. I'm sorry, but there's something wrong there.

It's like the guy on the news said: if you look for foods with fewer ingredients, you're probably doing well. And I add: buy food that looks like food. Fruits. Vegetables. Grains. Not stuff that's been tinkered with or tampered with. More-processed stuff, that's the occasional treat. (The local ice cream place sells low-carbohydrate ice cream, which scares me - what do they do to it to make it low-carbohydrate? And the low-carbohydrate milk scares me even more.I'd rather have a bowl of real ice cream once a month than some pale imitation every day)

Personally, I think the problem is that we literally want to eat our cake and have it, too - we've lost the concept (and I count myself as one of the 'we') that there are some foods that are everyday foods - salads, and beans, and whole grains, and lean protein, and fruit - and there are other foods that are special rare treats - cake, and ice cream, and fried things, and soda pop.

That said, even though I do strive to eat salads and thick grainy bread and beans, I AM going to go out in search of a "gratiuitous carb[ohydrate]" as the Amateur Gourmet recommended for today. Unfortunately, my town doesn't have a real bakery, so I may have to make do with an oreo cookie or a not-hot Krispy Kreme from the gas station that sells them already packaged up.

Or, perhaps a nice (real) ice cream cone would count as the gratuitous carbohydrate of the day.
(courtesy of Not Martha)