Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Salt doesn't make me light

Last March, I came out of the closet as a salt-a-holic. I confessed my weakness, threw out all the little packets of soy sauce lurking in our fridge, and went cold-turkey. Hooray for salt-free me.

For months, it went well. Admittedly, I never reached that fabled point nutritionists all insist is possible, where my taste buds "adjusted" and realized that the true flavors and textures of my food were subtle, wonderful, and oh-so-much more enjoyable without the salt enhancement. That, my friends, is simply a lie. But I lost that puffy look and regained my peripheral vision (which disappears when your eyes swell up--have you noticed?) So all in all, it was worth it.

Then last week, on a cold day when I was at home feeling gray and hungry, convinced there was nothing worth eating in our entire house, I found something bizarre in our cupboard: a small bottle of Lowry's Seasoned Salt. (And the fact that someone took the time to make a video review to sing this product's praises suggests that I might not be alone with my salt issues). I have no idea how the bottle got there--I didn't buy it; Steve has never heard of it. It's as if some salt demon showed up at our house and booby-trapped our kitchen.

Well, it worked. I was off to the races. Over the course of the next thirty-six hours, I had myself a salt extravaganza. I've made popcorn, butter & pasta, grilled cheddar cheese wraps...all liberally enhanced with LSS. Worst of all, through a mortifying process of self-justification, I convinced myself that Lowry's Seasoned Salt isn't really salt...it's Lowry's. Pitiful!

Today, I look like someone punched me in both eyes. My fingers are so swollen I can barely type. You don't want to know about my feet (Most people have "fat jeans" they keep for these sorts of days, but "fat shoes"???)

So here, before you, my blog family, I'm climbing back on the wagon (as fast as my swollen arms and legs will let me). I'm going out to the kitchen right now to throw away the Lowry's...lest succum to temptation and bake up this recipe for Hot Dog Casserole that popped up when I Googled Lowry's!

Tell me something you've successfully given up--coffee? chewing gum? exercise?

9 comments:

miss jo ladie said...

Well Trish...you are not alone. As of today I've gone 14 days w/o soda or fast food and 20 days w/o a cigarette.

ANG said...

I once kicked a 15+ YEAR addiction to over the counter nasal spray. It was the worst 3 weeks of continuous and complete nasal stuffiness that I've ever experienced, but totally worth it.

Anonymous said...

soda. omg giving up soda is like giving myself a death wish! i know water is better to quench thirst but sometimes...sometimes you just want the fizzy taste of an orange soda.

Sarakastic said...

You are a stronger woman than I

mslizalou said...

I'm addicted to salt too, but had to cut back due to high blood pressure. Do you know how hard it is to eat a veggie with no salt? I'm doing better, but I think salt is harder to kick than sugar(at least for me).

kim said...

I hate giving things up. Therefore, I typically don't give anything up. But lately I'm beginning to consider whether a little discipline isn't such a bad quality to impose on myself.

Myowne said...

I've "given up meat and sweets" as I usually do during this time of the year. It really isn't THAT hard. I mean there are times I would love some wing-dings but I needed to detox so here I am chowing down on fruits and veggies and sometimes a little pasta and potatoes when I've had enough of sauteed spinach.

Stacy said...

Now, if chocolate had such immediate penalties as your salt-fest, I might be able to give it up.

I don't think I've ever given up anything long-term. Well aside from meat, and I do cheat on Thanksgiving. But I don't love meat so I guess that doesn't really count.

j said...

I'm always trying to give up diet coke and gum, but I always relapse. At least I keep trying right?