I sometimes wonder if I take the alliteration too far or if I’m the only one amused with it. And then I decide since I am amused with it, I’ll alliterate away! :)
I love potato chips.
Scratch that.
I LOVED potato chips. Both the emphasis and the past tense are appropriate now.
In the category of potato chips, I include all kinds of snack items such as Cheetos, Doritos, and Funyuns, FYI. I don’t include pretzels, or tortilla chips such as those you get at a Mexican restaurant. It’s next to impossible to buy so-called single serving bags of gluten-free pretzels at convenience stores, and I so rarely have tortilla chips unless I’m at a restaurant that they’re a non-issue for this habit. And let’s be honest. Those single serving bags of chips at a convenience store? They’re large enough to share and no one ever does!
I haven’t had potato chips for two full months. I’d been trying to break this snack habit for the better part of a year and I had intermittent success.
I loved the crunch and salt and flavor of sour cream & onion, or barbecue, or sometimes even just plain chips. Ditto for the salt & flavor & crunch of Cheetos, which are gluten-free. (I never said all gluten-free foods are health foods!) I found myself wanting (needing) salt after long, hot days working outside. Chips made good comfort food when I’d been sick, or filler food when I was bored.
I didn’t love the feeling when I finished eating them. Greasy, overly salty, overly processedy…these were all sort of ick feelings. (Yes, autocorrect, I know “processedy” isn’t a word. I’m using it anyway. So there!)
I have started successfully using other things to satisfy the salt & crunch cravings. Lightly salted, roasted almonds are much less salty & greasy than chips. Gluten-free crackers, carrots, or sometimes cashews, sunflower seeds, or roasted edamame filled in. I almost forgot one! Hot buttered Cheerios are a good substitute for both potato chips & popcorn. Sometimes I need salt & a little fat, so I’ll grab a string cheese. Some of these options are still almost junk food, but almost all of them are healthier.
The biggest success and the thing about which I’m the happiest is avoiding certain triggers that would usually send me running to the store or asking my husband to do so. I didn’t go for chips the last couple of times I’ve been sick or to the doctor. I haven’t gone for chips after long days working, or when I’m stressed or emotional.
Newer science says it takes 66 days to build a habit. I’m living proof that a bad habit can be successfully broken in that time as well. Another way to look at it is that I’ve built a good habit of picking healthier snacks!
What bad (or good) habit have you broken (or built) lately?
Cheers! Here’s to your health!