First Appeared on Food Riot, by Danguole Lekaviciute
Hey, girl. I bet there's one word you haven't heard enough lately: skinny.
And hey, girl. You've been on Pinterest lately (or ever), right? Skinny taco salads! Skinny stuffed shells. Skinny pancakes. It doesn't stop. ALL THE FOOD has cheap, sad, bad-no-good-message-sending imitations. I know that it's really just shorthand for "low-calorie/low-fat/no harm or body snarking intended, probably," but.
Righteous brain rage. I don't know about you, but righteous brain rage totally kills my DIY tea-container garden vibe.
First, this trend is part of the massive black hole of obsession that people (usually women, but it harms everyone obvs) have lived in so long that we don't even notice it unless we are really paying attention. I don't like the immediate conflation of food and body type one bit. Sure, eating habits influence your body, but so do activity levels and genetics. And, even in light of that, there are no "perfectly healthy and happy any-sized person brownies." Because-just in case you forgot-you're supposed to be skinny, y'see.
The use of "skinny" as a selling point clearly implies that THAT is the ultimate goal. Some days, I straight up want to throw my drink in Pinterest's face and be like, call text me when you have Rocket Scientist Macaroni and Cheese or Badass Waffles or Excellent Pal and Confidante Apple Pie. You get the idea.
I'm a food blogger, and community is sort of a big deal for us. We spend a significant amount of time looking for inspiration, interacting, and sharing. It's wonderful. So, when I see intelligent, talented ladies (always ladies, sigh) developing "skinny" recipes and promoting them (to other ladies, double sigh) by insisting that they're oh-so-guilt-free, I silently die a little inside.
What if the assumption were that there is no guilt to speak of? I don't remember feeling guilty last time I ate dessert, but even if I did-what is up with inferring that any of us should? Even if it's there, maybe if we ignore it, it'll go away? Just starve guilt of attention. It doesn't help us be healthier or happier.
Secondly, these recipes usually suck anyway. They're typically full of fat-free versions of the real deal. (By the way, science would like a word with fat-free and low-fat dairy.) Also, fake sugar. Read: hell of mystery chemicals up in there. It's hardly creative to take an existing recipe, replace it with the Ghosts of Delicious Full-Fat Past and slap a new coat of self-hating paint on it.
Not to mention, as a booze lover: skinny-minded alcohols are the absolute worst. I'm looking at this stuff right here, of course, boasting 100 calories a margarita.
Image from camy.org
You know what you can get for roughly 180 calories? About 3 ounces of tequila, fresh lime juice, and good triple sec, in whatever proportion you like (I'm into 2:3/4:1/2, respectively), otherwise known as a Proper Self-Respecting Margarita. If you're that concerned about the 80 extra, I dunno, try throwing some vigorous air kicks into your karaoke performance. ("You Give Love a Bad Name" is very air-kickable, I hear.) I also suspect that one very good margarita will hit the happy spot better than two instant hangovers ever could.
Food (and tequila, most of the time) is here to help you win. Stop ruining it with this "skinny" garbage.
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