My, what a healthy breakfast I just had! Semi-Desperate Housewife put me in the mood for Grape-Nuts with raisins, and so I had a bowl of that and a glass of orange juice. While I was chewing (eating a bowl of Grape-Nuts is a physical and mental commitment), I was thinking about a diet I was on before getting pregnant, which didn’t allow cereals that had more than 100 calories per cup. Nor did it allow raisins or other dried fruits. Nor did it allow juice.
I’ll tell you this: I’m done with that kind of diet. A diet that doesn’t allow GRAPE-NUTS or RAISINS? My goal is “try to eat fewer boxes of Dove ice cream bars per day,” so I’m not going along with anything that says dried fruit has too much sugar and is off-limits. I understand that the diet writers don’t want people sitting down and eating a whole canister of raisins and wondering why they’re not losing weight on this stupid useless diet when they’re eating nothing but fruit, but binging on dried fruit is not my problem. My problem is broader than that, and involves foods that do not technically belong to food groups. Going from “non-food-group food” to “food-group food” is a big step for me. Eating Grape-Nuts and raisins is a very good thing indeed, and I don’t want to hear boo from a goose about it. Or no, wait: we say boo to the goose. Well, I don’t want to hear anyone saying boo to the goose about it, either. This is none of the goose’s business.
It seems to me that any diet requires a certain level of customization. I’ve had diets that allowed certain foods that, as it turns out, I can’t handle: if I have a little, I have to have a lot. So even though the diet permits it, I modify it and don’t allow that food. More often it’s the other way: the diet forbids certain healthy foods that I don’t think should be forbidden. If I find I’m struggling with the impulse to eat an entire box of Grape-Nuts at one sitting, I’ll reconsider my modifications–but until then, Grape-Nuts are a good food, and I don’t feel the urge to eat more than a serving of them, and I don’t crave them irresponsibly between meals, and so Grape-Nuts are allowed. Besides, I’m not on a diet right now anyway. So boo to you, diet writers.
Mmm…grape nuts. I don’t particularly care for them in their crunchy form, but when you make them like a hot cereal–yum yum gimme some.
I too hate restrictive diets–we were discussing WW point system at work yesterday and even though its great and works for alot of people, I totally couldn’t do it. When I have to stress and obsess over every little thing that goes in my mouth I find I’m not very sucessful.
I like the ‘try to eat healthily for the most part and eat junk in moderation’ diet. However, it usually involves an exercise component of some kind to balance out the ‘junk in moderation’ part, which I am currently failing miserably at.
Dieting sucks. No two ways about it. I dislike grape nuts a lot, I feel like I’m eating rocks. Maybe I should eat them the next time I go on a diet. No chance of over-eating on those things!
My diets fail because when I try not to think about food, I end up – well, thinking about food. All. The. Time.
I love grapenuts! But I’m with Trena, except that instead of cooking them I just let them soak in the milk until they’re soft.
Love, love Grapenuts. I especially like them when they’ve sat in milk for a little bit and taste sweet.
I’m going to be a diet writer as of monday. Boo to me :-( (that sad face is a result of the prospect of giving up meat for a short while).
love, the happy omnivore
SOFTENED Grape-Nuts? Oh, no no no. I like them when they’re crunchy enough to disturb my fillings.
I love grape nuts, too! Raisins, not so much.
We did the low-carb diet for two years. I don’t know if I can ever go back. My husband still does it, but me, I like to eat whatever I want in smaller portions.
I haven’t had grapenuts in years…but now I want some. I hate dieting….why can’t I be like 4 weeks pregnant for the rest of my life and eat whatever the heck I want?
I may just have to get some grape nuts to piss my husband off. He has bat hearing and the crunching would seriously annoy him.
Glad my cereal fondness has inspired you! Also, what the heck? A diet that won’t let you eat DRIED FRUIT? Dried fruit feels NOBLE to me, as though I am a health-food/hiking fanatic preparing to climb a mountain.
That makes me think of a comment I read once in an interview with some celebrity, in which she was asked what were her weaknesses as far as forbidden foods. Her reply? Fruit.
I should be so weak.
since I’ve been staying home, my diet has improved completely. That because I was eating out everyday for lunch and now I can’t afford it! :) Speaking of Grape Nuts, I just bought myself two boxes of GrapeNuts Flakes… and they are really good. I feel really old saying that. And it works as good as a slug of prune juice to keep the works moving along.
Would you believe I ate salad yesterday with colored peppers? And an omelette for dinner with colored peppers and mushrooms!
I’m shrinking! :)
D.H.– That’s it EXACTLY: dried fruit is NOBLE. As are Grape-Nuts. That actress was lucky to get out of the interview alive. Fruit is a weakness–pshaw. I’ll bet she cheats once a month by eating a single dinner roll.
I like grape nuts too, and hard, and I agree that it is a full task to eat them. I haven’t had them in years. Actually I’m eating Lucky Charms as I post this… do do do….
I can’t believe no one’s said this yet, so I’ll be the one…
“A Grapenut is neither a grape, nor a nut. Discuss.”
Jenny– I know, what’s the deal with that? I found that so confusing when I was a child. I looked it up on Wikipedia so I could look like a genius here, but no luck. Wiki says there are two possible explanations for the name: one is that the original cereal formula used grape sugar, and also they thought the cereal had a “nutty” taste, therefore Grape-Nuts. That sounds pretty dumb to me, and not very likely. The second explanation is that the little pellets resemble grape seeds, or “nuts” (a word I’ve NEVER heard used to describe grape seeds). Well, hm, that’s not much better, is it?