We all do!
We just returned from a family vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. There were 19 of us ranging from 7 months to 75 years old. It is a beautiful island.
We take turns with kitchen and cooking duties. It seems the fair way and it gives us all a chance to prepare our favorite dishes for each other.
My younger sister, Rachel, and I were at the market puzzling over our many dessert choices for that evening. It was our turn. Martha’s Vineyard is dotted with amazing farmers markets that also carry fresh, locally, baked goods. Yum.
We have pie people in our family and cake people. Berries were in season so the fruit pies seemed like a better (and healthier?) choice.
As if there were no other challenges or problems plaguing our souls, Rachel and I struggled over which pie to purchase. People were hovering over the freshly baked goods and the mood was getting tense. EEK……was someone drooling next to me?!
Several minutes later, my very astute sister, with a slightly frustrated tone, said so eloquently, “We eat with our eyes!”.
With that, we decided, and chose a peach/blueberry pie.
If only we could ….. eat with our eyes.
Her comment really struck me. We are bombarded everywhere with signs, restaurants, logos, and ads, for not so healthy foods. The temptations are on every corner. Vacation spots take the cake! Pun intended.
How do we 
resist?
Each of us has to decide our personal strategies for resisting temptations in our lives.
I do sincerely advocate the 80/20 rule…..well, where diet is concerned.
Give yourself permission. While on vacation the 20% can be full and plump.
Don’t neglect the 80%, however. The 80 keeps us healthy and wise and strong.
Treat those tempting “Best fudge in the World” signs with a grain of salt.
If only we could…. just eat with our eyes, the no-nos that is!
Cheers…. to eating with eyes open!
(A mixed berry pie. I am a pie person. You?)
Love that comment “We eat with our eyes!” Very insightful. Gorgeous pie, which I just ate with my eyes.
The pies were delicious!
I think about how gross I feel if I eat too much. And have little bites of everything instead of loading up on a ton of the filling parts. Great advice; thanks for the post!
So wise and so great you realize this! It is half the battle! Thank you for your comment, Jamie! Xoxo
thank you for this post- really terrific coming from a cake and ice cream person who is challenged everyday by the 80 20 rule.
Ah!! I like cake too! But given a choice, pie is my fav. The 80/20 takes effort and time but
one trick that helps me is to eat all the healthier foods first. Fill yourself up with that and then perhaps you won’t eat as much of the unhealthier choices. Over time our palate does change.
So much of it is paying attention to our feelings of fullness and stopping just before full. Cheers to cake!
I like this post Judy.Similar to your 80/20 rule, I dont deny myself but I do plan for my dessert. If I know I am going to my sisters, I save up for her homemade apple pie. .
Yum! Apple pie. Planning really helps, Barbara. I do most days. Vacation time takes more effort.
I agree with you that vacation may be the time to let the 20% have some of its run. 🙂 Especially when in a crowd of your size, I think it was the thing to do. On the other hand, my husband and I spent some time away recently and because I wanted to do better with my eating than in previous years, I baked a healthy paleo plum cake and brought it along. I had no one to please but myself because he ate other things when I ate my morning cake and coffee. It really helped me avoid the coffee shop pastries, which I’m drawn to, but it still felt special. But yeah, we do eat with our eyes–and our emotions too. I have been a cake girl all my life, but this time of year when all the fruits come into their own, I really love to bake with them.
Lynne, that is so nice! That you made your own travel food. I really like that. And then you can pick and choose your 20% in a more discerning way. And you know…I used to be a cake girl too!
Given no choice at a gathering, I would eat some cake!