Good morning, blog world! So, my studying went okay this morning. I woke up at 6:00, showered, got dressed, made and ate breakfast. By then, however, it was almost 7:00, which only left about 45 minutes for me to study. I guess it's better than nothing, but I didn't feel like I accomplished much. I'm going to get up a little earlier tomorrow morning (and get ready faster!), so hopefully that will give me more time to hit the books. I'm still struggling to get back into student mode!
Breakfast this morning was a big bowl of oatmeal mixed with oat bran, mushy banana slices, ground flaxseed meal, and walnuts. It was super filing! I barely finished the last few bites, but it was delicious!
Once I arrived in the office, I made myself a mug of coffee with vanilla soy milk and agave nectar. (I already drank a few sips before snapping this photo.)
Barney Butter Giveaway
What a hard decision!!! You guys submitted so many amazing poems-- 47 entries in all! There was quite a lot of competition! To keep the judging as fair as possible, Mal and I divided the selection responsibilities between the two of us. I read through all of the poems and picked my top 10. I then passed the final decision onto Mr. Mal. From those 10 entries, he narrow it down to 5 winners, which are posted below!
Barney Butter Giveaway Winners!!!
All Contest Entries
WINNERS please email me your mailing address and your prize selection. You can either chose to receive a jar of Barney Butter (chunky or smooth style) or three individual packet strips of Barney Butter (which are the smooth style). Both are great options!
THANKS to everyone who entered the Barney Butter Giveaway! It was so fun! I hope you guys enjoyed the experience as much I did! Hopefully, there will be more contests down the road! :)
Question of the Day
I read this post on the Weighting Game the other day about food blogs and orthorexia. It's definitely a topic that I have thought about since I started to participate in the food blog world myself. In my opinion, some food bloggers probably do have some sort of eating disorder, but I think that the majority of food bloggers have a healthy relationship with food and want to help others by showing this balance in their lives. Of course, I'm sure that I haven't considered all sides of this issue, and I would love to hear what you guys have to say. It's an interesting topic, and if you would like to weigh-in on it, please do so!
Monday, September 15, 2008
And The Winners Are...
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25 Comments:
No worries, Tina, you'll get back into "student mode" in no time!! It took me a week, and now I seem to be okay with it.
Delicious breakfast!!
Hooray for all the contest winners!!
I too have been interested in the issue regarding food blogs and orthorexia, and I agree with you that the majority of bloggers seem to have a healthy relationship with food. Let's hope it stays that way, for everyone's sake/well-being!
Wow that was an interesting article...I had never thought that a food blog could become an unhealthy obsestion. For me its more of a creative outlet of sorts...I dont love my current career (engineering), and really hope to someday move to more of a culinary/nutrition field, but until then this blog is something that gives me some satisfaction in that regard. It's making me more and more motivated to pursue that dream someday. I was also so suprised and happy to see so many other people out there with such similar eating habits and love of food as I have, and thats another reason I wanted to start my blog.
good luck maintaining a balance between work and studying! being a student while working is tough!
i find it extremely annoying (sorry, that was strongly worded) when people lump a group together because of one common demoinator. there are millions of reasons why people food blog, and EDs are just one of them!
Your oatmeal looks so good! Sounds like banana bread to me!
Love all the poems! Thanks for picking my poem. I can't wait to try the infamous Barney Butter!
Great article! Makes you think!
As someone who has frequently been hospitalized for anorexia, I'd have to disagree with you. It isn't the blogging itself that I find disordered, but many of the "healthy" food bloggers' rules and meal concoctions do signal a problem.
I enjoy reading about healthy (but NOT RIGID) eating habits. You and Kath are fantastic for this!
that article/post was pretty eye opening. I think people's relationship with food is more of a mind issue. Blogging isn't to blame but I can see how it can fuel an issue. To me blogging is more of a creative outlet. Hence the "rant" in the name of my blog. I struggle with my own issue of emotional eating and binging and it is something i'm trying to overcome. It is nice to read some blogs like Kate's Winning Friends with Salad and see hey someone else struggles with this occasionally too. I think you have to read blogs with a grain of salt don't take them too seriously or you'll drive yourself nuts. My blog is never going to be up to par with Kath's blog or even yours Tina but thats ok with me and if it becomes too much then i'll take a blog hiatus.
sorry for the ramble i found this issue interesting!
www.lisasrant.wordpress.com
I think like everything else it is important to maintain a balance and not let eating healthy become an obssession which it can happen easily. I always step back and put things in perspective... life is more than just what I eat and dont eat.
Getting back into school mode takes some time but you will def adjust
hi Tina! not related to the q.o.d but here is something cool:
Phantom Gourmet Food Festival | Saturday
Bring your appetite to this annual festival, where you can sample 80 of the Phantom's favorite dishes from local restaurants. Tickets are $40, and are available at various Panera locations. 11am - 4pm.
Landsdowne, Ipswich and Van Ness Streets | Boston
www.phantomgourmetfoodfestival.com
WOW
It interests me that one of the blogs that I don't look at because I feel that the author is 1) alarmingly thin and 2) orthorexic has posted here praising the "healthy relationship" blog authors have with food.
It just goes to show that as important as this topic is those who need to hear the advice the most never will.
What fascinates me is the seeming fear a lot of these bloggers have of a more well rounded diet. Very rarely do i see any of them using fat, be it olive oil or a little butter, in any of their meals. And the diets are too one dimensional. Now, I think it is great to pay attention to your health and what nutrients are entering your body, but loosen up a bit! Eating a piece of pizza should not be followed with a "yikes," nor should having dessert. Eat what you want, not too much, and enjoy life.
And following every morsel of food that goes into one's mouth, even if it is all healthy, can be the start of a stealth eating disorder. It reminds me of when I was in college- I was very "healthy." I worked out religiously 5 days a week, never had a glass of wine or any excess fat in my diet. Was I happy? No. Everyone needs to simply ask themselves these questions and decide for themselves what it means to be healthy.
i can see both sides, there are so many people with food issues and i think that if you don't take the time to read from the beginning or simply email the author about why they chose to start a food blog you might not know why
yours is really the only one i read on a daily basis. but you keep it real i think. eating health with snacks and such. in the beginning i thought it was a little crazy to take a picture of every you eat but it's interesting enough for me to move past that.
you never eat processed foods and that is something i am trying to figure out how not to do. but i have poor eating habits to begin with so it's one thing at a time.
but for people who have food issues, i can imagine these food blogs are too much for them.
i forgot to mention, just today i saw a woman at the gym, she was thin, much much much too thin and she was running on the treadmill around 8.5 for like 20 minutes but she kept stopping and was having difficulty running.
i wonder what is up with her. i know some people are naturally thin and eat well but she did not look healthy. makes me wonder what the people that run the gym think and if it's safe to say something to her.
I'm having a hard time getting back into school mode myself, it'll happen (hopefully).
I've seen a few recent posts on this and I completely understand how having a food blog can bring on an eating disorder. Currently, I am recovering from anorexia (for 6 months now), and I was hesitant to start my own food blog. However, I am aware of eating disordered thoughts and feelings, so I made a deal with myself that if I became too obsessive at all, I would stop blogging. But I think it has definitely had a positive impact overall, and it is thanks to blogs like yours that I've gained so much more confidence and enjoyment from the eating and exercising in the right ways again.
Have a great day!
anonymous2 i'm with you i know the blog you are talking about(VG) i dont read her blog because it's so obvious she is orthorexic or anorexic and it's a bad influence for me as a recovered anorexic
Not to be harsh but I 100% agree, agree, agree, agree with the two anonymous posters before me. Tina, I love your blog and admire your definitely-healthy relationship with food and positive attitude. Keep it up! Congrats on the recent marriage and best of luck with the classes :)
Thanks for posting the link to the article. It is definitely a thought evoking topic. I went to school with plenty of soon-to-be RDs who struggled with having a healthy food relationship. I struggled myself, but in the opposite direction with more signs of binge eating disorder.
The truth is we all have our own unique views on health and the research is constantly changing. I haven't come across any of the 'I ate that and I'm so bad' blogs. If I did, I wouldn't read them.
I don't like associating good and bad behavior with what we eat. Food should be experienced and enjoyed with our overall physical and mental health in mind.
Congrats to the winners!
In response to the anonymous comments about VeggieGirl,
I am astonished to see comments implying that another blogger (and one who frequents CNC daily!) may have an eating disorder. These commenters may be right; VeggieGirl may have an eating disorder or disordered eating patterns. I am not qualified to make that diagnosis. I do think, however, that we can all agree that eating habits are very personal matters and anyone who is struggling with her eating deserves our compassion and sympathy.
I am very passionate about being part of a supportive on-line community. If you think someone needs help, I would urge you to contact her or him in a more personal manner than leaving anonymous comments on someone else's blog.
I don't think you understand what "orthorexia" is. People with that specific disorder actually feel that foods that don't abide by strict standards are toxic and actually fear that it will poison and even kill them! Leslie's blog ponders the correlation between food blogs and an eating disorder.. not specifically orthorexia.
RosieCat--
I'm not advocating for a lack of compassion, especially with respect to eating disorders. I'm about six months into my own recovery, and this disease has been pure hell...
That said, I would argue that eating habits do become much less "intimate and personal" when a blogger chooses to write on that very issue. Eating disorder or not, a prospective food blogger must consider the type of scrutiny this activity invites. I also find it unfair to blame the commentors, who are probably extremely triggered by the material on said blogs.
Anyone wishing to get help, please visit http://www.somethingfishy.org. Great recovery-focused site!
Congrats to the contest winners.
I love reading food blogs, but like others have not heard of orthorexia. That said, I thought you might be interested in linking to this blog that promotes six healthy (and tasty) Asian Foods, as well as fun Asian dishes. Here is the link: http://blog.asianfoodgrocer.com/ Thanks and keep it up!!
We all blog about food for so many reasons, but the truth is that everybody loves to see beautiful pictures of food and some people love to make great food, take photos and publish them. This is the spirit of the foodie! Love of food. Some people like to simply share recipes. On the other hand you have the guys who post every grape and every grain of oat they eat, and that's a personal choice. Some do that to keep a journal of all they eat, which is said to help lose weight, and watch your eating habits. I know people who make a living on food! Food journalists and photographers. That's a dream job by the way...
Also, some of us decide to cut of a few foods like meat, gluten, wheat, diary, fried food or sweets... that doesn't mean we have any eating disorder... maybe an intolerance. It's a choice we make for a healthier life style. Good for those who can eat just about anything!
I just saw a news clip on orthorexia - and I would most definitely agree that there are some food bloggers (one in particular comes to mind) who suffer from this. In the end, I just choose not to visit these blogs as I know it might cause me to relapse from my own eating disorder.
Runninghigh,
You bring up an important point about how the choice to blog about one's eating habits makes them public knowledge. I completely agree with you. It DOES invite scrutiny, but I hope it also invites compassion and empathy, especially if you think a blogger might be suffering from an eating disorder.
I thought long and hard about whether to say anything about the comments here because they make an important point in general about how strongly we can be influenced by what we read or see, whether the material is on the internet, on television, etc. What upsets me is the fact that the comments identify one blogger in particular. I have no idea whether she has an eating disorder, and my heart goes out to her if she does. I have a close friend who has struggled with her own eating for years, and I think you are right: it is hell. I can only imagine how hard your struggle has been, and I wish you the best on your road back to health.
I apologize if my first comment sounded as though I was blaming the anonymous commenters. They are not to blame for someone else's eating disorder. I do realize that an eating disorder makes one very sensitive to food-related material. I think it's a good policy to think about how food blogs make you feel about your own relationship with food, and to be honest, there are some food blogs I won't read because I don't care for the content. But let us not forget that every blog has a person behind the words, and that person deserves to be treated with respect. We can disagree with each other and still do it compassionately.
Thanks for your kind words on the subject of my recovery.
I do agree with you strongly that blog readers have a responsibility to choose only sites that are most appropriate for him/her.
The interactive nature of blogging is one of the highlights of this medium. Ideally, comments and concerns will be expressed respectfully in this community. I'm with you on that--100%!
Whole And Natural has a large selection of organic agave nectar in raw, light and amber.
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