On Being a Food Writer while Dieting

Today I wrote about "Earthquake Pancakes," an popular menu item at JC's General Store in Pocahontas, Mississippi. Pancakes as large as the dinner plate they are served on, covered in soft whipped butter and rich maple syrup.

Next I listened to an hour-long webinar on "Hidden in Plain Sight: Crafting Better Food Stories" by Nina Furtenau, a food journalism professor at the University of Missouri. The webinar was through the Association of Food Journalists. She quoted a multitude of talented food writers, all of whom wrote about (you guessed it) food.

And today, I've had two smoothies as meal replacements for both breakfast and lunch. It's part of a 30-day health challenge to both detox my liver (which must be pretty toxic, as I feel really bad today) and to jump-start more weight loss. I know it works. I've lost 30 pounds so far. But I also gained about seven or eight back from late November through early February.

It's difficult being a food writer when you can't eat the food you write about. In the case of the Earthquake pancakes, that's pretty much out of my diet forever, now that I know I have a major sensitivity to not only wheat, but to dairy as well. But on a cold winter day like today, I could eat a whole stack of them, washed down by a steaming cup of perfectly-brewed coffee topped off with the perfect amount of half-and-half (NOT the fat free variety) and a spoonful of sugar in the raw. But alas, both caffeine and sugar are taboo for the next 30 days.

So as I look out my window at the freakish sleet storm that followed yesterday's 80-degree temp, I will drink a hot cup of detox tea and perhaps nibble on a small handful of raw almonds.

No one said this would be easy.