Snowed In

What do you do if you live in a part of the country that has had a snow-storm, and you can't get out of your house or apartment because the snow is up to your door and your city/town hasn't cleared the streets yet?

Well, you sit in your house and hope that you have enough food and water to last for at least a couple of days, and hopefully more. (Apparently, there are people who live in these snow-prone areas who don't stock up on food, and so if they're stuck in their homes they just go hungry, or brave the snow and get stranded somewhere.)

I used to live in Minnesota - first in a lil ol' town called Frazee and then in the big city...and I always had plenty of food on hand in case nature dumpbed a foot or so of snow all in one day.

And I also got plenty of exercise, at least in Minneapolis, because I lived on a corner lot and so had two long sidewalks to shovel. Yes, I could have got a snow blower...but shoveling gives more exercise.

But to get to the nub of this post...what do you do if you're in your home and you can't leave it for a couple of days...whether because of snow or because you have the flu or something.... so you sit and you sit and you get more bored and bored... does the food in your cupboards beckon you?

It's difficult not to eat alot when you're sick - assuming you have an appetite at all, of course. Nothing's better for soothing a sore throat than some nice hot soup...but after you've had the soup and the sore throat comes back, what's better than adding a nice coating of chocolate...

Well, sometimes you just have to pamper yourself. No need to feel guilty about it. Just make it clear in your own mind that you're wading through all that chocolate for medicinal purposes, and once you feel better, you'll return to your more appropriate small-portions food routine. You're not "breaking" your diet on these days - intermittent days - when you are pampering yourself, you're simply stoking the mental fires.