Tis the season...

...for cinnamon, apples, and pumpkins oh my!

There's nothing that pleases me more in recent days than taking a stroll through our local fresh food markets and eyeing the seasonal goods. I have two little fresh food markets in the area that I go to when I'm a little looser with the budget and can afford to buy the best of the best. Today was just such a day.

And as it is nearing October, you can bet that the most prominent displays have everything to do with autumnal fruits and veggies and spices, which are, in my humble opinion, decadent.

Before I really started pursuing healthier living, apples were not a daily part of my nutritional makeup. Currently, I strive to not eat more than one apple a day. It is like pulling teeth to get me to stop eating apples. I could live on apples. YUM. And then there's the pretty little pomegranate which can be oh so mysterious when it comes to eating it, and the yummy pear, which is more a winter fruit, but is making appearances now too.

Don't even get me started on the spices. I will start to stroke out when I inhale mulling spices; cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamon, and the list goes on. It's just so darn delicious, all of it.

The hardest part about healthy eating and living is when you want to indulge in those seasonal delights like pumpkin creme dessert breads or spice cake with cream cheese apple dumpling frosting. It's just ridiculous the way that a pastry can render you dumbstruck.

I found myself in a difficult situation at the market today. I was really really REALLY struggling with my dietary limitations. I was lapping the store, only to come back each time to the fresh baked desserts, and maybe hoping each time I passed the carrot cake that my body would be able to have a slice this time around. No such luck. I chose my path, and I'm grateful. Because I am able...able...ABLE to say "no." But I'll admit it. Today it was harder than it ever has been. It was harder because this is the time of year I live for. It's the place I'm most comfortable and most in my bliss. It's autumn, and it's apples and allspice, baby. So, it was really hard to not be able to partake of those sugar laden lovelies.

But I digress. Because my point isn't what I'm missing out on. It's what I'm really indulging in. As I stood there salivating over all the things I knew I didn't really want, I started to consider my options. What could I have? What was it that I really wanted?

I wanted a taste of October. I needed a fix of fall.

So, I marched up to the coffee grinder and started grinding out "pumpkin spice" flavored coffee, and bagged it for home. I then proceeded to head to the cereal aisle and grabbed some "low sugar" apple walnut granola. I noticed some baked apple crisps as I headed towards the checkout so I grabbed those too. And to round it out, I bought some canned pumpkin so I can make that recipe of sugar free pumpkin pudding that's been sitting on my desk at home for a week. These are my options, and these are my fixes. And I'm not missing out on anything.

I guess I need to face up to the fact that I always have been and probably always will be dominated by concerns regarding my weight, and food and exercise, and etc. I thought this might change things...you know, having WLS, but in fact it's only intensified my awareness of food. But it's much more beneficial for me in that I finally grasp what I'm putting in my body, and how it affects my health. It's a good thing.

I don't want to live my life, lusting after the perversions of real, true, honest to goodness, whole healthy foods. Stuff that has more ingredients with words I can't pronounce. Like Xanthum gum. What IS that? I want to enjoy the fruits of October without feeling like I'm missing out, and that just means putting in a little extra effort and working a little harder. Kinda like our forefathers did when they made thanksgiving dinner. No boxes. No additives. No preservatives. Okay, except for the meat and pickles. :)

But really, it's going to be a great fall, and a beautiful winter. Because I'm in control of the harvest this time. I'm in control of the bounty. Tis the season, indeed.