So, how has Lent been going? Thanks for asking 
. This year for Lent I was inspired by one of Michael Pollan’s food rules to give up all junk food, except for the stuff I make with my own two hands. I must admit that I haven’t been perfect. I’ve eaten fries once or twice and candy on two or three occasions (each time just one piece, not the whole bag). I’ve also eaten a few slices of cakes that were homemade by other people (people always bring cake to work on their birthdays!). In general I don’t consider homemade baked goods “junk food” (even if they are unhealthy) since they’re not processed like store-bought sweets, but since my rules for myself stipulated that I have to make the things I eat, it was still technically a violation. All these things happened when I was out and with other people– situations where maybe I didn’t feel like explaining why I was turning down something I’d usually eat. Oh, and in my original post I wasn’t sure whether I’d be cutting out gum– I didn’t. No, it’s not “real food”, but I think it helps me more than harms me, so I let it stay.
Homemade muffins? OK for Lent.
One area in which I’ve been very successful, though, is grocery shopping. It’s actually so nice to go to the store and breeze past the shelves of cookies, crackers, chips and candy because I know I can’t buy any right now. Even though I always try to eat healthy, I think everyone understands how tempting those shelves can be at times, especially if you make the mistake of going to the store hungry. With my “rule” to back me up, it’s so much easier to resist their siren song.
I actually haven’t been cooking or baking as much as I thought I would, because I realized I don’t really need to create “substitutes” for tasty junk food. We’ve made homemade pizza once (I still love that crust recipe, by the way) and one time when J got a burger and fries, I roasted some potatoes for myself so I could also have something yummy to dip in ketchup. If I crave something sweet after a meal, I usually seek out something quick and easy like a date or a handful of raisins rather than baking up some cookies.
So I haven’t been perfect, but I’d say that overall my eating has definitely been cleaner. I hope that after Lent I can sustain these habits, eating french fries just once or twice a month rather than every week, and not buying processed snack foods. As I’ve said before, I fully believe in “everything in moderation”, and as long as my diet’s healthy overall allowing the less-healthy stuff now and again is totally OK. One food I’ll be welcoming back with open arms is chocolate, but I’ll do my best to enjoy it in moderation rather than making it one of my major food groups 
.
