10 Foods for Depression Fun

Some people fall into depression and lose their appetite.  Unfortunately, this is not the case for me.  As some of you know, I've been battling depression for the past several months.  When I’m down, I eat.  This causes a terrible cycle of feeling terrible.  See, I’m a firm believer that if I was one of those non-eating depressed people, at least I’d have a nice slim body to admire in the mirror and possibly this would lift my mood.

Please know I am not saying that slim depressed people have it better.  Depression in all of its manifestations of behavior is a harrowing existence.  Even more distressing is when one knows what makes one feel better and is unable to do it…due to the paralysis of depression.  It’s an evil, evil thing. 

This leads me to this week’s topic for Monday Listicles: Food.  The topic was suggested by blogger extraordinaire, Beth.  The leader of Monday Listicles, Stasha, has instructed that the topic is open to interpretation.   So, I chose to share with you the 10 foods that keep me physically filled-out while I am depressed.

10 Foods for Wallowing in Depression

1. Salt and Vinegar Chips

I seriously considered moving 55 miles east to Zanesville, Ohio where Conn's Salt and Vinegar chips are made.  They are by far, the best Salt and Vingar chip ever made.  I know, because I've tried them all.

2. Peanut Butter

My favorite way to eat this creamy goodness is with a spoon right out of the jar, but there are several ways to enjoy this luscious nut meal:  on warm toast, as an apple dip, smothered on top of an Oreo cookie.  Ironic that this spread was first introduced in the United States to sanitarium patients by Dr. John Harvey Kellog.  If those patients had the same experience that I do when eating peanut butter, it was the one time during their day in which they felt sane.

3. Nutella

                                                                                 Source: annies-eats.com via Sperk* on Pinterest

Nutella has become quite popular as I have noticed many Nutella based goodies, like the fudge pictured above, posted on Pinterest as of late.  But I've been digging into jars of Nutella for years.  I don't have the discipline to cook or bake with it.  The most patience I have is waiting for the toast to pop from the toaster and quickly getting that spread applied to assure a tremendous amount melting of the chocolate-hazelnut goodness onto my hot flaky bread.  (Did you know Nutella was created by a pastry maker during World War II due to the shortage of chocolate?)

4. Hummus and Pita Chips

When I bring home hummus and pita chips from the grocery store on Monday, they are gone by Monday night.  I've turned out the entire family.  And if the pita chips are gone before the hummus, scooping it out with your finger not only gets you more of the yummie goodness, the rest of the family runs away from the table in horror, leaving you alone with your hummus.  Perfect.

5. Fancy Creamers

Coffee-mate has made luxurious dairy flavorings accessible to the common folk and I couldn't be happier.  My condition of lactose intolerance is not a hindrance to me enjoying these feel-good flavors added to my favorite anti-depressant, coffee.  Oh sure, there's tons of sugar and fat, but remember, I'm depressed.  And, if you look carefully in your grocery's dairy section, there are now a few fat-free and sugar-free varieties   Plus, if you can't figure out how to make these yummie liquids work for you, the Coffee-mate website has recipes.  Yes, recipes.  I see no need to go beyond "pour half the bottle into coffee and stir", but whatever.

6. Pizza

My lactose intolerant gut always fails to send the "DO NOT EAT" message to my eyes when I see pizza flashing in a television commercial, staring from the grocer's freezer, or delightfully offering coupons via the mailbox.  And there are always excuses to order pizza: no time to cook, the girls would love me more, the football game is on, girls have friends coming over, etc.  My pizza of choice: The Works from Papa John's.

7. Ice Cream

Yes, there is such a thing as dairy free ice cream, but it doesn't taste good.  Yes, you have read correctly in the above points.  I am lactose intolerant.  I love ice cream.  It makes me feel good.  And the tumultuous gas it causes provides me an excuse to hide away alone in my room, which fits perfectly with being depressed.  Of course my favorite ice cream is Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby due to the "fudge covered PEANUT BUTTER filled pretzels in vanilla malt ice cream rippled with fudge & PEANUT BUTTER."

8. Bomb Burritos

These belly killers are for when I am at the lowest of my lows.  Brought to you directly from the convenient store just a few block away.

9. Stouffer's Grandmas Chicken and Vegetable Rice Bake

This one I can pass off as a good meal choice for the entire family.  Really, it's just creamy-good comfort food.

10. Stouffer's Chicken Enchiladas with Cheese Sauce and Rice

This one can also be passed off as a good meal choice for the entire family.  The key is to only make it when family is around.  Otherwise, it becomes and over-sized pan to enjoy on my own during a marathon of America's Next Top Model (if I actually watched such a horrific soft-porn flick being passed off as a reality show).  

What are your go-to foods when you're feeling bad?

See how other fabulous bloggers interpreted "FOOD" for Monday Listicles!

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Parenting a Fashionista

My 13 year old daughter, Sophia, is infatuated with fashion.  It's my fault.  Last July, I was pining over a Burberry coat I found online, showed her the image, and that was it.  Ever since, she's been moving rapidly towards wanting to be editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine.

Sophia is very serious about her desire to work for Vogue.  She has learned names of top designers and has lightly studied the history of style trends.  She has watched the documentary film, The September Issue, more than a dozen times.  Her fantasies of meeting the boys in the band Big Time Rush have been replaced with fantasies of meeting Anna Wintour, the current editor-in-chief of American Vogue.  

Her dad is also at fault for her obsession with fashion.  Last September, he took her on a trip to New York City.  Seeing designer clothing that can only be found hanging in stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and The Polo Mansion coupled with the intensely spirited energy of Manhattan added fuel to the fire.  And because of his connections in the clothing industry, her dad was able to get her a tour of Kleinfeld Bridal where she met the entire staff and cast of Say Yes to the Dress.  Oh yes, she was definitely star struck. But today when talking about Kleinfeld's, she talks more about the $10,000 couture gowns than Randy.

Sophia with Randy and a $10,000 gown.

I don’t have issue with Sophia's dream to be a fashion editor and I'm supportive.  She can write.  She has a talented eye for recognizing and creating things that are aesthetically pleasing. She's ambitious, smart, and a hard-worker.  I believe she can do it.  However, I do have issues with the images of fashion models flooding her brain on a daily basis.

Dialogue is key.  Sophia and I talk about images depicted in her monthly deliveries of Teen Vogue. Our conversations usually consists of me asking, “Do you think this is trashy or artful?”  

She replies, “Trashy.  The girls look too made up and the short skirts serve no purpose.  I mean, it's like the purpose is to show their legs and not to show the trendy skirts”

I say, “I agree.  It’s oversexualized.  I don’t think it’s necessary for the image to be sexy.  It ruins the beauty of the skirts.”

The conundrum of the debate over a short skirt being sexy or fashionable is just that--a conundrum.  But I try.
 

When I disagree with her deduction of a photo, I not only tell her why, I point out my reasoning for having an opposing opinion.  This can be tricky.  For example, she found this photo of Dakota Fanning posing for a Marc Jacobs fragrance ad to be artful.

Dakota Fanning (photo credit)

Hopefully you can see my issues with this one.  It’s obviously oversexualized and inappropriate. The juxtaposition of Dakota Fanning's young innocent look and the phallic-looking perfume bottle is downright disturbing to me.  But I wasn't sure if she was aware of it's inappropriateness.  I mean, what kind of former knowledge does she need to have in order to view this photo as inappropriate?  I hopefully thought, “Maybe colors make this photo appealing to her.  Maybe it’s the vintage look.  She likes vintage clothing.”

I proceeded with caution when discussing the young woman with the phallic fragrance bottle between her legs because my opinions were strong and I did not want to squash her willingness to share her thoughts and opinions with me. Too much passion on my part could cut off all conversation.  I also didn't want to delve too deeply into a conversation about under age girls in pornography and the many things that could be considered phallic symbols.

These tricky conversations happen frequently.  Hopefully, they are helping her to become more skilled as a critical thinker when it comes to viewing images exhibited in her field of passion, fashion. But, I ask, are our conversations enough to combat the multifaceted, underlying negativity in these images?  I am only one person who has one conversation with her approximately three times a week.  I mean, really.  I have a lot to cover—homework, time management, chores, respect and manners--and feel like I stand no chance at competing with the multitude of images that come her way every day.

Last Monday night, as I was tucking her into bed, I asked her about how she spent her free time at her dad’s over the weekend.  She told me she watched three episodes of America’s Next Top Model and explained she liked the show because of its clips of photo shoots and not because of the clips of drama between the aspiring models.  That was good, I guess.  I understand the appeal (I’ve been known to spend the weekend on the couch viewing trashy reality TV).  She proceeded to ask me about the winner of Cycle 14, Krista White.

Krista White (photo credit)

She said, “Do you think she is too thin?  I mean I was comparing her collar bones to Tyra’s and hers stuck out like a whole lot more.”

Collar bones?  My girl is observant.

The conversation turned into a passionate lecture given by me which included my opinion of how wrong it was for Tyra to pick someone so thin as the winner.  "I mean Tyra Banks has to know these young women are role models to aspiring models at home watching on TV!"  Well, it was more of a rant.  And it was lengthy.   

I did calm down enough to ask her what she thought of Tyra’s body.

She replied, “Tyra is beautiful.  She’s normal looking.”

Tyra Banks is anything but normal looking.  She is gorgeous.  However, I was relieved that it sounded as if Sophia had a trace of a healthy perspective of body image.  But I was still worried.  Did my rant sound as if I was putting down an industry that has lit her fire of enthusiasm and has inspired her to dream?

Dreaming.  Fashion is fantasy.

This post, this topic, has no end in site.  It is one that continues on a daily basis as I navigate my way through mothering a fashionista daughter in our media saturated world.  It's interesting because I am finding my own opinions of the images I see of women have changed over time. For instance, I used to see Angelina Jolie as the epitome of beauty.  Today, I see her as an example of a person who needs to be treated for anorexia nervosa, and whose disease is ignored because our ideals of beauty have become sickly skewed.  And it makes me mad.  Nevertheless, I hope to not crush any of Sophia’s dreams of being a fashion editor.  Heaven forbid I become known to her as, “My mother the dream crusher.” 

 

There’s a balance.  I don't know if I will find it.  But I won’t give up. The information and connections to others available via the Web make giving up on any parenting issue an act of inexcusable fear.  

 To be continued. . .

This week is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week.  For more information visit NEDA.

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