What is a foodie you ask? Well there are many definitions. Here are some examples:
The Definition of Foodie From WikipediaFoodie is an informal term for a particular class of aficionado of food and drink. The word was coined in 1981 by Paul Levy and Ann Barr, who used it in the title of their 1984 book The Official Foodie Handbook.
Distinguished from gourmet. Although the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, foodies differ from gourmets in that gourmets are epicures of refined taste who may or may not be professionals in the food industry, whereas foodies are amateurs who simply love food for consumption, study, preparation, and news. Gourmets simply want to eat the best food, whereas foodies want to learn everything about food, both the best and the ordinary, and about the science, industry, and personalities surrounding food.
Typical foodie interests and activities include the food industry, wineries and wine tasting, breweries and beer sampling, food science, following restaurant openings and closings, food distribution, food fads, health and nutrition, and restaurant management. A foodie might develop a particular interest in a specific item, such as the best egg cream or burrito. Many publications have food columns that cater to foodies. Interest by foodies in the 1980s and 1990s gave rise to the Food Network (one of the many reasons why I don't have cable!) and other specialized food programming, popular films and television shows about food such as Top Chef and Iron Chef, a renaissance in specialized cookbooks, specialized periodicals such as Gourmet Magazine and Cook's Illustrated, growing popularity of farmers' markets, food-oriented websites like Zagat's and Yelp, publishing and reading food blogs, specialized kitchenware stores like Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table (I love to look around stores like this and dream of when someday I'll have my own kitchen), and the institution of the celebrity chef (love me some Rachel Ray and The Take Home Chef, Curtis Brown!)
The Definition of Foodie From Urban Dictionary:
1. A foodie is not necessarily a food snob, only enjoying delicacies and/or food items difficult to obtain and/or expensive foods; though, that is a variety of foodie.
2. Simply put, a foodie is someone who loves everything there is to know or learn about food.
3. A foodie is a person who loves or has a deep admiration for food and eating food. Does not necessarily have to be fat, but like eating. They might feel happy or very at peace when being around food.
4. If you like food, you are a foodie.
So why am I giving the definition of a foodie? Well a couple of weeks ago, I came to the realization that I AM A FOODIE. There, I have completed the first step, admittance. While driving to the Jazz basketball game, one of my friends and I pointed out restaurant after restaurant for places we liked to go, wanted to go, or recommended never to go. Countless times, my friends and I have discussed making a list to put in our cars or purses for restaurants in the SLC area that we would like to eat at. Many times, my weekend activities revolve around food. Hardly ever do my friends and I spend time together without going to get something to eat. I just got a community education booklet for classes offered this summer and of the 5 classes I am interested in attending, 2 are about food.
I think my foodie characteristic is something that I need to change to help me be successful in my weight loss goals. This past week and a half I have been sick w/ bronchitis, a sinus infection, and double ear infection (refer to my previous blog post on my feelings about this). With being sick, I actually have not eaten out except for one day w/ my coworkers for lunch. It's been like my foodie has been buried under a pile of Puffs Plus tissues. With not eating out so much, I have saved A LOT of money over the past week or so. I also have lost quite a bit of weight since all that I have at home are healthy food options. I have lost 4 pounds in the last week with being home sick. I haven't been able to work out, but the weight has still come off with eating better. That makes me happy and makes me realize how important it is to limit eating out. But, can I keep the foodie in me pushed aside for very long? That is a good question.
Here are some solutions I came up with to tame the foodie inside me. I am going to suggest to friends that we eat on our own before activities. Or I can even meet up with them AFTER they get done with going to dinner/ lunch/ brunch/ etc. If we do want to eat together, maybe we could just cook together. I have a huge dining room table, we might as well use it. When eating out, I could possibly share my entrees w/ my friends which would result in an automatic caloric intake reduction and portion control. Also I can again try to make the better decisions on what I eat when eating out. I could choose a salad w/ dressing on the side instead of pizza. In general, I want to eat out only 1-2 times/ week. This should be easier now that I live close to work and eat lunch at home when working. I will then utilize the above solutions to help take care of eating out for dinner. We'll see how this goes. If this doesn't work than I may need to start a Foodies Anonymous group to overcome my foodie characteristics.
