“How do I stop eating chips & salsa? Do they run out, or do I die, or what?” ~anonymous
“What anonymous said.” ~Elda Eats
Last week was Labor Day weekend. And, for me, that weekend is traditionally a weekend where I take a long “staycation” home alone—although now it’s the dogs and me, which is even better as they love to cuddle—and spend the four or five days doing all of the things I love: reading, writing, cooking, watching college football, drafting my fantasy football team(s), taking in a few movies, relaxing, cuddling with my dogs, and eating way too many chips and way too much salsa. In general, it’s a cheat weekend, full of gluttony. (And dog hair, but that’s a subject for another blog post…) Too much food, way too much beer, and lots and lots of carbs.
When it comes to favorite foods, I have several: carne guisada, BBQ brisket, bacon cheeseburgers, ribeye, lasagna, bacon, ravioli, tacos of all sorts on flour tortillas, good bread with even better butter, Doritos, deep dish pizza, deviled eggs, Frito pie, cheese…I can probably go on an on, but high on the list, and probably to be included in my last meal on earth (should I ever get to choose) is chips & salsa.
I’ve always loved chips & salsa. As a kid, I would dream about and always wanted to go to a Mexican or (even better!) a Tex-Mex restaurant where the chips & salsa basket arrived at the table as we did, and never stopped being filled! This is still a dream I dream, actually.
Chips of all kinds were a treat back then, and so of course, something I always craved. My first job during the summer I turned 14 was at a Mexican restaurant; I was a busgirl who not only received a paycheck, but I could also order anything for free off the menu during my break. There were many breaks where all I ate was a giant basket of chips with salsa. They could have paid me in chips & salsa, and I would have been a pretty happy teenager. Good thing they didn’t know that as I did always like to see the small amount of money I earned in 1984 when the IRS used to send out those social security statements.
These days, I don’t eat as much chips & salsa as I would like. Even on my cheat days, I can’t just eat as much of what I really, really want: chips & salsa. Why not? Well, because it’s just too much of a good thing and I’m almost 50 and always looking over my shoulder to make sure that a life of diabetes and heart disease isn’t gaining on me. I just wasn’t blessed with the family history to be able to eat as many carbs and calories as I want with no consequences. Don’t get me wrong, as a family, we’re pretty badass in almost all other areas, but we do have a tendency for some bad things to happen if we let food turn us into diabetics. I don’t want that to happen. For obvious reasons, but also because I want to always be able to enjoy that rare cheat day (or weekend) where I do let myself eat way too many chips and eat way too much salsa. Just like last week.
~Elda Eats XO
#eldaeats #eldaeatschipsandsalsa #chipsandsalsa
