Food Hoarding

Lately, I’ve noticed I’ve got a ridiculous amount of food in my small-ish refrigerator. I am one woman, living alone, but my fridge could feed a family – or two. There’s steak, salmon, shrimp, tuna salad, pasta, salad, veggies, eggs, quiche, and three different soups.

Then, on my way home last night, I thought, ‘I know, I’ll get some chicken!’. Where I planned to put it, I’m not sure, considering my fridge IS small and my freezer only fits ice trays…

What’s going on? I’m a pretty moderate eater. Why do I feel the need to have all this food around? I certainly don’t eat it all.

Could it be that for years I only kept diet coke, white wine and condiments in the refrigerator? (If you’ve never been anorexic, you probably don’t understand about making a meal out of mustard, ketchup and balsamic vinegar. But if you have been, you may well know what I mean.)

There is something soothing about having all this food around – I will never be without something I want to eat, when I’m hungry, of course. I’m not overeating or obsessing or anything – I just seem to like all the options.

There are schools of thought that suggest that the way to break free of compulsively eating “binge foods” is to ALWAYS have ALL the foods you love around you. The premise is that dieting and restricting are what lead to bingeing. If we legalize all food, and learn to eat when we’re hungry and stop when we’re full, we will be fine. And if we eat EXACTLY what we want when we’re hungry(so, don’t eat celery when we really long for mashed potatoes), we will be satisfied and we’ll stop with a comfortable portion. All foods are equal – none is sexier than another. A carrot is the same as cheesecake.

Still, I am spending way too much money keeping my refrigerator fabulously stocked. And I do waste a lot, which is sinful. Time to slim the fridge.