The Pastry Tour

My parents recently came to visit for the week--earning them millions of points in the parent unit column. In trying to divvy up a week's worth of tourist activities, I realized that there really isn't much to do in Santiago, except eat. So we did.

We ate manjar croissants, slices of chocolate mousse cake, helado banado en chocolate, handmade truffles, chocolate volcanoes, brownies, sweet popcorn. We sampled the best of Santiago's pastelerias and heladerias. My parents started calling their adventures here "Tur de Postres" or The Pastry Tour.

We had an really interesting discussion while eating dinner...or maybe while waiting for dessert...at Patagonia, one of the many fine establishments on the tour list. Mom was talking about the difficulty of getting Dad to cook meals for them, even though he's retired and technically has time. Let's just say, he's just not that into food.

I cannot even fathom what it's like to not be "into" food. To be sort of disconnected from it. My whole life is food! Just like Dad says that punctual people spell time with a capital T, I think I spell Food with a capital F...and maybe a capital OOD too.

At first I was offended (as always) when they teased about how our tour was starting to lean heavily on the entertainment value of food (how I managed to not develop a thick skin in my family is beyond me). But by the end of our trip, I began to be proud of my extensive pastry and food knowledge. Though Dad gets the benefit of a slim profile, the love of food is a thing to celebrate. Food is a great joy. It brings people together. It builds a sense of family and community. People gather around food.

It's the first time I've really thought about what a gift it is to love food. I've always felt it was such a burden, this constant stream of conscious commenting, rejecting and utlimately loving food.

Are American women afraid to really enjoy food? Afraid if we love it, we'll fall down that slippery slope of weight gain and with it self-criticism and body hatred?

As I begin to form an idea of what I would like to do when I return to the glorious land of the free and home of the brave, I believe this blog will be more and more about fitness, body image, and shape, as well as what I can discover around this topic in Chile.

Weigh in (haha, I couldn't resist) on what you think about this idea...I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Pictures of food and the parental units' adventure are coming...