Less Now Means More (Variety) Later

At lunch today, I dug eagerly into some leftover pastitsio, one of my favorite pasta dishes. It's dusted with sharp pecorino cheese, stuffed with cinnamon-scented ground meat, and topped with a rich, eggy crema.

Excuse me while I drool.

I cut a generous piece, but I knew before I was even halfway through that I would be left craving more. I loved every decadent bite, but even with the need to clear out the fridge before Turkey Day, could I justify a second slice?

I knew the answer, and so should you by now. But how could I change my perspective so that I wouldn't spend the rest of the day dreaming about stuffing my face with Greek pasta goodness?

What I needed to remember was that eating less food now means leaving more room for other delicious foods later.

Think about it. What's so great about eating? The variety of tastes! No one would get excited about food if chocolate cake was all there ever was to eat. No matter how much you love fudgy confections, they would lose their appeal after days of nothing but.

Surely you've been told more than once in your life to "leave room for dessert." That's simply a more specific way of saying "don't overeat now - there's still so many other enticing tastes you could spend those calories on!"

What happened with my lunch today, then? Well, I reminded myself that I had a fridge full of foods other than pastisio, many much healthier yet still yummy.

I elected to grab an orange instead to fill the space left in my stomach. A great choice for me - I haven't had one in months, so the juicy, sweet-tart flavor excited my tastebuds in a way another plateful of pastitsio never could. Plus, I knew the orange was both low in calories and full of vitamin C and fiber to keep my body healthy.

Delicious.

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