Everyday Systems

Hi!

I was putting together our supper tonight and as usual when I'm cooking, I absent-mindedly sampled some of the ingredients - primarily the sharp cheddar cheese I was grating for the casserole!

But then I caught myself and realized - um - this isn't actually the meal yet - this is just PREPARING the meal!

So does "sampling" count as "snacking", and thus a "fail" on my HabitCal?

Thanks!

I'd say it depends. If you're taking a brief test for flavour and seasoning, I'd call that legitimate. Testing the meal beforehand to make sure it's right is only sensible; if your meal is your only food intake, you want to make sure it's enjoyable.

In the instance you described, however, I imagine you were going to add the cheese regardless of the outcome of the sampling; the act doesn't have any benefit to the dish. I'd ascribe a light fail to that, but focus instead on the positive; you've just identified a weak point in your eating habits, which you can now look out for in the future.

Some folks refer to those as BLTs - bites, licks, and tastes...over time they add up, so you might need to be watchful of how often you *sample*.

Mimi

stoogeswoman wrote:and as usual when I'm cooking, I absent-mindedly sampled some of the ingredients

That is not sampling, that's snacking. If you said, Okay, I'll add some salt to that now - is that too much? *sample* No, that's fine.
But in your case, it was just... well, putting food in your mouth. It was not part of your meal, and as ThomsonsPier said, it doesn't change the quality of your meal.
So it'll be a FAIL this time. That's okay, though, almost all No-Sers have some failures until they get the habit down.

And you might not count it as a fail the first time - retroactive fails are too hard on the spirit! Plus it seems so unfair that when you've made a genuinely positive break-through (identifying a weak spot) that you get punished for it.

So, congratulate yourself that you've found a weak spot, and tell yourself firmly "from now on, that's a failure."

If it's any consolation, this is a common chink in No-S. I kept a separate habitcal for BLTs (bites, licks, and tastes) for a while because they sneaked in when I thought I had firm habits. Someone here (~reneew??) totalled up her BLTs for a day and found she'd almost doubled her caloric intake!

retroactive fails are too hard on the spirit!

Oh, absolutely!! No-S is too positive a program for retroactive failure!

Yeah thanks - I gave myself the day as a "success" since that was the only time I caught myself doing it.

Anyway, the casserole turned out great! (It was a tuna casserole with potato chips sprinkled over the top & cheese melted on top of the chips. Mmm!!)