Food confessions

Three little known facts about me:

1. I know all of the words to Copacabana, and I just might sing them for you after my second margarita.

2. My six favorite words in the English language are, "A duck walks into a bar..." If my doctor ever needs to inform me that I have three months to live, I hope she leads with that.

3. At least once a week (sometimes more) I feed my kids this for dinner:

I know. Collective gasp. The horror!

You know what's even sadder? I've convinced myself that it's somewhat healthy. It's organic! The packaging is quaint! I even mix the powder and the milk separately in a Pyrex measuring cup, as if I'm concocting a proper cheese sauce, and then lovingly pour it over the cooked noodles. I imagine that Annie's is this sweet, wholesome little company, where all the staff wear gingham aprons and they all bring their lunches and sit in a garden alongside Bernie the rabbit and talk about the darling children they are serving. If Annie's is owned by General Mills or some big conglomerate, don't tell me. My fingers are in my ears, la la la la la la la la la. Because I need Annie's, much like I'm sure so many other Americans need the packaged convenience foods they eat every night. Seriously, I get it. I don't like it, and most nights I'm working extra hard to cook with whole foods. But for me it's a struggle. Most nights it's a struggle to present a meal that everyone will like and that I'll feel good about. (And my kids turn up their noses at my from-scratch mac 'n cheese!) So on nights when hub and I have fish, the kids eat Annie's. Or if we're in a rush, here's Annie!

Oh my. What have we here?

Do you have any idea how happy I was to find a box of chocolate cake mix AND a can of frosting in the cupboard a few nights ago? I was all alone, drinking a beer and watching Stripes on AMC (holy crap, that is a lovely sentence...I should just stop right here) when I decided that the only other thing that could make the evening more perfect was a big chocolate cake that I could eat within 30 minutes. I loved that cake.

While I'm on a roll here, I might as well just show you this:

No, not the disturbing amount of alcohol we have in the fridge, but the bottled fizzy water. To tell the truth, this is actually a step up. I've been trying to get my husband off of Diet 7-Up for years and this, I believe, is an improvement. I'm not sure how I'll wean him off of this, however. Can you add fizz to tap water?

I keep telling myself that this is a journey and that we've made many food changes over the past two years. I could make a huge list of packaged, processed foods that we no longer buy, but I won't. (OK, here's one: Old El Paso Taco Seasoning. Oh. My. God. That was a tough one.) I will, however, keep working on my meal repertoire, trying to ID dishes that will nourish and please my family. I will continue to be inspired by stories of beans. I will continue to ask friends for recipes and stalk the interwebs for ideas. And I will continue to give myself a break.

So, there it is. My deep, dark food secrets. Now it's your turn. What processed foods are you buying that you'd like to give up, or heck no! you just love 'em and their delicious convenience too much. No judgment here. We love.