Feature Fri Apr 17 2009

Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough

By Robyn Nisi

A coworker of mine ambled over to my desk and said "Please finish this," placing a blue and white paper bag next to me. I looked inside and saw an old friend: caramel corn. From Garrett's. After an hour, the bag was empty and I was headed to the bathroom to wash off the caked goo on my fingers, after which I was going to look up the nearest place that sold caramel corn. Just as a backup.

A backup for what? In case I needed more.

See, that's the problem. There are some foods that a diet book I used to reference would call a "trigger" food, meaning that once it's available, one will eat it until it's gone, even if hunger doesn't play a role in its demise. Did this just turn into a twleve-step meeting in here?Oh, dear.

Most of us know what will drive our engines. For me, I can eat pieces of Dubliner cheese with wheat crackers, peanut butter cookies, Life cereal, and gum drops until the cows come home. It's not something I'm proud of, but I don't feel alone. The Drive-Thru staff compiled their own weaknesses below. Let's commiserate together.

• Avocado, peanut butter cups and basically any type of cheese.
• I'm an animal when it comes to cereal. Serving size 3/4 of a cup? Yeah, right. Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Golden Grahams generally go in a few days around our house, between hubby and me.
• I can't stop eating brownies if they're chewy and not too sweet. And, if there's a dip at a party, you'll find me hovering over the bowl.
• At a buffet, depending on the place, I'll go multiple times to the mac-n-cheese (cafeteria buffet) or the shrimp (fancy brunch buffet).
• Vegan chocolate chip cookies for me! ...or baklava and good, strong coffee.
• Mac 'n cheese (especially with hot sauce), goat cheese, asparagus, gnocchi and corn bread.
• My chow function is well under control when I'm with other people (my vanity being larger than my gluttony), but when I'm alone, sugary cereals are my mortal enemy.
• I cannot resist rice crackers and other assorted Asian snackfoods. Wasabi peas. Seaweed crackers. I will put 4,000 times my daily sodium intake into my body without barely thinking about it if there's an open bag of any of that stuff lying around.
• I am a total pineapple fiend. I will eat pineapple until my tongue is raw and I can't taste anything for a couple days.
• Chocolate chip cookies, M&M's, French fries, nachos, and cheese and crackers. I can also eat a fair amount of bacon. There are many days where I would simply like to plant my face in a bowl of cheese.
• Macaroni and cheese or even FRIED Macaroni and Cheese. Sushi, although eventually the rice swells and I feel like I'll blow up. Pickled anything. I stop when I get salt burns in the corners of my mouth.