Over the weekend, I was at the Newport Jazz Festival where I was inspired by the fabulous music and gorgeous weather…and tempted by the notion of being away and carefree. And that clean eating I pride myself on was well, semi-clean at best (don’t ask me about the greasy breakfast sandwich, ice cream and strawberry shortcake — you get the idea).

Did I fall completely off the wagon? Well, not totally.  I did in fact scope out the food choices at the festival before digging in and noticed the cold tomato basil soup calling my name.  I have to say that was light, fabulous and refreshing.  And like I mentioned in a post last month when we were in Montreal at the Montreal Jazz Festival, a little surveying of the premises helps any of us at least make an informed decision. In my case, we rounded out the day with a healthy and delicious dinner at my favorite restaurant in Providence  – fresh black cod, grilled asparagus and a corn, pea and sweet potato succotash — delish.

The real question is: is it possible to indulge a bit, enjoy yourself and not fall so far from the clean eating wagon that it’s hard to get back on?  And can we partake in processed and less than healthy foods full of sugar, fat and salt and not get addicted? How much is too much? When are we pushing the sugar-salt-processed threshold too far with the prospect of more cravings and binges?

The thing is, we all have the potential to fall off the clean eating wagon and indulge ourselves a bit too much. After all, this is life, it can be short and I don’t think any of us want to feel like we totally deprived ourselves. I sure don’t!  Half the fun of life is trying new things, being present and open to new adventures, food included.

The key is our ability to minimize the damage when it comes to falling off  the wagon.  Instead of everything I ate being junk, I managed to make a few healthy choices on Saturday. But I also knew that I had Sunday to get right back on my healthy and clean eating wagon as I headed to the grocery store and farmers’ market to create this week’s menu.  For me, a weekly meal plan is the key to staying on track or quickly getting back on the wagon if I fall off. And those Saturday indulgences were just that, just on Saturday. 

Add in the fact that I spent many days before focused on clean, healthy eating — copious amounts of organic, locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains like quinoa.  I juiced in the past week, make raw smoothies, and we filled our bodies with good stuff.  Hence, my day long adventure wasn’t so bad, just a brief dalliance from my fresh, healthy eating.

I’m curious to know what you do to avoiding falling so far off the healthy and clean eating path that it’s hard to get back on. What works for you to prevent a short term binge from turning into a long term challenge? Do tell!

Filed under: Cravings, Healthy Meals, Locally Grown Food, clean eating