Sausage rolls

Over the past six months or more, I've had a concentrated effort to buy, cook and eat better food for myself and my family. In tangible terms, this means that I try to buy whole, unprocessed foods. It means that I make homemade chicken nuggets and fry up my own french fries. It means making a lot of bread and even my own pizza dough. It means baking once a week to make homemade treats. It means shopping "peripherally" in the grocery store, where all the fresh foods are, and staying away from prepackaged items. It means giving up the convenience of many frozen meals, like chicken fingers and sausage rolls.

But this week while doing my grocery shopping, I passed by a box of sausage rolls on sale. And they looked so yummy! I actually passed it by, and then retreated to consider the purchase. I didn't stop long - I simply threw a box in the cart and continued on my way. I was tired, I didn't feel like cooking what was on my menu that night, and really, I'm not a die-hard cling-to these new food habits. We're just trying to do better overall. We still grab a hamburger at A&W once in a while, and the occasional bottle of pop shows up for a movie night.

That night we threw in the sausage rolls and cooked up some homemade fries (we just can't seem to go back to frozen now!). I set the table and served the meal. I even made myself an extra sausage roll, wanting to indulge in this treat so long denied.

And then I bit into it and it was...okay. Actually, in the end I only ate half of what I'd put on my plate. This once coveted comfort food, one of my favourite staples as a university student, was no longer the delectable treat I once thought it to be. As I nibbled at my food, I found myself wishing for something whole and fresh.

Ah well. At least I was able to console myself with a homemade chocolate chip oatmeal cookie.