One sip brings me back to my childhood.
It was something I always looked forward to.
Until I turned 7 and started dieting for the next 20-some years.
Photo: EatingWell
I was the heaviest and right on the very end.
But that event made me hyper-aware of how I looked, maybe for the first time ever.
Around the same time, my parents had started becoming more health-conscious and signed us up for a gym.
On our way in, they showed me the kids' playroom with its boxes of puzzles and toys.
Everything was going to be better if I just got thin.
The thing is that I loved chocolate so much, and I missed having chocolate milkshakes with my mom.
But it’s not like the world around me was telling me differently.
In fact, I was praised or encouraged to think thin from every corner of my life.
That’s not something I wanted to be a part of anymore, toward myself or others!
I decided to stop associating food with bad and good, guilt and shame.
But having dairy in the afternoon didn’t sit well with my stomach.
That’s when I came across the recipe for thisChocolate Avocado Shake.
It’s made with things that make me feel good.
But above all, the pleasure is in the taste and consistency.
(Healing my inner childyay!)
It’s become part of my weekday routine and I look forward to my delicious midafternoon pick-me-up.
I listen to an “Ultimate 90s” playlist and savor each cold, creamy, sweet sip.
