"Junk Food" is relative

This is a popular article in my Facebook newsfeed:
"Why a looming storm makes us think we can eat all the junk food we want"

This thread inspired my own introspection.
When I "went wild" at the grocery store, my outrageous choices that I wouldn't normally get were gluten and dairy based.  Trader Joe's mocha yogurt (1 cup), Pretzels (to go with the increased beer/wine/liquor consumption),

 (the increased beer/wine/liquor consumption)

shredded cheddar and sour cream for nachos, ingredients for nestle tollhouse cookies – chocolate chips, butter, white flour, sugar; mozzarella to try that cauliflower breadsticks recipe everyone is posting about.  (There is only 1 cup more cauliflower in there than cheese, people! I'm not sure I can bring myself to do it.) 

This results in: I keep walking around the kitchen looking for the cheesecake.  I’m saving my 1 cup of yogurt for – an emergency, I guess.  For until I really want it.  The "junk food" I got mostly requires preparation so it's easy to not indulge.  And this results in me looking up recipes for "raw vegan cheesecake smoothie"which I, by the way, do have ingredients for.  

I'm a little confused because I know if I had other human company, I'd have no problem helping polish off a bag of crunchy Cheetos or a mix of ranch and nacho Doritos.  I'd actually be making the cookies.  I would have wanted ice cream.  I'd be dusting the frost off and throwing one of my emergency frozen pizzas in the oven.

I tried to get better at providing party foods through time:

• In elementary school I presented my sleepover friends with apples and "fun size" chocolate bars.  
• In grad school I went to a department picnic.  The theme was "comfort food".  The hostess was in outraged disbelief when I honestly presented a big bowl of salad.
• In grad school, for the Valentine's Blizzard of '07 I provided several varieties of Doritos, Oreos,

  

  Valentine's Blizzard '07. My first big snow. I reacted much like this panda.

  Pepsi, Bacardi Raz, implored them to tell me what their favorite and preferred snacks were.
• Two years ago I brought some raw vegan onion dip to a friends' game night - next time they said I didn't need to bring anything, thanks.
• Over the summer I made Matthew Kenney's Raw Chocolate Chip Cookies for  20 middle school girls who applied to a competitive program to spend one Saturday a month learning computer programming languages for the duration of July-March. (Curious? Know a middle school girl who is interested in learning computer programming? You can find out about Engineer Girl here.)  The girls liked them.
• When a couple friends came over yesterday I made chili (the kind with ground meat, though I had a big fresh pot of tempeh chili in the house), provided celery and carrot sticks, and we just about polished off a package of Oreos.  
• I try!  I brought my class of college freshmen & sophomores some snacks one day: celery, strawberries, homemade top 5 allergen free thumbprint jammies, triscuits, cheese.  "She thinks we are fat!"  No, no, I don't.  I want to provide nourishing snacks, with variety for everyone to enjoy, and these are what I love to see at a party.  Presumably they had a class or a few to get through after and a sugar crash or very salty food would not help them do it.  
• The semester before: "We'll see what kind of snacks they are."  And expressions of delight at the celery and strawberries.  

A picnic lunch I packed in 2008.  

Note, the variety of choices. 

As those who know me well enough know, I turn to research when I want questions answered or feel curious. Here are some articles for consideration.  

 women eat when they are happy; 

men eat more when women are around; 

eating when you are lonely

Now, I'm going to take a big swig from my Flavor Fuse flavor infuser water bottle (I got mine at TJMax for $4), the infuser is filled with orange segments today.

It's refreshing and pallet cleansing.

Soon, I will make the raw vegan cheesecake smoothie using some strawberries my sister gave me yesterday (the association with her makes me want to eat them more).  I'm letting the cashews soak.
Later, I will open a single cup bottle of wine and enjoy a few extra dark pretzels.  

I'm happy to be here with my sleepy furry friends, warm, cozy, content.  

I hope you are enjoying winter storm Jonas as much as I am!