Introducing: The secret pandemic food ritual
Do you have a secret pandemic food ritual? Baking sourdough doesn’t count: We’re talking peanut butter cups hidden under the bed and eaten while you’re pretending to shower, or a bacon, egg, and cheese purchased surreptitiously and scarfed during a “morning walk.” For writer Virginia Sole-Smith, the ritual is eating grocery store sushi in her car after a shopping trip—15 blissful minutes, accompanied by a podcast, with no children or work or other demands on her time, she writes in The New York Times. For parents in particular, carving out a little secret eating time (ideally in a way that makes you feel like you’re getting away with something) can be a powerful coping strategy: “You’re aware that you are overwhelmed and you’re actively taking care of yourself,” one dietitian told Sole-Smith.
