Smoked Bacon and Cheese Pies

Brand: Morrison’s

Cost: £1.30

Found at: Morrison’s

Salt, fat, and pastry.

At various points in my young, female life, I’ve cut one or all of these things out of my life. Out of curiosity, boredom, self-righteousness, or good old-fashioned body dysmorphia, I have tried just about every elimination diet out there. I’ve been vegan, I’ve been dairy free, I’ve fasted, I’ve counted calories – I even cut out gluten when that was still a thing! You can blame it on the movies, peer pressure, gender issues, fashion, social media, or the health food industry, but for years I denied myself everything tasty and delightful, and thought myself a better person for doing so.

But looking back, none of it was worth it. It wasn’t all bad: for example, I have a better understanding of nutrition because of my time focused on food. And it’s not that all diets are bad for all people, either. But if I knew then what I know now, I would not do it again. I would not waste my time and energy buying into an idea of health that exists to make other people money. I would not buy into a culture where joy is necessarily sinful, and denial necessarily virtuous. I learned things from these experiences, sure, but I lost things, too. And one thing I lost was salt, fat, and pastry.

So now, a little older and a little less serious, I am reclaiming my right to all three. I buy myself pork pies and make a point to savor the salty cheese, the fatty pork, and the buttery pastry crust that crumbles in my mouth. I don’t look at the ingredients, I don’t check the calories, I just eat and enjoy the pleasure of eating.

Because in the words of the Magnetic Fields: “if there’s anything better in this world, who cares?”