eating at the inlaws

What a treat. It's not that my mother in law is a horrible cook. She just has some horrible habits. Like using butter, with everything. I've been trying to get back in shape after having my babies and eating better and then we go there and my poor stomach can't handle the shock. The butter shock. Butter dripping off the perogies, mashed potatoes are so yellow and creamy with the butter (and uh, probably cream too) sugar and syrup in the chili, fat sliced right on the ham because the fat? is the best. part. ewwwwww can you feel your hips expanding just reading about it?

And I haven't even talked about the dessert yet. The lemon pie and apple cake with ice cream. Because? How can you have cake without ice cream? And the extremely large portion sizes! And you must have a piece of EACH! um, no thanks!

Then after supper, when I'm helping wash every single dish and pot she owns (because you cannot cook without using every plate, cup, utensil, pot or pan in the house) she says to me that I look good! I've lost weight! How am I doing it?!

The sad thing is, no one would be able to teach her a healthier way to cook. She is too stubborn in her ways. She's been doing it this way for over 50 years! She can't comprehend that there could be a different way of cooking. She doesn't understand calories or know how to read the fat content on the labels. Not that elderly people can't - just that my mother in law can't. Short of going there and doing all the cooking for her (um, no) there is nothing I can do.