The Two Shall Become One Appetite.

When Tyler and I were dating, he didn't eat vegetables. Well, he would eat canned corn, canned green beans and potatoes. Otherwise, nope. As someone who loved good food, this kind of killed me... but since we only dated for a hot second before wanting to get married, I didn't really have time to really let it bother me that he didn't love arugula, onions and bell peppers like I did. All produce was an unknown land to that young boy from Oklahoma.

However, he was in love and unreasonable just like me. When I would try to get him to take a bite of something that I loved, he would tell me no.... but with the caveat that, if I didn't bug him about it, he would eat vegetables and fruit once we got married. So I let it go. And I have to tell you, he is a man of his word. On our honeymoon, he flipped a switch and started trying new things then and there... and he couldn't believe he had lived so long without them.

Fast forward eight years... and the boy eats anything. In fact, after living life together our appetites have evolved to a weird mirror image of the each other. He loves the fruits and vegetables that I love, eats meat as more of an accent to meals rather than the main attraction... and in turn, I have adapted the regular addition of milkshakes to my lifestyle.

Since we have moved to England, our diets have changed together again. We've learned to be satisfied by smaller portions and our tastes have changed to prefer the flavors here. When we do semesters in Paris for work, suddenly crusty baked goods, creamy yogurts and slabs of meat suddenly seem like all I want to eat.

I think it's so interesting how people and places can influence your diet. When I was in college living with skinny girls, we'd snack on applesauce and low fat triscuits. When I married Tyler, I ate like a 24 year-old guy. And now, I'm aware how the foods that I'm craving suddenly have become the cravings of my daughter. When I'm into apples, she is, too. When I sustained myself on fruit mentos for my first trimester of pregnancy, she constantly asked for them, too. If I'm on a cereal kick, she is, too.

I'm realizing how impressionable eating habits can be to those around us... and I feel some weight (literally?) to pass on good eating to my daughter and family. We are what we eat- and those around us, too. For better or for worse.

Probably the easiest target in my diet is dessert- no shocker if you've followed me for more than five minutes. So on June 1- I'm starting 50 days without sweets and desserts.

And speaking of eating habits being contagious.... anyone want to join me? Anyone up for giving up dessert and sugary treats from June 1 to July 20? (No better time to give up the junk than with the arrival of swimsuit season.)

What person or place has been the most influential on the way you eat?