Photo a Day: In My Fridge

"In My Fridge." Well, if THAT isn't just the most intimidating photo topic ever. It would be less revealing if the topic were "In My Underwear Drawer." 

I'm pretty sure you can learn more about a person from looking inside their refrigerator than you can by reading their diary. You learn about the organizational skills, their level of cleanliness, their feelings about their own physical and emotional wellbeing. Is their fridge full of healthy fresh fruits and veggies, or is it leftover boxes from fast food joints? Is everything labeled and dated, or are things growing various colors of fuzz? Is the Tupperware matched or do you have to open every container to find out if it's really sour cream or if it's last night's leftover turkey tetrazzini?

Luckily, I think I fall pretty well in the middle of all those spectra. My fridge is kinda organized; the food in there is a mix of healthy and leaning-toward-junk; my Tupperware isn't quite matched but at least I use matched leftover containers from the same restaurant most of the time. Of course, there's also the benefit that this particular topic happened to fall on a grocery shopping day, so the leftovers are minimal and the produce is at maximum. 

I thought maybe I'd try to get a pretty, interesting, artistic photo...but even at its best, my fridge is just not a work of art. (Well, the outside is, but since the topic is "IN My Fridge," not "ON My Fridge," that felt like cheating. But I won't say I didn't think about it.) So I just took a shot of the shelf that was easiest to reach with the camera. 

And you know, it's not awful. I've got some healthy peppers and hummus waiting to be arranged for a family gathering on Saturday. I've got a big tub of delicious chicken salad with cranberries in it for lunches this week (mostly for my husband and myself, but I have convinced at least one child to try it in the past). I've got leftover spaghetti and meatballs from a favorite local joint that we ordered from a couple of days ago, and another leftover container of mashed potatoes from about the same time. Hiding at the back I see a bottle of strawberry milk flavoring that I thought would be a huge hit with my pink-loving 5-year-old (news flash: it wasn't), and a can of tonic water that's been hanging around since gin-and-tonic season ended. And there's also a little peep of purple from the lid of the giant bottle of minced garlic that I use in, like, everything.

So what can you tell about me from what's in my fridge? Well, you can tell that I like healthy food but I'm not above getting someone else to make it for me. You can tell that I love comfort food. You can tell that I make an attempt to be neat and organized but I never quite commit all the way.

And, perhaps most importantly, you can tell that I love garlic. A LOT.

Yup, that's what you can tell about me by what's in my fridge.