"Fridge voyeurism" seems to be all the rage lately. Lifestyle website Well+Good has a refrigerator look-book series where readers get a detailed glimpse into the fridges of fitness instructors and wellness bloggers. Heavy Table, a Twin Cities-based food blog, has a "What's in your fridge?" series profiling musicians, athletes and other celebs. (Apparently, rockstar Prince has 18 varieties of mustard, 5 pounds of Dunk-a-roo cookies and a quart of yak milk in his!)
This photo series of "fridge portraits" is bizarre, intriguing and, sometimes, quite sad. Bottom line: You really can learn a lot about a person's habits, lifestyle, values and preferences just by staring into their refrigerator. I could probably collect a ton of useful diagnostic information if I started having my patients send me their fridge selfies. ("Frelfies?") After perusing a couple of fridge-themed blog posts and articles, I couldn't help but wonder, "What's in MY fridge right now?" I went home and did an inventory of everything I've got. I've got a plain old white fridge adorned with school pictures, the school calendar, first-grade artwork and a magnet collection. It's bursting at the seams, since it's garden harvest season. So, if you've ever wondered what the fridge of a physician, skin care specialist, entrepreneur and mom looks like, here goes. This is unedited and slightly embarrassing. I need to do a serious cleanup. 1. Organic whole milk. For my son. 2. Green juice. This version has about 18 cucumbers, one lemon, one lime, one apple and a chunk of fresh ginger. I use a slow juicer, so I still get some pulp. I feel just a little less guilty about missing the fiber. And I compost the rest of the pulp that spits out. 3. Filtered water. 4. San Pellegrino sparkling water. Bubbles always feel like a celebration, and it has some minerals, too. 5. Leftover pan-fried walleye from Uncle Chris. 6. Eggs. We go through a lot of these. Deviled, scrambled or over-medium. 7. Spinach. Some of this usually gets slimy before I eat it all. 8. Raspberries. I always feel indulgent with fresh berries in the fridge. 9. Cheddar cheese. We do a lot of cheese toast for breakfast. 10. Kerrygold butter. For my Bulletproof coffee. 11. Coconut milk yogurt. First-time purchase, and I like it. 12. Vanilla Greek yogurt. Very tasty. I wish I could find a brand made with stevia. Next time, I'll buy plain and mix in the stevia. 13. Trix yogurt. Super sweet and neon colors, yikes. For my son, not me! I won't get suckered into this again. 14. Cucumbers. Some sliced and ready to eat. I leave the skin on for extra crunch. My son will eat these for a snack. 15. Broccoli. My son will also nosh on raw broccoli. I like it steamed or sauted. 16. Pickles. A huge jar from Costco. 17. Apples. Pink Lady variety. 18. Lemons, limes. I have a hard time going through all these in the big Costco bag. 19. Avocados. I'm inspired to make baked eggs in an avocado half. I'm also kind of in love with guacamole. 20. Unidentified leftovers in a sherbert container. This has got to go. 21. Plastic blue apples. These are supposed to extend produce life. 22. Condiments and salad dressings that have seen better days. These have got to go, too. 23. Sesame oil. For a little drizzle on sautéed broccoli. 24. Whipping cream in the spray canister. I've caught my son spraying it directly in his mouth. 25. An unopened ham from Easter 2014. Out it goes. I'll give myself a B+. Some pretty healthy food, but I lose things because of the clutter. In a very literal sense: We are what we eat. Your body breaks down food into energy to fuel the beating of your heart, the inhalation and exhalation of your lungs, your brain function and the repair processes that keep your bones, muscles, hair, nails and skin cells healthy and strong. So, eat well. You don't have to be rigid and obsessive or aim for "perfection," but try to fill your fridge and fuel yourself with the highest-quality foods you can get your hands on, as often as possible. Eat lots of greens, veggies, high-quality protein, a little fruit and healthy fats. What's inside YOUR fridge? If you're feeling exhibitionistic, tell me on Twitter (@DrSuefromFargo) or tweet a pic, #InsideMyFridge. I'm not sure why staring into other people's fridges is so endlessly fascinating, but I know one thing for sure: I can't wait to see yours. Dr. Susan Mathison founded Catalyst Medical Center in Fargo and created PositivelyBeautiful.com. Email her at info@catalystmedicalcenter.com.
