I’m sure everybody was the same way when they were young. We all couldn’t wait to grow up and venture out into the “adult” world. I for one was definitely itching to burst out of my childhood and conquer the world with my new-found freedom and powers.

I wanted to have a job, and live by myself, drive my own car. I wanted to join the other adults, discussing religion, worrying about economy, and badmouthing the politicians. I wanted to be able to pull an all-nighter without anyone nagging at me to sleep. I wanted to have an all-ladies brunch, gossiping and drinking tea with my pinky sticking out.

Yes, I had no freaking idea what being an adult meant. I foolishly thought growing up just meant becoming bigger in size and authority, and being free to do whatever I wanted. I envied all “grown-up” activities from sipping wine to filing taxes.

In fact, I remember once when I secretly poured myself a tall glass of red wine in a Christmas party. My mother caught me with the glass of ruby liquid, and got suspicious. I lied that it was grape juice, and then betrayed myself by fleeing away with a mad cackle. I distinctly remember calling all my little friends together, boasting about my glass of “grown-up beverage”, and sharing sips with them. The liquid burned my throat and made my eyes water, but I was damn proud of myself for drinking something so “grown-up”.

But we all know that’s not what being an adult means. It comes with a whole new set of restrictions, responsibilities, duties, and worries. But the thing I miss most about my childhood is my carefree innocence.

I long for the days when I believed disasters like a terrorist attack or earthquakes only happened in a land far, far away. I wish I still thought depression meant being forced to do my homework when I wanted to play. I wish I didn’t know what eating disorders meant, or how difficult it is to actually love someone, or that grown-ups are not perfect, or the pain and suffering everyone endures each day.

It’s strange…but ever since my ED, I have been craving my childhood more and more. I get overly excited when I see an item bringing childhood nostalgia. I enjoy nestling in the arms of my parents even more. I want to play hide-and-seek and hopscotch. And I really, really want a Cabbage Patch doll.

But I know that once lost, that childish innocence can never be brought back. Even if I somehow recollected all my childhood items and memories, it would never be as sweet. So I guess there’s no choice but for me to face the real world after all, like a real adult.

Today’s lunch was another trip back to childhood nostalgia. What brings more childhood nostalgia than the good old PB & J? But this one has an adult spin to it…as a farewell to my lost childhood innocence.

PB & J Wrap for “Grown-ups”

The J: Banana-apple-fig chutney

• 1 big banana, sliced
• 1/2 big apple, chopped
• 3 dried figs, diced
• 1/4 small red onion, diced
• 1/4 small Jalapeño, seeded and minced
• abt 1/2 tsp ginger, peeled and minced
• 1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
• maple syrup
• cinnamon
• turmeric
• salt

The PB:

• 2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt

The sandwich:

• whole wheat wrap

For the J (banana-apple-fig chutney), just throw all the ingredients together in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it turns into sort of a paste like this:

Beautiful color, eh? I did not give measurements for the spices because I just added them by taste. You can adjust them to your preference.

And then, for the PB, I just mixed together the peanut butter and the yogurt. I spread them onto the wrap, slathered the chutney on top, and rolled it up.

Whoo! This is definitely not for the faint-hearted. The chutney has such a kick to it. It is sweet from the fruits and maple syrup, yet spicy from the Jalapenos and the spices.

I decided to mix the peanut butter with Greek yogurt so it would spread better, and also so that the yogurt would be a great cooling backdrop to the spicy chutney.

It was quite an adventurous, interesting lunch, to say the least. I rather liked it! I made one for my brother, too, and he ate his without any complaints, so I’d give this a thumbs up!

So, guess what? The Warm Fuzzies Game is starting tomorrow!

Hip hip hoorah! Have you signed up yet? What are you waiting for? Gimme your name and url right away on our Warm Fuzzies Page!!

And speaking of warm fuzzies…Pass the Pocky passed me a warm and fuzzy award!

How sweet! Thank you!! To tell you the truth, I received this about 2 days before, but neglected to post it yet because I simply could not limit myself to just 10…because I seriously love all of your blogs for your own unique way! So I pass it on to ALL of you! Thank you, everyone, for being so consistently supportive of me, and listening to my windless prattles. >___<

Question of the day: Well, I shared one story of me trying to act “grown-up” with the wine…What about you? Do you have any stories of you playing grown-up?

Related posts:

1. “White People” Sandwich and ChildFood Fantasies
2. Two Different Peas in a Pod
3. First Day of Class
4. A Flipping Turn on ED and Chicken Salad

Tagged as: apple, banana, blog award, figs, peanut butter, wrap, yogurt