Instant Mashed

You know what I love? Carbs. There is nothing that makes my mouth water more than a big bowl of my sister's homemade "smashed potatoes". My sister learned to cook from the best, Food Network. Kidding. No, my grandmother taught her how to whip, stir, and bake like a pro. Coincidentally, my grandpa taught me how to eat like a pro. Every now and then I start to crave those infamous smashed potatoes, and Chef Haley always delivers. She peels the potatoes, but leaves just enough of the peeling to give it that great texture. She adds a Paula Dean helping of butter and mayonnaise (secret ingredient that makes them OH SO creamy). She salts and peppers them with perfection, and just like that I go up a pant size! 

Just the other day I craved those same ole smashed potatoes, but it had been a long week and I really didn't want to make Chef Haley work, when I, myself, wanted to be lazy and watch Lifetime. So, I opted for some instant mashed potatoes. Name brand, "garlic and herb" mashed potatoes. 

And guess what, they sucked. I mean, they were mashed potatoes, but they weren't good mashed potatoes. What was the point of carb overload for something that tasted so bland and lacked texture. Did they do their job? Sure. It was a side item, something to go along with the vegetable and meat. The kids ate them. The dog ate what was left over. It did it's job. But, that was it. It "just did it's job". It didn't do it great, it didn't even do it good. It was just ok. 

Last week we were, as always, rushing to an appointment on the other side of town, running fashionably late as expected, when we got stuck in downtown bumper to bumper traffic. Just as we started gaining speed, I came to a stop to allow another car to merge into the ongoing traffic, which just so happened to keep us from catching the next green light. My twelve year old said if I hadn't let him in, we would have missed the red light and be closer to getting to where we were headed. Was he right? Maybe. 

Last week I had to make a quick stop at Walmart. If you haven't realized it yet, "quick stops at Walmart" do not exist. You're either going to spend an hour searching for that one item you need while filling up your buggy with ninety-nine other things you don't need or you're spending thirty minutes waiting in line at one of the only two cash registers open in the sea of millions of cash registers and employees wearing blue. I loathe Walmart. I was, one of the many victims, of being drawn into purchasing 100 other items while just trying to pick up some toilet paper. Go figure. Here I was with a buggy full of items, fantasizing about the moment I could kick of my shoes and relax when a mother and her infant come strolling up behind me with nothing but a pack of diapers. I should have let her go infront of me, but I was tired and ill and ready to be home, so I didn't. Did I get home any quicker than if I had let the mother and her baby go before me? Maybe. 

But thats the difference between Chef Haley's smashed potatoes and the instant mashed potatoes. One is bursting with flavor and yummy goodness, when the other (same exact food) is flavorless, boring, and bland. There the same vegetable, same concept, and carry the same carbs. But would you chose the bowl of smashed potatoes with it's glistening butter, semi chunky texture and seasoned perfection or the bowl of colorless, semi-liquid mashed potatoes?

It was easy to boil some water and make those bland mashed potatoes that were just "ok". It's easier to be "just ok" while making day to day decisions. You could go through the day without opening that door for the mother with her hands full or without giving that homeless person the change in your cup holder. You could go through the day without saying "bless you" to the stranger that sneezed on the other side of the gas pump you're on, or without returning that five dollars you found in the parking lot. (The same five dollars that a single Mom might be using to feed her children) Is it going to change how your day, ultimately turns out? Probably not. 

It took so much time, preparation and work to make those infamous smashed potatoes. But, my oh my are they delicious, mouth watering and divine. Following that theory, instead of gossiping about how crappy your coworkers are you could send an inspiring email giving them that much needed pat on the back. You could take a meal to the family in your neighborhood who just lost a loved one. You could cut the neighbors grass without asking. You could buy the car behind your car's breakfast. You could offer to read a story to a child in a doctor's waiting room while their mother juggles feeding their newborn sister. Will these things change how your day ultimately turns out? Probably not. 

But, you will be that bowl of yummy goodness. You will be the savory, lucious bowl of smashed potatoes in a sea of cold, lumpy instant mashed potatoes. There is a difference. There is a huge difference, and regardless if everyone in society sees the difference or if JUST the person indulging in that warm bowl of smashed potatoes, you have made the choice to be better than the rest, to rise above, to be that sliver of hope in the ever failing society. 

Be Chef Haley's infamous smashed potatoes. Go that extra mile, do that extra deed. At the end of the day, it may not change how your day ends, but it does change how you made someone feel. 

Be the difference.