5-Senses Sunday
The 5-things Rocking my 5-Senses this week
Taste:
Takis
The first time I ate wasabi I mistook it for guacamole. It wasn't pretty.
I'm the girl who would order extra mild salsa to accompany my chips and the one with her mouth agape watching people pour sriracha and tabasco sauce on everything.
The pain I experienced when eating spicy food led me to wonder how anyone could willingly subject themselves to this needless mouth burn, all in the name of flavor. For me, the heat prevented me from even being able to decipher the rest of the flavors from the meal, let alone enjoy them.
Perhaps it's the process of aging or building up more pain tolerance, or maybe I've just singed my taste buds off too many times - but spicy food is finally starting to grow on me.
Enter Takis:
Warning: This snack is not for the faint of heart.
My teenage girls generally scoff at traditional spicy foods. They love butter chicken but only with zero spice. They complain that ginger is "too hot" and refuse to even try wasabi or horseradish on Passover.
And yet.
They are uniformly obsessed with Takis.
They dip them in guac and hummus.
They squirm in painful delight eating each crunchy, spicy bite.
I finally had to try them myself and they did not disappoint.
This ultra-processed snack (here at Just One More Bite we believe all foods have a time and place and eschew black and white thinking around food) hits all the pleasure centers.
It's tangy and spicy, crunchy and sublime. The crunch is multi-layered thanks to their method of folding traditional tortilla chips into long, hollow tubes. By doing this, you get the initial crunch but then an additional hit of texture when you break through to the other side of the tube.
The spice factor is jarring at first, leading me to grab some cold water and reminding me why I will never qualify for an episode of "Hot Ones."
But once you get past the initial impact, the residual flavors are bright, zesty and extremely satisfying!
Have you tried Takis? By the way, Trader Joe's has a brand of them as well.
Scent:
Newly washed hair
I used to inhale my babies' heads after their baths, savoring the slightly milky sweet, slightly musky scent. Even now, when one of my girls saunters into my room after a fresh shower, and I get the whiff of the floral, woodsy or bright citrus scent emanating from their not-completely-washed-out conditioner clinging safely to their scalps, I get a hit of nostalgia.
Even our cat Nori is enamored of freshly washed hair. It's literal catnip for her, and this is what she does when any one of us has recently showered and you are anywhere near her. (Here's me trying to do a child's pose)
Some shampoo scents are more impactful than others. Much like a perfume contours and shape-shifts its scent based on each unique body chemistry, so too does shampoo on one's hair, marking the strands with its signature fragrance.
My favorites of now and yesteryear:
Herbal Essence - herby, grassy goodness
Nexxus - Minimal, clean and bright smelling
Moroccan Oil - I can't get enough of this musky product
What are your favorite shampoo and conditioner scents?
Sound:
Synthsational
I came across this app that let’s you create perfectly pitched and timed tunes even if you have zero music ability or music theory knowledge.
At the very least, it’s fun to play around with. At best, perhaps you unleash your inner Joni Mitchell.
Touch:
Back scratches
In my family, I'm the resident back-scratcher.
My 17-year-old has been requesting them since she was 3 and has quite the list of demands.
When she was little, they were... "Mommy, can you scratch the ankles on my back!" (her shoulder blades 😂 ) to now... "No, can you scratch UNDER my shirt? Side to side! No, up and down. Can you get that spot under my bra?”
And don't get me started on my husband's back scratching demands which vacillate between wanting me to use my half-bitten and often spiky nails to go to town to just a light tickle/scratch.
I think we can all agree though just how good it feels to get a good back-scratch. Whether it's an expression of affection and love or an essential assist to get at that one spot you can't reach, there is something uniquely satisfying about this type of touch.
Of course, there are times when no one is around so we need to bring out the big guns as well. These work great in a pinch and for itches on the go.
Sight:
Blood moon, Holi holiday colors
I have two this week!
I’ve been loving seeing all the remarkable photos of the blood moon we were treated to last week. Whether its an eclipse, a blood moon or another phenomenon in space or the sky, its a beautiful reminder of the joy we can derive from savoring what is already all around us in nature.
Likewise, I have been pouring through photos of the Holi festivals celebrated in India and around the globe with its bold, bright colors and joyful rituals inviting in Spring, love and new beginnings.
These images light me up in the best possible way.
Tell me. What is rocking YOUR 5-senses this week? I’d love to know!