Category: Thoughts About Food

Posted on

The Boxes

Nice box, eh?  We have two of these boxes in the kitchen cupboard.  And they are full of recipes.  Every now and then you need a reminder of why you started something.  Like this food blog.  I get questions all the time about this blog.

“Why did you start the blog?”

“How come there are no pictures of food?”

“Why don’t you have more recipes?”

  1. I was inspired by two books.  One was a community fund-raiser cookbook where everyone shares a recipe and the book is sold as a fundraiser.  The other book was a collection of Aunt Charlene’s recipes complied by her granddaughter after Charlene died.  I thought to myself, hey when you’re gone your recipes are gone with you.  So I started this blog.
  2. I cook.  I am not a photographer.  I’ve also made the conscious decision to not make this a for profit endeavor.
  3. When I have more time you’ll get more recipes.

The Boss and I were out for lunch and I got the following question:

“Why don’t you make that breaded chicken dish you made for the kids all the time that was breaded and baked, not fried?”

Then it hit me.  I started a food blog with the intention of capturing recipes from the past in a place where they could live on and enjoyed by others.

Did I mention I have two boxes of recipes?

Posted on

What About Just a Little Meat?

 

Followed over time, vegetarian diets were associated with a substantially lower incidence of diabetes, indicating the potential of these diets to stem the current diabetes epidemic.

We see the same step-wise drop in rates of another leading killer, high blood pressure. The greater the proportion of plant foods, the lower the rates of hypertension, and the same with excess body fat. The only dietary group not on average overweight were those eating diets composed exclusively of plant foods, but again there was the same incremental drop with fewer and fewer animal products. This suggests that it’s not black and white, not all or nothing, any steps we can make along this spectrum of eating healthier may accrue significant benefits.

Source: What About Eating Just a Little Meat? | NutritionFacts.org

Source: PLOS ONE: Taiwanese Vegetarians and Omnivores: Dietary Composition, Prevalence of Diabetes and IFG

Source: Millennials and A Plant-Based Diet. Better Food, Better Choices.

Each and every meal is a choice.  Make good choices.  In my 20’s I pursued a vegetarian lifestyle for about two years.  Towards the end of that period I was eschewing dairy and eggs.  Then I stopped my veggie ways.  The reason?  I missed pizza.  The lessons learned however were not lost.  I thoroughly enjoy meatless meals now but if I want a piece of dead cow, I’ll eat dead cow.

Try not to get caught up in right vs. wrong.  Use your common sense.  Do not become the woman who fed her 11 month old nuts and fruit.  Just nuts and fruit!

Make wise, informed choices.  Understand as I have your need for calories decrease with age.  You have to eat less the older you are.  Strive towards more plant based meals and you’ll be OK.  Just don’t get too fruity or nutty about it all.

Posted on

Our Diets are Making us Sicker

 

The good news: fewer hungry people around the world. The bad news: Increased consumption of processed foods is pushing up global rates of overweight and obesity.

Source: Across The Globe, Our Diets Are Making Us Sicker, Report Finds : The Salt : NPR

So fast food and sugary soda makes you fat?  Seriously?

At my personal peak of adiposity I tipped the scale at 370 pounds.  Over the years I’ve done the classic weight loss and gain yo-yo from a low of 163 after my initial weight loss to a current  weight of 195.  I taught myself how to lose weight and the diet strategies to keep the weight off.

I should write a book.

Posted on

Swapping Rice for Burgers

Source: China obesity ‘explosion’ blamed on swapping rice for burgers

Over 40 years ago I lost 200 pounds.  With age I found 35 of those lost pounds but remain extremely pleased the other 165 stayed off.  I loved this article about obesity in China.  This article could have been written about my childhood.  I swapped burgers for rice and got fat.

Real fat.

I’ve been part of a weight loss study for decades.  I answer a couple of questionnaires every year.  Most people don’t believe I used to be fat.  I need to find some old childhood pictures and post them as proof.

Posted on

Breweries are the Mark of a Thriving Community

 

That successful towns have a brewery or two is no coincidence.

Source: Breweries are the Mark of a Thriving Community

The Boss and I took the day off.  The plan was to hit Nic’s Grill for a burger and then the arts festival in downtown OKC.  Meandering would be a good word for the day.  After the arts festival we decided to revisit the Urban Farmhouse to check out their stuff.  This business is located in an old crappy industrial area of Oklahoma City.  As we slowly snaked down a narrow alley in search of a parking space I noticed a brand new sign on the building across from the furniture shop.  Anthem Brewing set up their operations in the warehouse next door.

Great little breweries in the crappy parts of town are a good thing.

Posted on

Your Healthy Lifestyle Won’t Necessarily Make You Healthier

Public health researchers are beginning to see that changes in how you live are no guarantee of changes in your health.

Source: Your Healthy Lifestyle Won’t Necessarily Make You Healthier | WIRED

Understand there are limits.  Kale, quinoa, and the latest antioxidant, anti-aging diet, exercise routine, hot sweaty yoga, mindfulness meditation, whatever only helps your health.  There is no perfect diet.  There is no perfect exercise regimen.  There is no magic bullet.

Posted on

Beans May Help With Weight Loss

 ‘Pulses’ like these may help dieters feel fuller and reduce food cravings, new analysis shows

Source: Beans, Chickpeas May Help With Weight Loss

I have two bean stories.  I’ll start with my second favorite memory of beans.

I moved from NJ to Texas at the age of 25.  Talk about culture shock.  It was a big brand new world to explore.  And if you enjoy ethnic cuisine you try to eat whatever the locals ate.  I wasn’t quite sure what Texas cuisine was besides smoked brisket.  On one day of exploration I passed a rather cheap and gaudy looking fast food joint that probably no longer exists.

“I wonder what this is?”

So I stopped, went in, stared at the menu and had absolutely no idea what anything was.  So I ordered a bean burrito.  It was your typical fast food burrito, thick brown paste, a little cheese, a little chili sauce, all wrapped up in a flour tortilla.  This happened so long ago the only remaining memory was that I liked it.  A lot.

So ends my second favorite bean story.

 

 

 

Posted on

Random Thoughts 02.28.16

My problem is that with the two of us, I just need more people to feed. – Sue Lau

It took some time and effort but I think I’ve finally broken some old habits.  When I shopped for groceries if I found something, anything on sale I’d buy it.  Ten pounds of boneless chicken thighs at $1.77 a pound?  Bought it.  Organic carrots five pounds for $4.00?  Bought it.  Dried pasta on sale for $0.99 a pound?  There was a time when I didn’t have to buy pasta for six months.  I was particularly bad with fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy.  But when I started tossing stuff in the garbage because it went bad before I could use it I knew I had to change.

The other habit (which was easier to break BTW) was making enough of one dish to feed eight or more.  Gradually I reduced the quantities of the dishes I cooked so that the leftover collection in the freezer got to a manageable level.  Besides, I got real tired of eating leftover leftovers.

I shop more frequently but buy less.  I’m not wasting as much food due to spoilage.  The cupboard remains well stocked but not overflowing.  I have adjusted to just the two of us and it wasn’t easy.

The half and half in the fridge says use by February 26.

Unopened.

 

 

 

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.