I live on fresh food. And by that, I mean I don't get meals at fast-food places. I LOVE fresh veggies, fresh meat and fresh fruit. I only keep refined sugar in the house to feed the hummingbirds.
And don't get me wrong on the fast foods either. I think Taco Bell Nachoes Bell Grande and steak soft tacos are great. I think MacDonald's Big Mac is fantastic. But I haven't had either for years. I just think that whatever I cook is better for me. I mean, I know what's in it.
And, in a weird way, this relates to Dad. Just before he arrived here last May, I had a freezer full of stuff I liked that he didn't. He was strictly a "meat&potatoes" guy. Hey, I'm adaptable, so I ate what I cooked for him - pork chops, or sausage or a chicken thigh plus a M/V potato and a tossed salad (an insistance I made for his health and my love of salads). It worked OK. I would normally slice up pork and stir-fry it with a lot of veggies but he wanted to see the pork in a whole piece, and I could deal with that.
So he's been gone a month now (and happily in the assisted living facility where they also like to cook things in chunks and offer potatoes). Well, I decided to live out of my freezer and pantry for 3 weeks. I used up 10 cans of soup, tupperware containers of frozen ham and pork, 5 cheap chicken pot pies, containers of cooked kale, frozen meatballs, and frozen shrimp. It wasn't bad.
But today I went GROCERY-SHOPPING!
They say never to go grocery-shopping on an empty stomach, and I can see why. I bought pickled beets, marinated artichoke hearts, a big bag of navel oranges, 6 plums, a big ginger root, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, grapes, a pineapple, 6 cans of soup, a couple cans of "chili beans in mild sauce", a can of white canelli beans, a can of garbonzo beans, milk, a half dozen eggs, marinated mushrooms, and if they had had yak milk chocolates I probably would have bought them too. LOL!
At the meat store. I bought a whole filet mignon on sale (1.5 inch thick slices) and with a free bottle of dry rub; I bought chicken thighs, a chicken breast, 3 hot italian sausages (for adding to the canned chili beans).
Three weeks of living out the the freezer can drive you to madness. I am in a cooking frenzy of the stuff I haven't made in a year. And next week, I plan to have large quantities of Moo Goo Gai Pan, hot&sour soup, spring rolls, char shu ding, and shrimp fried rice delivered. Most to be frozen for "later", but some for an orgy of eating.
I'm thinking I might want a Big Mac pretty soon too.
I weighed 163 when dad arrived and I weighed 169 when he left. I'm down to 160.5 today. Let the food celebration begin!
The wok is "in the building" again...
7 comments:
Hee hee, yeah, sounds like you were missing some good stuff! Have fun playing around cooking again!
I wish I enjoyed cooking...I really kind of hate it. I suspect we'd eat a lot healthier if I were better at it and actually liked it...
That sounds like a terrific way to celebrate Life, Mark.
You might be surprised by how disappointed you are in the Big Mac if you end up having one. The calorie counts are now published in store (well they are in Australia, and I'm guessing that they are in the US also), and once you know how many calories you just ate, you end up figuring that it really wasn't worth it. At a third or maybe half the calories - yeah, perhaps - but not the full calorie count. Not when you enjoy cooking stir fry, which is no doubt healthier, fresher and tastier.
Megan
Sydney, Australia
I'm SO with you on the cook it yourself thing! I don't eat any preprepared food, condiments being the only exception. You feel better and can eat a lot more food the closer it is to the natural state--it takes more energy to digest--not to mention the flavors are so good!
I can just see you, happily cooking up a storm. Bon Appetit!
It is better to cook it yourself. You get exactly what you want and how you like it. No better way to eat. Enjoy.
Ah! Whole and Wholesome food! Gotta LOVE it!
Oh Mark!!!!
Enjoy it!
I wish I could cook like that!
Post a Comment