Food Thoughts

It’s Auntie Bubbopants’ fault. I got to reading her current Ravelry newsletter column on food and recipes, plus all the comments, and realised that:

1. Bubbo almost always has good suggestions – on any topic.
2. I don’t eat like most other people.

Six years ago we started eating what I call Low-er Carb. Not super low. Not following a particular diet guru or plan. Just generally staying away from too much sweets, grains and breads. I’m still not thin by any stretch but I’m much healthier with way more energy and less unpleasant digestive problems. I don’t really miss anything because I don’t really deny myself anything. If I’m craving a bagel, I have one. But not a big one and not every day. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth anyway (except dark chocolate, of course!) but do I enjoy the occasional cookie or ice cream. Or wine. Our homemade white wine is a big problem since it’s impossible to only have one glass because it’s So Darned Good! Currently I’m trying to keep it down to a glass or two a week instead of three per day. Good Damselfly! Gold star!

But I look at all the food available at the coffee shop (plus all the fast food places and most restaurants) and I read the popular recipes and…I just can’t go there. At least not very often. There’s just way too much bread, pasta, rice and unnecessary sweetening for me. OK, I do occasionally indulge in sushi. It’s addictive! But sometimes I pay for it later with tummy burbles. And yes, of course pizza, though we get the kind with thin flax crust so it’s not so bad. What I’m trying to say is that I’ve pretty much totally changed the way I eat. I guess that’s actually “we” since T-Man is stuck with my cooking!

The best part of this is that I’ve developed a taste for vegetables that I would never have eaten before. Kale, eggplant, parsnip, turnip, jicama, leeks, sweet potatoes, edamame, shiitake mushrooms. Who knew they could all be so delicious! We go to the market at least once or twice a week to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies. I buy no canned and very little frozen veggies because fresh tastes better and it’s more fun to see what’s available in season. I’ve also learned how to roast veggies in the oven, either on their own or with a roasting meat. Oh my! Delish.

Eating like we do might be considered expensive because it’s the fillers, the grains and pastas, that are cheapest to buy. But you really need less of the good stuff to fill you up so it actually works out to not that much more. We don’t buy a lot of prepared items which are more pricey than fresh ingredients. And we don’t eat out very often. T always takes his lunch to work – usually leftovers from dinner because apparently I still can’t cook the right amount for just two people. Heh! Besides, as long as we can afford it, isn’t our continued good health worth the cost? I don’t know too many people our age who aren’t taking meds for high blood-pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes. We are free (so far) from all these problems (touch wood) and I didn’t even get a cold or flu all winter (touch wood again). Now if only I could get my psoriasis cleared up! But then my life would be perfect and we all know that would just be asking for trouble.

All right. Back to the salt mines – aka the fibre stash. I’m nearly done hauling out the touch samples for my talk and about half are labelled and bagged. I found a whole bunch of bits and bobs of this and that that would make fabulous novelty yarn combinations. Can’t wait until I’m done the prep for the talk so I can play in the bins. One week to go!

Oh, nearly forgot. Happy Birthday to my dear mother-in-law (aka Nana, to her 7 grandkids and 13 – I think – great-grandkids)! And many more happy returns!

(I was going to say her age but decided that she’d kill me. Not that she reads this or anything.) She has invited us, along with T’s brother and sis-in-law, to her house on Saturday evening for a potluck dinner and a look at vintage family slides. Should be good for a bit of nostalgia.