Yes, Dear Ones, I DO Eat Healthy Food

I love all my readers, I really do, you’ve become more family to me than, well relatives. However, I have one reader who gets very upset when I write about eating pizza with grape jelly or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with mashed potatoes and Baked Lays.

Big Salad (Photo credit: kattebelletje)

It’s true, I do like weird combinations at times. But, my goodness, give me some credit. I don’t eat this ALL the time, just once in a great while as a treat. Now, I know that most people don’t think pizza with grape jelly is a treat BUT, I only do it if the pizza is dry and sub par. Try it sometime, give it a chance. Wink Wink. Let me know?

I gave eating fish a chance and now I like some of it, except for salmon which was ruined for me forever. (See the post I Hate Salmon…) I will eat mild fish and I only myself to try it when we were in Florida on vacation. I tried it several times and I can kinda sorta say “I like it.” If I had to choose fish or a petite filet mignon, would I pick fish? Not a chance but I am open to the idea of eating it and we don’t eat red meat very much at all.

Another thing to consider is that there is no income coming in to our house and there has not been any income coming in for almost a year. I’m not complaining, it’s the worst job market ever but we do eat scrambled eggs and toast once a week and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches once a week. You can’t blame me for that.

When we go shopping we buy chicken not steak, good food is for good news only and we haven’t had any of that lately. We keep saying that if any good news happens, we will go out to eat and celebrate. I’m not sure we believe in good news anymore.

Our condolence prize is a pizza pie once every two weeks or so. It’s not the end of the world. My husband is a good cook and when I try I am adequate cook as well. Lately, there hasn’t been time to cook since I am literally spending each day going to a different doctor trying to find out why I pass out and end up face down on the floor.

The medical factory that I go to has lined up every single test in the world. I understand why they do it and that is why I have cooperated pleasantly but it’s not as if I am home, watching Orange is the New Black and eating ice cream bon-bons.

Strawberry rhubarb compote (Photo credit: Kitchen Wench)

So, while I appreciate your concern, please do not worry, (biological sister and twin) because it’s not as bad as it seems. On the stove now I am cooking a fruit compote with rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries and a few prunes in a slow simmer with Sugar In The Raw. I’m not even using fake sugar (yet.) I love this stuff and I love cooking it.

We had a huge green salad for dinner, steamed asparagus and half of a leftover lobster roll with cold cucumber yogurt dill soup. See?  Do you feel better? I do have good food habits but writing about them is not nearly as entertaining as the other stuff. Is it?

PS THANK YOU FOR CARING!

Read Comfort Food, Larry and Lola

F Is For Food, T Is For Tuna

When I have nothing else to do, I think about food. I always think about food. Some would say that its my downfall but others who know me well would say its my savior. I love food, all types and even though I used to be scared to try new foods I am getting so much better except for icky textural issues.

I will not eat raw oysters and slurp them down my throat. The mere thought of doing that makes me want to gag so no, I stick tight to being inflexible. I would say “Not for a million dollars” but to me, a million dollars is a lot of money so I could be bribed, potentially. Sushi, raw, same reaction, it’s the slippery texture that I can’t seem to get by though I have tasted it in tiny bits a few times. Not my style, at all. Chicken teriyaki and rice please, I am not ashamed.

raw oysters @ Sway (Photo credit: dionhinchcliffe)

I am proud to say I do eat mild fish now which was a big leap of faith for me, I never ate any fish except tuna fish that came out of a can (which to me was totally unrelated to real tuna.)  Yes, I did have a real disconnect but it worked for all the years I didn’t put it together. Tuna and tuna were very different, one was for a sandwich with mayo and the other one was disgusting. I know, I know. I’m a little slow.

I know I am fussy and crazy but I have tuna-approved places like the diner in the next town where I regularly order it. It’s perfect, not too mushy, not chunky at all, the right amount of mayo. It is a tuna-approved lunch place. If it looks, smells or resembles dark cat food it is not for me. That is why I have

7dd_3176208-tuna-the-cat (Photo credit: Wolfgang Lonien)

friends and family to order things first and I will taste it and decide later if it is okay to order next time. (Except for Sarah my bff who will not share her food, not even a bite but that’s okay.)

Another place in town sells “Spa Tuna” with apples and raisins and just a hint of mayo that is wonderful as well. I will not eat tuna in an unknown diner or restaurant, I stick with safe foods like scrambled eggs or a ham and cheese sandwich or soup. An adventurer I am not.

Beverages, to me, have to fit the food. For example: a tuna sandwich goes well with either a Diet Coke or Coke or hot chocolate. Period. Never would I drink orange juice or water with it, it needs the sweet balance. Likewise, I have to force myself to drink plain water to keep hydrated, so my kidneys don’t flop and fail on me instantaneously. I add lemon or lime juice to the water to pretend it isn’t water at all. Epic fail.

Growing up we never drank water. It was Hawaiian Punch or Lemonade or Grape Juice or other sweet beverages. But, water? Never. Luckily, my daughter drinks a lot of water but not my son. He also doesn’t drink enough water either but he does drink organic fruit juice which is better than nothing.

When you have no control over anything in your life you either lose control or you need to have control over something. For me, it’s food. In the beginning I wanted to lose weight and I did, I also kept it off. After that, I got into a major dessert phase where I needed a good, yummy dessert every single night.

Phish Food (Photo credit: Vanessa (EY))

I am trying to pull back from that now because I feel I am getting hooked ( HA HA I know I’m hooked) on sugar. So I am down-sizing my dessert (sigh) and will only have them intermittently. I will miss you jelly doughnuts, Ben and Jerry’s Phish Food, and Starbucks’ Iced Lemon Cake. Not to mention you my darling Orange Hostess Cupcakes…I have a whole blog post just about you!

I’m not making promises on how much I can deny myself dessert. I will try having less. I made banana bread yesterday with raisins, funny how that does not appeal to me at all. I will try, that’s all I’m saying…

 

Mild Fish And Peanut Butter Ice Cream (Food Cop)

Cupcake that tasted exactly like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Oh stop, even I wouldn’t eat those two together although a light peanut sauce may go very nicely on filet of sole.

My point here is that I have become a different person and my husband doesn’t know what has happened to me and where I have gone. The trouble is I totally agree with him. Who am I?

I have “hated” fish all my life, the smell was repugnant to me and I would not even try it. We all know the “forced salmon” story that I wrote about when “my friend’s mother lied and told me it was tuna fish and FORCED me to eat it” and I don’t see that changing but mild fish is now a must-have. It’s opened up a whole new world of eating experiences. So much more to choose from, it’s exciting.

It started out with a tiny bite of my husband’s file of sole with lemon, butter and caper sauce he ordered at a restaurant. I had ordered a cheeseburger and we always exchange bites or share. I gave him my too- bloody cheeseburger. He cleverly offered me a taste of his dish. He said he liked mine more than his when he saw me eying his delicate dish, I fell for it. Love that man, loved the fish. Afterwards he grinned and laughed like a  6-year-old. Of course he said our favorite 28-year-old saying “sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.” He won.

Now, I don’t skip past the seafood section I look at it first. It feels so light in my stomach, the only disadvantage is that in two hours I’m hungry again but that’s what snacks are for. I don’t eat very much red meat at all but when I do, I want it to be small and good quality. After that, it will be back to fish, chicken, salad, eggs and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with pleasure.

Sometimes there are things in our world that just don’t make sense. Texture can play a big part. I love my hot cup of strong cup of coffee every morning but coffee ice cream or mocha, edible coffee beans? I wouldn’t go out of my way to order it. I do not like peanuts but love smooth peanut butter, chunky if I must. So when my husband’s dessert came with peanut butter ice cream instead of our beloved hazelnut, discontinued, we were not happy. My husband tried it and liked it and well, of course I had to keep him company.

I put the spoon of ice cream in my mouth, just the tip and it wasn’t….dreadful. It was like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups that I once assumed (again, another stupid assumption) that I thought I didn’t like but do. A little went a long way but I have to admit that ice cream was very, very tasty.

Be open to new foods, textures, tastes. Even at my old, ripe age you can discover so many new things to eat and drink (still working on the drink part) but water is best for me anyway. Here’s to new great food and water with lemon, hold the ice please, and as always, definitely leave room for dessert. Every. Single. Time.

 

Haiku Heights, Sharp

Spirit stabbed, sharp, heart

Beating weakly, tears flowing

Get back to the Path.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fish says “Follow Me!”

Separate from negative

Choice: quick decision.

******************************

Photo LAF Photography

Related post: Energy

Yellow Magic Madness # 46

Seahorse, Turneffe Islands, Belize. Image taken by Clark Anderson/Aquaimages. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My favorite color: Yellow.
I have to look inside for the color yellow to make me smile, like this bouncy seahorse, sure to entertain.

How can you not smile and laugh when you look at this charming creature?

Write A List, Any List…Plinky Prompt

• 

  English: A jelly donut that was bought at Dunkin’ Donuts in Brooklyn. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

  Who doesn’t love a list? So write one! Top five slices of pizza in your town, ten reasons disco will never die, the three secrets to happiness — go silly or go deep, just go list-y. See all answers
  Edi\t answer | April 24, 2013 by hibernationnow

•         The List of Happiness
• • Things That Make Me Happy:
  • My family (being healthy and safe)
  • A Raspberry/Strawberry Jelly Doughnut from Dunkin Donuts (maybe 2)
  • A tall, cold glass of milk
  • Pizza of any kind (except for super thin crust-why bother?)
  • The Ocean, walking, swimming, gathering seashells
  • My dog sleeping across my feet
  • Dining at a fancy restaurant, my husband, for a celebration
  • Vacation
  • Snorkeling on said fantasy vacation
  • Focusing on the Positive instead of the Negative. (I’m really trying)
  • Blogging/Writing
  • Grey’s Anatomy, The Voice, Top “F—ing” Chef (as we call it)
  • My Mother Being Motherly, Holding her soft hand.
  • Memories and Signs from my deceased Dad
  • Reading, all the time
  • Trying to be Positive instead of Negative
  • Trying HARD
  • Listening to the chuckle of an infant
  • Watching the sunset soothe its way unto the shore
  • Making a new friend.

NaBloPoMo November 2, 2012

Castaway Beach #2 (Photo credit: palestrina55)

If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

Sun on my back, gently crisping up my shoulders without burning, I  look healthy not like the cream cheese complexion I always look like here in New York. I love being near water so anywhere in the Caribbean or one of the Islands, for me would be ideal. I’d consider San Diego, California too but my mind goes first to a wonderful island where you just dream about but think you can’t ever do.

In my soul, I need to walk along the beach, collecting a stray seashell or two, not too many, just special ones that have meaning to them. The color of the water is a deep blue/green. Almost indescribable in words’; when people come for the first time they just gasp. Imagine not having to leave such loveliness, such wonder. I would nap every day after a light lunch of fruit and then I would take my mask and flippers and look at the amazing array of bright, beautiful fish that would dance around me as if we were all playing a game. I would be standing still, I didn’t want to interrupt their performance and so they danced around me; we had our routine, the fish and I. I came every day, at the same time and after a few weeks, I like to think they trusted me. I would give them some food and I had access into their world for just a little bit of  time.

I felt privileged just to see them in their colorful splendor; I was the intruder here so I kept myself quiet and very still. After that, I got out of the water and sat on the sand, until the sun warmed my body and my dripping wet hair. Nothing felt more right than sitting on the beach, calm, happy, watching the sun lowering itself into the water. The next morning I’d wake up and the climate would be the same, sunshine, freckles coming out on my skin; I rubbed lavender moisturizer all over my body and face so it would feel creamy and not like parchment paper. I didn’t care how I looked, I cared how my skin felt, I wanted it to feel well nourished and happy. Everything in life connects; I’ve learned that here.

Imagine this gift as you wake up every day of your life. Paradise. It is possible.

Winter Sports

Don’t Call Me “Snowbaby”

I like winter sports when OTHER people are doing them; I hate to be cold and wet. My favorite destination is the ski lodge where I can sit beside a burning, magical fire and talk to the flames that warm my face. My favorite beverage is hot chocolate with whipped cream so I can wrap my hands around the cup like a hug and sip the sweetness very slowly. When I imagine a get-away it is never to someplace cold and snowy; it is a tropical island where the clear aquamarine water and tiny striped fish nibble at my pink, polished toes.