THOUGHTS AT THREE A.M.

NEW YORK'S TRANS-FAT LAW STEPS OVER THE LINE!!!

Now, I know that New York enacted this ban on trans fats a few months back in order to be responsible for lowering the fat in the American diet. Someone in that great state decided that we adults are too stupid to know that foods like, oh, KFC, for instance,are high in fats,and so they decided to be good parents,and just remove that bad stuff from us incompetent idiots. That one has been simmering in my brain ever since. But now it's reached a rolling boil, because many states are following their lead. This is not a good thing. More than that, THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!! Just who do they think they are? If I want and ask for Fried Chicken, I know, heck, everybody knows this is not a healthy dinner! Let's not get stupid here! Yes, protect children from unhealthy staple foods if you must, but for the government to make LAWS banning certain eating establishments from cooking the delicious foods that they are famous for is unconstitutional! Schools lunch menus should be regulated, and banning soda pop and candy machines from the school is a good move also, but choosing how food should be cooked, for the general population is an infringement on our right to choose! This is supposed to be a free country. Last I looked, I had not moved to a communistic country where the government can dictate to us what we can, or cannot eat! Contrary to what we have been led to believe, the new oil, with " No trans-fats" does not taste the same as the oil KFC has traditionally used to fry their chicken! Therefore, what this law has done, is to remove from our society the fried chicken we have enjoyed for decades. If this is allowed to stand, unopposed, Kentucky Fried Chicken is no more! GONE! Never to return! No matter how badly you want it, the law says, you can't have it! Why? Because some people eat too  much of this sort of thing, and they get fat. Wise up folks! It is not illegal to be fat! Some people are fat, and some people are skinny, and some people are just right, and every last one of them has the right to eat the way they want to eat,and the law shouldn't have a dang thing to say about it!!

I would like to know who put the state of New York in charge of the fat intake of it's citizens. Was there a referendum? A poll taken of which I am not aware? Has there been a class action suit brought against KFC,accusing them of some insidious plot to sneak more fat into unsuspecting patrons chicken? Did they really think fried Chicken was healthy, and have now found to their horror that it has a lot of fat in it? Has an investigation now uncovered this plot, and this is why the law was made? What's next? Pizza? Ice Cream? Fudge?

Making certain our food is prepared in a clean and healthy environment and kept at the correct temperatures to keep it safe to eat,and that it is proper and wholesome to begin with is as far as the law should be allowed to go, as far as regulating our food. Tampering with the traditional recipes is going too far,unless some sort of food poisoning is involved. I think making companies like KFC change the way they fry their food is stepping way, way over the line,and if it is allowed to stand, there will be more meddling going on.

This needs to be stopped Now!

OUI?

YOUR FOOD POLICE;TAKING OVER FAST FOOD! EVERYTHING NOT PROHIBITED IS MANDITORY!!

We're getting closer to it all the time, the time when our way of life, our freedom of choice for simple things, will be all but obliterated. The food police is closing in on everyone,to the point that they are now contradicting themselves, almost on a daily basis. Am I the only one whose head is spinning here, with which foods are good for you,and which ones are bad? Eggs? Eggs!! It's tough enough for a diabetic to make healthy food choices, without them first coming out and saying you mustn't have eggs more than twice a week...and then my food program recommends high proteins in the morning! Well, alright, but from where should that protein come? Bacon? Oh, Horrors! Not bacon, with all that fat! Turkey bacon then? No, too much salt! Sausage? NEVER! Salt, and fat...and don't forget the spices! And,even if I could afford to have steak for breakfast, it too is RED MEAT! Yogurt? Yogurt is good, but most of them have way too much sugar in them for me.Besides which, Dairy creates more mucus,and I already have sinus problems, and asthma! So, where does that leave me? Peanut butter?  Well, if I could have it on an English muffin, or two pieces of toast, I suppose that would work, but I have to limit my intake of Carbs. So, P-Butter is out, unless I sit around licking it off a spoon like child, and I don't think that would be very filling, or go with the rest of my breakfast; decaf coffee,and a small orange juice. Besides that, I detest peanut butter,mainly because the governments filth allowance is way too high. yeah, filth allowance. Insect parts and rodent hairs. Yuk! 

The nutritionists said eggs are not good for you, and yet, all of a sudden, they are a wonderful food! HUH? sigh. If it weren't for the fact that my medication is more effective if I begin my breakfast with protein, I would be glad to have raisin bran, or oatmeal, or even Cheerios, with some skim milk, and let it go at that. Yet, it seems I am forced to have those dreaded eggs. I sit around for several minutes every morning, just considering what to eat. My list of food choices, is limited, but mighty! No salt, no sugar, low carbs, no caffeine, up the good cholesterol, reduce the bad cholesterol,five to seven servings of fruits and vegetables every day,Oh! but no grapefruit (which I love!) because it seems there is something in grapefruit that causes insulin resistance! (Isn't that a fun fact?) Whole grains,and lots of water,and no alcohol. Yeah, well, I don't care about that, because I don't drink. But, it's there on the list, so I include it. My point is, it's bad enough that I have all these restrictions on my food intake, without the food police getting into the act,and making it even more difficult to make a decision about something as basic as what to eat for breakfast. Especially when it is at the crack of dawn, I'm not hitting on all cylinders anyway,and I desperately need to get some food into me so I can take my pain medication. It's about all I can do to hold myself erect and sip my coffee,and then to sit and make complicated choices,when I am still pre-verbal is just too much to ask sometimes. Okay. I know that everyone involved is just trying to help us all make good choices, and keep our food supply safe, and not add to the public problem of being over-weight. But with all their studies,and "new findings", wouldn't you think they would research those findings a little more carefully, before they blather it all over the news,and then turn around and come out with contradictory findings a few weeks, or months, or even years later? Well, obviously my personal dilemma has been going on for some time, and the news casters and the researchers and their new finds aren't being very helpful, so in casting about for a tasty, quick, low-carb,high protein breakfast item, I hit on Hardees croissants,(bacon egg and cheese, or ham, egg,and cheese.) They are delicious,and I can open them, and pull some of the ham off, and it's not too high in salt. And now, all of a sudden, the food police are starting to pick on my Hardees! Well, as far as I am concerned, they can just stop it! Yon son can pick up a bag of croissants on his way home from work in the morning, and they are fresh and hot when he arrives,and all he has to do is make the coffee,and there's breakfast...and he doesn't have to turn around and cook right away, right after working 12 or 14 hours overnight.

Let's get this straight right now! If I choose to go to a fast food place to get a meal, I know it's not going to necessarily be healthy. It's fast! If I want healthy, I can go to a healthy food store! Leave my fast food alone!!! 

OUI?

SPECIAL TASTE TEST FOR HALLOWEEN; ORANGE MARSHMALLOW CHOCOLATE COVERED PUMPKINS!!

This is not the sort of thing I would leave to just anybody to do, so I decided to do the test myself. I got two brands of chocolate covered orange marshmallow pumpkins. One was your popular traditional Hershey's,and the other was Russell Stover.They were wrapped similarly, and both said real milk chocolate,but once opened up, I could tell right off there were differences. The Russell Stover's appeared to have a darker chocolate,and the single piece of candy looked larger too. But, both of them smelled wonderful. To avoid any cross-contamination, I used a paring knife to slice off equal sized pieces for my taste test,and once again, before even taking a bite, there was a difference in the chocolate. The Russell Stover sliced clean, it was good and solid, and didn't crumble. The Hershey's crumbled,and kind of flopped off the knife.Now, I like Hershey's chocolate...I always have, but obviously,so far, it wasn't looking too good for them. But, anyway, the test is in the actual taste, so I pressed on. The time had come for the flavor.( Fortunately, My blood sugar was low, or I couldn't have done the test yet.) The Russell Stover was far more attractive, because the chocolate looked darker,and richer, so I took the first taste of that slice. Oh! It was top notch! The flavors blended  on my tongue and melted perfectly together, unlike some others that the marshmallow just vanishes away immediately and leaves you with just the chocolate,with just the tiniest hint of orange. I ate it slowly to get the full effect of the two flavors. It was really a wonderful piece of candy. After savoring it, I took a nice drink of ice water to sort of cleanse my palette,and then took up the Hershey's. I didn't wait too long between the two, because I was, after all, comparing them. I thought if I waited too long I wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Well! No chance of that happening! Even though it crumbled when cut, the Hershey's was good,no doubt about that. But there was a vast difference between the two that I hadn't anticipated. I looked at the wrappers again, just to see if there was any warning as to these differences, and what do you know? Right there, it said on the Russell Stover, natural flavors. On the Hershey's, it said, Flavor enhanced Artificially! And I believe it! When I took that bite, the orange marshmallow flavor almost overpowered the chocolate! Now, I like orange-chocolate, I really do, but there is such a thing as going too far overboard!

So, for my money, the Russell Stover Orange marshmallow-chocolate covered pumpkins are the best. But that is just my opinion...the only one I'm qualified to give. You, on the other hand, might infinitely prefer a very strong orange flavor. So there you have it. Hershey's is good, but it's not the best!

OUI?

LOOKING FOR "DIETETIC ICE CREAM"?

Good lord, I don't think I have even looked for that stuff since my father was alive,because at that time, he was the only one in the family that ate it. We all tasted it, out of curiosity,and even though it wasn't bad stuff, once was enough. It was after all, for my father,and we respected that. It was also called, "ice Milk", since most of the cream was removed from the basic slurry used to make the confection. In this way, most of the fat and carbohydrates naturally found in raw milk,and intensified during the pasteurization process,was taken out of the way, making the end product more palatable for a diabetic. This sort of double skimming was done prior to the homogenizing,which re-incorporates what there is left of the cream back into the resulting thinned milk,bringing it close to the skim milk we see offered for sale today. Once this process was finished, then the skim milk was sweetened with saccharine,the milk was heated enough to add whatever thickening agent was being employed, (possibly egg whites) and the now prepared mixture,(the slurry) was put through the normal  ice cream making process.Adding vanilla...(which was the only flavor offered),and pouring it into a machine that constantly stirred the mixture, while reducing the temperature to below freezing. When it reached the point that the only thing keeping the confection from freezing solid in one lump was the churn or auger, the mixture was quickly poured into paper or plastic containers, and equally as quickly placed into a large freezer, and allowed to become solidly frozen. There was a reason for all this haste, as should be obvious. When ice milk was exposed to room temperature, it thawed quickly; and it became a puddle of skim milk, once again. Without the sugar and cream, there was really nothing to hold the cold in, and the ice crystals just dissolved. This made for some interesting problems in distribution,so most ice milk was locally made,and every dairy had their own way of making it. Most didn't offer it at all, because it was not a cost effective item, and there was little call for it.

But I said all of that to say this. You might find it rather challenging to find dietetic ice cream, or ice milk now. Since it's introduction around 1960, very little has remained the same for diabetic foods. Saccharine, as you probably know, has been replaced, with aspartame, and now, splenda,and other non-caloric, non-sugar sweeteners  invented for the consumption of not only diabetics, but also people who are dieting. You can now find a lot of confections that take the place of the old diabetic ice milk with the "Weight Watchers" label,as well as others. These new diabetic foods have it all over the old stuff as far as taste, variety of flavorings,  volume of production, and transportability. In addition, with so many individuals now looking for them in the marketplace, the resultant huge demand for these items have brought the price down markedly, making it easier to afford, not only to buy on a regular basis,but also, to stock up on. However, remember that not all items that come under the heading of sugarless frozen treats are low calorie, or even taste good! Read the label to be sure it's what you want, and then take it home and try it. Some are wonderful, and some are just awful,but don't judge them all on just one brand!

So, when you go looking for dietetic ice cream, go to the frozen treats, and read labels. Very rarely will you see a package labeled "dietetic ice cream"; More often than not, the only persons who now use or even understand that term are doctors, nurses, nutritionists, and folks like me, who grew up in a diabetic home. And, don't give up until you find it. It is worth it to search until you find a sweet treat that helps to take the cuss off of the fact that you must limit your intake of normal sweets. After all, God intended that we enjoy our food, or he wouldn't have given us taste buds!

OUI?

THE INGREDIENTS IN HAMBURGER HELPER!

I just followed a referrer back, wanting the know the ingredients in hamburger helper! Hello? Are you the same one who wanted to know what was in Orange Juice? Yeah, I answered that one too. It was very short as I recall, pointing out that the ingredients in orange juice was the juice of squeezed oranges,UNLESS, they had gone out and purchased Orange drink, instead of 100 % juice. For the contents of what they had bought under those circumstances, they would have to look on the package, to find the nutritional information, and actually READ it for themselves. So too, must you do the same for hamburger helper. Exactly  what is in the flavor of HH that you have, you must actually look at the box, and read for yourself what is in it, but I can give you a basic overview. First on the list would be salt! tons of salt! Then would come flavoring, and starch, whether it be in the form of potatoes, noodles, or rice,there is plenty of starch or carbohydrates in there. Then comes the sauce mix. Of course, you will have to add your own water or milk, and your own hamburger....remember, it's a helper, so it does not contain hamburger!

I certainly hope that helps you. Good luck!

OUI?

"YA MAKKA MY WEEKEND",COMING UP THIS WEEK END, IN THE QUAD CITIES!!

It's time for another Ya Makka My Weekend, this Friday, August 18^th through Saturday, August 19th! There wil be  Live Reggae bands, Jamaican foods vendors and arts display, as well as the ever popular beer tent,with folks dressing up in ruffled shirts,and dred-locks, and it's just a really big party,down in The District in Rock Island, Illinois. Don't know how to get there? Call and ask for the singing cowboy cab driver, he knows everything, and you will find yourself saying, this is the best cab ride I ever had!

OUI?

For More Information: 309-788-6311 or http://www.ridistrict.com

PIZZA FOR DINNER? WHY IS IT ALL ABOUT THE DOUGH?

Pizza chains seem to be united in this one thing. Most will deliver,and they carry enough of the most popular toppings to please everyone, but they tout their menu as being able to deliver a whole meal, and they don't. Oh, yeah, they will bring the pizza,and buffalo wings, with dipping sauces, and stuffed crust, and cheesy bread, or bread sticks, again, with dipping sauces, and even bring soda,and dessert. And they call that a meal. But where is the rest of the meal? Like a nice fresh garden salad,or some wonderful veggies! But no, they would rather fill you up on bread, bread, and more bread! Now, it cannot have escaped your notice that almost everyone is all up in arms about how heavy Americans are getting, from Doctors and other health professionals, right down to Jay Leno, who makes mention of this fact almost nightly in his monologue. Of course, usually, he is talking about the double and triple burgers,and "super-sizing" meals, and the "monster burger",and the way that the children in this country no longer go out and play to run all those calories off, but now sit in front of the t.v. playing video games,munching high calorie snacks and slurping down sugary drinks until they are called to dinner, and then sit down to pizza, with garlic Parmesan bread sticks,and chicken wings or chicken strips, with a dipping sauce, and finish it off with more bread, with a coating of Cinnamon, and a little pot of frosting to dip them in, and to drink, they have more pop!With all the fat, carbs and sugar this one meal represents,a normal human being should be able to survive for an entire day with no more food than that. And yet, what they have filled up on, has taken the place of some very important nutrients that my parents would have been insisting that I eat, BEFORE ingesting  these tasty, but oh so empty, calories. First, a really good salad, with lettuce, tomatoes and onions, perhaps with celery or carrots tossed in, and maybe with pickles,radishes,cheese and/ or olives on the side.Knowing what was to come, my mother would have suggested a homemade dressing, with extra virgin olive oil, and apple cider vinegar,blended (shaken in a cruet) with Italian seasoning,red wine vinaigrette or, just plain lemon juice drizzled over the top, and instead of croutons, a handful of slivered almonds tossed in. After the salad, the chicken strips, or wings would have been presented, still to an eye for the protein the body needs, before jumping off into the feast of bread to come. And when the pizza was finally brought to the table, so would a tempting light refreshing fruit plate or compote, as the dessert be presented, with admonishments to leave room for dessert. And, Milk, Not soda, would have been the drink at the table, as well as ice water,or iced-tea.

Yes, I know that it is just easier to call out for pizza, and let the family just chow down on whatever is brought to the door. And Mother and Dad both worked hard today, and they deserve a break once in a while, don't they? Sure. But at what cost to your children? How much trouble is it really, to chop a few veggies,and toss a salad? Is it really all that difficult to pour out glasses of milk, and leave the 2-liter bottles of pop for later? And the fruit plate or compote can be any sort of fruit you and your family like,so what is the problem? They will still have their pizza, but with a few little additions and a change in the way things are presented, this is now a healthy meal,which will help them to feel better tomorrow than they would have without them, and just might change your children's future, once they understand that vegetables and fruits are delicious,and get used to the idea that eating them regularly is far better for them than an uninterrupted diet of bread,  cheese, and meat,and bread and cheese,and bread and sugar.

After all, the children really don't know any better. They just know what they are used to, and what they like. Parents, on the other hand, are supposed to be the ones who show them how to eat properly, and it looks to me as though they are falling down on the job. They have fallen into the trap that says: this is what the kids want, why not make it easy on yourself, take the coupons from the flyer you got in the mail, and call the pizza place,and...you know the rest. Or, because they see it on television all the time, and they make it look so good, why not let someone else dictate what's for supper tonight? And then it's every other night. And then it's every night. And pretty soon, you've got kids blimping up like little dirigibles, not wanting to move around because they feel so logy,listless and stuffed all the time.

And the Pizza chains? Well, for them, it's all about the dough. The more dough they can get you to buy for your family, the more dough they make,and they like that. They don't care about the fact that you are feeding your kids way too much bread. Why do you think they never offer you a salad? Salad is not profitable for them, because they have to buy it,and spend time fiddling with it that should be spent slinging dough in the air,and throwing pies into the oven! Some will admit they have salad on the menu, but by and large, they don't mention it unless you do. They would much rather send buffalo wings and pop with that pizza,because that is what keeps you coming back, and the chicken's right there in the cooker, already prepared, ready to be scooped into a cardboard box and added to your pizza order,and the driver can grab as many bottles of pop as you want from the cooler on the way out the door. But with salad, most people are picky and they want it just so, and that slows down the whole show. They have to actually listen to you, and then put the stuff in the salad that you actually want. There's no cheese over the top of everything that's going to melt down,and then you will get half way through it before realizing that something you asked for is missing, as with a pizza! How many times have you gotten through the first,and part of your second slice before you come to the conclusion that they forgot the mushrooms, or the green pepper? And, by that time, depending on the size of the group, the pie is almost gone. Too late to call up and complain then, isn't it?

Well, I do it anyway! After all. I have had a chance to get a good look at the pizza, while munching my salad, and tasting the barbecue wings, so if I see there is no way that is extra cheese on that pie, or they forgot my green peppers and mushrooms, I call them and tell them I am not happy, and what do you know? They end up sending me a whole new pizza, free of charge! And the extra dough? Well, the pizza place lost dough on me that time...and I avoided ingesting extra dough by scraping the toppings off the second pizza, onto the first,and the next day, the birds in my garden LOVED all the pizza crust I threw out to them !

OUI?

      

TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN GOES ON ALL YOUR LIFE!

Originally this started out to be a simple "three beautiful things" piece,and, while it still, in essence is just that, I realized while organizing my thoughts, to do the subject justice,it must be done as a great deal more. So,with a tip of the hat to TBT, AND  an apology, (sorry Claire) I have to say that putting in a garden can be a very important part of every person's growth. Several years ago, Yon son and I got a chance to put in a tiny garden when we rented the lower apartment of my step-fathers building. Mom and "Dad" lived upstairs. I was married to Tom...basically a man who worked hard all week long,and on the week-ends turned into a recliner situated in front of the television,who drank beer and burped, and watched ball games. So, if I was to have any help at all with the garden, Yon son would have to do it. We got the go ahead from Dad to do it, with the encouraging words, Yeah, go ahead, but nothing will grow back there, that's where we used to empty the ash-can. But with diligence and lots of work and miracle grow and prayer, we planted our seeds,and filled in top-soil, and stood across the alley from our little plot of ground, and admired it as a whole, every evening, every morning. Soon we had a dwarf willow tree,and flowers and pumpkin vines growing so vigorously that we had to work to keep them contained on the soil,and not go straying into the alley! And, we had a blast doing it! It was the first time in Yon son's life that we were able to have a garden we could see come to fruition,and he never got over what a wonderful experience it was, but he also knew it was a lot of work,and required a lot of attention.

So, it was with great expectancy that we moved to the downstairs of this building. We lived upstairs for several years,and watched as our downstairs renter played with his yard. His was the yard,the garage,and the parking space next to the garage.Such were the perks of being the downstairs tenant.We would sit out on the back porch in the summer, in the cool of the evening and gaze at his patch of flowers, and beautiful lawn and dream, wishing we had a way to turn the fallow garden spot into something akin to what we had had once before, in that other place. Although we never for a moment allowed ourselves to go as far as jealousy, and did not expect there would ever come a day when we would have a chance to bring those dreams to light, we did speak softly of how nice it would be to have that spot, fully four times the size of our other garden, to grow tomatoes, and lettuce,and squash and corn, and pumpkins. Take out some of the silly stuff he had in the yard, and put in rose bushes,and a bird-bath.And around the bird-bath, pansies,and petunias and coleus, astors,zinnias and marigolds.Our list was huge,and we dreamed big, but we never dreamed we would ever have an opportunity to do those things,and we never breathed a word to anyone else of our aspirations. So it came as a great surprise to us, when one day the man down stairs,and the landlord had a shouting match that could be heard all over the neighborhood, complete with threats and slamming doors,and revving engines and squealing tires! Even more surprising when we were informed that the man downstairs was leaving and would we like to take the apartment. Before I knew it, we were moving, and I was in possession of a yard,with room for a garden! That first year, we put in a late garden,and it really didn't do very well because of that. Yon son was very disappointed,and was fairly out of the notion of even considering a garden the next year, or even the next. But every year I would get the catalogs and make my list of things I wanted to put in,but it was all I could do to drag him out to purchase my rose bushes, and my bird-bath,gardening gloves, and the rake and hoe and other utensils, and plant food and rose food. As is my usual way, the more disinclined he seemed to be, the more I dug in my heels and determined to do this thing. So, this year I started early. Just after the first of the year, I dragged out my catalogs and began making my plans for this year's garden. Unlike previous times, I made my list,and then talked to Yon son about the wonderful foods we so love in the summer. Tomatoes. Lettuces. Corn. Squash,and Pumpkins. I reminded him how much fun it was to have that previous garden,and how great it is to have your own tomatoes, from your own garden,and how marvelous it is to be able to pick them at the peak of perfection, and not have to settle for either old mushy tomatoes that have sat on the shelf too long, or for woody, flavorless stuff you buy at the store. He reminded me how heartbreaking it was to have a lovely, prize pumpkin that we spotted,and babied and admired all season long, only to have it stolen from our tiny patch the night before Halloween. That is when I played my trump card. Yes, But, with this garden space, if we start early, we can prepare the ground right, and put in enough seeds to assure that there will be enough, even with poachers, to make it all worthwhile. I could see by the look on his face that I had made my point, not just about the pumpkin, but about the tomatoes. We use a lot of tomatoes,and for the most part, they are, to put it bluntly, a disappointment. He knew as well as I that the only way to make sure that we could enjoy every salad, every big burger, every batch of pepper steak,or spaghetti sauce, was to have fresh garden tomatoes. Then I started talking about his fabulous squash soup,and how difficult it is to find acorn squash fresh enough to have it come out right. And, the sweet corn. You can't tell if what you are buying at the store is sweet corn or field corn, until you taste it. If it's field corn, he will eat it anyway, but to me, it's either give it to him, or just throw it out. But, what cinched it, I believe was the pumpkin. He never quite got over that pumpkin,and it will prey on his mind until he has a good episode...another prize pumpkin he can help me turn into several pies, bars and other goodies to get past that first incident. Well, somewhere along the line, during those myriad talks, Yon son revived that spark that lit a fire in both of us to throw our energies into the garden,and he is being so attentive to the garden that it is just really producing well. We've had tomatoes now whenever we wanted them for weeks,and not just for our own use, but for others as well. Such as Sherry, and the poor old soul who lives upstairs now. The corn is doing well,and we should be able to harvest a few ears by the end of the month,but the squash is doing so well, Yon son brought in two beautiful ones today,one of which we cooked and had for lunch. Oh! I have always liked acorn squash, but when you pick it fresh out of the garden, split, clean and wave it with butter and salt and pepper within minutes of being on the vine,it is amazing! So delectable, and so reassuring to know that there are no pesticides, no wax on it, just good nourishing food it was meant to be. Yon is once more so invigorated over the garden, he is now talking seriously about doing some canning this fall. I think it's a fine idea, but I am leaning more towards a freezing system, so we can stock the freezer. Either way, I am just glad that I was able to encourage my son to employ yet another way to provide for his family. Even now, he is planning to put beans in next year,and who knows how large the garden will be then? All I know,is that I did not let that one bad experience stand, and leave a sour taste in his mouth, scotching forever his ability to drastically cut his food budget, by growing his own food, as we have this summer. He now knows, without my having to spell it out for him, how rewarding it is to be able to live off the land the Lord has provided. I've taught him to hunt spring and fall mushrooms,and how to cook them. How to fish, clean and cook the fish.And now fruits and vegetables. He now understands that hunting,fishing, and gardening are not just pastimes, they are the basics necessary to provide food for yourself and your family. Something that most men and women in this day and age do not understand. Most in our society today consider these things hobbies,and spend an extraordinary amount of time and energy on cultivating things that, where they may be pretty, have no nutritional, or medicinal value. Oh, yeah, I can see you pointing your fingers and  and saying Aha! over my roses, but did you  know that rose hip tea is very soothing to a sore throat? Anyway, my point is, parents shouldn't stop teaching their children how to be self-sufficient until the job is done. Now I don't know how, nor pretend to have any interest in hunting game, simply because even if I had a gun, and could find a deer, I don't think I could bring myself to shoot it, unless I was really, really hungry. And I am certainly not going to expect my child to try to do something I cannot do. But the truth is, times are going to get hard,and when they do, stores will not have the food. You and your children are going to have to find food on your own.Personally, I can live on a diet of fish, mushrooms, fruits and vegetables, and bread. So can Yon son. He also knows how to store flour and the other staples necessary to make bread,and he knows how to bake bread.We're packing the freezer, and storing water.

You, surely are aware that things are becoming tighter all the time,and if you haven't taught your children that food is important to life, and that it doesn't grow on store shelves, then you have some work to do. Think about it. With  gas prices getting so high, and so much of the foods you are accustomed to having available being brought in, trucked in from all over the country,it won't be long before a lot of it will either be too costly to purchase, or simply not there. Anywhere.

OUI?

WHEN YOU LOSE YOUR APPETITE!

Appetite is a funny thing. You can go along for years and years,and nothing upsets your appetite for good food, until one day, after surgery, someone puts a bottle of bright red ketchup on the table,and the sight of it takes you back to the time in the hospital, and seeing all that blood,and boom! There goes your interest in food, right down the drain! That was years ago, and after I lost a lot of weight, I finally got over my aversion to the sight,and began eating normally again. But in that case, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what the trigger was then.But this last past year, I have taken to bouts of loss of appetite. This is not necessarily a bad thing. When I don't feel well, it stands to reason that I don't do much, and not expending a lot of energy,my body would require less food.But it does disturb others in the family when they see me toying with my food, rather than eating it, and that spurs them on to try to find something else, to entice me to eat more. So, it is when I feel the least inclined to munch out, that Yon son, or wifey-poo bring me goodies. Now being a diabetic, I already have a goodie bag in case I have an insulin reaction, and need sugar. I am not talking about those kinds of goodies, although they do figure into the equation. I am more likely to be presented with snowballs, brownies, and cupcakes at these times, but also, they bring to the table chicken dinners, pizza, chili, and mexi-burgers,accompanied with diet root beer,and soft serve ice cream so I can have a root beer float. All of which are amongst my favorite foods. When they are obviously going out of their way to please me, and tempt my palette, I always thank them profusely and tell them how wonderful they are to be so thoughtful of me,but the truth is,many times, when one has no interest in food, it doesn't really matter if it's your most favorite stuff in the whole world or not. Lack of appetite is lack of appetite. Even when I am forced to consume something, in order to down my medication, it's just a few bites,and I am done.Of course, my kids, bless their darling hearts and little pointy heads, won't give up. Long after I had quit mumbling around the kitchen trying to find something yummy to take my ten o'clock pills with tonight, Yon son came in, to take his meds for his arthritic shoulder,and brought crackers and longhorn cheese. He offered me one, and I took a bite,and set the rest back at his side of the table. He offered me more, and I told him, I am not fond of plain saltine crackers.  So, he offered me another chunk of cheese all by itself, and I thanked him but did not indulge...so while he is downing several slices with several more crackers, I reminded him he's going to hate himself tomorrow, if he doesn't follow it up with some fresh fruit, or a nice salad. So, I am typing away,and he leaves the dining room, and goes to the kitchen, and I hear the familiar sounds of him rustling around in the cupboards and the refrigerator, and I assume he is grazing... seeking out his black olives, or his gaffelbitar, or some other of his own tidbits he buys and brings home all on his own, for himself. There is nothing wrong with those things, but some of it, like the canned smoked oysters are just, ACK!...not my dish of tea at all! Then, all at once, I am aware that he is standing behind my chair,and says, " Here you are. I gotta go!" I turn, and there on the table is a bowl of salad, a fork,and a bottle of dressing. I smile and say, Thank you honey....all the while thinking about already having considered having a salad, but didn't want to go to all the extra effort to find the cut onion, and the green pepper to make it the way I like it, only to take two or three bites,and end up wrapping it up and putting it away for tomorrow. It just seemed to be too much effort for three bites. But, I did have some cheese, so three bites isn't so bad.

At some point in the not-so-distant future,my appetite shall return...or else it won't. I am not going to attach too much importance to this,and panic, and I certainly am not going to run off to see the doctor about it! Unfortunately, I shall be seeing him way too soon to suit me anyway. I have an appointment coming up in July,that he insisted I make six months ago....Not one of my favorite activities.

But when you lose your interest in eating, it is nice when you have family around you that are concerned about your welfare,and notice things like that. A family that cares is a real blessing, and sometimes you need a little upset to your apple-cart, just to have these blessings pointed out to you. And when it all boils down, I would much rather have plenty of food in the house,and no appetite, than for the reverse to be true!

OUI?

SKINNY AND BEAUTIFUL IS NOT ONE WORD!!

Neither is fat and ugly! Just because some Valley girl coined the phrase, "you can't be too rich or too thin" who by the way has probably died of anorexia since those words were first spoken,doesn't mean that a husky girl is unlovable, or that a large man is not worth the time of day. Now, I don't want to get off on a rant here, but I just followed a referrer back to page after page of blogs, devoted entirely to topics like, " Do I look fat to you in these jeans?"Some were apparently written by people who perceived themselves as fat, and others disparaging fatness. I went through several pages, wondering when I could have done a blog that fit in with this group, because I honestly don't recall ever doing so. I finally quit at page 25. Now, I have been rich,and I have been poor, and I have also been underweight, and I have been overweight, and I infinitely preferred the times when I was well off,and well fed. Strangely, one state had little to do with the other. Except, when I was on the lowest rung of the financial totem pole, we ate differently than when we were flush. When you are low income, you find yourself just trying to fix meals that will stretch. Pasta, potatoes, rice, beans. All of which are both filling,and cheap, and will put the weight on.When you are hungry, you will eat whatever is available, so your not so picky about vegetables. You may want a nice fresh crisp salad, but if the only thing in your pantry is green beans,butter beans,or kidney beans,and a box of mac & cheese, you will probably opt for the mac and cheese, and some beans, and if there is no fruit in the house,  but you want something sweet for a dessert, you will end up with cake. On the other had, when you aren't going through money shortages, it is easy to stay on a healthy diet, because it isn't a problem to obtain steak, salad, and a baked potato,with a big gorgeous fruit plate with strawberries, bananas, oranges, and kiwi on it, with a cup of yogurt for dipping on the side, for dessert.

Don't tell me that this doesn't happen in America anymore, because I know better. I've been there. I know from experience that once the larder is down,and you have few choices left, you will eat anything just to keep that pain in your stomach at bay. And the strangest part of being caught short in the food department is, the less you have, the hungrier you feel. And, no, that's not just histrionics, it is more likely Psychological. Instinctive. A panic takes over,such as the body slowing down when you eat less. It is self-preservation. When you face starvation, your natural body rhythm changes to suit the condition, which is one of the reasons that so called " diets" don't work. The body becomes convinced it is in starvation mode,and you find yourself hungry all the time. You become less energized and  more lethargic,which is where the idea of overweight persons are just "fat and lazy" came from! No they're not. The body is trying to compensate for less caloric intake, by slowing things down, and reserving strength for any emergency situations that might arise. This is why diet alone will not be successful in weight loss. One must push themselves to exercise and drink more water to overcome the bodies natural response to less calories.

But I said all of that to say this. Just because a person's physical attributes does not match what you call beautiful, don't discount them, or think that no one else will find them attractive. I have seen some truly beautiful women,and handsome men, who are larger than our society calls desirable, and fascinatingly enough, most of them were lovely on the inside as well. By and ..er...large, these are the folks who are kind, generous,and non-judgmental, and have great personalities,and are faithful friends and companions,and once you have spent some time in their presence, you will forget that they wear larger clothes and merely look upon them as sweet spirits,and there is more of them to love than most people.

At the same time, just because a woman or man lives up to societies standards as far as height and weight is concerned, does not make them better people. They may look better in a swimsuit, but many are so superior and selfish, they are difficult to get along with, and if you don't come up to their standards, they will drop you like a hot potato. They look past anyone who isn't as perfect as they are as though they are invisible. This may sound negative, but I have been in a position to see a woman who is so full of herself, she needed a personality make-over. From a  distance, she was very pretty, but as she got closer, she turned out to be a hatchet faced shrew,whose only goal in life was to garner as many complements on her looks as possible.And men. Weight lifters and body builders can be so critical and condescending that it doesn't take long before you can't stand to be around them. No, not all are like that.Beautiful people come in all sizes and shapes, but those who are so focused on their own bodies perfection seem to think that everyone should be just as focused on their own bodies. Now, I realize that it takes a lot of determination and work to be thin and strong, with big muscles. I know it takes a lot of work and effort to be physically attractive. Working out is hard. Self-denial is hard. And, I suppose that anyone who works so hard to be perfect feels that they are due respect and admiration for all that effort, but to expect that everyone they meet is going to fall at their feet and adore them is unrealistic. It is also wearisome. When you come in contact with a woman who works on her looks from sun-up to sun-down,depriving herself of food, running, putting on make-up,and doing her hair, and nails and whatever else her routine involves,and then comes out to a social function and has nothing interesting to say beyond,"How do I look to you?" and only presents her cheek for you to kiss the air in front of,(well, maybe that part of it's not so bad. I would rather kiss air,than taste her make-up all evening!) and if you can't touch her without hearing, " Look  out for my hair!" and " Don't smudge my make-up!" then she has forgotten the whole reason behind all that work...namely, being accessible to others,and perceived as beautiful. Better they skipped some of those work-outs,and read a good book,and filled their minds with lovely thoughts, rather than be a shallow creature to look at, but don't bother engaging them in  conversation!

And finally, I would rather get a hug from a fluffy motherly type woman, than a bag of bones. I would rather get a warm hug from a big guy, than a man whose going to crush you to show you how strong he is.

OUI?