FOOD!

[write]

what is it about food which is so emotional?!
( Maybe we should start age 1 educating kids: nothing's going to be quite the same as taking food from your mother....though in my case I dread to imagine how that went, since she let us 'cry ourselves out' all the time....)

Anyway~

I was trying to come up with a menu of healthy appealing dinner meals with low but not zero carbohydrates earlier, I just got a mental block and kept thinking of all the crap I ate as a child.
All sweet or fatty carbohydrates...

I'd like to come up with 30 or 40 main platters some which are easy to cook, even some 'ready-meal' but enough variety to keep a healthy eating programme going, 300- 700 calories each.

Tonight I did turkey steaks with mash and chopped carrot/parsnip;
it took about an hour to cook from start to finish.

Is that what other people do, spend an hour or more each day cooking?
What about the shopping?
Do you shop every day or weekly or what?
How do you store the produce?

I seem unable to organise this apparently simple aspect of life...produce goes off before I can use it up, and more days than not I end up ravenously grabbing just anything with no thought or planning and eating without real enjoyment.

[Jona]

I would like some ideas on this myself.  I did low-carb for weight loss before I moved to the UK.  I have gained weight here.  It doesn't help that my husband is stick thin and can eat anything and everything.

Recently I started doing the GI diet which is a very healthy way of eating.  But I still draw a blank sometimes when I try to put together a menu.  I have been eating a lot of chicken and I am so tired of it.  I would almost rather not eat at all than eat more chicken. 

I only shop once a week.  I haven't had a problem with produce going off.  I have been absolutely amazed at how much longer produce lasts here in the UK than in the states.  Makes me think I was not really getting fresh stuff over there.  You might check the temperature in your refrigerator if you are having a problem with this.
 
Food can be a touchy subject with me.  My n- mother preached about food all her life.  When I was a kid, I wasn't allowed to have a lot of foods because she said they would make me fat. Mashed potatoes were only allowed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. She was one of those women that was always on a diet but never lost weight.  She bought every magazine that had the word diet on the cover.  Then I remember how often she would buy a quart of ice cream and divide it in half.  Half of it was my dinner and half of it was hers.  She would buy a bag of potatoe chips and eat the whole thing.  Sometimes she would just make a big salad for dinner.  I would get a normal serving (which was fine with me) and she ate the rest of it gobbed with salad dressing.

I don't like to spend much more than half an hour cooking a meal.  Company meals usually take an hour or more.

[Brigid]

write,
I don't know if it is the food itself which brings up emotions, or the family meals that were built (or not built) around the meals.  Certainly, some foods can invoke memories, good and bad, but for me, I worked hard to have our family eat together most nights, no matter what kind of schedules we all had, and it was hard to give that up.  In my childhood, my father travelled most every week and he and my mother would go out on weekends, so we rarely ate as a family.

I love to cook, but with just my daughter and I to feed these days, it becomes more of a chore than a joy.  We tend to eat a lot of pasta and sauce.  During the summer, I grow a lot of basil.  I make big batches of pesto, freeze it in ice cube trays, put it in freezer bags and take out what I need for the balance of the year.  It maintains its fresh taste throughout the winter.  Add a salad and breadstick and it's dinner in less than 30 minutes.  I also just use the sauce from a jar, or make big batches of marinara sauce and freeze it in containers.  I also make large batches of healthy soups--split pea, squash bisque, cream of asparagus, cream of broccoli--and freeze them in containers with enough for the two of us.  There are also many great soups that are available in mixes which can be prepared quickly and with the addition of just a couple of your own ingredients.  I do have a chest freezer in my basement which allows for storage of these items.

I actually hate to grocery shop and try to buy what I can in large quantities.  I gave up trying to plan meals for the week, as our schedules keep changing and I never know who will be here for dinner these days.

Brigid

[Sela]

Hi Write:  I shop once per week.

Lately I've been trying the odd meatless meal.  I find this one is quick and nutricious and quite easy to make and tastey.

1 cup brown rice
1 can romano, kidney, or other beans
(drained and washed)
I cup salsa (mild or spicey per taste)
1 can of corn, drained
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 green, red, yellow or comination of peppers,
chopped
(Could easily add other veggies as desired).

Pour 2 1/4 cup boiling water over 1 cup rice, add a dash of salt, and cook on med/high temperature in microwave oven, or on low on stove top, for about 40 minutes, stirring a couple of times.  Meantime, saute garlic, onion, celery and pepper in a non-stick fry pan, using a tbsp of water, give or take a little, to prevent sticking.   Once veggies begin to soften a little, mix with beans, corn and salsa and heat over low heat for a few minutes.  Add rice once it's cooked.

Serves 2-3....... about 280-300 cals per serving (if divided into 3--depending on the beans chosen), low fat, good source of protein and complex carbs.

I found this quick and easy and enjoyable and satisfying served with a fresh salad.  Kind of a Mexican Hash.   And my Hubby didn't mind it either.  It could also be made with spegetti sauce, instead of salsa, and sprinkled with a little parm cheese, for a different but similar meal.

Sela

PS:  Brigid:  I love pesto!!  Is it hard to make?  Can it be made low fat?  I have a good low fat marinara sauce recipe, if anyone is interested.

[Sela]

Hi Stormy:

That sounds yummy and healthy.  Yes.....portion control.  Need to tatoo that on my forehead....or rather, my left hand ('cause I'm left handed and that's the hand I eat with).

So glad to see you posting!  I love reading your posts.  So much food for thought.

((((((Stormy)))))

  Sela

[write]

Lot of thoughts here.

Yes, mealtimes were really stressful when I was a child, then again when I was married.

I used to think my father and then my husband ( when he realised it bugged me ) exhibited bad manners as a deliberate passive-agressive thing.

And cooking- I used to love to cook and that was another way of getting to me- criticising, refusing to eat anything healthy I'd made...

By the end of my marriage my h and I never ate a meal together! It's one of the nicest things now to be able to go out with him and it be stress-free.

But it's been 2 years and I still rarely make a pleasant meal for myself and eat it on good plates or set the table, I guess I've just got out of the habit.

These days, I cook, I eat, I wash up, no ritual

I guess I need to work through all these things that have spoiled cooking and eating for me for ages, and try to make more effort.

Thanks for all the food ideas, I'll print them off and make a list.

The food goes off much faster here US than UK; maybe it's over-chilled for the long transportation.

Food can be a touchy subject with me.  My n- mother preached about food all her life. 

Yesterday I was with a woman who has finally lost weight. Her mother died last year. She said her mother's obsession with food but inability to lose weight really affected her too.

Turkey meatloaf! I was only thinking earlier, what would make healthier meatloaf!

[Marta]

All I can say is that it feels good, to be slowly regaining my appetite. Yes, all I want to eat for the time being are same old hearty soups that I used to thrive on in the good old days, albeit with a dab of rosemary and dried garlic. By the way, I love the aroma in this kitchen.

Stormchild, I can't recall pursuing any guy through any avenue (most certainly not Broadway), leave alone through his stomach; must have been "collateral damage." These days, I am just happy to be hanging out in the kitchen with folks and swapping recipes.    Unfortunately I have none of my own to offer. None that are foolproof that is. 

Hugs, Marta

[write]

I'll try to find instructions on growing Basil ( and other herbs ) in TX.

Just roasting a chicken now- the smell is incredible.

Aroma maybe I should say.

To think every time my mother ( who was a great cook ) did this stuff she got something negative...makes me relate to why she was how she was.

Busy unravelling stuff..............................................................................

[Brigid]

write,

I'll try to find instructions on growing Basil ( and other herbs ) in TX.

I live in a much colder climate, so I buy my herbs from a greenhouse as young plants.  Where you are, you could probably start them from seeds pretty easily.  I found that planting the herbs in pots works great and keeps those that tend to spread, somewhat confined.  Basil is an annual, but Thyme, oregano, I think Rosemary, mint and some others are perennials.  Basil is sensitive to cold temps and will die if exposed to much below 40 degrees.  I just keep cutting the stems all summer and it grows very full and one plant will give you a lot of basil.  A recipe of pesto needs about 4 cups of leaves.

Brigid

[Healing&Hopeful]

Hey all, Hi Write

I can relate to where you are coming from.... when I was growing up we had a set meal each day (the same week in week out) and even now I hate routine with food.  And I'm really not keen on boiled pototoes as we had boiled potatoes with most meals.

We tend to shop once a week, then stock up at our local job for bits and pieces throughout the week.  My Hubby is aware of what my mealtimes were like as a child, so if he suggests something and I don't fancy it, we'll pop to the shops.  I find this really works for me.

Do you like fish?  Steamed or grilled salmon is very good for you, and you can cook it with pasta, potatoes, rice or cous cous and salad or veg.  Another one we use is chicken thighs stuffed with lemon, parsley & garlic and grilled or roasted.  As we both work full time we don't have a huge amount of time for cooking, but there are loads of quick and easy recipe books around.  We've got a couple we use regularly, ones called Simply Food, and the other is Comfort Food.  We also eat things like spaghetti bolognese or sometimes we'll just have chicken & chips with gravy.  I do feel I've come a long way from my childhood and most of the time I eat things my parents wouldn't touch and that they turn their nose up at (which Mum does regularly when she sees things in our fridge!).  We also get a chinese or thai take out every so often.... not regularly but makes a really nice treat.

Hope this gives you some ideas....

Take care

H&H xx

[write]

hi H & H.
You seem very happy!

I cooked breakfast for half the neighbourhood yesterday, it was really nice.

Maybe it's harder to do just for yourself...

[Healing&Hopeful]

Hi Write

Thank you... yes I am happy.  How lovely of you to do breakfast for your neighbours... sounds like a lovely neighbourhood you live in.  Maybe you could organise something with your neighbours that you cook dinner one evening a week and then they cook the next week?

My hubby works away a fair bit and I understand what it's like cooking for yourself, especially after finishing work etc.  I tend to invite a friend round for one night and cook for her to break up the week, one night I'll do a ready meal which I can just bung in the oven and then do some cleaning up while it's cooking, or I tend to eat vegetarian and eat pasta and veg with a sauce.  Anything quick and easy really...

I think just cooking for yourself is harder.... there is something about meals for one that is, dare I say, almost depressing sometimes... you know if you've had a bad day at work or something similar, it can be really hard to motivate yourself, if you know what I mean?  Luckily for me, I do like veg and salad so it makes it easier to russel up something quick, and then I may treat myself at the local chippy one night.

Take care

H&H xx

[write]

I think the nearest chippy to here is about 4000 miles away!
Funny how many good memories I have of fish and chips in England...soggy chips in newspaper on the beach, loads of malt vinegar...

[blue]

For those who have to eat (and cook alone) try cooking ahead
 Homemade soup that can be reheated (I use a crock pot)
Rice and veges dishes that can be frozen (I'm a vegetarian)
If you like chicken or turkey it can be cooked a head of time and used later in dishes or made into sandwhiche's or throw in some pinapple and peppers with your all ready cooked chicken
I do this and cook for many just so i do not have too cook every day and its healthy/fast and you can make small or large portions
I use to spend alot of time cooking and fixing meals daily an it is time consuing Now I spend one day during the week and its all done
(that is what freezers are for)   (:
blue~

[Healing&Hopeful]

I think the nearest chippy to here is about 4000 miles away!
Funny how many good memories I have of fish and chips in England...soggy chips in newspaper on the beach, loads of malt vinegar...

Hi Write

I'm so glad speaking of this brought a good memory.... Actually it had been ages since I had fish & chips, so I did pop to our local chippy tonight.  The fish had just come out and it was so yummy in crispy batter.  Very unhealthy I'm sure, but I feel very full and tired.

H&H xx