Nutrition: What's it to you?

[Torrilin]

I care about nutrition, but I also despise being preached at about it. I grew up as the child of a food scientist who is also a passionate home cook, and the skepticism stuck. When I was very young, my parents made all sorts of efforts towards a lower fat, whole grains focused diet. As a result of various instances of picky children, we tended to avoid red meat and nearly all protein except boneless skinless chicken breasts.

And well, as an adult I'm quite content to say most whole grain bread doesn't taste very good, and the stuff that does taste good isn't very whole grain. So I won't buy whole grain bread, and I won't make it either. I *do* make nearly all the bread I eat tho. And low fat is great when it makes the food better (which it does in some cases). When low fat interferes with food tasting good, I toss it out on its ear. I like brown rice, but I don't like the cooking time. So sometimes I have brown rice, sometimes I have white, and if I'm having either sort, chances are I'm having lots of veggies too.

I still like the way boneless skinless chicken breasts taste for certain applications. For others, I like lean beef, or fatty beef, or chicken thighs. I'm not a big fish fan, but I'm also not a big mercury poisoning fan. I figure it'll balance out in the end.

Really, it all comes down to balance. I'm in no rush to go taking a multivitamin, but I'm also in no rush to cut down on my veggie intake.

[K8memphis]

Steve, That's so true about the water & all our modern conveniences that we all enjoy. Also true you don't hear a lot hurrahs for the random or specific civil engineer. Hurrah! >> my first with much appreciation.

Torrilin and all I got hooked on the boneless skinless chicken for a long time because it's so easy. Then found myself cooking large quantities of bone-in skin-on breasts for large quantites at work for chicken salad & other dishes.

The taste was so much better than the easy tenderloins & stuff (of course). I slow cooked the chicken, baked or poached it as slow as possible with all manner of celery, carrot, onion, lemon, clove, bay, salt & pepper. De-boned it, strained and cooked down the liquid. Wow. I had forgotten how good that was.

But the other stuff is so easy. We keep saying we're going to cook up a quantity and vaccuum seal it...just any minute.

Because it seems that the cut up or whole chickens in the grocery stores are just no where near as good as the big packs from a Sam's or Costco type store.

Mike19, good for you, Dude! Way to go. I actually think it's harder for a young person though. Older people have health issues to motivate them to eat better. You have far and away the right idea. You will therefore be right on time or greatly delay the health issues that might come up in your life because they are not exacerbated by poor diet and you can avoid the ones altogether that improper diet cause over time. Good for you.

[K8memphis]

My nutritional dealie follows and I don't mean to sound morose, but I do love sugar. All drama side there's never been a greater love hate conflict in all my life.

And for me, at this point in my life, sugar consumption directly affects my day to day life. My body is no longer processing sugar correctly. I mean the white addicting crystal powder. I am not diabetic either. So I need to avoid that to feel good. Well it's actuallymore that I have to avoid it not feel bad.

Sugar is in so many more products than trans fats that it is to me a silent killer, a poison to quote Gloria Swanson*. To me it is the whale of all ages sitting in the pancreas of our world.

*yes I've been reading my newly acquired replacement copy of Sugar Blues by Wiliam Duffy. Hoping to get some spizerinktom to stay on target with my eating.

White flour goods seem to implant with immediacy where it is not wanted either. I don't eat much bread at all, any kind.

Hmm, so my self intoned mantra is just say no to white powders even the legal ones.

edited for some spelling

Edited February 6, 2007 by K8memphis (log)

[Pontormo]

Yesterday I had to pick up a few items at a supermarket that is placed right next to a Metro (subway) station, a bus stop, a small university and a number of hi-rises. At 6:30 in the evening, the lines at the check-outs were long, so I went to the express lane.

Right in front of me was a man in his early to mid-50s, stocky but not terribly overweight, pale, dressed like many D.C. professionals dress in a charcoal gray wool coat and red scarf, carrying a very nice briefcase. Contents of his green shopping basket: at least 5 boxes of "Bistro" style frozen dinners and 2 containers from the bakery department with big somewhat flaky pastries criss-crossed with white frosting.

The young woman behind me wearing tiny hand-beaded silver Indian slippers, the subject of an attempted pick-up conversation started by a rather good-looking guy, was there with a friend. Her basket held around 6 boxes of Pasta Roni, at least 2 if not 3 different colors represented, indicating different flavors. Her friend added the same number of clear plastic bottles of differently colored water to the basket as we inched towards the register.

Edited February 6, 2007 by Pontormo (log)

[Shalmanese]

Just an update but I've managed to lose 10kg/20lb on my "Eat whatever the fuck you want as long as it's salad" diet .

[Milagai]

Just an update but I've managed to lose 10kg/20lb on my "Eat whatever the fuck you want as long as it's salad" diet  .

←

I wish I could say the same.

Last year I GAINED weight eating unbridled quantities of

the very good salads I make. Calories! lurking in shredded

cucumber! No explanation other than I ate too much.....

Milagai

[K8memphis]

Just an update but I've managed to lose 10kg/20lb on my "Eat whatever the fuck you want as long as it's salad" diet  .

←

Congratulations!

Dude, did you see the chocolate salad recipe????

in the second post : )

Edited February 6, 2007 by K8memphis (log)

[K8memphis]

Just an update but I've managed to lose 10kg/20lb on my "Eat whatever the fuck you want as long as it's salad" diet  .

←

I wish I could say the same.

Last year I GAINED weight eating unbridled quantities of

the very good salads I make. Calories! lurking in shredded

cucumber! No explanation other than I ate too much.....

Milagai

←

I'm just curious, was there much refined sugar in there?

In the dressings or anything.

[Milagai]

I'm just curious, was there much refined sugar in there?

In the dressings or anything.

←

No sugar whatsoever. I made the dressings myself.

Little oil, lemon juice or vinegar, a few herbs and spices....

Variations on the theme.....

Maybe some grated coconut (sprinkles really) or other nuts

or cheese occasionally

depending on the recipe

I just flat out overate. 10 servings instead of one, because

1) I felt hungry

2) They tasted good.....

3) I thought (or failed to think) that these foods were without consequences...

I mean, grated carrots and cucumbers?

Milagai