Sunday, April 28, 2013
Food for Thought
One freezing cold Saturday I took both kids out through the slush covered parking lots to the grocery store to get some milk and bread. After getting us and the groceries home and up the stairs, we were all cold and hungry. Caius' favorite thing is Kraft dinner and it sounded good to me so I made some for lunch. To round it out into an actual meal I added some fish sticks and peas. My normal thoughts about the menu would go something like this. Kraft dinner has no food value. Fish sticks are prepared in so much fat they don't really count as fish. I may even think that peas, frozen at that, are too simple or common to really count as a vegetable.
But those aren't the thoughts I had that day that stood out. My thought was, it's okay to eat this much lunch because we are cold and tired and I'm planning a lighter dinner. I didn't really notice the thought until the next day when I opened a can of refried beans and put together some bean and cheese burritos for lunch. I was very concerned because it was just too much to eat when we were going to have whatever Sunday dinner I was planning (never anything very big or overly fancy, by the way).
And that's when I realized that I think breakfast and lunch don't really count. Sure you need to eat something to keep you going, but you're really only supposed to eat one "meal" a day so it shouldn't be much at all. Hmm. That can't be true can it?
I've been thinking on this for a while now. I've been trying to add a bit more protein to our diet. It's supposed to help process the carbs and keep blood sugar levels more balanced. For a while I was doing pretty well including some bit of protein for breakfast and I felt A LOT better. So in that regard, I've been trying to make more of a meal out of breakfast. I also realize that kids need a good flow of energy so I try to make sure lunch and snacks are decent. But for myself, I still find myself thinking that I shouldn't be eating anything any time I eat.
Which brings up other fallacies in my thinking of food.
I've realized that I don't think of fruit as a real food. Sure, it's better than a candy bar, but it has too much sugar, especially thinking diabetically. And, if it comes in a can, or even frozen, it's not worth anything. Unless you eat it fresh, it just doesn't count. Even then, it's a treat or a dessert.
Vegetables are a bit better. I know they are good for you and we should be eating nothing but veggies. But again, we have the problem that they should all be fresh, canned is bad. And most vegetables I'm familiar with and that the kids might (big might) be persuaded to eat aren't exotic or fancy enough. Potatoes are too starchy. Corn is really a grain. Iceberg lettuce (and watermelon for that matter) lacks vitamins and fiber etc.
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Ah, I hope you get back to this soon.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all... watermelon is highly nutrtious food. I won't try to list the nutrition from memory but I do recall being quite surprised that it has a LOT of vitamins.
You are thinking the very same way I did when I was feeding you kids.Fruit is a treat...always saved to be a treat, so almost never being served. Vegetables can't possible appeal to anyone. Potatoes are ALL starch....etc. Don't eat butter. Don't eat salt. That's all completely wrong. I really have to get the Diamond's book to you. There IS a plan.
Fruit is highly important. According to the Diamond's,[FIT FOR LIFE] the water in fruit is very important in detoxifying us. And since it is 80% water, more or less, it is suggested in the book that you can rely on fruit for almost all your H2O needs. Plus, each fruit has different nutritional values that cover different needs. Eat it all. The same goes for nuts. They have minerals galore. Each kind of fruit or nut is unique in it's makeup and plays a unique role in keeping you healthy.
Harvey Diamond says PROTEIN is not a worry. You or your children will not likely suffer from protein shortage. Also it takes tons of energy to digest, is hard on your kidneys, and becomes toxic quickly and must be stored for heavy unloading whenever you get caught up inside and have time for that.
Last thing.... you need to say the blessing on your food.... three times a day. I thing we have been given that to restore the richness and goodness to our food that we need. We never do that here. It scares me that we're really leaving out an important step.
You are doing fine and taking good care of your kids. It's hard to figure out meals....takes a lot of thinking.
I tend to feel emotionally better throughout my entire day when I have more diversity on my plate at mealtimes. It feels revitalizing, whether it's nutritional, psychological, or both. (Psychology affects our response to food more than you think. The very same product will "taste" better to people when the label design is more appealing, for instance.)
ReplyDeleteYou probably already know that avocados and almonds are considered super foods. There have been times when I've eaten those quite regularly (half an avocado almost daily, for instance), and I think I've felt better at those times.
If you're into lunch meat sandwiches, I've found some ways to make the meal a bit healthier. They have some higher-fiber wraps that I prefer to bread. (Regular bread gets boring, I think.) We usually get reduced fat cheese, but you can actually get away without using cheese. You think you can't, but you can. Especially if you have something creamy on there like avocado. Also, instead of spreads or dressings, try hummus. It's basically garbanzo bean paste, if you don't know. And finally, rather than eating chips, eat fresh snap peas. They're a nice side item, sincerely.