<p>I have fresh cookies; anyone want some?</p>
<p>Owlice: That’s why the raccoon wanted to get inside your house!!</p>
<p>I am concerned, but do not feel comfortable at all discussing anything with her parents. The father is a very odd man and most parents try to avoid him at both school events , or when he drops of or picks up his daughter.
The friend is a very sweet and nice girl , but the parents seem to push her a lot</p>
<p>lol, VeryHappy!!! I should not have had them on the table near the patio door; my mistake!!</p>
<p>Gardening doesn’t go well at our house either. A couple of years ago we had lovely tomato plants…but the tomatoes would be eaten by something with big teeth - either squirrels or rats.</p>
<p>D was not feeling well this weekend, and it rained non-stop, so I cooked every meal at home. Not fun. We had other activites to attend, so it seemed like I spent 90% of what was everyone else’s down time in the kitchen.</p>
<p>I have read Michael Pollans books - his latest is In Defence of Food. Saw Food Inc too.
I’ve changed my eating habits as result and do LOTS of label reading.
I do have to say, though, that is seems almost impossible to eat like he thinks we should eat. He favors eating lots of veggies and fruits (no problem) but he advocates local buying…from those farmers who don’t use pesticides. Or organic if that’s not possible. Sooo… I LOVE the taste of local produce like NJ tomatoes and corn. But so far, no luck finding pesticide free. I have a really hard time certain organic veggies so I just eat the conventional kind. Anyway, it’s really HARD IMO.<br>
But I do enjoy cooking so it’s easy for me to follow his rule of putting fresh food on the table vs processed junk. I read yesterday that cans of cream of mushroom and celery soup were flying off the shelves…seems more folks are eating at home and making those casseroles. Ewww…I’m at the point where that is like going to McDonalds…the thought of it makes my stomach turn. Have you ever read the label on those soups?<br>
Very Happy, I’m trying that wonderful chicken recipe you shared tonight. I’ll use wine instead of chicken broth. Now, THAT sounds good to me.</p>
<p>I recently ate quesadilla’s at Chile’s and had a bad allergic reaction…I couldn’t image what I reacted to…I thought tortilla, beef, cheese - what’s to react to? Chile’s was kind enough to send a list of ingredients - it’s enough to make one swear off restaurant food:</p>
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<p>^^^ewww
Yeah, we’ve been eating out a LOT less. And trying to order basic stuff when we do like salads or sushi.<br>
BTW, take a look at bread labels. Since I did, I’ve been buying bread at TJS or Whole Foods. These breads have 5-10 ingredients vs hundreds of ingredients (most which I can’t pronounce!).</p>
<p>A recent genealogy search resulted in the discovery of one pair of my great grandparents. The family came over from Germany, and the wife was BIG and the husband TINY. The next photo was of THEIR son (my great grandfather). He and his wife were SKIN AND BONES. They were dirt farmers, I’m sure they lived a very hard life, but undoubtedly ate very “healthy” (photos were about 1920-1930). There just wasn’t sufficient QUANTITY. </p>
<p>Everyone is going to have their own version of “healthy”. I myself would call your neighbors’ soy intake unhealthy (it’s a human engineered product). That said…I ADORE soy. Especially soy sauce…the unique flavor of which comes from the aspergillus mold!! </p>
<p>The reason I know this is because my daughter has multiple and severe allergies, including medications, molds, and foods. So could it be that any of them have allergies? </p>
<p>As to everyone’s opinions about health, weight, looks…we really all just have to do what FEELS right to us. We all tend to judge “This person looks gaunt and wrinkled, that person is fat and eats too much”. Unless we’re walking in their shoes…we don’t know if they have a different DNA, metabolism, health issues (even undiagnosed), medications, etc. </p>
<p>I tend to look to nature for the answers to a lot of my questions about our existence. Animals (herbivores, carnivores, omnivores) eat what their body tells them to (for the most part). When WE feed (our pets) our processed foods (pet OR human)…they get - FAT. </p>
<p>So…if we look at what seems normal for most animals, they eat when they need to based on their caloric needs, as determined by their physical exertion. I know when my dog plays outside all day, she eats twice what she eats any other day. And most animals look - “fit”. MUSCLED, slender, but we know when even a dog looks like it’s “bony”…and just not getting enough to eat. </p>
<p>So my opinion is - NO, eating healthy AND in adequate quantity should not produce “concentration camp” looks. But then…there are very few of us who couldn’t stand to tip the scale in that direction and be healthier.</p>
<p>missypie–I’m (mostly) a vegetarian, and had ordered ‘grilled vegetables’ when I went out to restaurants over the past few months (treating myself, instead of the usual salad). Each & every time I got a wicked headache and felt completely lethargic for hours afterwards. I know they douse the veggies in oil (even when I ask that they be dry) & probably tons of spices/chemicals (similar to what you posted). I’m going w/salad, from now on.</p>
<p>I read a few years ago that people were starting to have ‘restaurant hangovers’ because of all the MSG, concentrated chemicals (in reduction sauces, e.g.) these days. That’s exactly what it felt like! Don’t think I get enough fun mileage out of some grilled veggies to make a hang-over worth it, lol!</p>
<p>toneranger: Let me know if you like the chicken recipe.</p>
<p>And of course you’ll use the wine, not the chicken broth. Chicken broth is only for people who can’t have any wine, for whatever reason. :(</p>
<p>Missypie,</p>
<p>Thanks for posting that. I just read David Kessler’s new book (The End of Overeating), and he discusses this exact subject. He references Chili’s and The Cheesecake Factory, but it could be any big chain which essentially pre-processes most of the food before sending it on to the restaurant. It’s amazing.</p>
<p>I used to eat out a lot. Ever since I gave up fast food, processed foods, and big chain restaurants, I’ve quit having my several times per week excruciating headaches.</p>
<p>^^ really ? I grill my veggies with olive oil , but then olive oil is a staple in my kitchen. I no longer boil or steam and veggies. I roast or grill, and use salt and pepper too.</p>