Thoughts about food
24/06/19 04:24
We don’t go out to eat very often. We enjoy cooking and we keep a well-stocked pantry and most of the time it is simply easier for us to eat at home than to go out. A dinner out, however can be a good celebration and on occasion we have a restaurant meal. We have friends who are in the restaurant business and we know that they give care to providing good food carefully prepared. At any rate, last night we decided to go out for pizza as a family. Our family at the moment includes our son and his wife and children who are visiting for a week. Organizing three children to go anywhere is an adventure and it was raining at the moment we left the house, so we had to find rain coats for everyone and get everyone loaded into the cars. The extended family doesn’t all fit into any of the cars we own, so we had to decide who was going in each vehicle. I won the lottery and got two grandchildren in the car I was driving. Two cars meant that we didn’t arrive at the restaurant at precisely the same time, but that was no worry. The restaurant was well-prepared for children as guests and had placemats with coloring pictures and other activities and a snack of goldfish crackers to help the children with the wait. Before long the food arrived and we had a fun dinner, with each person getting something that they enjoyed.
That particular restaurant has a bonus program and since, we’ve eaten there before, I was registered in their program, which meant that I had a coupon for a free dessert. We didn’t really need dessert after our meal, but it seemed like a special night and a good occasion for a special treat, so I ordered a dish with ice cream and cookies - just one item from the dessert menu and asked for seven spoons so each person could have a taste. The dish that appeared in the middle of our table was huge! There was more than enough for seven people. I have no idea what would happen if that whole dish was delivered to one person. I wouldn’t have been able to eat that much at one sitting, I’m sure. I suppose it is possible that the restaurant prepared a special dish for our family because they knew how many were sharing the dessert, but I suspect that the portions at that restaurant are always very generous.
Having children in our home again reminds me that it takes a lot of food to keep such a large number of people fueled. I went through about the same amount of grocery certificates shopping for this week as we normally use in a month at our house. But it also reminds me that it is important to pay attention to portion size. Sweets and desserts need to be just a taste and a treat. Children need to be taught to eat balanced meals and to try a variety of foods. I am impressed with our son’s family and how careful they have been to help the children develop healthy eating patterns. Of course their normal patterns are disrupted by travel and being in a place where grandpa and grandma indulge a few special desires. They aren’t in their everyday patterns, but I’m impressed that the children are good eaters, without giving overboard.
I’ve decided that the restaurant expects people to share desserts. Otherwise the portions are extreme.
I don’t spend a lot of time or energy thinking about food. I love to cook and I do quite a bit of grocery shopping, but we fall into patterns. It is not at all uncommon for me to eat the same menu for breakfast for an entire week or more. I know how to cook things that taste good and give me energy for the day. We keep the groceries stocked in our home. I put a little more effort into dinners, planning menus and introducing variety. We like tasting new foods and when we travel we almost always return with recipes for new foods that we tasted on our journey.
You are probably not going to see recipes as a part of my journal, however. I’m not an evangelist when it comes to eating. I have no desire to make others eat the way that I do. I frequently read articles about people who have discovered a particular food that they enjoy and then set out to convince others that eating that particular food is the best thing for everyone. I don’t want to convert others when it comes to food and I don’t think the world would be better if everyone was the same.
Recently, I read an article about Dave Asprey who says he plans to live to be 180 years old. That’s ambitious for a 45-year-old. he claims the secret to longevity is his special recipe for starting the day with coffee that has butter and coconut oil added. He claims he discovered the beverage while on a trip to Tibet to learn meditation techniques. Of course in Tibet they used tea, not coffee. And the butter was from yaks not from cows. And they didn’t add the coconut oil. Otherwise the beverage is pretty much the same. He claims that starting his day with the beverage has enabled him to lose 100 pounds and changed his life. He started selling his “bulletproof” coffee and the component ingredients. It has been a successful enterprise for him.
I struggle with my weight, but I’ve never been 100 pounds overweight. I’ve pretty much given up coffee in recent years, though I have nothing against it and occasionally have a cup of decaf. But I have no need for butter in my coffee. I’m not a good candidate for conversion to Mr. Asprey’s beverage. And, I suspect, I won’t live to be 180 years old.
But I hope that Mr. Asprey one days knows the joy of eating with his grandchildren and watching them learn to make their own food choices. I’m pretty sure it is a pleasure that greatly exceeds the taste of butter in your coffee.
That particular restaurant has a bonus program and since, we’ve eaten there before, I was registered in their program, which meant that I had a coupon for a free dessert. We didn’t really need dessert after our meal, but it seemed like a special night and a good occasion for a special treat, so I ordered a dish with ice cream and cookies - just one item from the dessert menu and asked for seven spoons so each person could have a taste. The dish that appeared in the middle of our table was huge! There was more than enough for seven people. I have no idea what would happen if that whole dish was delivered to one person. I wouldn’t have been able to eat that much at one sitting, I’m sure. I suppose it is possible that the restaurant prepared a special dish for our family because they knew how many were sharing the dessert, but I suspect that the portions at that restaurant are always very generous.
Having children in our home again reminds me that it takes a lot of food to keep such a large number of people fueled. I went through about the same amount of grocery certificates shopping for this week as we normally use in a month at our house. But it also reminds me that it is important to pay attention to portion size. Sweets and desserts need to be just a taste and a treat. Children need to be taught to eat balanced meals and to try a variety of foods. I am impressed with our son’s family and how careful they have been to help the children develop healthy eating patterns. Of course their normal patterns are disrupted by travel and being in a place where grandpa and grandma indulge a few special desires. They aren’t in their everyday patterns, but I’m impressed that the children are good eaters, without giving overboard.
I’ve decided that the restaurant expects people to share desserts. Otherwise the portions are extreme.
I don’t spend a lot of time or energy thinking about food. I love to cook and I do quite a bit of grocery shopping, but we fall into patterns. It is not at all uncommon for me to eat the same menu for breakfast for an entire week or more. I know how to cook things that taste good and give me energy for the day. We keep the groceries stocked in our home. I put a little more effort into dinners, planning menus and introducing variety. We like tasting new foods and when we travel we almost always return with recipes for new foods that we tasted on our journey.
You are probably not going to see recipes as a part of my journal, however. I’m not an evangelist when it comes to eating. I have no desire to make others eat the way that I do. I frequently read articles about people who have discovered a particular food that they enjoy and then set out to convince others that eating that particular food is the best thing for everyone. I don’t want to convert others when it comes to food and I don’t think the world would be better if everyone was the same.
Recently, I read an article about Dave Asprey who says he plans to live to be 180 years old. That’s ambitious for a 45-year-old. he claims the secret to longevity is his special recipe for starting the day with coffee that has butter and coconut oil added. He claims he discovered the beverage while on a trip to Tibet to learn meditation techniques. Of course in Tibet they used tea, not coffee. And the butter was from yaks not from cows. And they didn’t add the coconut oil. Otherwise the beverage is pretty much the same. He claims that starting his day with the beverage has enabled him to lose 100 pounds and changed his life. He started selling his “bulletproof” coffee and the component ingredients. It has been a successful enterprise for him.
I struggle with my weight, but I’ve never been 100 pounds overweight. I’ve pretty much given up coffee in recent years, though I have nothing against it and occasionally have a cup of decaf. But I have no need for butter in my coffee. I’m not a good candidate for conversion to Mr. Asprey’s beverage. And, I suspect, I won’t live to be 180 years old.
But I hope that Mr. Asprey one days knows the joy of eating with his grandchildren and watching them learn to make their own food choices. I’m pretty sure it is a pleasure that greatly exceeds the taste of butter in your coffee.