I’m amused at the responses I got about yesterday’s food intake. One poke was from an older cousin, and another from a younger friend. Both were in a mild, “Dude, that can’t be good for you” sort of spirit, but it made me wonder how well some of you know me.
In fact, my choice of ingestibles yesterday was so out of my norm that they are the very reason I found them worthy of posting. I'm not much on junk food. I only occasionally find myself in the midst of a senseless craving.
The real me:
I love real food. I prefer to cook at home and if I eat out I seek out food that is as freshly made and discernible as food as possible. This means that I either go with cold meals like subway sandwiches or I have to resort to the kinds of places I've accumulated in my repertoire over the years. Places like quality sushi or mom and pop hole-in-the-walls that serve stews, broths, soups, or hot meals that look and behave like they came off of a kitchen stove and not a freeze-dried plastic pouch. I prefer butter to margarine because it's a real food and not a chemical invented in a lab. I prefer sugar to Sweet 'n' low or Equal for the same reason. I won't eat processed cheese-food, preferring real cheddar or provolone or monterey. I'll eat a steak, occasionally, but am not the least bit enticed by a fast-food burger.
I'm overweight because I like food. Real food. So I tend to indulge in it. But I've always preferred the real thing so, thankfully, extra pounds notwithstanding, I'm actually healthier than I look. My body knows what to do with the food I put in it. The chemistry is basic, non-complex. If I ate chips and processed food as my norm, I'm sure I'd be in quite a state. Our bodies don't know what to do with synthetic chemicals so they're thrown out of whack and complications arise.
I'm lucky. Considering I'm such a big fan of food, I could really be in bad shape. But somehow and for some reason, very early on, my palate decided on the road it was going to take and it was a "cleaner" taste. It's not a holier-than-thou choice, it's just honest. Even as a kid, I didn't really take to soft drinks. Ask anyone in my family - people who’ve known me since I was a baby – what my favorite drink is and they’ll tell you it's milk. I drink milk. Yes, milk has fat. But bodies know what to do with fat and my body shows that it knows what to do with fat. So, I'm fat. I'm glad my body doesn't have to deal with high-fructose corn syrup or preservatives and additives. I can't imagine what shape I'd be in then.
Yesterday I had chips. My huarache was primarily made of beans and cabbage. The chorizo was just to flavor the beans. I refilled my water thermos three times yesterday, and then I had one glass of orange juice, a couple of hours later, one of cranberry juice (I always drink one liter of cranberry juice at the onset of a new month), and then I called it a day.
Today, I had a rice noodle and liver pho with fresh bean sprouts and basil. Washed it down with a glass of soy milk. The perfect lunch.
Now I’m home and having a glass of mandarin juice. Again, the real stuff, squeezed from our tree, not from concentrate.
For dinner, I’ll probably keep it simple and make a torta: a sandwich on a keiser type bun, but instead of mayo, it has a pureed bean base. I’ll make it a turkey sandwich and use up the last of the cabbage for that fresh crunch. Salsa adds flavor as well as lots of fresh ingredients that are nothing but good for you.
I’m pretty spoiled. A couple of weeks ago, mom and I were out running errands and seeing that they day had gotten away from us and we were not looking forward to standing in front of a stove, we made a stop at a fast-food place. The food was ok. The fries were the only thing I can say I really liked. By the end of the day, I felt like I had a brick in my stomach and it was clear to me that my system is just not tolerant of whatever the heck that was. I’m glad I have these responses to fast food because it’s a good deterrent to making these establishments a regularity.
As for chips, they are my occasional treat. My weakness is salt, so I do have to rein it in if it’s been particularly acute. But usually it’s just a passing craving, so I know I can indulge it and not re-visit this little obsession again for another few weeks. PMS is a bitch.
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