LOL III or "Food is my Friend"
Food has always been my friend. I love to eat! I even enjoy cooking if I don’t have to clean. Food doesn’t question or judge. It is always available in some variety with little to no effort. It frequently brings me happiness and comfort. Unfortunately it sometimes brings me pain too.
I was raised on comfort foods. Dad was from Philly and strongly believed (insisted) that meat and potatoes were central to dinner, every night. Mom was raised on a farm in SC and considered dinner incomplete if there were less than 3 vegetables at dinner. Mom was a nurse so many of her childhood recipes were modified to be healthier. Also, for a large chink of my childhood my family followed the Feingold diet http://www.feingold.org/ in order to control my younger brother’s ADHD without drugs. In the 70s it was a lot more work to eat foods with no artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. Mom worked nights as an RN so she was home in the evenings and able to make it happen.
Our fridge did not hold soda or Kool-Aid but Mom made her sun tea with real sugar and her lemonade with real lemons! We still had brownies but they were made from scratch with melted German bittersweet chocolate. We still had hotdogs but only one brand of all natural kosher hotdogs which I am sure were way better than the red ones some of my friends ate. My favorite meal was chicken and dumplings made with dough-type dumplings (noodles are not dumplings!). I was very spoiled to have home-cooked meals every night. Food at my house was healthy, filling and plentiful.
Over the years my weight has fluctuated from skinny to obese and everywhere in between. Various physical issues have, at times, impaired my activity levels and have also caused my weight to plummet or balloon. I have also experienced eating disorder issues (binging) and periods of food aversion. Through it all I have never hated food. I have hated me, my body, my genetics and my reactions to food but never food itself! I once went 6 weeks without holding down food which ended with tube feeding and surgery. I missed food terribly and was thrilled when I could return to eating again but I always eat knowing that my body may betray me again. My gastroenterologist is happy when I have extra weight and doesn’t want me to go under 150.
Due to my Crohn’s Disease and associated food intolerances and restrictions, I am limited in what foods are safe for me. I am always hesitant to try new foods. I try to eat a low fat, low fiber and low residue diet (think B.R.A.T.). Certain foods are worse than others; raw fruits and vegetables, spicy and greasy foods top the list. Indian food universally makes me sick (an Indian coworker says that pureed onions are in most sauces). I can eat Thai food but the way I have to order it, it ends up being chicken and rice. I only eat Sushi if I know who made it and can ask exactly what’s in it. So basically I am a food weiny:P
For the challenge I tried Wheat Thins Toasted Chips in North End Parmesan & Herb. These crackers were actually risky since they contain a small amount of onion powder and are fairly grain/fiber heavy. They tasted okay but the texture is odd and there was too much powdery flavoring stuff on them. They also have an underlying bland cardboardish that I find unappetizing. I probably won’t buy them again. When crackers are one of your staple "safe" snacks you avoid anything meh.