a
gourmet AND a health food fanatic
No two ways about
it, my mother was a health food fanatic. She would sit at the dinner table
and tell us what vitamins were in the food we were eating. We didn't pay
any attention because we were too busy eating her great food. She was
a gourmet cook and liked food to taste good. Lentils that were pretending
to be hamburgers were not for her. She said that all food was helath food
and the recipes should taste good while nourishing the body.
Mom was flexible and
believed in moderation. We had zucchini
medallions and
carrot medallions
which were sautéed. She said that she didn't go heavy on oil and
she used good oil, so she didn't worry about the food being sautéed.
She wasn't afraid
of forbidden foods, she just knew how to use them minimally, and how to
find a healthy substitute. She made a terrific kale,
white bean and potato soup that was creamy without using cream.
For dessert, she'd give us a yogurt
version of strawberries and cream or apple
pie yogurt which was really yogurt and fruit, but it was food
for the gods.She loved her grains
and so did we because she knew how to spice things. My favorite was her
wheat berry salad and her
couscous with ginger and toasted almonds. She'd serve one of
those on a vegetarian night with a spicy
bean and avocado salad. She'd watch us dig into our food and
cluck like mother hen herself. She loved to feed people. If we complained that
other kids were getting cole slaw or meat loaf, she'd make a
turkey meat loaf that would be less fatty or she'd whip
up a cabbage slaw
without mayonnaise. She didn't tell us that it was turkey or that
the mayo was missing. We'd just dig in and eat because it was beautiful
to look at and great to eat. Health food? Everything my mother cooked
was health food.
ABOUT
DAVE: Dave is a web designer who claims he doesn't get eye
strain because his mother taught him to eat carrots.
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