Eating Healthy?

/ roughwighting

bacon, no bacon, eat healthyI know I’m a pain to my family.

They’re nice enough to not call me that to my face, but I see the roll of the eyes, the shrug of their shoulders.

I don’t want to be self-righteous about eating healthy, and god knows I don’t use those two words together:

EATING. HEALTHY.

But.

After the report of how bad bacon and other processed meats are for our bodies (as if we hadn’t figured that out already), I have to bite my tongue when my granddaughter eats none of her salad during a recent mom/daughter/granddaughter lunch out, but asks for a second serving of bacon.

Bacon! I can’t contain my shudders. Then I hand her one of my cucumber slices.

grandson, children playingMy 4-year-old grandson barely eats enough to sustain a life. Yet he plays outside for hours in the frigid temps, cheeks rosy, mouth curved in a total state of happiness, until his fingers turn purple. Then, he skips into his parents’ house and asks for a cookie.

Soup first, I want to demand. Then, cookie.

But he reaches into the jar and munches on a treat packed with massive amounts of sugar.

My bitten tongue is blood red, at this point.eating healthy

So when my guy and I go out for dinner, he knows better than to order, say, a cheeseburger with bacon, extra cheese, and onion rings on top.

No, at our favorite pub last Friday, we order the swordfish special with spinach and potato.

To share.

The fish tastes fine, a little dry without the sauce (too creamy). But we moan in ecstasy over the potato, which needs no butter or sour cream because it tastes so good on its own.

chefMy guy calls the waiter over: “Why is this potato so good?”

I guess out loud: “It’s boiled halfway, then baked with sea salt?”

Two minutes later, a tall 30-something stalk of a man races over to our table, his blonde hair topped with a large white chef’s hat. “You have a question about the potato?” he asks.

Proudly, I tell him I’ve guessed the secret to his deliciously healthy potato side.

The chef turns beet red. “Um. Noooo. The Idaho baked potato is cut in half, lightly fried in a pan until it’s crispy brown, then we add heaping tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan and cook it some more.”

“Oh my,” I say. “That doesn’t sound very healthy. And here we ordered the FISH DISH.”

“The fish is low fat,” Mr. High Hat agrees. “The potato is sure not healthy, but it’s damn good.”

He struts back to his kitchen, and I warn my man, “Don’t say a thing to our grandkids!”

Then I sneak in the last bite of potato.

Thanks to Google Images.

70 thoughts on “Eating Healthy?”

  1. Oh how you made me laugh! I confess we buy food only for the grandkids to eat but sometimes I forget myself and say ‘watch out or you’ll end up like your mother! I have such a way with words and the bruises to prove it!

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    • I’m not sure it’s really that hard to eat healthy. We just have to avoid restaurants, fast-food places, most grocery aisles, and our taste buds. Ha Ha. I have a friend who’s on a new diet that consists of 6 cups of veggies a day. Now THAT’S extreme!!!!

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    • A friend of mine tells me frequently about how intelligent and family-centered pigs are. And she sends me photos from a rescue farm where she volunteers. I am OFF bacon! But chocolate? Now that’s my favorite vegetable…

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  7. This post brought back memories of trying to get our kids to eat healthy. We succeeded with one, not so much with the other. But I’m primed to work on any grandkids…and I do like bacon (but don’t eat a lot of it).

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    • My kids really weren’t offered (nor did they ask for) junk food. Yet, both now offer pizza, fries, sweets, etc to their kids. I think part of the reason is that couples are so busy with their two-career lives,they have a difficult time finding time to cook in the kitchen.

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  8. Haha, fab! Thankfully my kids are pretty good when it comes to eating, yes they eat their share of junk and sugar, but they’re also happy to eat lots of fruit and vegetables, and I think overall they have a pretty good and varied diet. Now, about those potatoes…

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    • Your family meal plan sounds balanced to me. I think sugar is great, if it’s not the main part of a diet! What’s difficult when we go out is that many times, we don’t know what we’re getting. Healthy, schmealthy. Maybe menus will include ingredients and cooking methods soon…?

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  9. As a vegetarian I am constantly appalled at what my grandkids eat. I have introduced them to some healthy dishes that they enjoy though. Of course I keep things as treats for them when they visit too but I dislike even the smell of bacon. The potato story is very funny.

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  10. What a great post Pam, I love it! 😀 I don’t have grandchildren 😪😪 but I have a husband that doesn’t like most vegetables . My job is to sneak them in whenever I can. Cooking is a hobby of mine and I like to create dishes that taste good without putting in too much junk . That’s not easy because our taste buds have adjusted to too much sugar and too much fat.
    Bacon is a great flavor enhancer and one of my favorite foods. Have a great weekend.

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    • You should write a cookbook, Gerlinde, based on your blog and add recipes in which you ‘hide’ the veggies. Love it!!! (However, perhaps you could substitute the bacon fat with something else??)

      On the other hand, make sure you include all those stupendous desserts you make!!! 😉

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  12. loved this, pam! isn’t if funny as we age we realize how we should have been eating all of our life??? then we begin to realize that all vegetables and a low fat diet are actually delicious and healthy!!! if only we could have
    known this many years ago!!! oh, but one bite of dark chocolate or a tiny bit of bacon won’t hurt, will it???? LOL

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    • However, remember the vegetables we were served when we were young? From a can or frozen from a box – never fresh. Now it’s so much easier to like vegetables – they taste like real food, not like tin!
      Oh, and I don’t know about you, but in my mind, chocolate IS a vegetable.

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  13. don’t worry, pam, the medicos don’t know from Adam. first it was no eggs, then one egg per week, then not more than four, and now: eat, eat, they’re good for you. So shall it be with bacon. I wish the medicos would get their minds right and tell us like it is! So many changed studies and minds turns their credibility to mush that is flavored with 2 tbls of butter and 7 tbls sugar and 2 cups of whole milk

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  14. Everything in moderation…. 🙂

    It used to frustrate me no end when my boys were younger that the kids’ meals in restaurants were always “something and chips” – nuggets, fish fingers, sausages. Our boys were (and still are) happy fruit and vegetable eaters. We would have to order a side order of vegetables or salad to give them a decent meal. One night we went out and nearly died of shock when the menu for the kids said “with chips or vegetables”. And the nuggets were homemade from chicken breasts. Unfortunately, it closed down not long after that. 😦

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  15. I think bacon and chocolate must come from the same bush because I love them both so much. But, if we go out to eat I’m very good and do without the chocolate.I go temporarily deaf if vegetables are mentioned.
    xxx Massive Hugs xxx

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  19. In this country we all grew up with so many bad eating habits. For me, it was all the sweets. My sister and I started baking before we learned to cook. Baking a cake is so much more fun than making chicken soup. I still struggle to stay away from sweets. My Chinese husband grew up in Asia where people serve orange wedges for dessert. I also have to bite my tongue around my grandkids. They’re all different. Some take to good food more easily than others. My youngest grandson has been a picky eater since birth.

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    • My nephew was the pickiest eater: only hot dogs or fish sticks. Yuck. He was a skinny little thing, and we all figured he’d grow up that way. At 21 now, he’s 6 foot 2, strong, and handsome. I guess kids can eat the darnest things, and still turn out okay. 🙂

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  20. Lol…oh boy, what would your grandchildren say if they only knew.
    I love fish and rarely eat anything but fish when we go out to eat. The only time I eat beef is when I’m in the mood for an occasional burger and then it usually has avocado or BACON on it…:) however, I do love sweets, even though I try and temper myself. I think if I came in from playing outside in the cold I’d grab a chocolate chip cookie and then ask for some soup. But I’m really a child at heart…:)

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    • I have only one addiction (if you don’t count reading too many books!!), and it’s sugar. I can’t kick that habit, and truly, like reading books, I’m not sure life would be worth living without a little daily sugar in my life.
      But I rationalize this addiction by eating lots of veggies. 🙂

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  24. Love this! I get in such trouble because I can’t keep my mouth shut. I’m anti-chemical and tend to refer to anything processed as “poison.” My brother recently ordered me to stop referring to his diet cola and GMO chips as poison. Sugar is a whole other story!

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  25. Too funny! I have to admit, I keep a jar of bacon fat on my counter to use for cooking a variety of foods (when it makes sense of course). It is a guilty pleasure for sure, but I think, like everything else, in moderation it really can’t hurt. That much. 🙂

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  27. I have to say, I LOVE bacon—and REALLY miss it! I’ve eaten all kinds of food my entire life and the garbage has taken its toll. Now I’m REALLY restricted! Now that I’ve learned even more than I knew before, I try to get my parents to tow the line, but it’s impossible *sigh* My son and daughter-in-law have gotten into eating well, so I’m hoping my grandchildren will! 🙂

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    • Here’s something I don’t tell many. When I was 12 (and eating all the cookies, whole milk, etc that I wanted), my doctor suggested to her that she change my food intake to skim milk (gasp! I hated it) and no cookies and no sugar in my iced tea. I was not overweight, but could have been once I became a teen. I lost 10 pounds and never looked back. Best thing my mom ever did for me…although I didn’t appreciate it at the time.

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      • It’s wonderful that you actually complied! 🙂 I wish I’d known what the foods were doing to me, along with other bad habits like being a night owl. My quality of life would’ve been better otherwise! I’m still trying to change these habits and when I’m successful, my body—and life—are thankful 😀

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  28. This is why it’s so hard to eat a healthy meal at a restaurant! And one reason why my husband and I try not to indulge at one more than once a month. I’m still meeting my desire to exercise more and eat better this year, and I can really see and—more importantly—feel the difference. But we’ll still use bacon in a few dishes, just no more than a couple slices worth for each of us. Mums the word with the grandkids!

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    • The past couple of years, I’ve felt that the meals I prepare taste so much better than what we get at a restaurant, I prefer to invite people over and enjoy a good meal and a bottle of wine at home instead. Keep up the good work – I’m the same, the healthier my habits, the better I feel inside and out.

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  29. Hi Pamela,
    I know many people here. My husband and I are considered “pains” too. We don’t like spicy. I try to avoid high calories as well. I use to like bacon. Now I think it’s salty and greasy.
    Janice

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    • Hi Janice! Thanks for coming on over to roughwighting. We ‘pains’ need to stick together. 🙂 As far as eating healthy, I can avoid salty and greasy, but if it’s sweet and sugary – ughhhh, that’s my downfall.

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  30. I keep hearing and reading about parents and their never-ending peripety trying to get their children to eat more healthy. Then I read this very nice article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-mid/6-words-that-will-end-picky-eating_b_7139710.html. Ah, sadly, even in restaurants, you’d think you ordered something healthy, but we really don’t know how overcooked it all was. Why I like going to whole foods and eating there. I try to put more raw veggies into my plate (and of course the least overprocessed meat and side) and start by eating them first, so all the good nutrients get digested and absorbed first.

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    • That’s an excellent huffpost article on kids and eating. I sent it on over to my daughter. 🙂
      I’m with you – I start with the veggies and hope that fills me up enough to not overindulge in the ‘not so healthy’ stuff. Thanks for the comment!

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  32. So funny! I too cringe when all my two year old wants to eat is bacon, and cookies. In the back of my mind I think.. at least she is eating something! She sure loves her bacon. Hey it has protein.

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    • Protein and tons of fat. I bite my tongue so I won’t say “think of the poor pig who gave up her life for you to eat a pile of bacon.” I think I’d get in big trouble if I said that. I’ll wait until the little one is closer to 12… 😉

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