Monday September 14 2015  FOOD OBSESSION

My cousin says I have an obsession with food.  Synonyms for obsession: “mania, fixation, passion, preoccupation, thing”.  I wonder which one best describes the meaning of obsession for me?  I would rather use the word ENJOY to describe my “thing” regarding food.  Yes, I love to eat it, after all food is not something we can live without, but even more so, I ENJOY the beauty of food.  I ENJOY the smell of fresh fruits and vegetables and the textures I feel when working with them.  I ENJOY figuring out new recipes and foods that will and will not work with each other.  I ENJOY the aroma of fresh herbs picked from the herb garden and the warm cozy feeling one gets inside when you walk into a kitchen that has something baking in the oven.  And…I ENJOY color and food presentation and the flavors of well prepared meals.  I actually ENJOY preparing and cooking.  So, I suppose “PASSION” would also describe my obsession.  And the thing I get the most satisfaction out of is the way I feel after I have eaten a well-balanced, delicious (to me anyway), and satisfying meal.  What I eat truly does affect my physical output.  When I don’t put the proper foods in, I cannot expect my body to perform to its highest performance level.  Performance to me is having energy, feeling well as I go about my day, having a bounce in my step and enthusiasm in my spirit.  I don’t want to feel like I need a nap after I eat a meal.  After eating should be when I have the most energy and vitality to enjoy life.  I don’t want to be constantly thinking about the next time I can eat.  I want to be satisfied, sated, physical needs satisfied and on my way. 

Since Dave must eat on a strict schedule I have become more attuned to getting into the kitchen early enough to prepare food before his blood sugar crashes.  So therefore, I have to think about food more frequently as to when and what I have prepared for his next meal.  That is one reason I enjoy making large batches of recipes so the food is prepared and ready to serve up.  I always have prepared vegetables of some sort ready to eat, as well as protein that can be easily used in concoctions, rices and quinoa salads prepared ahead, and fresh salad greens ready for cutting up.  It makes each meal a bit easier to get on the table sooner.  So, I spend a couple of days cooking and preparing and then for the next several days we eat off of that and never seem to have the same meal twice because I always mix and match and pull protein entrees from the freezer to make different concoctions.  I buy Costco rotisserie chickens and cut the meat into cubes and freeze in serving size portions to add to soups or salads.  The more things I can create, the more I enjoy it.  It makes eating fun, and it makes the prep work seem like less work.  And to even make it more interesting, I don’t really know what we’ll be eating until I receive my food boxes on Thursday and then see what Aldi’s sales are for the week.  We eat seasonally and I design our menus around the sale items and the food box.  When fresh berries are on sale I buy them in flats and come home and freeze berries and cut up fruits on cookie sheets so the berries do not stick to one another.  That way we can just reach in and add whatever fruit we want on our cereal or salads or fruit smoothies. 

So now you know why my freezer is full and why my cousin says I have a food obsession.  I love reaching in and pulling out bags of beautiful raspberries and blueberries and strawberries and mangos and pineapple and many more varieties during the winter months.  And the bonus is, I get good fruit for less cost, especially when you consider winter costs.  Come next spring and summer I again will have more space to fill in the freezer.

So, maybe I should quit talking about food so much.  Perhaps then I wouldn’t have much else to talk about.  I’ll go a few days and see what I come up with.  That is, after I tell you what I have cooking for tonight.  Another Strata bakes as I write this blog and then I will bake the carrot cake muffins when the oven is empty.  If you like carrot cake just let me know and I’ll be happy to share my recipe.  The recipe is actually for a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting but I make the batter into muffins instead and do not use frosting.  Every time I take my muffins someplace to share there are ladies who ask for the recipe.  There is a secret ingredient in it that makes it the cream of the crop.

So enough about food.  I’ll see if I can refrain from saying one more word about food until I can’t.  I’ll see how long that takes.

Today was one of those perfect, end of the summer, days.  Cool morning, blue sky, gentle breeze and up in the mid 70’s for most of the day.  Bright and clear and so enjoyed.  My feet are itching to hit the road again.  I think I could go for another few months.  The only thing is, I wish I could retrace my steps more slowly to the places I have already been.  I know the time of year is different so the weather and scenery would be different, but it would be awesome to see some of the places in a different season.  I am still in love with Montana and Wyoming.  If I could, I would go and spend each summer just exploring those states.  But alas, I must settle down in my old age and finish my memoirs and compiling my other books if I am to finish them before I get too old.   I have looked ahead and figured out that I may have an additional 18 good years left with a brain that functions fully (I HOPE).  Perhaps that is being pessimistic but actually I am trying to be realistic.  Things start happening when you get my age.  I don’t want to say too much just in case there are younger people reading this blog.  I do not want to make you think of reality too soon.  Sometimes ignorance is bliss. 

My wisdom for this day is to enjoy each and every moment you have to the fullest.  Do not allow negative feelings and thoughts to crowd into your space.  Love life, lift up your hands and twirl around in the sunshine.  Do something that you are far too old to do!  Run and hop and skip and jump!  Lie down in the sunshine and watch the clouds drift overhead while imagining all the cloud shapes into faces and animals and flowers and trees.  Read a child’s picture storybook and really look at the pictures and remember when you were little and what it felt like to be held in someone’s lap.  Then pick yourself up, dust yourself off and become an adult again, renewed with joy and a sense of wonder.  Never get too old to enjoy the moment you have.  It is over all too soon.

P.S.  And eat well!

Psalms 103: 1-5

Bless the Lord, O my soul;

And all that is within me,

bless His holy name!

² Bless the Lord, O my soul,

And forget not all His benefits:

³ Who forgives all your iniquities,

Who heals all your diseases,

⁴ Who redeems your life from destruction,

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

⁵ Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

LIVE LIFE WITH CHILDLIKE WONDER

By Kathleen Martens

September 14, 2015

With childlike wonder deep in your heart

Allow each day to fully start.

See the amazing that greets your eye,

Stop and experience a butterfly.

Smell the roses that waft in the breeze,

Every moment fully seize.

Hold tightly to joy that it escapes not,

Enjoy beauty that cannot be bought.

Hear the song of the little bird,

Open your imagination to understand its word.

Let the song penetrate deep,

It is these moments you want to keep.

See everything new, each and every day,

Let not the mundane creep your way.

Your road is fresh with dawn’s new birth,

More valuable that gold, is its worth.

Let not one hour, pass without love,

Lift your eyes to the God above.

From God comes, all good things

Our heavenly Father, the King of kings.

Be grateful for each breath you take,

Choose on this day, to make it great.

Your attitude sets the course of your life.

Choose joy instead of strife.

Love yourself as God made you,

So that then you can love others too.

Give from your heart the joy that God gives,

And live to the fullest the life that you live.

Good Night and God bless and keep you.