Saturday, November 15, 2008

Modifying Our Diet

Don't know about you but I tend to lose my appetite when I'm ill and this round of bronchitis/pneumonia has been no different. And, while home I ate a lot of vegetarian meals because my youngest son doesn't eat meat. I'm also allergic to eggs, milk and gluten though I use all sparingly in my diet. Just plain stubborn I guess.

So I stepped on the dreaded scale today and had lost 8 pounds; probably more water loss than fat but it gave me the push I needed.

I have no concern about getting enough protein as I'm big on beans and besides, using less meat will lower our grocery bill.Going meat free is easier than one would think. Just add another vegetable, fruit, or grain to your meal and you'll be plenty full and nutritionally balanced. Sweetie is not following my lead so I continue to his favorite dishes - only half as much.

I read two posts today about Spam and that reminded me of the many variations it had at my childhood dinner table. Mom made fried Spam, green pepper, onion, cheese and egg omelette's; Spam mixed with macaroni and cheese; finely diced Spam, chopped onion and leftover mashed potatoes mixed together for Spam potatoes patties; Spam cubes, peas and linguine smothered in mom's homemade Alfredo sauce; cold, cubed Spam, elbow macaroni, relish, chopped onion and celery, sliced radishes and a bit of mayonnaise mixed together for macaroni salad; Spam and bean soup; and finally, Spam sandwiches that were either served cold with pickles and mayo or mustard or Spam grilled cheese sandwiches. I'm sure there are Spam meals I've forgotten but you get the idea; Spam is versatile, has a great shelf life, and one can will feed a family of six.

And how many cans of Spam do we have in our stash? Not a one! Though sitting here talking about it I think I'll pick up a few cans Monday. I'm incredibly spoiled and have used canned corned beef in all the aforementioned recipes but hey, variety is always appreciated.

I came across a great little cookbook and had it shipped to my Dad's - and then left it there!!! So once it arrives here, I'll post some recipes. I think you'll all get a kick out of the titles.
Well, I'm still feeling a bit peaked so off to bed I go. Later Treesong

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