An Indulgent dinner--and how to eat more healthily

Betty and I went to Cafe Aspen tonight--an old favorite--and indulged in chicken fried lobster with grilled asparagus and basil mashed potatoes--only a demi plate, and I didn't eat much of the potatoes. But the lobster was soooo good. It came with a bell pepper sauce that I asked them to leave off and when the waiter offered cocktail sauce, I almost laughed--who would ruin the delicacy of lobster with strong cocktail sauce? But still, I know chicken fried is not good and this was a one time thing.
Sue next door sent me a review of a book called Food Matters by Mark Bittman, New York columnist who writes "The Minimalist." It's essentially an application of the theories of Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food). Bittman offers theory, followed by recipes. His idea is the same as Pollan's--eat less and eat more plants. Bittman adds eat less meat, less complex carbohydrates (processed white bread, white flour, rice, etc.), and no junk food. But Bittman lost 35 pounds in a remarkably short time by a new approach: eat vegan until six, then eat your normal food. I wondered where fish fit into this because I eat a lot of seafood--tuna salad is a favorite--and I thought I was well on the way to his diet. After all, I eat low fat cottage cheese for breakfast--but oops, a vegan wouldn't eat cheese, nor the single egg I enjoyed for breakfast out earlier this week. And a vegan wouldn't eat fish. Vegan may finally take me to the Spiral Diner, a vegan/vegetarian place I've been afraid to try. I don't eat junk food, I don't eat a lot of red meat, though occasionally I crave it--which I guess is okay after six, and I've made a point of avoiding white breads, etc., usually eat rye for sandwiches as a matter of taste. I think I'll have to buy Bittman's book--if I were truly eating as he recommends, I wouldn't keep seeing the scales register higher (though they were three pounds less at my lasst doctor's appt). My current interest in healthy food reminds me of my mom's adherence in the'60s to the theories of Adele Davis, a nutritionist who advocated eating natural foods. Maybe Mom and Adele were both ahead of their times.

Tough week

After threatening storms Tuesday night and a mostly gray day yesterday, the sun is out and the world looks bright and new. I decided it did that to reflect my mood. I've had a rough week. Don't know if it's the new medication or the lack of the old, self-administered medication, but I have not felt well--sleepless nights, constant slight feeling of nausea. And completely unrelated, my left hip decided to remind me it was there, going into a spasm Monday and subsiding Tuesday and Wednesday into a dull but pretty strong ache. But last night I slept well, my hip didn't bother me (amazing what aspirin and a hot pad will do), and I awoke hungry, was eager for lunch, and am thinking about that leftover meatloaf and an ear of corn I'll have for supper. I realize the bad days may come again for a while, but I am much encouraged.
In spite of feeling rocky (I am not one of those people who can squeak by on two hours sleep) I've had a busy week--the TCU Texas Book Award banquet Tuesday night (despite those dark dark clouds that could have held hail and tornados but didn't), breakfast with a colleague Wednesday, and lunch with good friends. Last night I had dinner with Jordan, Christian, and Jacob, which is always a delight. Jacob is so happy and so proud of his newfound though shaky walking skills. That was, until he got tired, and then he had a complete meltdown--when his dad set him down on the floor for a minute, he cried like his heart would break, and I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. He recovered enough to play "Come and get me" every time Dad approached with pjs in his hands. I told Jordan her family made me feel better.
A friend called last night, just to check in, and in the course of the conversation said, "We haven't talked about the shootings yet." It was as though we have to talk to all those we're close to about our reaction--and maybe we do. But how can you put it into words? How do you even know what you feel? We did agree that it isn't fair to hold the school responsible--they had identified the student and done everything they legally could. Their hands were tied, which in itself is a scary thought. It scares me to think of sending my grandchildren to grade school, let alone a university. Even with the magnitude of the tragedy and a recognition that we should be appropriately marking it, I am tired of seeing the videos of the young shooter and his posed pictures. It's almost as bad as the overdone coverage of the Don Imus affair or Anna Nicole Smith's death. Something has happened to taste in this country, and news coverage doesn't help. Speaking of which, Bill Moyers will have a PBS special Wednesday night detailing how the White House lied to get us into war and how culpable the media is in having gone along with the great deception. Should be interesting, even if it comes as no surprise at this point.
Guess I wandered a bit in this one.

New thoughts about what we eat

My neighbor Sue talks--a lot!--about a book that she said was life-changing. It changed the way she thinks about the food she puts in her body and in her children's bodies. Even listening to her, without reading the book, I decided I was eating too much red meat. I emailed the title to Melanie, because I know she's interested in such things, and she quickly wrote back that she owned the book. So the last time I was in Frisco I borrowed it. But it's languished on my desk--well, I had a Dick Francis and a J. A. Jance to read--but I had delved into a bit of it, and tonight I got farther into it, though I surely haven't come to grips with all of it. It's The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.
After you read this book, if you do, you may want to swear off red meat--my neighbor, Jay, knowing nothing about the book, said he's given up red meat for Lent and hasn't missed it at all. But the book details what happens to a beef and what goes into its body in that short trip from pasture to feedlot to slaughterhouse. And it isn't pretty. I can't even begin to simplify it, but cattle are fed corn instead of grass--their natural food--so that they gain weight much faster than nature intended them to. And that causes all kinds of health problems--well over half the cattle slaughtered have diseased livers. Some die in the feed lot; all are fed antibiotics. The tale goes on and on.
Even organic doesn't really protect you, because there's now "industrial organic" as opposed to "agribusiness." Okay, "industrial organic" is better, but it's sure far from the practices of Joel Salatin, a self-described "Christian-conservative-libertarian-environmentalist-lunatic farmer" in Virginia who raises cattle, poultry, swine, rabbits, and turkey, and won't even ship his produce because to do so would be not serious about energy and seasonality and bioregionalism. He rotates his pastures--when the cattle move off, the chickens move in. Want his meat? You'll have to go to his Poky Place Farm to get it.
Pollan raises the whole issue of the misleading terms of organic and free range that lull many of us into thinking we're eating healthy. Know what free range chicken means? There's a door from the chickens' cage out onto the grass, but they're not allowed out there for a few weeks because they might catch something. When the door is opened, probably few venture out. And at the most a month later, they're slaughtered. Free range isn't what you and I thought.
OK. I'm not doing a good job of conveying the very complex material that Michael Pollan deals with. But he does a good job of it, in a readable manner, and I'm watching my diet from now on. Read the book!
And me? I want to go visit Joel Salatin.