The Holiday Spread

Hello everyone!
Audrey and I have settled into some good routines for our meal planning, cooking, portion control and food selection. One challenge to portion control was that we had to adjust to is keeping ourselves from overbuying food at the store, especially perishables. So planning and thinking ahead on what meals we are going to cook really helps with that. The next big challenge coming our way is the spread on the table at Easter Sunday.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think I should be able to control my intake, but there is just something culturally imbedded in me that screams “PIG OUT” at holiday meals. Of course, having people who love to cook and eat among all sides of our families probably compounds this phenomenon. I mean, no one makes mashed potatoes and turkey gravy as good as my Aunt Mary. No one. So, come Thanksgiving, must have lots of Aunt Mary’s mashed potatoes and gravy. Then there is my mother’s pineapple sour cream pie, and my mom’s cousin Sandy’s infamous strawberry pretzel cream cheese Jello dessert.

Even the conversations at holiday times turn to favorite dishes we miss made by family members no longer with us. Aunt Juanita’s chicken and noodles are legendary, and I would pay a fortune to taste my Grandma Long’s pea salad or Grandma Crumly’s Waldorf salad again.

In two days, Audrey and I go to her parents for Easter dinner. Boy, can she cook. First, Ann makes this wonderful pineapple peach raisin sauce for the ham. Then there is her ghoulishly delicious macaroni and cheese next to the best stuffing I have ever eaten. I am still hoping one day Ann will let Audrey know how to make her greens. And then, of course, there is Ann’s homemade pound cake with lemon glaze. It is so good; dozens of people have been after her to start a cake business.

So, come Sunday, I realize two or three towering plates of food probably aren’t in my best interest, especially after I met with the doctor yesterday and reviewed my blood sugar and cholesterol test results. However, I am learning how to eat sustainably for life and I do get a “throw away” day once a week as part of my meal plan, so a spoonful of mac and cheese, a spoonful of dressing, and a sliver of pound cake may come my way. After all, holiday time with family is special.

Thanks for your support everyone,

God bless,

Michael