And fun, of course (thanks for the memories, Cyndi Lauper), but what girls really want is food. And for decades, I thought I was the only one. Then I discovered an entire sisterhood of food junkies who are all thinking the same thing all the time: "When is my next meal and what's it going to be?"
My family doctor pronounced me "four pounds overweight" when I was 10 years old, and I never recovered. At 14, I embarked on my first diet -- the Grapefruit Diet. Remember that travesty? You simply eat half a grapefruit before every meal and on the seventh day, you will have magically -- MAGICALLY! -- lost five pounds. I MAGICALLY gained a pound and lost all interest in citrus fruit. Sadly, the diet had failed to provide any guidelines regarding the meal that followed the magical grapefruit half. Trouble ensued.
Since then, eating has been a source of constant cogitation and frequent frustration for me, but it wasn't until I started working in the fitness industry that I discovered I was not alone. I've now been a personal trainer for 16 years, and I know this for sure: If there is more than one woman in a room, they will eventually talk about food. If you assemble a group, chances are they will talk of nothing else. But I promise you that when men gather to watch a game, compare SUVs, or discuss the stock market, at no time in this dimension or the next will one of them turn to another and say, "Hey, buddy, got any new recipes for chicken?" Nope. Men just do not think about food the way women do.
So come on in! Let's talk about food and cooking and recipes and dieting and exercising and breakfast and lunch and dinner and snacks and wine (whoopsie! wait a minute . . . that may be a whole 'nother topic for a whole 'nother day) and FOOD. Girls, you know what I mean. Guys, this is an equal opportunity forum, so speak up. Heck, we ladies might even learn something about you. (Right. As if . . .) Let the games begin!
(Don't forget to leave a comment. Look for the instructions in red after all the articles.)
Since then, eating has been a source of constant cogitation and frequent frustration for me, but it wasn't until I started working in the fitness industry that I discovered I was not alone. I've now been a personal trainer for 16 years, and I know this for sure: If there is more than one woman in a room, they will eventually talk about food. If you assemble a group, chances are they will talk of nothing else. But I promise you that when men gather to watch a game, compare SUVs, or discuss the stock market, at no time in this dimension or the next will one of them turn to another and say, "Hey, buddy, got any new recipes for chicken?" Nope. Men just do not think about food the way women do.
So come on in! Let's talk about food and cooking and recipes and dieting and exercising and breakfast and lunch and dinner and snacks and wine (whoopsie! wait a minute . . . that may be a whole 'nother topic for a whole 'nother day) and FOOD. Girls, you know what I mean. Guys, this is an equal opportunity forum, so speak up. Heck, we ladies might even learn something about you. (Right. As if . . .) Let the games begin!
(Don't forget to leave a comment. Look for the instructions in red after all the articles.)
21 comments:
Your Blog is great and I can't wait to see some of your recipes.
I have to disagree that men don't think about food. Every conversation with Jim almost always revolves around food. And Mike is fixated on the food he likes - chocolate, fries and chicken. Not too many recipes, true.
I agree with Barb. Men think about food, but they don't worry about how much they'll have to work out to work off the calories!
Great blob, Marilyn. I look forward to the fun!
Yesterday I discovered a great, healthy way to use up some lobster I had in the freezer. (I know, who has lobster in the freezer?!?) Anyway, the dish is called Lobster and Stone Crab Enchilado. It's a cuban recipe that bears no resemblance to the ever-popular and not so healthy Enchilada. It's more of a tomato stew with seafood, and it's delicious. The recipe is available on www.Epicurious.com, just go to advanced search and type in keyword Enchilado. For the record, I think it would be better with halibut or sea bass, the lobster got tough cooked this way.
What Deb said, "Great blob, Marilyn."
Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches! Yum!
Trader Joe's low calorie lemonade!
Tortilla Factory whole wheat tortillas - wrap everything up in these - scrambled eggs, leftover salad, fat free retried beans!
And those refrigerated soy noodles in Whole Foods!
RedCat
Mom, thanks so much for hanging in there through the comment process. Was it anything like giving birth to me??? XOXO
Sara, thanks for sharing that yummy lobster recipe and for including the suggestion about substituting halibut or sea bass because we have never in memory had leftover lobster at our house. Leftover lobster -- isn't that an oxymoron? Keep those recipes coming!
Barb, it took me a minute to realize that the Jim you're referring to is none other than MY Jim, in which case you are absolutely correct. He does, indeed, think and talk about food more than any man I've ever met. But look at him! He has to have a meal every 45 minutes, for Pete's sake! There aren't enough hours in the day to think about anything else! (More about Mike later.)
Red Cat, you are currently leading the pack in the healthy favorites category -- and thanks for sharing those great tips! I happen to love those very unusual soy noodles from Whole Foods too, but they were not a big hit with my classes when I mentioned them. Something about the disturbing aroma coming from the freshly opened package. Well, don't sniff 'em, then, just heat 'em up and eat 'em. I better get to work on my HEALTHY favorites!
Deb -- I think that makes me Earth's first BLOBBER. Hey, I've been called worse . . . . at the gym . . . . while I was standing RIGHT THERE. I can take it. Thanks!
I only talk about food because my lovely is such a great cook and exceptional writer!!!
Big Jim, my darling, your check is in the mail. XOXOXO
Made a vegetarian chili the other day that was particularly good. And I'm a guy who ordinarily would not consider putting vegetarian and chili together in the same sentence, much less in the same recipe. But there it was, mainly black beans with some pintos and big red kidney beans for presentation. "Campfire Salsa", some beer and a half a square of Baker's chocolate gave it a rich smokey flavor. I was surprised at how good it was. Cindy, my wife and vegetarian, said she was not surprised at all. Well I will make it again. Practice makes perfect.
Red Cat, I couldn't agree more about those Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches. Here in the east they not only have the usual chocolate and vanilla ice cream, but mint chocolate chip.....YUM!!!
Those soy noodles aren't available here in this small village of Luray, VA or even in Harrisonburg. Guess I will have to travel to Charlottesville for the wonderful WHOLE FOODS store.
They also sell a wonderful bacon WITHOUT NITRATES.
Anyone have a recipe for stuffed eggplant they think is GREAT?
Mom (and everybody), Red Cat likes the soy noodles from Whole Foods, but be sure to give House Foods Tofu Shirataki Noodles a try as well. They're also available in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods and are the ones I mentioned earlier that have the "unusual" aroma when you first open the bag. But the entire package only has 130 calores -- I said 130 CALORIES! Worth a taste test, wouldn't you say? And be sure to let us hear what you think!
Joe Fish, your vegetarian chili sounds scrumptious -- thanks for sharing such great ideas! And I should apologize to you and admit to one and all that this sweet brother of mine is an outstanding cook and quite a foodie in his own right, so I may be eating my words before long. A husband who worked for 20 years in the restaurant business and eats every 45 minutes and a brother who decades ago organized the first annual chili cook-off I'd ever heard of (and won it most of the time). Who said men don't think about food? Whoops -- me!
Does anyone have a recipe worth sharing for stuffed eggplant?
Last night I served HUNGRY GIRL'S recipe for CHEESEBURGER MASHED POTATO PARFAITS from the 8/21/ show. Not only was it delicious, but my husband labeled it "FUN". It's a keeper in this household.
Everyone -- Correction! The House Foods Tofu Shirataki Noodles that I mentioned in a previous comment actually have only 40 calories per 8 oz. package. That's 40 calories! In the entire package! You must try these things if you haven't already. Now, please do not expect them to have the texture of al dente pasta, but honestly, for that kind of calorie savings, aren't they worth a taste test? And you can do anything with them that you would do with your favorite macaroni, fettuccine, or angel hair pasta. Let us know what you think!
I am thrilled with the recent changes which for these older eyes make it easier to read because of bolder, larger print. Thanks. Also like the order of your offerings. Can't imagine doing a blog myself, but sure appreciate all your time and effort, giving many of us the opportunity. to exchange ideas, comments and foodie thoughts. Job well done!
I love happy hour and reservations!!!
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