Happy September, My Friend!
Did you ever notice how one day something is supposedly good for you, and then the next day, it’s bad? Remember when there were four food groups and we were supposed to eat some of each at every meal? And then along came the Food Pyramid, which I really liked because it had a huge bottom section with pictures of bread. But now we’re supposed to think bread is awful because it’s a carb, and we all know that if you eat carbs, you’re going straight to hell. And dark chocolate and red wine? Not long ago, they were both beneficial for your heart health, but that’s no longer the case. Ah, yesterday . . . all my troubles seemed so far away.
So I ask you, what is a girl to eat?
When I was a kid, if it wasn’t a grilled cheese sandwich, I wasn’t going to eat it. I gave my mom fits because I hated just about everything, especially anything that was “good for me.” Vegetables? Ew. Fruit? Some of that was better, but preferably if it came out of a can—none of that fresh business for me, thank you.
As a result of my limited intake, my parents thought it best to make me take cod liver oil to strengthen my meager frame. I’m not talking about nice gel caps filled with the smelly stuff; these were the days of pouring the pungent liquid onto a spoon and swallowing it down, in my case, with an orange juice chaser. (It got to be where I couldn’t even stand orange juice anymore because it reminded me of the cod liver oil.) This was all in an attempt, as my dad would say, to “put some meat on my bones.”
There’s plenty of meat on these bones now, Dad, just so you know.
There is a Facebook page that occasionally appears on my timeline with an ad from decades ago, advertising some hideous-looking dish and raving about it as if it’s the most delicious thing ever. Almost all of these recipes involve Jell-O. Usually gelatin, vegetables, and maybe even some sort of meat, all together in one big happy congealed mass. (I’m feeling a pang of guilt that someone reading this might be saying, “Wait a minute, I loved my Aunt Mabel’s congealed veggie and meat salad!” If that is the case, please forgive me.)
I remember taking “home ec” in junior high. It was there that I first heard the term “convenience foods.” I can still see Miss Nelson and hear her voice telling us about the remarkable new foods that hardly needed any preparation. That would have been right around the time that “Hamburger Helper” was introduced to the world. (Sing this if you know it: “Hamburger Helper helped her hamburger help her make a great meal!”)
I’ve mentioned before that my mom worked full-time when I was a kid, starting when I was in the second grade. She was not a cook-sauce-all-day, bake homemade bread mom. Convenience foods spoke to her heart. One of her favorite things to make was “minute” steaks. The name alone sounds expedient. But perhaps there wasn’t, during this era, something as conveniently wonderful as . . .
. . . the TV dinner.
What wondrous thing is this?? Oh, what memories I have of a Swanson’s turkey dinner! That bottom section, filled with stuffing and turkey swimming in gravy—I ate this part, even though it was clearly not a grilled cheese sandwich. The “whipped” potatoes. I thought that was pretty fancy—whipped, not mashed, like most barbarians such as myself would say. The outer perimeter of the potatoes was a bit dry and unappetizing, so I only ate the center part. Then there were the peas and carrots. Now, why did they have to go and ruin a perfectly good meal with gross vegetables? I may have eaten a few carrots—maybe. I wouldn’t touch peas with a ten-foot pole. And then, the best part, the marvel of all marvels . . . dessert! Right in the center at the top, in (unfortunately) the smallest section, was the apple pie! I don’t even love apple pie, but I love the idea of dessert being right there just waiting for me! At times, a most unfortunate thing would happen: Some of the peas and carrots would spill over into the dessert. That was about the most disgusting thing I could think of at that age. Peas in my dessert. Gross me right out the door.
Isn’t it funny that these frozen meals were invented so that we could spend more time looking at the TV set? According to extensive research on the subject (aka “I googled it”), in 1950, 9% of households in America owned TVs. That jumped to greater than 64% by 1955 and more than 87% by 1960—the year I came along. And now look at us! Chances are, we might have more than one TV in our houses! I could never admit to you how manyfivewe have in our home. We could eat a TV dinner in several rooms at Chez Thomas!
However, we are now advised to “shop the perimeter” of the grocery store when purchasing our food. Stay away from all those processed foods in the middle. And don’t eat in front of the television! But wait! What am I supposed to do with these cute, vintage “TV tables” I bought? Put potted plants on them . . . . until we’re told that potted plants are bad for us.
Oh, we live in a confusing world. There has become too much information. And we can find opposite opinions on any one topic. It makes it very difficult to know what is true and what isn’t. I think we all just try to do our best at making sense of it all. Sometimes what makes perfect sense to me is not perfectly sensible to someone else. And so, I guess, what I need to do is listen and try to understand, and hope I’ll be granted the same.
In the meantime, I think I’ll make myself a grilled cheese sandwich.
Wishing you a delicious week, without a lick of cod liver oil!
Written with love – – – Patti XOXO