Say Cheese, Please!

This club on rye is loaded with protein - ham, turkey, bacon...and a slice of cheese, of course!

Cheese might just be a food of the gods.  It makes everything better -- pizza, sandwiches, meat, casseroles, crackers...  Awhile back in a post I mentioned I had lost a couple of pounds while traveling, and that has set off a new leaf that I am trying to turn over.  I would definitely not call it a diet but a semi-diet of sorts -- an effort to develop some better eating habits or maybe just cut back a bit so that I can be healthier and feel better about myself.  Not for my husband or anyone else, but just for me.  I have actually dropped about 7 or 8 lbs without trying too hard and without starving myself. Starving the ol' girl definitely does not work.  If I feel deprived, I want it even more! Yep, that's just the way I roll.  I have mostly been limiting portions, and subbing in healthier ops for not-as-healthy choices. Like ground turkey for ground beef when I can (hard to tell the difference).  Two percent cheese for full fat versions (just as tasty).  Baked chips for fried ones (not as good, but gives me the salty crunch I need).  A small square of chocolate as opposed to a whole bag of M&M's (this one works amazingly well).  And no sodas.  If I have a soda craving, I drink a diet Coke which is not too bad but not the healthiest option, either.  Unsweetened tea has become my drink of choice.  I am a self-professed Coke addict, so to not drink a Coke with a burger or pizza is a miracle in and of itself!  I have had a couple of people notice the few pounds lost and that always makes a girl feel good.  And I even think my turkey-neck is looking a little less -- well, gobble-ish. Totally fitting, is it not, since we are less than a week away from Turkey Day.  No one wants to be compared with the main course.  I don't overdo the scale thing either as I could become too obsessed with the scale and that is not my first goal.  My first goal is to be healthier and hopefully live better and longer -- but not too long, just long enough...somewhere between 80 and -- uh, more on that another time.  This has been my workable formula: Add more protein, less sugar and fewer simple carbs (which are really one in the same as I understand it when it all boils down to the breakdown in the body).  I am also trying to eat more veggies and fruits.  Veggies I love but fruit not so much.  I know, I'm wierd, but I have come to appreciate a bowl of frozen blueberries with a dollop of light whipped cream on top.  Brain food they say, which makes it a doubly-good option for my sweet tooth!

So in an effort to support my new leaf, hubby went out and purchased all kinds of frozen veggies and stocked our freezer so that we would always have healthy options.  Wasn't that sweet of him... Anyway, did you know that frozen veggies are as healthy and sometimes even healthier than fresh ones? Something about locking in the freshness before the freshness has time to escape according to Mr. Birdseye and the jolly Green Giant...mmh).  So my freezer has been stocked with squash, broccoli, beans, greens, and peas.  I have definitely cooked and eaten some of those wonderful veggies but this is my dilemma:  I don't have anything to eat!  I need starch and protein of some sort with those veggies. Potatoes, pasta, rice, cheese of some sort in moderation and (a side of) meat always makes those veggies just a tad bit better, wouldn't you agree?  Oh, boy.  I think I must have Italian blood flowing through my veins.  I mean, is there really any life without cheese and pasta?  I think not.  There is nothing better to me than feasting on a homemade lasagna or ravioli or ziti accompanied by garlic rolls floating in butter. So I haven't deprived myself of SOME pasta and SOME bread and SOME cheese, which seems to be working for me.  And I definitely don't want to look like the Italian grandma they depict in the movies...as wide as she is tall.

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I have been thinking of ways I can enjoy without overindulging. I will need to keep my philosophy of "a little of everything, but not a lot of anything" (from Giada De Laurentiis).  But at my family's Thanksgiving meal, a little can be a lot when the table is overflowing with 20 or more of my favorite dishes, ranging from sweet potato casserole to green beans "cooked southern-style" to cornbread dressing to pecan pie, and the list goes on and on.  I love collard greens though and volunteered to bring those for our host family so that I can have at least one leafy option. And they will not be cooked with fatback.  Heavy on the greens, please!  I am definitely not a food blogger but once in awhile do enjoy talking about the one thing we all have in common and need in order to survive.  However, some of us tend to eat more than we need to survive and can do an itty bit better on that, thus reducing our intake of nourishment and, as a result, reducing the space we occupy on Planet Earth.  Good bread.  Good meat.  Good cheese, let's eat! 

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