Salt Intake

[Marge]

Ross sez:

<<Y'all worry too much about food. Eat, drink, and be merry. Life is too short not to enjoy all things. If you want that cholesterol laden cheeseburger, have one. Want a fruit cup, have one. Don't be so Atkins like. >>

I think you are SOOOOO right about not obsessing about food. However, if you have CHF with SOB and disabling edema, like some of the good folks in the Heart Basics class my cardio had me attend, it's a good idea to learn that a daily intake of bacon cheeseburgers and fries and )) diet Coke is probably NOT a good idea. There were people in the class who seemed astounded to find that out. I don't have the edema, but my cardio thinks that one reason I don't is that I have always had a diet that was high on fresh produce and unprocessed foods and relatively low in salt, even before I was told to do so. BTW -- by using less salt, I actually get to taste the food, not just the salt. (As for Atkins: Never been on Atkins, never will be. Couldn't bear to give up pasta even if I thought it was a good idea. I don't really understand what the issue is with pasta. People in Italy eat lots of pasta and they are noticeably thinner than Americans. You see it when you go to Italy -- American tourists can be spotted from a distance, by their size. And because often they don't fit into Italian train seats, so when you get on the train compartment you find TWO Americans occupying what is designed as a bench with three seats. )

 

[bvdr]

I love food. As I'm finishing one meal I tend to already be planning on what will be on the menu for my next. I like to shop for my food, prepare it, and most of all eat it. I love pasta, foods with sauces and rich in cheese. I also love almost every vegetable grown except okra. I even like okra if it is in a nice gumbo. I love potatoes in almost every form and my favorite is whatever I happen to be eating at the time.

Unfortunately, if I eat the way I want to then I feel like c**p. Reluctantly I have altered my diet to help me feel better. It hasn't done much for weight loss though. It seems everytime I take ten lbs off then along comes another cardiac med that is like a fat magnet. The last couple of weeks I've also been on prednisone and though my joints have felt great I look like a balloon.

I do think I need some crunchy biscuits with hot soft centers and real butter with my meal tonight..........I think I have everything in the house I will need..............

 

[Granbonny]

Les..I have always loved that quote..I think some people really think that way..until it is too late and they wake up one morning and think..gosh, I'm old. ..My other all time favorite is "If you are goung to dance, you have to pay the fiddler" .....Martha..Daddy expects a bif pot of chicken and dumplings everytime I go home...Cannot make them like Mama but found in the frozen bread section of grocery store..a very thin strips of dough for dumplings. Keep them frozen and drop one at a time into the boiling water. Very good...We have Salmon once a week..am sick of it. ......Bob, I bought an 8 oz. pure maple syrup in Lancaster, N.H. 2 years ago at a maple farm..Museum showing how it was made in the olden days..I paid $4.30 for it..still in fridge. Janie, I think that's how I gained 500 lbs this winter. Eating at the Blue Creek Bar-be-que..Only open on Thurs, Fri, Sat..A huge sandwich the size of a plate, potato salad to die for and brunswick stew. It was winter and would come home and crashed in the afternoons. Passed by it today and asked hubby..Why did we do that? He said..it was good. Bonnie

 

[Abbanabba]

Maybe we should send Anna a package of grits? Instant or regular?

Honestly, they sound dreadful!!! They must taste a whole site better than they sound, since there seems to be so many of you here who like them!!

Marge-
I don't know HOW those Italians stay so thin.... at least until they hit middle age anyway!! I got so sick to death of meat, bread and pasta (..which seems to be about all they eat..) and let me assure you, it didn't do my waistline any favours!! As much as I loved it over there, it was kinda nice to get back to Australia and be able to tuck into all the fresh fruit & veg again (..although I REALLY miss the peach tea they have over there (YUM!!)..).

Cheers
Anna : )

 

[xtremlee]

I may have cheated last night but I went out to eat.
At a local catfish joint. I had 2 grilled catfish (lemon pepper) Baked Potato, 2 hush puppies and about 3 bites of cole slaw. I told them to prepare with no salt but who knows.

 

[Gemma]

You guys are all making me so hungry!!! I have set myself a goal to lose 14lbs by my birthday (June 22nd), 5lbs so far but if you carry on like this you're going to make me lose my resolve .
A butty is a sandwich, I think it's a Northern English word originally. Presumably comes from the fact it's on buttered bread. For the perfect bacon butty, you get some nice Welsh bacon (thicker and less salty), grill it, put it on a nice big slice of white buttered bread, along with a fried egg, then maybe some tomato ketchup and top with the other piece of buttered bread. So much nicer than an egg mcmuffin bigger too!!!

 

[Marge]

<<Marge-
I don't know HOW those Italians stay so thin.... at least until they hit middle age anyway!! I got so sick to death of meat, bread and pasta (..which seems to be about all they eat..) and let me assure you, it didn't do my waistline any favours!! As much as I loved it over there, it was kinda nice to get back to Australia and be able to tuck into all the fresh fruit & veg again (..although I REALLY miss the peach tea they have over there (YUM!!)..). >>


Golly, Anna, WHERE did you eat in Italy? In my experience the Italians are HUGE on vegetables and fruit. And both have to be absolutely fresh and seasonal. The produce markets are just fantastic. In Florence, we went to the central market one day and saw piles of artichokes. That night we went to the kosher restaurant next to the synagogue & had carciofi alla judaia (Jewish style artichokes) a traditional Sephardic recipe, absolutely delicious. The next week we went back to the same resto and I asked for the carciofi. No carciofi, they said. Out of season. Sure enough, we went back to the market the next day & no artichokes to be seen. Everything was pretty much like that, fresh, locally grown produce, except for things like lemons and oranges. And tomatoes which were brought in from further south (Sicily) when they weren't locally available. People shopped for produce daily so it was always absolutely fresh. (They have small refrigerators.)

The trick with pasta, I think, is that rich sauces are not piled on as they are in this country (I mean the States). Ditto with pizza, which in Italy generally has a thin crust, a few ingredients. American tourists often don't like Italian pizza all that much -- I think they expect something like Straw Hat, loaded with multiple toppings.

I don't remember eating all that much meat in Italy. And the portions were much smaller than in the US.

 

[Raverlaw]

Gemma,

That "butty" should be called "heart attack on a plate."

Marge and Anna,

Our experience in Italy was much more like Marge's. Yes, there was lots of pasta, but always with very light sauce or just oil, and lots of fresh vegetables. The meats were chicken and rabbit, mostly; fish near the coast.

We loved the food there, and didn't gain any weight, as we walked everywhere. I'm looking forward to a return visit someday.

Anna,

We haven't been to Australia yet. Should we try your part of the world out before returning to Europe? We've been on a "discover America" binge for the last several years, but I'm getting the itch to go overseas again.

 

[ccrawford]

I think the national guidelines on salt are in the vicinity of 2400 mg/day but I think they are about to be revised - you guessed it- downward. I agree with Steve, I can tell if I've been a glutton on salt. Eating out is a bit of a problem unless you have a long dialogue with the waiter. As for grits - I think that's the national food of the Confederacy - Ain't you heard the sayin "gooder than grits". As for me, I think the south ran a surplus of library glue and decided to make food out of it. Now watch all the crackers beat up on me !!

 

[Granbonny]

Chris

Chris

G.R.I.T.S...............Girls Raised In The South I wear my tee-shirt..That has this motto.... And, I wear it proudly...Have several.... Wear them shopping, wear them at the pool, ect.......Bonnie

 

[bvdr]

Bonnie, Anne, ...........I can't believe Chris would have said such a thing can you? Library Glue?.....what's a Library?

 

[Granbonny]

Chris

Chris

You can run..but you cannot hide. Here comes all the Southern Belles after you.... Have you looked at the avators on us Southern women Valvers.???We were raised on GRITS.. That is why we are sooooooooo beautiful Bonnie

 

[hensylee]

Hey Chris, if you're gonna use suthen expressions, we better teach you to say it right - it's not 'gooder than grits', it's 'gooder'n grits'. Kinda like 'better 'n snuff but not half as dusty'......... While I am having my library glue, and sharin with my ole hound dawg, this mornin I will think of you. Come on down - sure is purty in these parts.

Bless your heart.

 

[hensylee]

You guys are all making me so hungry!!! I have set myself a goal to lose 14lbs by my birthday (June 22nd), 5lbs so far but if you carry on like this you're going to make me lose my resolve .
A butty is a sandwich, I think it's a Northern English word originally. Presumably comes from the fact it's on buttered bread. For the perfect bacon butty, you get some nice Welsh bacon (thicker and less salty), grill it, put it on a nice big slice of white buttered bread, along with a fried egg, then maybe some tomato ketchup and top with the other piece of buttered bread. So much nicer than an egg mcmuffin bigger too!!!

Gemma, we call that a fried egg sandwich here in the southern US - except we use lots of mayonnaise on the bread. Well, maybe library glue, not mayo. Hereafter I'm callin it a butty and astound my friends with newfound words all the way from over yonder. Tks for telling us.

 

[ccrawford]

It's not everywhere a guy can get beat up by a cracker, a peach, and a tarheel all in the same day. Lovely ladies all and god love um !

 

[Abbanabba]

Anna, WHERE did you eat in Italy? In my experience the Italians are HUGE on vegetables and fruit. And both have to be absolutely fresh and seasonal

I was based in Sicily for the most part (..right on the side of Mt Etna in a little village called Nicolosi..). The produce in the local supermarkets alway seemed to be old, and on more that one occasion the potatoes would literally "run" out of the bags. Even the markets were pretty average.

Most of the local eateries had few vege dishes (..there was nary a side-salad to be seen..) and I found the portions to be quite large.

The only markets I went to which were BEAUTIFUL were in Vieste, on the "spur" of Italy. Everything was fresh and smelt wonderful, but again, I wasn't overly impressed with the restaurants. I did find a wonderful pizzaria, which made the most delicious potato pizza though.

Nevertheless, I LOVED my time over there and would love to go back sometime (..nothing like fresh cannolli!!..).


Bill -
You might like Melbourne. It's the "cultural capital" of Australia and has quite a European flavour. Otherwise you can go wrestle crocs up north, or see the fantastic beaches on the west coast (..some of the best in the world..). I'm in the desert in a mining town, which has a very rich and colourful history including a brothel (with daily tours!) run by a transexual, and the house the President Hoover (..I think it was him.....it was one of them!..) built and lived in when he established the Sons of Gwalia gold mine here.

I'll be sure to shout you a beer should you ever make it over this way!


Cheers
Anna : )

 

[tobagotwo]

We wandered through Tuscany when we stayed in Italy, concentrating on Pisa, Firenza (Florence) and Cortona. Cortona is the location for the novel, "Under the Tuscan Sun." It is an amazing Etruscan-based mountain city, fashioned all from stone. We did find Frances Mayes' actual house, but you take your life into your hands on those mountain roads, and none of the locals or tourism people will help you at all to locate it. Even that far north, they practice omerta when it comes to privacy.

We found the food was excellent, and the balance was similar to that in the northeast US, insofar as veggies and fruit. They have a lot of interesting bottled soft drinks, especially with real fruit juices. We had fabulous meals in Cortona, and Pat and my son, Eric loved the pizza in Pisa. I had a local seafood chowder in Pisa that I want to have again. We picked the wrong place in Florence, I guess. The service was slow, and the food was barely mediocre.

I didn't notice copious amounts of fruits or vegetables at the markets in the squares. In fact, the offerings seemed surprisingly like home, but without the size and variety that larger grocery stores have in the states.