gravy train
no... i'm not on a dog food diet, but what i'm talking about is all the crap I eat. crap, i tell ya.
yesterday, lunch at Cane's. 500g fat, I swear. All of it good.
I was thinking, this morning, while making my granola-and-corn-flakes breakfast, about something I said to my health-nut aunt a few years ago. (Ok, maybe not so much a nut, but certainly more health conscious than I.) I told her it was just as cheap to eat in a restaurant as it was to make good meals at home.
Well, it all depends on what you mean by good.
Good could be breaded chicken-patty sandwiches on white bread with lots of hot mustard and a side of greasy potato chips. Cost: about $1.50, maybe.
Good could be mixed green salad with gorganzola, pine nuts, and fresh berries, with a light fruity vinaigrette. Cost: $6. And I'd probably still be hungry.
Good can be a relative term. Like the stew I made this weekend. I got 2 dinners out of it (and Nala had some too), and it cost me next to nothing. 3 meals, about $9. It was simple and easy, but wasnt too thrilling or filling. And was totally healthy. Lentils, diced tomatoes, carrots, onion, mushrooms, and chicken broth (only 15cal per cup). To me, it was just ok. I didnt spice it up, because I like to taste all the flavors before I season, and then experiment later. It definitely needed salt and pepper. And for good measure, I crumbled some crackers into it. Hearty soup, and edible.
Sometimes good is grease. My friend Jo Ann's retirement party (work folks only) is today, and there's gonna be TOMMY'S PIZZA. And that, my friend, is sometimes the best food you can get.
On a secondary note, while I love shopping for good ingredients (thank GOD our chain store is carrying local vegs now -- decent sized zukes and summer-squash), the specialty stores like Whole Paycheck and Trader Joe's are in the suburbs, and a good $3-5 worth of gas to get there. So, now, the plan is to carpool for groceries. CARPOOL TO BUY GROCERIES. I never thought I'd see the day.
It's worse for my parents, now that there's only one grocer in town... they have to drive 25-35 miles in either direction for food. FOOD. Not clothes. Not the movies. Food.
Ok, I'm rambling, and now I smell pizza.