Out of Touch

As I become more and more aware of this countries "normal" eating habits I wonder, have I become completely out of touch? Do I eat weird stuff? I mean, I know I look at the foods I chose to eat in a different way than most, as my approach is more about the ingredients of my meals, than the meal itself.

For instance, when I'm preparing a meal I don't think, "Hmmnn, should I have a taco, or spaghetti? (meals)", I think, "Hmmnn, what kind of vegetables do I have? What kind of protein do I have? What kind of carbs (beans, rice, bread) can I use, and what flavors am I in the mood for?" And from that point I assemble my meal.

But I don't have a family to feed, and Mark and I eat similar in some ways and completely differently in others because he's always trying to keep his weight up, and I need to keep my weight down. You would think that would make things difficult, but really it's the similarity in our meal approach that makes it easy to work out. For instance, we both start with our ingredients......which vegetable, protein, carb, flavors?.....but he adds calorie dense ingredients to his meals, lots of butter and oil, cheeses, dairy, bread, nuts, etc. and I add low calorie ingredients to mine, yogurt, vinegars, stock, more vegetables, etc. If I were to make some french onion soup, I would make mine more brothy, and add more vegetables and a modest amount of protein (2-4oz.) and skip the bread, he would top his with swiss cheese, have all the protein he wanted, and have his bread slathered with butter!

I turn everything into soup or salad! I live on soup and salad all year long (inbetween the bakery and candy binges of course...hey, I'm not claiming to be perfect, lol) If I make a bowl of chili I always serve it over a bed of shredded cabbage salad mix (red and green cabage, carrot, jalapeno, green onion, and cilantro), I like it that way. I once ordered a bowl of chili at a resturant and a side of "undressed" coleslaw, just so I could eat it the way I like it. Or, I might take that same bowl of chili and add more broth to make it chili soup and then add my greens, like spinach, chard or kale. This is exactly what I started doing when I had to make family meals when my youngest son lived at home.

Pastas turned into noodle soup, or pasta salad. Lasagna and risotto turned into soups, and tacos into salads. Main dishes, like roasts, were sliced and diced as protein sources for soup and salad! Eating out was never an option, and now I could care less if I ever eat out, and would prefer to always eat my own homemade food because I make it exactly how I like it, using fresh quality ingredients.

Even though I haven't completely changed my particular habit of compulsively eating high sugar desserts, most if not all I purchase ready made, when I'm in my "right mind" (lol) I am just as happy having a peanut butter and honey sandwich (es), or plain yogurt with maple syrup and a heaping cup of wild rice and dried cranberries mixed in to make my version of rice pudding. Oatmeal or 10 grain cereal with honey and chocolate is yummy too....all of which I tend to overeat, but I'd rather overeat these foods than ice cream and cookies....when I can. Am I weird? Am I out of touch?

What and how do you eat?