Even if you don't eat everything, you won't starve!

Every Lent, I fast for the six weeks. I often forget to keep other promises during the season but with fasting, I'm at least getting that done. Too many people think of the word 'fasting' and worry immediately about fainting, being hungry (uh, kind of the point!), etc. Fasting, to me, is more of a discipline. You have a small meal for breakfast, a small amount of food for lunch, and then a reasonable dinner but only one helping. You soon find out how much you can cut down on your food and still be active and healthy. Fasting also encourages me to eat the right foods at meal times. Your body soon figures out that fruit keeps you going more happily than a candy bar. Water won't make you hungry like a soda.

Over the six weeks of Lent, I noticed that I was feeling more energetic and making better food choices. When Lent was over, I decided not to break out of the fasting mold and consume large quantities of Easter goodies because now I could.  I stayed on my Lenten meal plan and now look forward to my small and large meals and don't even think about eating between meals anymore.

As the weeks have gone by, I've also started to realize that eating the right foods meant having a good supply of apples, carrots, berries, etc. on hand and since they were readily available, my children were also eating more of the good stuff. It made me stop to think about how much responsibility we have to insure our children eat the right things and learn to enjoy the fun stuff as a treat and not a way of life. What we do to ourselves and what we eat will be reflected in our children and their lifetime health problems are pretty much decided by us and how we raise them.

We now have the happy problem of keeping enough fruit and vegetables in the house. Fruit and vegetable smoothies are more fruit and vegetables than anything else these days. We don't eat out much because it is less expensive and more productive to how we feel by eating our own food at home. That's not to mean that my children are not allowed treats. We do have ice cream in the freezer (slow-churned, low fat!). I think it means we consider more carefully what we need over what we want to eat.

Someone once told me that she was resigned to the fact that she would probably develope diabetes when she got older based on her current diet. I was shocked. Diabetes isn't anything to be complacent about and comes with so many complications. Seems that if someone has the sense to realize this possibility, they would have the sense to do somethinga about it now.

Basically, what we eat is what our children will eat. Will God understand one's resignation to future ill health through bad choices or will He consider the example we set for our children on our personal Judgment Day?

Think about it!

"The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking."
-- A. A. Milne

"Let not the sands of time get in your lunch."
-- National Lampoon

Something I never thought I'd see . . .

Do you like this quote from our Bishops to be printed in an upcoming nationwide bulletin insert?
"When fundamental human goods, such as the right of conscience, are at stake, we may need to witness to the truth by resisting the law and incurring its penalties."

Didn't think the day would come, again, that we'd have to fight for our rights to worship according to our religion. Sad that it all centers on the liberal faction wanting the Catholics to be 'okay' with paying for the birth control pills that actually do kill babies. A lot of prayer needed between now and November.

Gotta think through our explanations . . .

One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on her brunette head.

She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, 'Why are some of your hairs white, Mum?'

Her mother replied, 'Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white.'

The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then said, 'Mummy, how come ALL of grandma's hairs are white?'

Summer lunch . . .

I've learned, over the years, to plan ahead a bit and seem to save twice as much time that way. One 'trick' is that when I grill boneless chicken breasts for dinner, I do a couple extra ones for later use. There are several ways to use those extra pieces of chicken. Sometimes, thin slices of chicken over a simple salad makes a great, quick lunch. You can dice it up and add the meat to chicken broth for soup. I've done this with bullion, frozen mixed vegetables, and the chicken and had a bowl of soup in front of everyone in less than 30 minutes. Granted, it is not as perfect as using long simmered broth, but it provides a meal and warms the heart which time is of the essence.

Our favorite way to use the extra white chicken meat is for chicken salad sandwiches. They are especially good on a hot day when you are hungry but don't want to load up on a heavy meal but still have to eat something.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Sandwich bread of your choice
2-3 grilled chicken breasts
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup Thousand Island dressing
2 tablespoons either sweet or dill pickle relish
Salt & pepper to taste

Cube the meat and place it and the rest of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the meat is almost ground but still chunky. If it is too dry, add a dab of mayo. Tastes for seasoning and make sandwiches.

My family likes it basic as directed above. However, there is no law against adding a slice of tomato and some Romaine to your sandwich. If you have some fried bacon around, that with a slice of avocado along with the chicken salad is very good. I have been known to add some thin slices of red onion to my sandwich. Grilled onions are also good as is a sprinkling of those canned fried onions. Some people like to add some toasted walnuts. Adding sliced green or black olives could be a plus.

Instead of sandwich bread, you can use hamburger buns (toasted helps!) or rolls. Sour dough bread is very nice as are the sprouted wheat breads.

As you can see, you can fuss or not over these sandwiches and still come out as the heroine of the kitchen once more!

Political Insight?

"Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable."
-- John Kenneth Galbraith

"Assuming either the Left Wing or the Right Wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles."
-- Pat Paulsen

Stubby comes calling at dinner time . . .

 Stubby usually has only one thing in mind when she comes visiting and that is food. I caught her in a vocal moment. She always looks like she had gone to a lot of trouble with her eyeliner.