Great piece, Lani! I don't remember reading this before--or maybe that's how much you've revised it. My mom was into the 1980s natural (and tofu-forward) food movement. She and some other ladies ran their own food co-op locally; we had chickens; she baked her own bread; she always had a good vegetable garden; and we definitely didn't get junk food much at all. Remember carob? It almost made the cookies not worth it. I think that laid the foundation for healthy eating--and maybe for marrying a man with a green thumb and excellent veggie garden skills (since I have none). In the middle of all that, though, I was a ballet dancer. There were definitely years--specifically 16-18--where I ate very little and subsisted mostly on sugar. (I'm told a diet with not enough fat will cause extra sugar cravings, but I've always had a huge sweet tooth.) Like, some days, I ate one frozen yogurt, the whole day. I'm not sure if my mom just didn't register my problem or if she didn't notice it, too busy with a couple cancer diagnoses she lived with throughout my whole childhood. I do think it's good I had only boys, because thoughts on food/weight/health are hard to shake--even though I feel healthy and am quite average now--and I fear I might not make the best girl mom for that reason. With the boys I've always talked about food as fuel, which they need for sports. Of course, much of my food is "nasty" and "gross" and they escape to their buddies' house for frozen pizza. I do miss the more ambitious foods I used to make--curries for one--before they came along. Someday I'll get back to it. Mostly I don't enjoy cooking now but I do enjoy eating!
Thanks, Rebecca. This made me laugh out loud, "Remember carob? It almost made the cookies not worth it." But it sounds like your mom was inspirational and made an effort, damn it. I hear stories from friends where their moms did the bare minimum or were extremely cheap when it wasn't necessary.
I can't imagine what being a ballet dancer and diet looked like. I'm not surprised, and yes, I'm not sure I'd be a very good girl mom either since my mom was critical about my weight. But since I never had any real issues, she came off as nagging, you know?
I feel like I could write another part to this, seriously, writing about food and the stories around it are endless! and influential!
Maybe your boys would like your curries and different dishes as they grow older? Does your husband cook? And yes to eating, yum, yum, yum.
I think the culture around ballet is slightly healthier today, but maybe all girlhoods are fraught with food, about food, over food. Ugh.
Seriously, you could have a never-ending font of food stories--and you're right, they are meaningful. Our very sustenance and substance, and oftentimes also our biggest enemy. When you start soliciting essays on food, let me know and I'll contribute my Brach's Pick-a-Mix tale!
My boys eat better than a lot of kids I know. But, of course, one doesn't like spicy, one loves it; one hates most meat, one loves it...and on and on. Yes, as they get older they'll have no choice but to try my culinary adventures. One of the troubles is my husband can cook but usually doesn't. When we divided up the chores ages ago, I took cooking. He took gardening and much of the cleaning, so I can't complain. But boys model their dad, of course, so it's hard to get them to play around much in the kitchen. On the to-do list for another day.
OK, properly hungry now. Made soup today, so it smells wonderful all throughout the house! Wish you could be at our table--one day!
Very clever how you've sectioned this one out! I am always interested in hearing what people eat and this was fascinating. (And, that pink soup of your mum's will haunt my dreams.) I can remember a time when even pizza was considered an edgy, exotic dinner and those of us keen to take a chance had to make our own, from a little "kit" provided by the nice people at Kraft. There was a tiny slim can of sauce, some really questionable Parmesan and a sachet of green dust (parsley?) inside too just to spice things up. Hilarious. I really enjoyed how you linked each food to a different experience of your life. I've always tried to eat well myself and I've always cooked so I feel *very* ripped off if I go to a restaurant and recognize the tell-tale crinkle cut of a Costco frozen veggie.
Thanks for this, Lani! You've had quite the culinary life!
Awww, thanks Sue. I had to push myself to get this one out. I'm feeling unmotivated these days and I'm going to blame it on the extreme heat SEA is experiencing right now. (I like that we can blame everything on the weather! It feels so pre-Covid 🙂)
That Kraft pizza kit seems so-of-the-times, those package conveniences like Shake 'n Bake or any baking kit where you add an egg and you've done all the hard work. You're reminding me that my rule for eating out is: I can't make it at home or it's a pain in the a** to cook it at home. Otherwise, why would I order it at a restaurant, right?
Oh Lani, what a journey around the World of Food! I thoroughly enjoyed this read.
Having grown up in the Middle East ~ brought up on Falafel, Za'atar, Hummus, Kebabs, stuffed courgettes and Tabbouleh salad ~ entering the European food zone has been quite an adjustment for me too...
Like you, I've tried raw food, vegan, vegetarian diets over the years. Now I find my body is happiest with a mixed mezze of those three ~ composed of healthy, organic ingredients. It's not just what I eat, but when and how much. Many people (in our circles) seem to subsist on grazing these days... My body likes to have one wholesome meal a day, and then a long break for digesting and assimilating. I still love Middle Estern cuisine.
Thank you for reminding me of Middle East cuisine. I probably discovered it, along with Indian food, when I was in the "big" city of Portland, Oregon. I, too, really enjoy the freshness, the bread, dips, and flavors! How lucky were you to grow up around healthy and delicious foods.
And yes, my hubby and I do a bit of intermittent fasting, or try to restrict our eating to a window, to give our digestion a rest. And like you, I can't just nibble all day, that seems horrible. Hahahaha. I'm not a snacking person. Thanks, Vernoika 🥰
Great piece, Lani! I don't remember reading this before--or maybe that's how much you've revised it. My mom was into the 1980s natural (and tofu-forward) food movement. She and some other ladies ran their own food co-op locally; we had chickens; she baked her own bread; she always had a good vegetable garden; and we definitely didn't get junk food much at all. Remember carob? It almost made the cookies not worth it. I think that laid the foundation for healthy eating--and maybe for marrying a man with a green thumb and excellent veggie garden skills (since I have none). In the middle of all that, though, I was a ballet dancer. There were definitely years--specifically 16-18--where I ate very little and subsisted mostly on sugar. (I'm told a diet with not enough fat will cause extra sugar cravings, but I've always had a huge sweet tooth.) Like, some days, I ate one frozen yogurt, the whole day. I'm not sure if my mom just didn't register my problem or if she didn't notice it, too busy with a couple cancer diagnoses she lived with throughout my whole childhood. I do think it's good I had only boys, because thoughts on food/weight/health are hard to shake--even though I feel healthy and am quite average now--and I fear I might not make the best girl mom for that reason. With the boys I've always talked about food as fuel, which they need for sports. Of course, much of my food is "nasty" and "gross" and they escape to their buddies' house for frozen pizza. I do miss the more ambitious foods I used to make--curries for one--before they came along. Someday I'll get back to it. Mostly I don't enjoy cooking now but I do enjoy eating!
Thanks, Rebecca. This made me laugh out loud, "Remember carob? It almost made the cookies not worth it." But it sounds like your mom was inspirational and made an effort, damn it. I hear stories from friends where their moms did the bare minimum or were extremely cheap when it wasn't necessary.
I can't imagine what being a ballet dancer and diet looked like. I'm not surprised, and yes, I'm not sure I'd be a very good girl mom either since my mom was critical about my weight. But since I never had any real issues, she came off as nagging, you know?
I feel like I could write another part to this, seriously, writing about food and the stories around it are endless! and influential!
Maybe your boys would like your curries and different dishes as they grow older? Does your husband cook? And yes to eating, yum, yum, yum.
I think the culture around ballet is slightly healthier today, but maybe all girlhoods are fraught with food, about food, over food. Ugh.
Seriously, you could have a never-ending font of food stories--and you're right, they are meaningful. Our very sustenance and substance, and oftentimes also our biggest enemy. When you start soliciting essays on food, let me know and I'll contribute my Brach's Pick-a-Mix tale!
My boys eat better than a lot of kids I know. But, of course, one doesn't like spicy, one loves it; one hates most meat, one loves it...and on and on. Yes, as they get older they'll have no choice but to try my culinary adventures. One of the troubles is my husband can cook but usually doesn't. When we divided up the chores ages ago, I took cooking. He took gardening and much of the cleaning, so I can't complain. But boys model their dad, of course, so it's hard to get them to play around much in the kitchen. On the to-do list for another day.
OK, properly hungry now. Made soup today, so it smells wonderful all throughout the house! Wish you could be at our table--one day!
Awww, me, too. ❤️ Thank you. I do hope we get an opportunity to dish (you see what I did there) face to face.
Here's to many future happy meals 😍 Cheers, Rebecca!
Very clever how you've sectioned this one out! I am always interested in hearing what people eat and this was fascinating. (And, that pink soup of your mum's will haunt my dreams.) I can remember a time when even pizza was considered an edgy, exotic dinner and those of us keen to take a chance had to make our own, from a little "kit" provided by the nice people at Kraft. There was a tiny slim can of sauce, some really questionable Parmesan and a sachet of green dust (parsley?) inside too just to spice things up. Hilarious. I really enjoyed how you linked each food to a different experience of your life. I've always tried to eat well myself and I've always cooked so I feel *very* ripped off if I go to a restaurant and recognize the tell-tale crinkle cut of a Costco frozen veggie.
Thanks for this, Lani! You've had quite the culinary life!
Awww, thanks Sue. I had to push myself to get this one out. I'm feeling unmotivated these days and I'm going to blame it on the extreme heat SEA is experiencing right now. (I like that we can blame everything on the weather! It feels so pre-Covid 🙂)
That Kraft pizza kit seems so-of-the-times, those package conveniences like Shake 'n Bake or any baking kit where you add an egg and you've done all the hard work. You're reminding me that my rule for eating out is: I can't make it at home or it's a pain in the a** to cook it at home. Otherwise, why would I order it at a restaurant, right?
Oh Lani, what a journey around the World of Food! I thoroughly enjoyed this read.
Having grown up in the Middle East ~ brought up on Falafel, Za'atar, Hummus, Kebabs, stuffed courgettes and Tabbouleh salad ~ entering the European food zone has been quite an adjustment for me too...
Like you, I've tried raw food, vegan, vegetarian diets over the years. Now I find my body is happiest with a mixed mezze of those three ~ composed of healthy, organic ingredients. It's not just what I eat, but when and how much. Many people (in our circles) seem to subsist on grazing these days... My body likes to have one wholesome meal a day, and then a long break for digesting and assimilating. I still love Middle Estern cuisine.
Thank you for reminding me of Middle East cuisine. I probably discovered it, along with Indian food, when I was in the "big" city of Portland, Oregon. I, too, really enjoy the freshness, the bread, dips, and flavors! How lucky were you to grow up around healthy and delicious foods.
And yes, my hubby and I do a bit of intermittent fasting, or try to restrict our eating to a window, to give our digestion a rest. And like you, I can't just nibble all day, that seems horrible. Hahahaha. I'm not a snacking person. Thanks, Vernoika 🥰
Indeed. I was double lucky, since my mama was a horticulturist, and we had our own organic veggie garden too.
sorry I don't like bragging ~ it's my good fortunate truth ~ and now it's out... 🌶️🌽🥦🥒🧅🧄🍅🍆🥑
Nah, brag away, that's awesome! (Honestly, I hear the opposite, so it's nice to hear some good food childhoods 🙂)
"good food childhood" ~ that's a brilliant expression I've never heard before. I'll add that to my vocabulary. Thank you! 🫶