I am not a gourmet cook but I fancy myself as a “wanna-be.” I learned at the elbows of my grandmother and my mother.
They were wonderful cooks. The food served from their kitchens was the best I have ever eaten and filled with so many calories that all the women and some of the men of my early family members carried more “insulation” than was healthy.
I can remember the meals we devoured with relish at that long hand-hewn table with the homemade benches on all sides. Back then fried foods and all baked goods were made with fat – lard, made from hog killings. The lard came from fat around the kidneys and inside the loin of the swine and then rendered to soluble grease. There are 763 calories in three ounces of hog lard compared to 357 calories in peanut oil. Calories are the enemy!
My mother continued this manner of preparing foods during most of my childhood. Some of my “fluffiness” I can blame on that; however, I love to cook, especially baking and trying recipes I have created. If I am cooking something new and never tried, I have to taste, right?
Because of eating this way, we can become “fluffy.” Now research has confirmed that hog lard is more heat stable, heart healthy, neutral flavored, high in Vitamin D, sustainable, as well as traditional. Although it contains those 763 calories per 3 ounces, 85 grams of fat, and 82 mg. of cholesterol, it is better for us? I am still under the certainty that the old way of cooking is why many of us baby boomers carry around more pounds than we should.
All kinds of diets have flooded the markets over the past few years. Book shelves cannot hold the overflow of ways to readily and rapidly loose those unwanted pounds. Gyms have exploded onto the scene, promising to help us lose weight and look years younger with tighter skin and well-defined muscles. Also if we do not want to exert energy, we can have surgeries, The sleeve and stomach bypass are almost miraculous as the weight just seems to fall off. Of course, these are extreme measures in losing weight.
I am on a journey to become healthier, stronger and perhaps an improved version of myself. I have made the commitment to eat healthier, more nutritiously and to exercise….. Believe me, that will be a stretch. It will be a long journey, one that will ultimately continue for the rest of my life. If you see me in the grocery store reaching for that lard, please interrupt my meandering and just hand me a bottle of peanut oil.
I am giving you one of my “healthy” recipes that your family will love. This feeds two, so add to whatever you need.
Weekly Recipe
Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry – Two chicken breasts, baked and cut into small pieces, 2 cups Asian mixed vegetables, 4 T. teriyaki sauce, 1 cup cooked brown rice. Heat chicken, vegetables and teriyaki sauce in a skillet over medium heat; spoon over cooked rice.
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Peggy Sims is a local food columnist and resident of Kosciusko.
