Ms. Four-or-Less

Thoughts from Carol:

This assignment reminded me of my book "Stalking the Wild Asparagus" by Euell Gibbons. (I know I'm dating myself by being familiar with the book--a "classic" from the '60's.) I didn't do very well on the eating part. It was difficult to find something with so few ingredients in my cabinet--I felt like I was stalking an elusive wild asparagus. Even when I tried to focus on eating four or less, twice I found that my food had more than 4 ingredients but I was eating it before I realized!

Here's what I had:
Breakfast: Egg, bacon bits, cheese (oops--too many ingredents listed on the package!), pistachios, black tea with raw sugar.
Lunch: bulgar pilaf (which has bulgar, onions, eggs, and soy sauce--another oops--too many ingredients in the soy sauce!), orange slices, carrots, lettuce, and mandarin orange slices.
Dinner: pot roast with beef, potatoes, carrots, and onions. I felt like I was just throwing things together to meet the assignment requirements, not really making a cohesive meal.

What I learned:
1. I couldn't eat anything from a box except my black tea.
2. Even things like cheese and soy sauce have way more than 4 ingredients! As I looked through my food stores I found that most of the stuff in there had a huge lists of ingredients, most of which I can't even pronounce. (I found that scary!).

What I realized:
1. How far away I've gotten from what is genuine and most healthy for me.
2. How often I make mindless choices without being fully aware of what it is that I'm choosing!
3. Less is better--I actually felt more alert mentally without the processed food ingredients.

I was going to have a nip of my red cooking wine to celebrate my new awareness, but alas--more than four ingredients!

My photo is of some of the things I ate during the day. I call her Ms. Four-or-less, she's just read what Mr. Gibbons suggests about eating naturally. She's trying to smile but just can't seem to make it a genuine one!

This was fun!