What have y'all been eating?

[Jeebo]

I am a 70-year-old retired man, living alone. My dining habits certainly have changed substantially in the past four months. I'm still patronizing a few of my favorite restaurants, but take-out only. I would not eat inside any restaurant now, even though those that are now allowing inside eating are limiting the number of patrons in their restaurant and keeping their tables appropriately socially distanced.

I'm getting a lot of take-out from Bangkok Gardens, Kobe Japanese Steakhouse and Olive Garden, and ordering pizza delivery from Shakespeare's. I have gone through drive-through windows at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wendy's, Long John Silver's, Taco Bell and Zaxby's, but Long John Silver's only once, I don't think I'll go there again because nobody was wearing masks and even from the drive-through window that place didn't look very clean.

I've been keeping my kitchen well-stocked with, and eating a lot of, canned and frozen meats and vegetables. Frozen corn dogs, ice cream, corned beef hash, asparagus, black-eyed peas, collard greens, those canned vegetables are really tasty. Kraft macaroni and cheese, supplemented liberally with shredded sharp cheddar cheese. I'm the only person I've ever known who puts enough cheese on mac and cheese.

Rutabagas are, in my humble opinion, one of the tastiest vegetables in the observable universe -- at least, when they're prepared properly. Wash a couple of big ones, then peel them, wash them again, cut them up into about 1-inch pieces, then cover them up with water about two-thirds of the way in a big pot on the stove, add a huge gob of butter or margarine, season to taste (I use a little seasoned salt and a lot of ground black pepper, minced garlic and Tabasco sauce), bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat and let them slow-boil for about 20 minutes until they're tender but still firm (they're not as good when they start getting mushy), then scoop them out onto your plate and enjoy. As I said, one of the tastiest vegetables in the observable universe. I don't understand why everybody doesn't eat them.

And let's not forget Quaker Instant Grits. One of the characters in that movie "My Cousin Vinny" claimed that no self-respecting Southerner would touch instant grits (as opposed to the made-from-scratch variety) but in that case I apparently am not a self-respecting Southerner because I just LOVE those Quaker Instant Grits. I'm eating several packets of them every day. Put a little less water in them than the package directions say, otherwise they come out a little too watery, add a little seasoned salt and a lot of ground black pepper, then when they come out of the microwave, add a big gob of I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Butter, then mix it up thoroughly and let it sit and steep for about five minutes, then enjoy. It's heavenly!

Peanut butter. I have been making lots of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, and peanut butter cookies by slathering a glob of peanut butter between two vanilla wafers.

I remain a tea junkie. Every time I go to the grocery store I buy six six-packs of that Lipton Pure Leaf tea, unsweetened because of my diabetes, and then I sweeten it with Splenda. That and an occasional 20-oz. Dr. Pepper is all I've been drinking.

So, what have y'all been eating for the past four months? How has this plague been affecting your dining habits?

-- Ron

[Chainfire]

1. I have been eating

chicken breasts and pork chops. So many in fact that I am now growing feathers in my former bald spot, and my shoes are going to have to be altered to fit hooves.

[Tech]

2. I am trying to take off the weight I gained when my husband was working from home, so

Eggs, fruits and vegetables and some protein. My one indulgence is a bowl of frozen yogurt in the evening. Your meals sound much tastier. My mouth was watering as I was reading your post!

[samnsara]

6. im usually low carb but the Papa Murphy thin crust pizza is to die for..esp when i add my own..

..anchovies. Last nite i had Breyers low carb vanilla ice cream topped with pineapple chunks and sugar free whipped cream. I had some lemon curd from a gift basket and i mixed some with the ice cream and my oh my!

( better than rutabagas)

[samnsara]

3. im the same age you are. Hubby still works as hes a few years younger :) He just goes...

..to work and back. But, like you we will not go out and eat in any restaurant. We live so freaking far from town anyway that i just dont want to drive allllllllll the way to town to grab a take out. When I dine out i want to DINE. Not eat in a hurry around a bunch of possibly sick ppl.

But we want to patronize the local places so they stay in biz. Our County is in stage 3 but what the heck does that mean? Goody..MORE people can congregate...so no thanks. Our Gov has a mandated mask policy but our local Sheriff as well as the other sheriffs in the state have said they WONT enforce it. So how safe are we? really?

We did get some KFC to go...and some Chinese to go...and a really good hamburger from a mom and pop stand but the one we have gone back to is Papa Murphys Pizza. We can order it and pick it up and cook it at home.

But mostly we just cook at home. We do go to the local Fred Meyers once a week and hunt and gather even tho we already have 3 freezers full of food. Hubby cooks on his days off to relax so I just sit back and see what comes out of the kitchen ...and its NOT rutabagas..

[brewens]

4. I cook a lot. My freezer is loaded with meat, but much of it already cooked and portioned out.

I hardly ever eat anything out of a can. Lots of fresh veggies, salads and fruit along with small meat portions. Other than fresh stuff like the veggies, milk and eggs, I have about a four month food supply.

One latest trick is homemade refried beans. I love tacos and always liked the canned refrieds okay, but figured if I could make them and they were much better, I could avoid constantly using up my burger to make taco meat. They are great and help me keep to around six ounces of meat per day.

Lots of peanuts and peanut butter to keep the protein up with less meat. One favorite is a PBJ pancake made with my homemade freezer jam. Peanut butter and fruit in vanilla Greek yogurt is a great treat and also high in protein.

Old fashioned oats and cream of wheat quite a bit. Peanut butter is great in cream of wheat. I simmer most of a small apple with a tiny bit of apple juice, cinnamon and brown sugar, add that to oatmeal with a little whole milk and it's awesome!

I make those cauliflower crust pizzas every once in awhile too.

[kimbutgar]

5. I have a simple recipe for you that's easy to make

Boil a package of rotelli, drain then cool.
Chop carrots finely
Grill some boneless chicken breasts and but into bite size pieces. Cool.
The cut cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese into cubes and set aside
Combine the above ingredients and chop up some artichoke hearts to mixture
Then add a salad dressing of your choice I like a pesto vinergette myself
You can also throw in some broccoli if you like it.

Refrigerate an hour and you got a healthy tasty dinner, lunch or snack that will last you A good
Week.

I try to cook something that I can have leftovers from and do takeout on Friday or Saturday.

[at140]

7. I burned 80 candles last month and I eat anything I want

I love grilled rib-eye steaks, but those are pricey so eat only once a week.
The best dish I make at home is lentil curry. It is high in protein, has lot of fiber and has good carbs.
Soak lentils for 2days in water. Then simmer in a stainless pot with spices (salt+curry powder+onion powder+paprika+cinnamon powder).
Add coconut oil, salsa, chili sauce, pinch of brown sugar, squirt of lemon juice when lentils begin to soften. Stir and simmer. Eat it with fried Naan or Basmati rice.

My problem is I like almost anything, but am keeping away from sugary and starchy foods in excess. I feel amazing energy and can cover a mile in 20 minutes without huffing and puffing. Secret of my energy? Treadmill 5 times a week set 3 deg up-slope at 22 minutes/mile speed, for 30 minute sessions.

[leftieNanner]

8. I'm totally stealing your rutabaga recipe!

I love them! Usually either roasted (sometimes with parsnips) or in soup.

I also have a fabulous savory cobbler recipe including rutabagas, parsnips, carrots, and celery root.

Overall, I cook a lot more than I used to because we don't go out for meals. I make large portions of things so we can have left overs several times a week.

I BBQ as often as I can. Meat and veggies on the grill too.

[42bambi]

11. I love the taste of rutabagas, especially when I boil them with my ham bone. nt

[dhill926]

9. wine mostly....

[Liberty Belle]

10. We're growing most of our produce including

Oranges, grapefruits, lemons, sangria oranges, peaches, plums, nectarines, macademia nuts, kale, lettuce, Swiss chard, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes (yellow and red), eggplant, onions, peppers, squash, blackberries, carrots, green beans, and lots of herbs.

So we're having lots of fresh veggies, salads, and fresh fruits, as well as omelets and quiche with veggies in them. I'm learning to love eggplant, something the many Middle Eastern restaurants in our community fix.

I buy fresh wild-caught salmon when I can find it, chicken, and occasionally pork or beef cuts. Lots of tuna (canned), too and pasta. Rice and sometimes sweet potatoes. I try to avoid anything fried and to use spices instead of salt most of the time.

There's a fruit stand near us with cheap avocados so we also make a lot of homemade guacamole (add lime juice, jalapenos, tomatoes, spices). I try to avoid larger grocery stores, so am also stopping at Farmer's markets, little neighborhood markets, produce stands, and ethnic specialty markets.

I'm cooking more with ginger, an anti-inflammatory due to COVID, and lots of citrus.

I want to learn how to cook with fresh turmeric/curcumin, which is supposed to be good at reducing inflammation and fighting off COVID, too.

If I bring in food, I prefer items I haven't yet learned to make at home; for instance there is a Himalayan restaurant nearby (similar to Indian food), or Thai or Greek foods.

We sometimes get ready-to-cook meals at Trader Joe's for nights when we need something fast; they're cheap and nutritious with some ethnic flavors like Indian.

Also wine from local wineries to help keep them in business right now and occasionally we'll make margaritas or Sangria with those Sangria oranges off our tree that produces buckets by the day right now.