Real Good Food

On By Lady GIn Real Good Food
Calypso Meal
Real good food at Calypso Caribbean Grill in Columbia, S.C.

Grammatically speaking, the title of this post, albeit awkward, is somewhat deceptive.  I am not just talking about really good food.  I am talking about real, as in genuine, good food.

Is there a difference?  Absolutely!

Consider the two meals below:

  1. Baked chik’n nuggets with tater tots
  2. Baked chicken and mashed potatoes

Which one is really good? Well if you are a hungry omnivore, both meals will qualify as ‘really good.’  But let’s go a bit further.   Which of the two options is both real and good?  Undoubtedly the second option is the best choice.

Are you confused, no worries, I’ll clear it up for you.

In order to determine if your food  is ‘real’ use Old McDonald’s farm as a guide.  You remember Old McDonald, he was the farmer who had a “duck duck here and a duck duck there…” Anyway, look at it this way, if Old McDonald couldn’t raise it, grow it, forage or fish it then it probably is not ‘real’ food.

For those of you who didn’t know, there are no tater tot trees.  I know this because, much like Old McDonald, my great uncle Bubba was a farmer.   I also know, and can guarantee, that he couldn’t have determined what chik’n nuggets were if he were only given their outer package and asked to read the ingredients.

And so…

I’ll go ahead and acknowledge that I went “around the world to the left” (Nod to George Carlin) with this post for a reason. That reason is to encourage you to join me on a journey toward wellness.  You and I will start this journey by preparing or procuring ‘real’ food whenever possible.  Why?  Because any quick google search will yield a multitude of research supporting the fact that ‘real’ food is best.  Listen up parents, uncles, aunts, siblings, grandparents and guardians!  Our children need us to step up to the plate!

Come to think of it, Sunday dinner looks like a great place to start 🙂

My loves, don’t get me wrong, I am not a food snob.  I do understand that there are some serious socio-political complexities that make it very difficult for certain populations to find and afford ‘real’ food.  I also understand the time constraints that many of us face when it comes to preparing dinner.  To these points, I say, do the best that you can as often as you can.

Let’s start here by:

Buying fresh fruits and vegetables where possible

Buying frozen fruits and vegetables if fresh ones aren’t available

Cutting back on boxed convenience meals and snacks

With a bit more effort, both you and I might even consider buying foods that are hormone-free, in season, locally grown and organic; but maybe not today 🙂

Let’s do it!  What do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

34 thoughts on “Real Good Food”

        2. Woebegone but Hopeful

          Aww, you poor thing.
          Huddle down with blankets or large dressing gowns, hot drinks and favourite snack-time biscuits.
          And a good light film.
          Hope the mean thing goes away soon.
          All the best
          Roger

          Liked by 1 person

        4. Woebegone but Hopeful

          Tickles in throats, or running noses are real pains. Hope ‘the bug’ gets the messages and quits!
          Project one of re-decorating (Hallway, Stairway and Landing) all completed)
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxM3W5uaVok- Christine and the Queens- Tilted….Lyrics & Music appeal to my ‘quirky’ side. And those dance moves just fascinate me.
          And just ‘because’ it’s so darn outrageous https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NWyErowCZg – Period.Period by Sex Stains- Cause I know it will make wimpy male (sort of) trolls go faint and run for their Mumsies (It appeals to the wicked in me!)
          So what’s new in your music world Gwin?

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  5. I wish there really were tater tot trees, 😀
    Yes, wellness begins today… no, actually yesterday. A nice chicken dinner with potatoes is what we had, so a good start. I like to buy my produce from a local farmer’s market… it doesn’t last as long as the grocery store’s, but it’s locally grown and much safer (and cheaper!). Just saying… I’m with ya!! 😀 (And don’t buy farmed fish… totally toxic!!)

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    1. Hey Paula!!!!!
      So good to see you! I’ve missed having you around but I know that you’ve had a lot on your plate.
      Speaking of plates, (Pa dump pump!) LOL!!!
      I knew that you would agree with me here. It’s great when you have access to a farmer’s market that way you can buy seasonally. Also, it’s so much fun being able to interact with the farmers 🙂
      Take care my friend!

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      Reply

  6. I am in, Lady G! You are so correct about time constraints & economic constraints being deterrents to “good food.” My husband & I buy fresh produce and fruits. Since we are entering our food into an app, we are careful about what we put into our bodies. Meal planning is also a good way to combat that time issue. Great blog! That plate looked delicious!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Hey Susan 🙂
      I think meal planning is the key.
      If you plan things out, you can make it work.
      Back in the ’80’s we ate whatever we wanted to, but I’ve found that with age, I can’t eat a lot of dairy or greasy foods. Trust me, when I do I pay for it later 🙂

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      1. Thank goodness I can still eat dairy. I can eat fried foods but try not to, unless someone insists on fried chicken or fried catfish, lol. Yes, there was a brief, fleeting moment in time during my college years where I ate whatever I wanted, I worked out constantly, ran 6 miles….you get the picture. Those days are gone but you can do what you can to keep the machine in working order. I liked your thoughts on the subject, Lady G!

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  7. I have not eaten breakfast yet – I was determined to skip it altogether and just have lunch in a few hours. And then along comes Lady G with that scrumptious looking food in the picture … now my stomach is grumbling! Lol.

    I think you raise a good point about what is “good” food. What grinds my gears is the fact that organic food tends to be more expensive than processed food. It is hard to get “good” food because the costs are a disincentive. And, you are right, since people are working so much and so hard, there are serious limitations on what can be prepared for dinner. So I like your openness here that you just try to do so as often as possible.

    Good work as usual =D. I am glad to see this is a reblog, as well – because Thanksgiving was only a few days ago … so if I am stuck eating leftovers for the next WEEK … I don’t wanna see you eating stuff I can’t eat lol

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    1. LOL!!! Always good to see you Bro. Darryl!
      That is a plate from a restaurant that my brother co-owns. Baby it was delicious too 🙂
      You are right about the fact that buying organic can be cost prohibitive.
      I was just telling someone else that a poor sick grandma with limited income and no car has to send her grand baby to the store for her. Best believe, he is limited in what he can purchase. In this case boxed, bagged and canned foods will keep them from starving. As you know, that’s real talk.
      I also mentioned in comments that I worked for an organization that sponsored Farmer’s Markets in urban areas and at senior citizen centers. The organization got grant funding to subsidize each purchase and to double the value of food stamps! Isn’t that wonderful?
      We need to see more like that.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Lady G!!!
        Great to hear there are programs like that! There is a serious shortage of healthy food in urban areas. Scholars often say that black and brown folks live in food deserts. I have only been to one Farmers Market – because I live in the city and it is out of the way in the sticks. I agree…we definitely need to see more of that!

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        1. Food deserts are so serious. How can we expect folks to eat healthy if they don’t have access to good food?
          Locally grown food is better and cheaper.
          We just need to bring the market to the ‘hood 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

  8. Anonymous

    Lady G I have to stay away from that delicious looking food. I’m glad you acknowledged the “food snob” comment. Yea that’s true most healthy food is not affordable to poor people. Hell I’m just now finding out what flaxseed is. Lol but man that looks Hella good. Thanks for sharing

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I love this comment! “flaxseed” LOL!!!
      Yeah, speaking about poor folks, I can’t help thinking about the kid who lives in a bad neighborhood with his sick grandmother –and no car.
      The only thing this baby can buy is what he can carry while walking or on a bus or what is allowed to be purchased with food stamps.
      I once worked for an organization that sponsored a weekly farmer’s market in urban neighborhoods. They got a grant to accept food stamps and double the value!
      Now that’s what I’m talking about.

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  9. well there went that last slice of store bought punk in pie that I ate for breakfast (along with my fat free yogurt with fair trade organic granola), no duck duck here….just a little cool whip, hate the throw it out you know. On that note, one dog loves cool whip, one hates it….wonder which dog is the smarter one, huh? okay, great post, you always make me smile Lady G. Now I gotta run off and score me some tater tots….just kidding but darn, those are good, if only once a year 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Yessir! I am going to highlight ‘real good food’ every Sunday. Maybe I can help people plan family meals while encouraging positive table talk. When I was a kid, whenever my dad was off work, we’d sometimes eat together at the table. I always enjoyed the good food and conversation that resulted.

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  12. Anonymous

    I. Love. This. Message! I’m also quite sure Old McDonald would approve of the food on plate in the picture:-).

    Eating good real food is such a missing part of today’s family life. Not only is eating real food important to the physical health of the family, but the preparation and sharing of real food is important to the mental and social health the family unit. There were many days that I can remember where the best conversations happened over eating a home cooked meal or making vinegar/cucumber/tomato salad.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much! I appreciate and agree with your comment! I too have had some of my best conversations over real good food. I’ve gotten some good feedback about this post so I decided to highlight real good food on Sundays. I’m sure that you would agree that real good food is healing to the body and soul.
      Why don’t you shoot me a pic of some of your real good food and I’ll showcase it here on the blog! Are you game?

      Thanks again for the compliment and please come back; you’re welcome anytime!

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