Re: parents (maybe too personal)

[Guest guest]

At 3:31 PM +0000 6/8/05, wrote:

>Message: 11

> Date: Wed, 08 Jun 2005 12:20:28 -0000

> From: José Barbosa <jcmbarbosa52@...>

>Subject: parents (maybe too personal)

>

>Hello:

>

>Usually I am not a nostalgic person, but when I think of the time

>when I was a kid (fifties and sixties) I realize that in terms of

>food we were much better off. Maybe all of you are much younger than

>I am.

I would probably be of your generation (b. 1956), and you had the

advantage of growing up in a less technically-advanced/prosperous

nation than the US. Even then, we were inundated with soft drinks,

ice cream, sugar cereals at all times of day, pastries and cookies

(which at least were often homemade). Milk was homogenized and

pasteurized, but at least it was still delivered in glass bottles.

Occasionally we would even have TV Dinners (the original ones in the

foil) when my father was off at a business convention...he would

never have tolerated being fed that, or our other favorite, creamed

tuna on white toast.

But our SAD diet was much less sad than nowadays. At least we always

ate dinner together...there was always a meat dish (beef, pork,

chicken or rarely fish) and several cooked vegetables (we seldom ate

salad) not counting the ubiquitous potato, and woe to my father if he

was late coming home so that Mom had to hold things! The meat was

local, generally they'd buy beef by the side for the freezer. There

were few processed foods, and we almost never ate out, even at

fast-food places (which were rarer then). Our big treat meal out was

the 3/$1 submarine sandwiches at K-mart. My parents were big on

serving fruit. Sometimes in winter we would make our own ice cream.

We would often have homemade soup (but not every day like my

Polish-American friend.)

We grew up being very hands-on about our food sources. Because of

where we lived, we didn't have a garden until I was 12, but my

parents had both grown up on farms. We learned to cook for ourselves

at an early age. In spring, we would wade into the lake to dip smelt

(cleaning them would nauseate me), and would pick wild berries in

summer.

My mother (who is severely diabetic with shut-down kidneys) regrets

those days more than I do. " We didn't know " she says. But later (and

even now), I did know, and the force of habit dragged me back.

--

Quick, USUM (ret.)

www.en.com/users/jaquick

" Every people deserves the regime it is willing to endure. " --the

White Rose, leaflet #1

[Guest guest]

I'm your age and I wish I'd had the food your parents gave you.

It sounds so healthful! In the 50's and 60's in this country many of us were

being fed fake food: chemical milk (so it wouldn't have any fat) and

margarine and " diet " cola. Even the ice cream was fake: soft " ice cream "

that came out of a machine. The main course at dinner was rarely meat and

often a casserole -- something like macaroni and cheese (fake cheese of

course.) Any vegetables were canned and then over-cooked. And how can I

forget the fake meat: fake bologna on fake puffy white bread and something

called Spam (which was a canned meat product and not a computer junk mail

term*)

People say the food now is worse but I don't know how it can be...

By the way, I really enjoy hearing your perspectives!

~Robin

*I just found this blurb on the internet: " Many people have asked where the

expression " spam " originated. Interestingly, a plausible explanation comes

from Hormel, the makers of SPAM lunchmeats. According to Hormel, use of the

term " SPAM " was adopted as a result of the Monty Python skit in which a

group of Vikings sang a chorus of " SPAM, SPAM, SPAM " in an increasing

crescendo, drowning out other conversation. Hence, the analogy applied

because UCE [unsolicited email] was drowning out normal discourse on the

Internet. "

[Guest guest]

> I'm your age and I wish I'd had the food your parents

gave you.

> It sounds so healthful! In the 50's and 60's in this country many

of us were

> being fed fake food: chemical milk (so it wouldn't have any fat) and

> margarine and " diet " cola. Even the ice cream was fake: soft " ice

cream "

> that came out of a machine. The main course at dinner was rarely

meat and

> often a casserole -- something like macaroni and cheese (fake

cheese of

> course.) Any vegetables were canned and then over-cooked. And how

can I

> forget the fake meat: fake bologna on fake puffy white bread and

something

> called Spam (which was a canned meat product and not a computer

junk mail

> term*)

>

> People say the food now is worse but I don't know how it can be...

>

> By the way, I really enjoy hearing your perspectives!

>

> ~Robin

Thank you, Robin. I take this not as simple flattery.

I was born in 1952.

But not everything was perfect then. (I am again using a word I am

rather sceptical of: perfect). My mother gave me too many sweets,

home-made sweets, to be sure, but anyway I ate too much sugar when I

was a kid, and had the typical problems (tooth decay, for example).

To make it worse, I decided to become a vegan when I was about 25

years old, after a serious car accident. ... This was the starting

point of an acute downfall in my health. It took me many years to

escape from the mystical net of veganism and as many other years to

correct the mistakes I made while I was in there. Possibly some

health problems still persist. Hence comes part of my interest in

nutrition and my aversion to any kind of radicalism.

See you.

José

[Guest guest]

> To make it worse, I decided to become a vegan when I was about 25

> years old, after a serious car accident. ... This was the starting

> point of an acute downfall in my health. It took me many years to

> escape from the mystical net of veganism and as many other years to

> correct the mistakes I made while I was in there. Possibly some

> health problems still persist. Hence comes part of my interest in

> nutrition and my aversion to any kind of radicalism.

>

> See you.

>

> José

Woh! Having been quite the compliant little person most of my life,

now that I practice what I call " stealth health " by consuming plenty

of animal fat, I feel quite radical. :-)

P.S. I remember lots of the things you do. You are only 3 years

older than I.

[Guest guest]

Hi :

I see your point. But by radicalism I mean " suppression " rather

than " inclusion " .

José

> > To make it worse, I decided to become a vegan when I was about 25

> > years old, after a serious car accident. ... This was the

starting

> > point of an acute downfall in my health. It took me many years to

> > escape from the mystical net of veganism and as many other years

to

> > correct the mistakes I made while I was in there. Possibly some

> > health problems still persist. Hence comes part of my interest in

> > nutrition and my aversion to any kind of radicalism.

> >

> > See you.

> >

> > José

>

> Woh! Having been quite the compliant little person most of my

life,

> now that I practice what I call " stealth health " by consuming

plenty

> of animal fat, I feel quite radical. :-)

>

>

>

> P.S. I remember lots of the things you do. You are only 3 years

> older than I.

[Guest guest]

Re: parents (maybe too personal)

Woh! Having been quite the compliant little person most of my life,

now that I practice what I call " stealth health " by consuming plenty

of animal fat, I feel quite radical. :-)

P.S. I remember lots of the things you do. You are only 3 years

older than I.

==============

,

I have to tell you, I did a double take when reading your post.

Over ten years ago I wrote an article called " Stealthy Health " that was

published in a few magazines. If you want to read it, it's here:

http://www.nenahsylver.com/default.asp?contentID=901 & toplevel=677

Also, I am gratified to learn that there are some people on this list who

are over 45!

Blessings,

Nenah

[Guest guest]

Nenah,

<Also, I am gratified to learn that there are some people on this list who

are over 45!>

Well, to make you feel really good . . . I'm 66. <g>

http://www.taichi4seniors.com

[Guest guest]

> Nenah,

>

> <Also, I am gratified to learn that there are some people on this

list who

> are over 45!>

>

> Well, to make you feel really good . . . I'm 66. <g>

>

>

> http://www.taichi4seniors.com

i'm 50...laura in nj