Pesky

Twenty years ago there was always soda in the fridge, mostly coke.  I didn't cook much and when I did, I stuck to my redneck origins: fried food, prepared food, red meat. I hated cooking, still do, and I wasn't interested in learning how to cook anything different or new.

Then 2005 happened.  Kevin got really, really sick and a lifestyle change was required.  Not suggested but required.  Soda, sodium, red meat = all gone.  We had to watch his sugar intake but it wasn't a restriction and thankfully, still isn't. 

Gone was everything I knew how to make.  I could adapt a bit to using ground turkey but not everything is edible with it.  I had to learn new stuff.  Enter the internet.  I actually googled how to bake a chicken breast and a salmon.  Truth be known: I recently googled how to fry an egg.  I'm allergic so I never learned how.  I can scramble them though.

Now it's normal to us.  Now we feel sick when we don't eat the way we should.  Fast food is more of a treat instead of a regular thing and even now labeling it as a "treat" is a bit of stretch. 

There are two problems still.  The family still eats the old way.  Red meat, fried foods and tons of starch.  They don't understand that when we say we can't eat like that anymore that it isn't personal.  It's not a judgement.  We simply can't eat like that anymore.  It's about our well-being.  But it makes it awkward that we don't want to eat out or decline dinner because it's unhealthy for us.

Also, bonus for me: as I age food allergies are getting worse.  No eggs, honey, or apples for me.  Now we're beginning to add dairy to the mix.  This, I believe, might be the end of me.  Right now we only have milk at dinner and it's one-percent but it's *just* enough to mess with me.  Add a cheese to it and game over. 

So, not much left on the fun list of things to eat.  I'm not a fan of vegetables so it's not like I have this vast array of choices.  I'm trying to concentrate on proteins instead although increasing a peanut intake makes me a little nervous.

I did feel a little better about myself when I realized I've just about become a pescatarian. Somehow having some sort of a title to give it makes me feel a little bit better. But I tend toward eye rolling when people begin extolling vegetarianism or the paleo diet or Atkins or whatever.  Maybe this is karma.

Food is difficult.