Barbara Leedom: Snacking for shut-ins

The Register

There are a lot of self-proclaimed food experts. They’re on radio, TV and on the internet. Over the years they have changed their minds about what’s good for us and what’s not. Years ago, we were told butter wasn’t good but margarine was OK. We stopped using butter for a time until we were told margarine wasn’t good for us, that butter was better. We went back to butter.

Food and drink “experts” now say adults don’t need to drink milk, and we certainly ought not to drink juices. One expert said on WCAI radio last Sunday morning that milk Is political. We know most things are, but milk? Yes, the university prof said, the dairy industry has money, is a lobbying organization and spreads the ad world with such cute commercials as “Got Milk.” Adults don’t need milk, he said; we should drink water and nothing much else.

Processed foods are bad for us. They contain lots of ingredients no one can pronounce. These chemicals are in cheese, crackers, chips, frozen pizza, canned fruits and vegetables, spaghetti sauces, TV dinners – on and on – think anything that comes in plastic, in bottles and in cans.

Soft drinks, aka soda, aka tonic are full of sugar, so they’re not good for us. Diet colas and root beer and ginger ale substitute five-syllable words for sugar and both are, yep, bad for our bodies.

It’s football season and what fun the beforehand tailgate parties. Some food people experts would cringe at us cooking and devouring pork sausages hot dogs and grilled potatoes coated with melted mozzarella. Never mind the white bread rolls, the calorie-filled beer, the processed cider and the snacks.

How we love our snacks. How could we do without buttered and salted popcorn, potato and corn chips and salt-laden crackers? How could we forego onion and cream cheese dips?

Now that we can go back to the movie theaters in our masks, we look at all the junk food in the glass cases next to where we pay what used to be only two or three dollars to see a movie without all the ads. What’s going to the movies without noshing on salted pretzels in the dark?

Talk with vegetarians and vegans and wonder why you still eat meat and fowl. Maybe you won’t soon, or at least you’ll cut back to three days a week. Advocacy organizations that try to get America mostly “meat-free” show horror videos of caged chickens and huddled pigs.

There are sumptuous recipes for veggie meals. Vegetarians say herbs and spices can make a veggie burger as delicious as any one with meat.

Desserts are marvelous creations. Bakers come up with creative and beautiful cakes, cookies, pies and tarts. Cream puffs are beautiful and yummy desserts for fancy brunches. Life would lack luster without desserts. Food experts talk about moderation in everything, including chocolate layer cake with vanilla/coconut icing and pound cake made with a pound of butter and a dozen eggs. Mmm.

What to tell the kiddos in this age of eating well when trick-or-treat time nears? Does eating well mean no filling bags with corn candy, Hershey bars, M&Ms, Snicker Bars and all those color sugared hard candies such as Life Savers?

It once was de riguer to stop by a fave drive-up before work and buy a coffee with cream and sugar and a jelly donut to take to the workplace. Now it’s a guilt trip. All those cups of coffee, all those mornings for all those years have gone the way of munching on boxes of French fries. Ah, those were the days.

You can, said a food wonk, get used to greens and carrots. You can eschew those salty snacks and substitute unsalted almonds and walnuts. Keep the fried clams for special occasions, the ice cream and cupcakes for birthday parties, and the apple crisp and caramel apples for autumn festivals. Concentrate on moderation.

Holidays beckon. We’ve been cooped up and shut in for months and months. We want to eat, drink and be merry with friends. We will be careful of crowded places where there may be a few anti-vaxers. We will, instead of taking a handful of buttered and salted popcorn, be delicate and savor one at a time. Yes, we will. Sure we can.

Barbara Leedom

Comments always welcome, bleedom@gmail.com