Eartha & Kitt by Kitt Shapiro

Author:Kitt Shapiro [Shapiro, Kitt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2021-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 22 Never Say Diet

There is a harvest whether we share with a friend or a stranger.

To my mother, eating healthy wasn’t a subject for negotiation. It was the rule. And not just in our house, but wherever and whenever eating, or even snacking, occurred. It wasn’t about dieting or losing weight. Food was the body’s fuel. And the kind of fuel you fill yourself with will result in the kind of body you end up with! Performance-wise, as well as with respect to appearance. Although my mother didn’t ever diet, per se, she did eat like a bird. Small-sized portions, consumed slowly, just until she was full enough.

But she always ate full-fat everything—olive oil, butter, and whole milk—long before anyone had ever even heard of the Paleo or Keto plans. My mother only ate what she considered to be “real” food. If it didn’t come from Nature, then she wouldn’t put it in her mouth. I never saw her drink a soda. Certainly not a diet soda. Before it was chic to eat organic, my mother knew the importance of consuming pure, simple food. Fresh tomatoes, rice, sardines, a green leafy vegetable, and olive oil and garlic were all that she needed, and she was good to go.

She also drank her coffee with whole milk or cream. As I said, low-fat and nonfat were non-existent, as far as she was concerned. She understood that real butter, real milk, and real cream gave you more flavor. If you used just a little bit of them, you would be much more satiated than if you opted for the “fake” stuff. So, when my mother would cook up a plate of grits, it would be grits with butter, because margarine was just not on her radar.

Her travels also influenced her eating style. Since we spent a lot of time in Great Britain, she adopted some of its dietary habits. Kippers, for instance, a popular breakfast choice in London, were among her favorite things to eat. And if she couldn’t find kippers, she would substitute a can of sardines and be in heaven. How she loved her sardines! Of course, being rich in calcium, selenium, and other essential nutrients, they are literally one of the healthiest things you can eat.

Personally, I must admit, I’m not a fan of sardines. I think they’re vile. And I sure as hell wouldn’t eat them straight out of the can. But my mother liked things simple, as well as conveniently packed. Peel back the lid on a can of sardines, add a hard-boiled egg and some salad, and you could feed her for the day.

Not one to frequent restaurants, as she preferred less fancy food to overly elaborate dishes, she would often travel with a rice cooker and use it to make rice or oatmeal in her hotel or dressing room. She wanted to be sure that she always had something healthy to eat, and she didn’t want to depend on room service or catering.

Wherever we lived, my mother wanted to be able to grow her own food—unprocessed food grown without chemicals.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.