The thrifty gene. (NaBloPoMo Entry #1)

I definitely have a food baby right now. Ever heard of that expression? I'm sure you've had one before. It's when you eat so much food that your stomach physically extends out more than its typical circumference, forming a temporary belly similar to that of pregnancy. A typical symptom is the need to unbutton one's pants, followed with a loud sigh and rub on the gut. I definitely have a food baby right now. Luckily, though, I'm wearing elastic pajama pants.

Today was Sunday, and Dyke didn't work until five, so we definitely used the morning to sleep in and then, of course, order too much Chinese food for the two of us. I had some crab rangoon, some vegetable lo mein, and the "Buddhist Delight" which is a big mix of vegetables (For the most part I've given up seafood as well, but I still can't say goodbye to crab rangoon or sushi, so I'm still considered a "pescetarian" I suppose).

But that just formed my early afternoon food baby. Later on, I came home, and for dinner I mixed together a corn and black bean salad and ate it with tortilla chips. The problem is that, because I live alone, the amount of food I make is always too much for me. I continued to eat the stuff way past the point when I should have, so now my second food baby of the day has appeared.

Awhile back my sister, Caitlin, gave me the book The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Before school started I was pretty dedicated to reading it, but with a busier schedule the book moved down on my list of priorities. I find it very coincidental that I picked this book up again after my day of the dual food babies.

I just read a passage that very much relates to my situation today. In Chapter 6, Pollan discusses the American consumer and the "Republic of Fat" we live in these days:

"One might think that people would stop eating and drinking these gargantuan portions as soon as they felt full, but it turns out hunger doesn't work that way. Researchers have found that people (and animals) presented with large portions will eat up to 30 percent more than they would otherwise. Human appetite, it turns out, is surprisingly elastic, which makes excellent evolutionary sense: It behooved our hunter-gatherer ancestors to feast whenever the opportunity presented itself, allowing them to build up reserves of fat against future famine. Obesity researchers call this trait the 'thrifty gene.' And while the gene represents a useful adaptation in an environment of food scarcity and unpredictability, it's a disaster in an environment of fast-food abundance, when the opportunity to feast presents itself 24/7. Our bodies are storing reserves of fat against a famine that never comes."

I've always been a good eater. My mother tells me I was one of those kids who always cleared her plate, and ate all the vegetables offered to me. She also, however, presented her children with manageable portion sizes that fit our physical needs. These days, I still think like I did when I was younger, and I always have the urge to clear that plate of food. The problem is that restaurant portion sizes these days are ridiculously huge, and even when I cook at home, the amount created is always enough for two or more people.

End result: mutliple food babies.

We live in the era of the food baby. When I have kids, I feel like they are going to look back on this generation and notice two things:

1)How every teen film this decade involves some sort of awkward teenage boy (either too thin or too fat) with a personality matching the likes of Michael Cera in... well... everything he does.

2) How fat and unhealthy we were.

This "Thrifty Gene" clearly comes in handy for fast food companies, who developed the whole Super-Size idea when they realized people wanted to eat more, but were reluctant to buy more than one small fry, or more than one burger, for fear of being looked upon as a glutton. Now I can go with my family to the movie theater, and instead of having to get refills on our massive sodas and bucket of popcorn, we can eat until we are about to burst and have as many food babies as we want. I can eat all I want, and way more than I need to, without having to ask for more and looking like a fatty. It's perfect!

And perfectly self-destructible. So this month, while I try to reach my NaBloPoMo goal and write an entry every day, I will also watch myself a bit more closely and see if I can avoid a food baby for a month. I even might try to give up Taco Bell... the one fast food restaurant I'm struggling to give up.

I think they put crack in the beans.

Meryl Streep is a goddess.

I just saw Julie & Julia and thought it was excellent, all because of Meryl Streep. I have never seen one of her movies and not become completely absorbed in whatever character she is playing, because she always does it so well. There are so many more I need to see, including Sophie's Choice, which I hear is devastatingly sad but a must-see.

In honor of the film I just saw, I thought I'd give out a recipe for Spinach Artichoke Dip that is absolutely fantastic. Really, it's not cooking at all, just mixing stuff together in a bowl and then heating it up. But, hey, I make it really well. Here it is:

The Best Spinach Artichoke Dip, Ever!

Ingredients:

10 oz frozen chopped spinach (thawed)

6-8 oz shredded Parmesan cheese (1 bag)

6-8 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese (1 bag)

1 onion, chopped

6 oz jar of marinated artichokes

1 package of cream cheese

Preheat the oven at 400 degrees. Mix the thawed spinach and the cream cheese in an oven-safe bowl. Once it is all mixed together and the lumps are out, add the onion. Drain the artichoke marinade in with the mixture, then chop the artichokes into small pieces. Add the artichokes and the cheeses. Mix it all together until smooth and then add salt, pepper, and garlic to taste.

If you want, leave some Monterey and Parmesan out of the mixture and place a small layer on top of the dip (if you want that cheese top coat). Put the bowl in the oven, and heat until the top layer is slightly bubbling. It's ready!

Let it cool for a small amount of time, and then eat with your favorite tortilla or pita chips.

*Alternatives: I have also heated the dip up in a crock pot, and this works just as well (but has no cheese top coat).

***

Well, there you go. I believe food is meant to be enjoyed, not kept in secret. Now you can be the person that is always told to "bring that really good spinach dip" to the party. I definitely am.

As Julia Child always said, "Bon appétit!"

Food for thought.

Tonight I made a pretty dinner plate of pan seared salmon, sweet peas, and a baked potato. I sat down at the dining room table and ate in silence. I didn't use the computer, I didn't read a book, I didn't listen to music. I just sat... and enjoyed the food I was eating.

I agree with the people out there that are saying we've lost our connection with food. The closest I've been involved with my meals is when I helped out in the little garden my family had at my childhood home. There was something very rewarding about being a part of the cultivation process. It was exciting to know that the tomatoes and corn I was eating came right out of my own backyard. These days I'm lucky to keep a bouquet of flowers alive. One goal of mine this year: attempt to grow a little garden.

We also don't sit down and eat together as much as we used to. When I was little, I remember a pretty consistent pattern of dinner at the dinner table, discussing our days, etc. Now, my family is so busy and everyone has such separate lives that our meals are often buffet style. There are also so many distractions around us (television, computer, newspaper, video games, etc.) that I'll realize on some days I visit the house that everyone has come into the kitchen, filled his or her plate, and gone into a separate area of the house to complete an individual task during the meal. I am as responsible for the shift as the rest of my family. But, I think it would be nice if we tried to get back to the basics on family dinner nights.

It is also nice to sit in solitude and eat. When is the last time you ate a meal without anything else to distract you? It's a good question to ask oneself. We've become so accustomed to immediate entertainment and instant gratification that it feels almost unnatural to pause and take a moment to enjoy the simplicity of the present. Another goal of mine this year: more meals eaten alone in silence.

Tonight I looked at the packaging for the salmon and discovered that it came all the way from Norway. I feel guilty. The main reason I'm slowly phasing into the complete vegetarian lifestyle is because of the amount of energy it takes to collect, process, and ship meat products to our local grocery stores. While I haven't given up seafood just yet, the fact that I'm in a land-locked state means access to fish has its limits and I'll often be stuck buying something from far away. Another goal: be aware of the origins of what I eat.

I've also gone vegetarian for, I guess you could say, the animal rights issue. I'm not going to deny that I love the taste of meat. For my entire life until this past summer I was one of those people that said, "I really just don't think I could ever be a vegetarian. Meat just tastes too delicious!" I'm not really sure what made the shift happen, but it just clicked one day in my head that I really did want to do this. I could never kill a cow, a pig, or a chicken myself, and the way animal production has turned into a factory-like system is something I don't really want to be a part of either.

I'll get off my pedestal now. There is no way that I'm going to go around judging peoples' individual eating habits--I just thought I'd share my own thought process on the topic.

If you are interested, however, in looking more into the idea of local food, animal rights or the food industry today, below are some links that I've found very interesting.

Local Indianapolis Food: Farm Fresh Delivery

Food, Inc. -

(for more info click here)

30 Days - "Animal Rights" -

(for more info click here)

Fast Food Nation author, Eric Schlosser -