Maybe you know someone who grew up "poor", or maybe that someone was you. Well, "poor" people don't have as much to spend on food, right? So they eat..."rice and beans", or whatever the person buying food deems inexpensive.
Well, I'll tell you...growing up, we were not "poor"...my parents may not have had a lot of money (they didn't), but we kids never thought we were poor. To me, "poor" is more of an attitude than a financial status. We didn't live on borrowed credit either. You know, enjoy today, pay later. Nope. We were the ones who ate beans and rice, and lots of other simple, healthy food.
And you know what? to this day I love simple, healthy food. I do not enjoy food that is artificially flavored, loaded with sugar, or packed with calories.
Why do I enjoy these foods? Because it was dinner. Dinner was a happy time, family all around the table (I do suppose I have selective memory, because not every.single.dinner was a joyous celebration of family! LOL BUT the happy times are the ones I remember!) My parents didn't gripe about not being able to afford filet mignon. I do remember my dad joking around when I was little about a certain dish being "po' folk food". And I thought he was joking, I had no clue that he really was serious! *Smiles*
Tonight I cooked a pot of beans. OH they smell so delicious! I love plain pinto beans. I cooked them with an onion and garlic, and that's how I'll eat them...too yummy!
I would like to clarify by saying that if you don't like a certain food because you associate it with being poor, with a bad memory, or whatever, that isn't wrong! For instance, I know a man who doesn't like lamb because he ate a lot of it while he was in WWII, and a lady I know doesn't like split pea soup because it was the last meal she fed her mother on her death bed. Everyone is different in how they handle circumstances through life, and if a specific food triggers bad memories, then why eat it?
6 comments:
Tammy,
A good pot of beans with some salt pork is soo good. I think of pea soup and bean soup as the logical use for a ham bone. I thik of that as good eating and not "po" folks food.
My family was the same way! We called those kinds of meals "good peasant food" -- healthy, robust meals. I also love beans any way, but my favorite "peasant dinner" was chicken legs baked on a bed of potatoes, onions and turnips.
Hmm, my favorite was a thick pot of red beans, corn bread and fried potatos. That's manna!! :0)
Tammy,
I love this post. I simply love it.
My family was economically challenged when I was growing up, and there were things I never asked to do because I knew we simply did not have the funds for them. When I married, my husband and I were both right out of college. In fact, he still had to finish college, and again, the finances were not there for "big trips" or fancy dinners, but we had fun with what we had. A few years ago, it struck me that my husband makes over 3x more than he did when we got married, but we seemed to live under financial stress. When we cooked out, we had the finest steak and a whole spread. If we went out to eat or took someone out, it was at one of the nicer restaurants. We had all the right stuff and were eating well, but there was something really important missing.
After stopping and letting the Lord show me what that was, I got on my knees and repented of buying into the "happiness comes by social status" lie, and we went back to some of the simpler things. Amazing what riding bikes or feeding old bread to ducks does for building a family. I know you are talking about food, but there are so many simple, wonderful things that bring so much life and joy if we only have the sense to enjoy them.
Blessings!!
Hey, Tammy, lately I have been going to more simple things for my family to eat. Making things myself rather than just purchasing them. It tastes great and also is good for them. I love it! My most recent food has been the old fashioned oats instead of packaged instant oats. You can read about it on my blog at http://onthepathtoglory.blogspot.com/
that sounds good, I'd love to see some of your recipes
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