I’m at the age at which trying to enjoy foods can be hazardous to my health. The days of reckless candy consumption, cake and ice cream, or even a snack-sized candy bar, seem to be behind me. Not that I’m a big consumer of junk food; the past three years in particular have been nothing compared to what my eating life used to be.
Before the office closed and we started working from home, food was everywhere I looked. People brought in donuts (or the boss told me to order them), and the cafeteria was bustling with folks devouring eggs and bacon or the oatmeal of the day. Lunch was a choice of dinner entrée or a platter with a sandwich and a side of fries or onion rings. The vending machines stayed busy at all other hours.
Those are all rarities on my daily menu now. Except for the oatmeal. I have that daily in autumn and winter. I haven’t eaten bacon as a breakfast food in ages, although I have found a flaccid slab or two in the occasional burger.
I broke down and decided to try a delivery service, so five days a week I prepare a two-minute meal in the microwave which is supposed to be healthier and portion controlled. The meals arrive once a week in an ice-packed box, and I simply move them to the fridge and take one out at dinnertime.
The meals are tasty, hot and filling, plus I have not found any I don’t like. This either means that I have a tolerant palate for anything, or I don’t know good food when I taste it.
I’ve never outright refused to eat a meal. Okay, one time the omelet my mother prepared was a bit on the softer side for my taste, and she was rather annoyed that I asked her to give it more of a cook, but it was just that one time. Even the Navy always met my expectations on omelets. I guess this means I used up my one complaint about food allotted me per lifespan.
I wish those Karens I see on social media videos would realize they earn one complaint about food preparation per lifespan.
Unfortunately, I had some blood work done at the lab, and the results came back that I still have too much sugar in my system. Gee whiz, I already gave up sugar in my tea, switched out several items for alternates with real and low percentages of sugar, and my summer cereal boxes all come with ten grams or less of sweet stuff.
My doctor will probably tell me to limit dessert.
Wait until I tell him what that will do to my daily life as I know it. I may need therapy.
Another recommendation may be to change the diet plan for my deliveries, to something like the DASH or Mediterranean diets. Both are known to help older people get better numbers out of their blood samples. They’re also rather restrictive and a bit pricey. because anything good for you naturally costs more. My current service is reasonably priced, but I may need to spend more for healthier choices.
Despite eating two bananas and a Greek yogurt a day, my potassium was still low. That’s not easy to build up, but not impossible. Unfortunately, foods such as spinach don’t come in meal delivery services, and watermelon doesn’t travel well. I added a salmon dinner to the delivery service to help boost my numbers.
Snacking has been out of the question, so I don’t have chips, pretzels or popcorn at home, though I indulged in a bag of chocolate drizzle popcorn last month (I stretched it out to last all week).
Here’s the kicker: the sugars you consume stay in your bloodstream and can be read with a simple test to find out what you’ve been doing for the past ninety days. That was vacation time, so yes I did have a few indulgences such as fudge from the boardwalk. And my blood told on me.
Gives new meaning to the term “bad blood,” doesn’t it.
So soon my primary doctor will read the test results and probably offer some suggestions. I’m willing to follow them, because nobody wants to find their healthy meter has suddenly expired and it’s the end.
At least if I “checked out” in the cafeteria, somebody would say, “Must’ve been the oatmeal of the day.”
Susan's Scribblings the Blog 