Living a Sheltered Life?

At Christmas, I went to celebrate the holiday with my father, his girlfriend, and her family.  I have one cousin that lives in the area, but I rarely see his family or him.  Usually when his father comes into town, then he or his father will contact my father for getting together for dinner one evening.  As of late, even that has gone by the wayside - no one seems to have time for one another.  It is kind of sad, really.

However, getting back onto topic, Bo and I spent Christmas with my father.  I brought a fruit bowl, veggie tray, guacamole, pretzel chips, and olive and roasted red pepper hummus for the Christmas dinner party.  I was making sure I had some fresh veggies for me to eat rather than pigging out on chips and what have you.  Makes sense, right?

During dinner, one of the girlfriend's step grand-daughters made the statement that I must have lived a sheltered life because my father did not like macaroni and cheese.  For me, I can take or leave macaroni and cheese.  However, when I choose to eat it, I prefer my mac 'n cheese to have a really nice cheesy sauce.  I have eaten Kraft Mac 'n Cheese a couple of times and not really a fan.  I enjoy Velveeta shells and cheese - my mom would purchase that when my father was out of town.  Another mac and cheese we liked was Stouffer's or back in 1978, the Morton mini mac and cheese or spaghetti servings.  During the summer, I would stay up all night with my mom.  We would pop those in the oven and eat them together late at night.


However, I have had mac and cheese that was simply just boiled macaroni, then someone thought they were clever to just grate up cheese and either let it melt on its own or put it in the oven/microwave to melt.  My opinion - not a huge fan.  It has no real taste and is pretty much dry.  In the end, I would rather not even have mac and cheese, if prepared in that manner.

On the opposite side, the young woman stating I lived a sheltered life had no idea of how to eat asparagus or even broccoli - she claimed that broccoli tasted like dirt.  Growing up, while I realize we may not have had a lot of money, my mother made sure I found a liking for spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, asparagus, and brussel spouts.  

I fully admit, I am no huge bean eater.  Cannot stand refried beans - it is just disgusting to me.  I can usually eat charra beans, but then again, everything tastes wonderful with bacon grease in it.  I do love green beans and black-eyed peas.  I even love regular peas - I have come across a lot of people who say they are gross.  I still love them.

So, as I reflect on the comment I lived a sheltered life, I really do not think I did.  My mother did all that she could to get me to eat as many vegetables as possible in my life.  For that, I am eternally grateful because of my current situation today.  I have so many options when it comes to changing my diet and eating clean/healthy.  The fact that I am open to so many vegetables makes preparing meals a hell of a lot easier. 

When it comes to food, I did not live a sheltered life.  I enjoy a wide variety of vegetables.  I think what makes me a little bit more successful with my meals is that I try to always have a colorful plate.  Not only is it pretty, but you can be assured that you are probably getting the right amount of vitamins and so forth to keep you healthy and prevent sugar spikes.