He says "Nope" to tomatoes.
"Nope" to cucumbers.
"Nope" to green beans.
"Nope" to most green leafy things, squashes, root vegetables (like beets), snap peas, cabbage, and most everything else that goes from the ground to your mouth.
This poses a real problem, a real predicament. When we met, I was more vegetarian, and he basically lived on bologna-white bread sandwiches. We've had a long time to try to come up with a middle ground. Over the years, this difference between us has actually helped me articulate the way I view eating in clearer, more distinct ways. For example, I don't think of "vegetables" as a category unto themselves. I have subcategories ...
I think of four types of vegetables:
* SUGAR--Carbohydrate veggies, such as corn, potatoes, green peas, lima beans, and many legumes. I called these "sugar."
* "REAL"--Vitamin and mineral veggies, such as tomatoes, kale, spinach, pumpkin. I call these "real vegetables."
* FAT--Then there are the veggies I call "fats," such as olives and avocados.
* PROTEIN--Some veggies also have a decent amount of protein in them, such as black beans, chick peas, and lentils. I generally use these as sources of protein when I cook.
The Husband and I have conversations like this:
Hub: I'm feeling sluggish. What should I eat?
Me: Maybe you should eat some vegetables.
Hub: What are you talking about? I've been eating vegetables all weekend! (His head in the frig, he points to a bowl of leftover boiled lima beans and then holds out a bag of corn chips.)
Me: Those aren't vegetables. Those are sugar!
Of course, there's overlap amongst my veggie subcategories. Often certain veggies are dual-role veggies, meaning that they might also be high in sugar and protein. Or high in sugar and vitamins. And so on. I try to prioritize eating "real veggies" in order to get more vitamins and minerals into my diet, and try to limit my consumption of veggies that are pretty much just plain ol' sugar.
I thought I'd give myself the challenge of coming up with 100 HUSBAND SALADS. But that's just impossible. So, for now, I'm going to give myself a challenge that will only take one lifetime to complete--coming up with 50 HUSBAND SALADS. Still an impossible number, but just hard enough to make it a real challenge and keep me intrigued.
Husband-Approved!: Corn and Potato Salad
Here is a new husband salad I came up with. He loved it. Notice how it's mainly my husband's favorite vegetables (sugar). Cest la vie! What can you do? Except to insure that a few other types of veggies are in here, also. For example, this salad has some real vegetables (tomatoes) and some fat/protein (avocado). I also used a little red onion and cilantro to open up the range of his taste buds. (I'm plotting my path for future salads!)
2 ears of cooked corn
1 large cooked organic red potato
1 organic plum tomato
1 organic avocado
about 1/8 of an organic red onion
1 tsp. garlic chili sauce (which, you already know, I love!)
organic cilantro
salt and pepper
1/2 organic lime
1) Make sure the cooked corn and potato are cool. Carefully slice the corn kernels off the cobs.
2) Dice the potato, tomato, and red onion.
3) Chop the cilantro (as much or as little as you like).
4) Mix the corn, potato, tomato, and red onion in a bowl with the garlic chili sauce, cilantro, salt, pepper, and lime juice.
5) When you are ready to serve the salad, dice some of the avocado and top the salad with fresh avocado.
Meaner, Greener, Leaner!
* We went camping. Lately, I make sure to throw a few more potatoes and ears of corn on the fire the last night we camp. Then, I bring the veggies back home to eat. So, this salad didn't require any use of our stove at all! And the corn and potatoes were extra tasty, being fire-roasted and all.
* By topping the salad with avocado, you can avoid wasting avocado. This salad made 4 side servings. We ate it as a side salad for two different dinners during the week. If I'd added all the avocado, it would have gone brown and mushy by the second dinner.
* No need for an oily salad dressing. The veggies are fresh and moist. So, a little lime juice does it up just fine.
* The Hub hates tomatoes. I've started dicing them very small. In the end, I like the texture of the finely-diced tomato, and he's more interested in eating the combo as the tomato blends in.
Here are more pictures from the process.
Freshly tossed salad ...
A close up on all those colors ...
When making something new for The Husband, I like to give the new dish a "Grand Entrance." I.e. brand-new salad accompanied with an old favorite--grilled cheese with rustic bread, provolone, and cheddar ... With the grilled cheese in these photos, you can see, most of the cheese oozed out in a delicious gooey mess!
No comments:
Post a Comment