Real food and better recipes for hearty meals

Real food and better recipes for hearty meals.

Eat real food. Seems like an easy plan. Once upon a time it was an easy plan. Of course, everything looks different when we use the way back machine. Similarly, most everyone knows about family pictures. Pictures are a powerful way back machine. It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. It’s also real proof of the way things were. Once upon a time.

Time is also an influence on the available food choices of the day. For example, once upon a time there was no such thing as a drive thru. Now, the drive-thru makes up a large percentage of today’s available food choices.

Furthermore, it’s safe to say that the convenience of the drive-thru influences food choices. However, the expense of dining in drive-thru style, continues to rise. In contrast, real food prices, continue to run behind those climbing drive-thru expenses. In fact, real food seems to run behind in a lot of different ways.

Real Food For Hearty Meals

There is also confusion about what qualifies as real food. Processed alternatives are everywhere. This makes it more important than ever to have a nutritional understanding of the available food choices.

Looking for the most nutritionally balanced of the available food choices, is a first step in learning the benefits of the real thing. It’s a little easier to think about if one comes from the days before drive thru. It’s also possible to relate for someone who was a nineties kid.

There was such a thing as a drive-thru in the nineties, but they were the exception, not the norm. Furthermore, there were still grandparents who could remember the days of the great depression. And the 1950’s. Times were different back then. Especially when talking about food choices.

Better Recipes

One of the first ways to recognize real food is in the preparation. Fruits come ready to eat. So do vegetables. However, vegetables add to the nutritional value of the overall meal. Furthermore, vegetables require preparation when cooked. Additionally, real food doesn’t usually come with a nutrition label. Real food is basic. The ingredients in chicken is chicken. Easy to memorize and tasty too. Fewer ingredients usually means more of the real thing.

Protein choices are more basic in real food selection. For example, chicken and beef both are high protein foods. In fact, every carnivore knows that beef with a side of chicken is a well balanced meal. For the carnivore. Or for anyone that enjoys a hearty steak and several pieces of fried chicken. Both are filling and nutritious. Either one would help balance a meal with assorted vegetables. Add in some dinner rolls and the meal is complete.

Real Food

However, that does not include dessert. Or appetizers, if the situation allows. The healthy eating angle does have some limiting features. It means more meal preparation and cooking time. However, the results are worth it every time. Cooking from scratch is another way to utilize real food ingredients. The inverted, updated U.S. food pyramid has a unique approach to recommended nutrition with an emphasis on protein consumption.

With this in mind, it’s time to answer the burning question tugging at the bread basket. Is bacon a real food? Bacon is absolutely, delicious. Furthermore, it’s a serious benefit to every taste bud in existence. But is it the real thing? No. It is a processed meat. However, the health recommendation is moderate consumption. Which essentially means, chew your food. And actually means to eat small amounts, infrequently.

Hearty Meal Recipes

Using the ingredients from the new inverted food pyramid requires a basic understanding of cooking. Between Google search and various food apps it’s easy to find great ideas for meal preparation. Home cooked meal preparation. This type of cooking begins in the grocery store. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for the ingredients to be plentiful enough that a second batch is possible. This is a grocery store strategy and it goes further, and is more economical, than the best drive-thru.

For example, chicken salad. It takes a couple of boneless skinless chicken breasts baked until the internal temperature of the meat is 165 degrees. A celery stick (optional) or two, diced. And then mayonnaise. Pull the chicken apart after it cools. Then mix a tablespoon of mayonnaise with the pulled chicken. Add in the diced celery, but it works fine without it. Add a couple of slices of bread, and the basic hearty meal is ready.

It’s simple and basic. And qualifies as a healthy alternative to a candy bar. Or a bag of chips. Another example: Corn on the cob, steamed sweet potatoes and a sirloin steak. Three separate ingredients, one hearty meal. That’s the essence of real food. Furthermore, it’s less expensive than the average drive-thru. Especially if drinks are in the drive-thru order. More hearty recipes on the way. Thanks for reading today.

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