Day 2....The Power of Food

First of all Happy New Years everyone!

I think that I need to decide between The Power of Food and Penny's Pantry...so for the blog I will stick with the former. I had actually been thinking about writing a book by this title and realized that a blog might be a great way to put these thoughts down on 'paper'. I am part of the generation that did not grow up with the internet, so all of this wonderful technology is not naturally part of my realm of 'normal'. Having said that I am a bit of an adventurer and love to dive into new things with enthusiasm. So I must be able to print what I have written at some point, right????

My intention is to start from the beginning of 'My Life As a Foodie'...I actually do not have any memories of my own about being breast-fed (though I was), so I'll start with one of my earliest memories and will get back to the wonderful world of nursing with the story of my own children, from a mother's perspective of course.

When I was about 5, my best friend lived across the street. We lived in a small town in Ontario, Canada, not too far from Lake Erie and the homes on this quiet street ranged from the rental where I lived to the large fairly luxurious home across the street where my friend lived. My friend had a housekeeper/nanny as I recall and one of the things that we did with this woman was bake. I remember learning how to make strudel with her...visions of flour everywhere and rolling the lovely pastry, putting it in the oven and then later relishing the fresh light pastry with sweet fruit inside. The 'feeling' was one of warmth and caring all around. We worked together from the start of gathering ingredients to sweeping the floor at the end, all the while maintaining a constant chatter and laughter.

For those interested in exploring a healthier diet and/or the development of Penny's Pantry, I will end each blog entry with a recipe or tidbit of information that someone may find useful. I would like to share that while my diet could be healthier in many ways, I think that I am doing a lot of things 'right'....I must be, as I am strong, fit and energized! So to get started with this part of the blog, today I started with a coffee, not all that healthy but something I enjoy! (generally 2 cups/day...and the 'experts' say now that this may even be a good thing) I have a pot of steel cut oats on the stove. I make enough for 3 breakfasts, as it takes about 30 minutes to cook and the leftovers go into the fridge for when I am a bit more rushed going off to work. I like to put cinnamon in it and put fresh berries on top. I use stevia as a sweetener, apparently a natural herb. I find that I have gotten a lot less sugar highs and lows since using this. Part of Penny's Pantry will be to explore what to use in baking to make healthy but delicious muffins...