Grilled Cheese, Microwaved Eggs, and Snow Days

Grilled Cheese, Microwaved Eggs, and Snow Days

Sigh.

Vegetables? Not much luck.

Healthy food. Pretty much ix-nay on that, either.

Scrambled eggs made in the microwave?? Yep.

I simply hate being cooped up and this damn weather is driving me nuts. Peanut M&M's bought for Valentine's Day in hopes of fun days ahead (ok, at least more pleasant days) eaten before lunch because I am so bored, do not a healthy diet make.

So far, my little jaunt to Chattanooga is really turning out not to be so fun. That darling little food truck with glorious grilled cheeses of all kinds that I found the other day? Definitely down for the count during this weather. A microwaved grilled cheese just isn't the same as one from here - 

Super William's awesome grilled cheese truck in downtown Chattavegas.

Forget the amazing frozen yogurt I got the other day, too. Too cold for it to even wander downtown to see if my favorite spot is open (guessing that would be a wild longshot, anyway).

I was back on the track of eating so healthily before I left home, and really can't put into words fit for print the misery that has been my edible options here. Sharing a fridge, too, is for the birds. It's not for this bird, at least.

I am writing this from the nearby Whole Foods - I braved the sunny but iced and snowed over and simply frigid weather to get to the closest WiFi - and, frankly, it's almost worse looking at all the healthy (hell, at this point the not-as-healthy options sound better since comfort food is all I am craving, honestly) things I can't cook (no stove or even toaster) when I stroll around one of my typical happy places when I have a real kitchen with which to work.

Do I sound really cranky yet? Indeed I am.

This is what I am dealing with, weather wise:

Yes, Atlantans, I feel your pain - except there are NO salt trucks here and Chattanoogans are worse than Atlantans when this kind of weather hits . . .

And this is the kind of stuff the cafe in my building serves on any given day:

Seriously? Not a chance this is passing these lips.

Which makes me feel hangry and like this:

Never thought I'd relate to South Park quite like this...

As I try not to throw a complete, juvenile (even if mostly warranted) tantrum, I ponder what kind of healthy soup I can concoct in my microwave . . .While dreaming of a meal like this:

Ahh, arugula salad with Parmesan and my lemon and olive oil vinaigrette . . .

Oh, the sweet thought- and many things  I could do - with a rotisserie chicken . . .

Alas.

Can I please go home now?

Sigh. I should sign this "Angry Carrie Neal." I will show some restraint - for now at least and say . . .

Yours,
Love (really) Bites,
Carrie Neal

Get Toasted

This time of year is perfect for true comfort food. Sure, fresh berries and light, flavorful salads are lovely in summer, but in winter, who (if they're honest) doesn't often want something a little . . .heartier, warmer, or otherwise heart pleasing?

My latest version of comfort food, breakfast addition, cold-weather fortification is something a good friend taught me about: salted, buttered toast. So simple yet so very delicious. Mine looks like this:

A piece of this yumminess with yogurt and a banana - perfect breakfast!

If you want to try this at home, here's how I do it (she uses a toaster but I like to use a pan on the stove): Heat the correct size pan (I use my smallest one for one piece and a larger for two) on medium; add butter and swirl to melt. Sprinkle a little salt (I've been using lite Morton's but sea salt or a flavored specialty salt would also be good!) then lay the bread on top. Let it "brown" to golden, a few minutes, add a little salt to the side that's up, then flip over and repeat with the other side. A few minutes more, and voila! Only takes a few minutes on each side to get a nice "toasted" look so leave it longer if you want it more done. And don't worry if you have to flip a couple of times- this won't bother it like when you flip a grilled cheese too much!

My tummy is always happy with this treat, and I feel good about the whole breakfast when I add yogurt, a banana, or maybe scrambled eggs to round it out.

Sometimes, especially on a cold rainy Saturday like today, this comfort is just what I need.

Yours,
Love Bites,
Carrie Neal

From NFO to NYE

Anyone know what "NFO" means? I'll fill you in: No Food Order. That's hospital lingo for "don't give the patient anything, even water." And those were the instructions given initially during my last stay at Piedmont (Christmas Eve and most of Christmas Day - fun!). 

Y'all. Shut the front door!

So I won't repeat (again) about past eating issues, and will say that I have been trying to both eat, and eat well, in recent weeks and months, especially since I left the restaurant world (schedule was too unpredictable to make "regular" eating feasible very consistently, and it also lent itself to getting so hungry I'd grab what I could and then not be pleased with my choices) and even more so since my first hospital stay in early December (which had been one of the reasons I quit restaurant work). I don't always get three meals in a day, or sometimes two and a snack or. . . but it's better and more consistent. So when I went to visit a dear friend on Christmas Eve, who'd just had her new baby the previous day, little did I expect to end up hospitalized - with an NFO!

I had been in a hurry to get out of the house and so hadn't eaten breakfast. My plan was to visit with A just a little - didn't want to swarm the new mommy too much as she warned me it was a bit of a circus in her room - then go get an early lunch and do some final Christmas shopping. Thank heavens I was walking into the lobby at Piedmont when I lost all motor control and nearly crashed. Fast forward through the ER, a lot of tests, and getting into my own room (I'll spare you details of what happened and all that), I finally, hours after I'd arrived, sat in my hospital bed and saw that acronym on the white board in front of me: basically, this woman who hasn't eaten since Mon night and is going on 24 hours without food or even water is not to be given anything. At all.

Finally, I talked them into some version of a liquid diet - even a cup of chicken broth and some water were welcome around 11pm that night - and once, finally, a few things were cleared up, I got on no restrictions orders. 

I was grateful to be able to order from the "Christmas Menu" (who wanted broth again for breakfast? I was still waiting on real food around noon on Christmas Day) and I picked this:

Lunch a la Piedmont Hospital: not the best food ever but very welcome! Merry Christmas!

Was the steak the best I've ever had? No way. The green beans were actually pretty yummy and the bites of red velvet cake I had weren't bad either. Regardless, while not what I usually eat, it was very welcome.

When I got home from the hospital, I slowly returned to eating and as healthfully as possible. I did pretty well.

By the week leading up to New Year's, I was nearly back on my feet with minimal internal debate over food. By NYE and my second date with a new boy, I was up to the good stuff again, such as:

Salmon and latkes, with arugula and the usual sour cream and apple sauce accompaniments, at The General Muir (go, go if you have not been!). His suggestion of a spot (impressive for a boy who lives in Montgomery!) - delicious and an adventurous choice for me!

That meal made me feel even more on the road to recovery than getting good sleep and lots of water!

Food is such a big part of our lives - in 2014, I plan to never be or need to be set on any sort of NFO, and celebrate lots of good meals, good health, and time with good people.

Here's to love and food in the new year!

Yours,
Love Bites,
Carrie Neal