Archive for the 'food' Category

Ira . . . and My Kudo Addiction

Published
by
Mike
on September 15, 2005
in food
. 20 Comments

I have a wonderful picture I took from Chris’s first football game. (Yes, the same Chris I was pushing in a wheelchair four months ago.) It’s a picture of my 5′3″ 7th grader, a cornerback, close to the line of scrimmage to guard the 6′4″ 7th grade wide receiver from Mann Middle School. In the back of the picture you can see that help is on the way: his friend, a 4′10″ safety, is running over to assist.

- - - -

I was in New York City Tuesday and saw more limos than there are cars in Abilene. Turns out the heads of state of 160 countries are in NYC for the U. N. session. That might explain why I couldn’t find a hotel room anywhere. Actually, I did learn that there were rooms in the $500-1200/night range. How can so many people pay so much for a hotel room? (Thanks to our friends there who put me up Tuesday evening!)

While I was there, I got to meet Ira Lester Hays, the younger brother of Sophia and the son of Joe and Laura Hays. So many of you have been praying for him. Ira has spent his whole life in NICU at Children’s Hospital in Upper Manhattan. He probably thinks that’s what every baby does. His parents, in their faithful love, are heroes of mine.

All this happened just after they planted a church in Brooklyn. Many prayers continue that little Ira’s lungs will continue to develop.

- - - -

I found out that Laura shares a passion of mine: Kudo bars. And we both agree that the chocolate chip Kudo bars are by far the best, but NO ONE carries them anymore. They are nowhere around here, and she can’t find them in Brooklyn.

Two confessions.

First, I found a grocery store in Malibu that carries the chocolate chip bars. So I bought the five boxes they had and carted them back to Abilene. Apologies to my friends at Pepperdine.

Second, I have at times, in desperation, bought a “variety pack” just to get the three choc chip bars. I set the others out for Chris to eat. The whole “don’t-cast-your-pearls-to-swine” thing.

If any of you out there in blogdom know where chocolate chip Kudo bars can be purchased, Laura and I would like to know. I don’t know about her, but I am willing to pay a handler’s fee for anyone who can supply me.

So . . . is this what an addiction looks like?

- - - -

I just joined the world of podcasts, subscribing to the NPR “Most E-Mailed Stories.” It was wonderful catching up to stories from the last week on my trip to NYC.

Diet DP: My Addiction of Choice

Published
by
Mike
on August 23, 2005
in food
. 34 Comments

No offense to my NY friends, but would someone please stop the Yankees? They have underperformed this year (considering they have the best team money can buy), but that doesn’t mean they won’t wake up from their coma and win the World Series if they make the playoffs. Keep the Evil Empire out of the postseason.

- - - -

Tiger won’t break Nicklaus’s majors record (18). You read it here. Are you out there, Boone? Am I right? (By the way, heard you did great with the Senior PGA for the Golf Channel last weekend.)

- - - -

We made a trip to the emergency room last night to have Chris’s ankle x-rayed. The doctor said, “Well, whatever’s wrong, he looks better than the last time I saw him.” That was January 16, before he was put on a place to fly to Cook’s.

This morning we helped him forget about his ankle pain by having four teeth extracted.

- - - -

ACU pays me to teach 18- and 19-year-old students about Jesus. Go figure.

- - - -

I don’t understand the popularity of Hummers.

- - - -

Guacamole is my food addiction; Diet Dr. Pepper is my drink addiction. If Jesus were alive today, he’d turn the water to Diet DP. Especially after he read all the stuff on how it wasn’t really wine, anyway. On a normal day, I can get by on one can. If I put down a second can, you can tell the stress level is high.

(NOTE: Jesus is very much alive today. I mean, “If he were still here in the flesh like he was in the gospels.”)

Summer Drink Recipes

Published
by
Mike
on July 6, 2005
in General and food
. 36 Comments

Last summer — I believe it was — we searched on this site for the perfect guacamole and salsa recipes. How about, with all the recent summer heat, we go for favorite summer drink recipes. Something that will really cool you off. Who has the perfect lemonade recipe . . . .

Food at Ninety

Published
by
Mike
on January 14, 2005
in food
. 22 Comments

Sometimes I earn brownie points on Friday morning by making a couple stops after working out. This morning I rolled through Starbucks for a Cafe Mocha for Diane. (The only thing Starbucks sells that I like is bottled water. Apologies to you SB addicts. I have my own addictions, but coffee isn’t one of them.) Then I ran into Grandy’s for a biscuit deluxe for Chris.

The guy behind me in line must have been pushing hard on 90. I heard his order as I was leaving: “I’d like two sweet rolls and a whole milk.”

You’ve got to love that! There’s hope ahead. At some point you think, “Who cares what I shovel in there? Bring on the extra piece of blueberry pie. And drop an extra scoop of Bluebell on top.”

Meanwhile, I came home to my Fiber One with almonds with some 1% milk.

You Are the Parent!

Published
by
Mike
on January 5, 2005
in family, food and movies
. 12 Comments

Are you one of those parents who would like to help your children exercise more and eat a more healthy diet, but you’re just too tired? Or maybe you’re susceptible to guilt when a child complains about having to eat vegies instead of chips (pointing out that none of her friends has to eat that way)? Or perhaps you tend to overcompensate through fast food rewards when you don’t have enough time with your kids? Or could it be that you’re just too pooped to do anything, so the television becomes a free babysitter?

I understand.

But YOU ARE THE PARENT! This is the year to change. Even if your children fight you over it. It’s always important to remember that you are the parent!

It’s going to be a tough battle. A Big Gulp and a bag of chips are cheap. A run through McDonald’s is easy, quick, and the kids love it. (So does Ronald McDonald, who owns a major chunk of stock in the company.)

This isn’t about cosmetics to me. We have to be careful about making people think their identity or worth comes from what the mirror or scales are telling them. “People look on the outside, but God looks on the heart,” Samuel learned. We come tall, short, wide, and thin. Our culture obsesses on the outside (I hope to write more on that in a day or two), but God looks at the heart.

But there is a major health crisis in our country. A recent essay by Elizabeth Weil points out that “the burden of childhood obesity is one created by adults and borne by children.” Kids who are overweight have a much greater risk of developing diabetes (type 2). And eventually they’ll be at greater risk of all kinds of nasty things (colon cancer, breast cancer, heart disease, etc.).

Need a bit of shock therapy? Check out “Super Size Me.” (See my brief comments on 12/19/04, and please note the parental warnings at screenit.com.)

Those who’ve read this blog for a long time know I’m not against desserts or an occasional trip through Wendy’s. It’s about moderation. A healthy lifestyle. (The low carb diet is currently crashing about as fast as the low fat diet did. A healthy lifestyle is about moderation. Burning as many calories as you take in. Not rocket science. Save money you were going to spend on that diet book and buy new walking shoes instead!)

We have to be parents, even when it isn’t fun.

There has to be a steady diet of fruits and vegies to go with the other food groups. There has to be a reasonable limit on tv. There has to be a time of exercise and play. Water needs to take the place of Big Gulps–yes, even if ALL THE OTHER KIDS AT SCHOOL get to have the Big Gulp.

We need to encourage by example as well as by words.

Parenting is hard when you’re tired, isn’t it? Enforcing bedtimes (not one of my strengths!), putting limits on television, encouraging healthy eating and exercising . . . well, sometimes it just isn’t fun.

But I think it’s worth it. (Have you seen Spanglish yet? It’ll make you appreciate every time you said “no” when doing so made you miserable being a parent.)

Favorite Guacamole Recipes

Published
by
Mike
on August 30, 2004
in food
. 29 Comments

All right. It’s time to put my blog space where my mouth is.

Favorite guacamole recipes. That’s right: submit them here through comments. (I’ve allowed anonymous comments today for those who are ashamed of their avocado addictions or who are afraid that people will think guacamole can’t be eaten without a margarita on the side.) Bring ‘em on. I’ll drop mine in later. Too much to do this morning (speak to MOPS, Spanish, worship planning, and hospital–all before noon).

I think some doubters out there have just been turned off by that goop that some quickie restaurants pass off as guacamole.

Today, let’s focus on God’s gift of the avocado.