tasty
During the last couple of months I have noticed some appetite changes that may or not be a little weird. During the worst part of my health problems, I had almost no taste for any kind of food – very unusual for me. Then what I did eat didn’t taste right and I consumed very little – consequently I lost weight, though I wouldn’t recommend this diet to anyone else.
For about the last 15 years or so, my morning breaking of the fast has been done with dry cereal. The problem with that is that regular milk and I don’t get along very well and I had to have a substitute liquid in which my Cheerios, Rice Krispies and Wheaties could swim. For years this milk replacement was some type of juice – mostly a brand called Juicy-juice and that of several flavors. About 5 or so years ago, I happened upon a milk substitute called Silk – a soymilk product and with great joy and gusto started using that to wet down the dry cereal.
During my recovery, this morning fare suddenly didn’t taste good any more. The only thing that even halfway pushed my appetite buttons was Cream of Wheat – a product that has to be cooked. My method of preparation was to cook it and add butter, then it is normally sweetened but I had to do it a certain way. Instead of sweetening the whole bowlful, I placed the portion of sugar in one spot in the center of the bowl. This enabled me to partake of spoonfuls part sweetened and part unsweetened – this contrast just seemed to taste better.
On a short jaunt through the grocery store I suddenly remembered peach preserves and that I had eaten cream of wheat a few times in the past with a dollop of these on the cereal. The preserves were purchased and for the last couple of weeks it has been the warm cereal and the dollop. This fruit product is placed in the center of the bowl to enable me to get a bit of preserves with each bite.
The subjects of consumption of the other meals of the day have been just as difficult to determine. It wasn’t exactly an epiphany but my first real food desire, after the cream of wheat, came from the Discovery channel. A couple of explorer types were visiting with some South American tribesmen and eating the foods they were eating. The delicacy of the day was fruit bats – they caught them in a cave, skinned them and fried them up very crispy. It wasn’t that I wanted crispy fruit bats but something clicked and it placed a craving within for the lemon-pepper rotisserie chicken that I mentioned a few missives ago – no, I don’t know exactly what the connection was.
Several other food desires have struck in similar manners – the latest came through nostalgia. Years ago, a friend couple had us over for a meal that was new to us – pepper steak. We got the recipe for this and it became one of our staple meals. Basically it is a cheaper cut of meat, top round, which is cut up in small pieces and cooked with beef stock, bell peppers, onions and other flavorings and served on rice. A craving for this dish jumped on me a week or so ago and we just got around to the preparation thereof a couple of days ago.
All I will say is that it was yummy and that there will have to be a repeat performance of this dish in the near future. God is good to make the multitudinous taste sensations in food world and I am enjoying many of them since my appetite came back. ec
For about the last 15 years or so, my morning breaking of the fast has been done with dry cereal. The problem with that is that regular milk and I don’t get along very well and I had to have a substitute liquid in which my Cheerios, Rice Krispies and Wheaties could swim. For years this milk replacement was some type of juice – mostly a brand called Juicy-juice and that of several flavors. About 5 or so years ago, I happened upon a milk substitute called Silk – a soymilk product and with great joy and gusto started using that to wet down the dry cereal.
During my recovery, this morning fare suddenly didn’t taste good any more. The only thing that even halfway pushed my appetite buttons was Cream of Wheat – a product that has to be cooked. My method of preparation was to cook it and add butter, then it is normally sweetened but I had to do it a certain way. Instead of sweetening the whole bowlful, I placed the portion of sugar in one spot in the center of the bowl. This enabled me to partake of spoonfuls part sweetened and part unsweetened – this contrast just seemed to taste better.
On a short jaunt through the grocery store I suddenly remembered peach preserves and that I had eaten cream of wheat a few times in the past with a dollop of these on the cereal. The preserves were purchased and for the last couple of weeks it has been the warm cereal and the dollop. This fruit product is placed in the center of the bowl to enable me to get a bit of preserves with each bite.
The subjects of consumption of the other meals of the day have been just as difficult to determine. It wasn’t exactly an epiphany but my first real food desire, after the cream of wheat, came from the Discovery channel. A couple of explorer types were visiting with some South American tribesmen and eating the foods they were eating. The delicacy of the day was fruit bats – they caught them in a cave, skinned them and fried them up very crispy. It wasn’t that I wanted crispy fruit bats but something clicked and it placed a craving within for the lemon-pepper rotisserie chicken that I mentioned a few missives ago – no, I don’t know exactly what the connection was.
Several other food desires have struck in similar manners – the latest came through nostalgia. Years ago, a friend couple had us over for a meal that was new to us – pepper steak. We got the recipe for this and it became one of our staple meals. Basically it is a cheaper cut of meat, top round, which is cut up in small pieces and cooked with beef stock, bell peppers, onions and other flavorings and served on rice. A craving for this dish jumped on me a week or so ago and we just got around to the preparation thereof a couple of days ago.
All I will say is that it was yummy and that there will have to be a repeat performance of this dish in the near future. God is good to make the multitudinous taste sensations in food world and I am enjoying many of them since my appetite came back. ec
posted by mreddie | 1:07 AM
7 Comments:
It may be the spicy things that come back first.
Although peach jam couldn't really be placed in that category.
Funny that. When I was sick in the Fall, cream of wheat is something that I wanted. Our normal breakfast is oatmeal.
It seems we have some similar tastes. My taste buds, too, have changed in recent month. For hot breakfast alternatives, you may want to investigate some old stuff: Instant Ralston or maybe even Farina. And there is always rice for any meal: after all, I understand it is the staple of 3/4 of us humans.
Granny - The peach preserves do 'spice' up the cream of wheat a notch or two. :)
AC - In my case the cream of wheat seems to be hanging on - I nuke it in the microwave. Care must be taken since it will run over while cooking and make a mess.
SSN - It has been years but I have eaten Ralston and Farina - and on the rare occasion, rice for breakfast. Right now the taste buds seem to just be demanding cream of wheat. ec
This post resonates. My husband has become ill, posibly with diabetes, and the first thing he noticed was a change in how things tasted, and dry mouth. He will be seeing the doctor, but, in the meantime, he has cut out fruit juice and sugar completely. And, coffee too, as that is a diuretic. It is a shame that as we age, our taste buds dimminish, but thank God that the onset of disease can have it's warnings this way too.
I can my own plums from our tree, and put a few on top of my oatmeal, just as you do with the peach preserves.
Hi Mr. Eddie ~~ Glad you have gt your appetite back. A niece of mine has lost all sense of taste. Everything tastes the same. Awful. My morning
meal is muesli with fruit salad and
orange juice on it, as I am not fond of milk. My corned beef was yummy, and all the electrical goods are fixed. Clean floors and clean sheets etc.
Take care, Regards, Merle.
Bonita - So sorry about your husband, hopefully his condition can be treated. The plums on the oatmeal sounds good to me - I like the contrasts of tastes.
Merle - That sounds terrible that someone would lose the sense of taste - so sorry for her. I'm sure having the electrical problems fixed and having clean floors and sheets made the meal taste even better. ec
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