President's Day Meaty Monday

In honor of President's Day I decided to take a look at what our former presidents ate, particularly, what meats they favored. I stumbled upon The Food Timeline, where our journey begins.

So, what meat did our first president George Washington enjoy? What about Honest Abe? Did JFK have a taste for a particular morsel of meaty goodness? How about Ronald Reagan?

Here's the run down of just a few:

• George Washington had simple tastes when it came to food. He liked his meals hardy but plain. However, Washington seemed to favor fish above all other meats.
• Abraham Lincoln had the appetite of a farm boy, especially, when it came to bacon. He'd fit right in around here!
• James Garfield reportedly loved milk and squirrel soup but hated oatmeal. Well, each to their own.
• FDR, while he served hot dogs to the Queen of England, loved rabbit for his Sunday supper but he also enjoyed creamed chipped beef, bacon, sausage, and other traditionally American dishes.
• JFK was more upscale and swanky then many of his predecessors. He enjoyed a French cuisine often ordering a bowl of vichyssoise and chicken in champagne sauce. No squirrel for the Kennedy's. 
• The Reagan's were definitely bread eaters but Ronald Reagan loved roast beef.

Hungry for a second helping?

Here's a favorite food list from The Favorite Foods of Presidents Past:

• Barack Obama: Fran’s Smoked Salt Caramels (buttery caramels coated in milk chocolate and sprinkled with smoked sea salt).
• George W. Bush: Homemade ‘cheeseburger pizzas’ composed of a cheeseburger on top of a margherita pizza.
• Bill Clinton: Jalapeño cheeseburgers with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, pickles, and onions.
• George Bush: Pork rinds.
• Ronald Reagan: Jelly beans.
• Richard Nixon: Cottage cheese and ketchup.
• Lyndon B. Johnson: Like Warren Buffet, he had a daily hamburger fix.
• John F. Kennedy: Boston clam chowder and ice cream with hot fudge.
• Dwight Eisenhower: Beef stew.
• Harry S. Truman: His mama’s fried chicken and custard pie; his wife’s chocolate cake, as well as chicken and dumplings.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt: Grilled cheese sandwich, scrambled eggs, fish chowder, hot dogs, and fruitcake.
• Warren G. Harding: Men’s-only dinners featuring saurkraut and knockwurst.
• Theodore Roosevelt: Fried chicken smothered in white gravy.
• Abraham Lincoln: His mother’s gingerbread.
• Andrew Jackson: Cheddar cheese. A 1,400-pound wheel of it.
• Thomas Jefferson: Expensive red wine.
• John Adams: New England cheese, bacon, white potatoes, and cider.
• Georgia Washington: Nuts, so much so that he had dental issues from cracking them with his teeth so much.

It is interesting to see that each president's tastes are as different as our own. Some people swear by pork or poultry, others are all beef all the time. Yet others prefer to just veg out with no meat in sight. The amazing thing is that we each have that choice to make. Just as every president has certain preferences, ideas, and agendas so too does every person.

As a society we need to be understanding of our differences and respectful of individual choices.

That's enough insight for one day. Enjoy President's Day, everybody!

Eat Breakfast Like a King...

Adelle Davis courtesy of the Adelle Davis Foundation website.

Adelle Davis had it right when she said: "Eat Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper" and researchers agree. According to Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D eating a good breakfast can lead to weight loss. Here are a few of her reasons why you should never skip breakfast:

• Eating breakfast reduces your hunger later in the day, making it easier to avoid overeating. When you skip breakfast, you may feel ravenous later and be tempted to reach for a quick fix, such as candy from the vending machine. In addition, prolonged fasting — which occurs when you skip breakfast — can increase your body's insulin response, which in turn increases fat storage and weight gain. In fact, skipping breakfast actually increases your risk of obesity.
• Eating breakfast gets you on track to make healthy choices all day. People who eat breakfast regularly tend to eat a healthier diet — one that is more nutritious and lower in fat. When you skip breakfast, you're more likely to skip fruits and vegetables the rest of the day too.
• Eating breakfast gives you energy, increasing your physical activity during the day. A healthy breakfast refuels your body and replenishes the glycogen stores that supply blood sugar (glucose). Skipping breakfast is associated with decreased physical activity.

In addition, according to research done by University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB) eating a higher protein/fat/carb combo for breakfast can actually help control your weight. Bacon and eggs are among the highest protein foods you can wrap your lips around. If you are concerned about the fat and cholesterol content, don't be. Once cooked bacon only accounts for 1 gram of saturated fat, of which only one-third effects cholesterol and research by Wake Forest University shows no connection between eggs and heart disease.

So, tomorrow morning when you're debating over a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich or a cup of coffee with a rice cake for breakfast...go on, eat that big sandwich, you'll be healthier for it......

In proper proportions, of course.

Shaken Up the Holidays with Thanksgiving Oddities

Thanksgiving is all about traditions. Traditional foods, traditional gatherings, tradition, tradition, tradition. But what if you feel like shaking up the holidays. One way to keep with tradition while adding a little extra zing to the day is to add a non-traditional and/or slightly odd food item to the menu.

Image by Mitcham Peaches



Photo of fried pickles
by Food Network

At our house we usually always have a tray of sweet pickles, dill pickles, and green olives to munch on before, during, and after dinner. Instead of the usual tray why not shake it up a bit with something like fried pickles, pickled okra, and pickled peaches.

Instead of the same ol' pumpkin pie, why not have pumpkin pudding with vanilla wafers (I like to dip the wafers in the pudding). You could also change the appetizer platter to include sushi rolls for a little something different. 

For even more holiday oddities check out a post by mental_floss. This list includes a recipe involving White Castle, a turkey with anchovies, and a Ham and Banana Casserole. Yum?



Image from mental_floss

 How will you shake up the holidays? Do you have any odd traditions for Thanksgiving?