Top 10 Foods I Could Eat for the Rest of My Life

Recently with my church, I participated in a 21 Day Daniel Fast. In short, this includes, no meats, no sweets and no breads, for the full 21 days, in conjunction with prayer, meditation and study, of course.  For the first year, in many years, this came fairly easy to me. I had very little trouble maintaining this temporary diet, and giving up meat really turned out to be not a huge struggle at all! This, coming from a self-proclaimed “Ultimate Carnivore”.  I mean, I LOVE MEAT!! Nothing makes me happier than a well-seasoned, juicy, tender delicious piece of animal. Which is also slightly ironic, considering how much I love animals (not on my plate). So I mean, this really turned out to be no issue for me at all! Towards the third week though, I began to cave, not on meats, but on the sweets! Again, a HUGE surprise to me! It was touch and go there for a while, but eventually I made it to the end. Not completely successfully, but more successful than I’d ever been, and very very proud of myself. All of this to say, those three weeks got me to thinking: What foods can I actually not live without?? What would I actually go crazy from the loss of? What foods could I eat for the rest of my life? The answer turned out to be really, incredibly hard to come to. I mean, I think I discovered my life’s biggest mystery here. Anyone that knows me, knows that I love food probably more than I should….ok, definitely more than I should. It’s quite possible that the only reason that I am not an actual glutton is because I really do have more important things to love in my life. And because it’s a huge sin, and if I’m gonna get cast out of heaven, I’m not going to let it be because I couldn’t put the bacon down!  So after much contemplation, here’s what I figure I need in my life for always. At least for now. I’m a fickle fickle lover I am.

 

10 – Broccoli

Ok, I know this is a boring one, but come on, there has to be a veggie option right?? And you can pretty much do anything you want to broccoli. You can eat it raw or cooked. Broiled or boiled. Covered in ranch, cheese, butter, or nothing at all!! It’s the ultimate veggie!! Plus is loaded in iron and vitamins stuffs. And it’s green. So you know, the green benes.

 

9 – Pasta

It was very hard to choose between rice and pasta. They’re both so amazing and versatile! But I decided that pasta was the way to go for me. I can do just about anything with pasta that I can do with rice. It won’t taste exactly the same, but it will come pretty close depending on how I cook and prepare it!

 

8 – Sunflower Seeds

I could literally sit at my desk or on my couch and eat sunflower seeds ALL DAY LONG!! In the shell or out, they’re the perfect snack! And they can be seasoned every which way you can imagine. LOVE!

 

7 – Tomatoes

I know. Healthier than you thought right? But like sunflower seeds, I can eat a carton of small tomatoes all day as well!! I’m not as crazy about the roasted or sun-dried variety, but a fresh, juicy, plump little pop-in-your-mouth tomato will absolutely make my day!

 

6 – Eggs

Yea. This one is a real weakness of mine. I mean, deviled eggs, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, poached eggs. Come on! Giving up eggs was the one thing I could not bring myself to bend on during the fast this year. As a matter of fact, I purposefully kept myself from asking my parents if it was ok, because I was terrified that they would say I had to give the eggs up, and then my life would be over. And I need my life.

 

5 – Cheese

Oh precious delicious miraculous thing that is cheese!! I mean really, that’s all I need to say here, right?

 

4 – Fish

Ok, this was a toughie. I LOVE seafood. All kinds of seafood. But I didn’t want this list to be so generic, so I tried really hard to consider one specific type of seafood that I would be the most upset about losing. And fish won, hands down. No, I didn’t choose a specific type of fish, because, let’s face it, that’s like asking if I want to lose my right arm or right leg. That’s just not fair. And no one with a proper sense of mind would make anyone choose. No one.

 

3 – Cookies

I knew I had to throw a sweet in here, or else I might not make it. And the decision between cake and cookies was a difficult as the decision between rice and pasta. They come neck and neck for me and choosing just one is VERY hard! But, in the end, cookies won out. Cookies are a lifetime love, and if given the choice between the two at a buffet or a party, I usually go with the cookies. They’re easy to make, and even better, easy to make just the way you like them! Soft and chewy, or crispy and buttery, or a little bit of both, cookies make me happy in so many different ways it’s hard to decide just between those!

 

2 – Bacon

You thought that’d be number one didn’t you!!! HAHA!! While bacon is the love of my life, it is not the MOST important food in my fridge. Believe me, I was just as shocked as you to discover this! I really don’t need to say much about bacon except, I mean, bacon. So there’s that. And yes, I love all kinds of bacon, I don’t discriminate! Turkey, pork, beef, whatever!! I am DOWN!

 

And the number one food I could eat for the rest of my days is……

POTATOES!!!!

I mean really. I. LOVE. POTATOES!! They make me so happy in every single form they come in. I can add potatos to any meal and will feel like it was mixed with love. I can eat potatoes with anything on this list and be in absolute heaven!! Potatoes make life worth living. They are delicious, filling, healthy(ish), versatile, and downright the perfect food!!

 

So ok. This list was super hard. I mean, I LOVE food and choosing 10 took me much longer than I anticipated. This list may change from time to time. Some things could get swapped out, or switched around or moved up or down. But in the end, all that matters is this: Food Is Life. Don’t ever forget that. I know I certainly never will.

 

--Lo

    --justagirl

Premio Please!!!

I love Italian sausages! Those delicious little links open themselves up to a world of flavors, combinations and possibilities. So it was no surprise when Premio offered me the chance to try out their one of a kind brand of Italian sausages, through Influenster, I jumped at the opportunity. Free sausages? Yes please! What I didn’t realize was what an amazing experience I had in store, and how much I would come to love this particular brand of goodness!

 

Once getting to the meats section of the grocery store, I was easily able to find the Premio brand. And I was shocked! Does this say Chicken and Kale sausages? My jaw dropped to the floor and my son gave his signature, “Whaaaaaatt??” and we both stood there in disbelief at the flavors on the self. There was Cheese and Basil, and Pepper, Onion and Mushroom. There was Tomato, Garlic and Rosemary, and there was Cajun Style. Now, maybe I’m a little behind on the Italian Sausage game, but for me, this was a game changer! I have never seen so many options of Italian Sausagey goodness on one shelf before. How I had missed Premio before was beyond me. But now I had found it. And now I could be happy again. The intense love that I already had for sausages grew 10 sizes that day! And I knew then that this new relationship with Premio would be one for the movies. Possibly PG-13, so the kids can still come in.  This was love.

After much debate and many trips back to the meat aisle, we decided on chicken and kale. I had come up with an amazing meal idea that would be not only delicious and hearty, but fast! We made our way to the seafood aisle and picked up a small container of pre-cooked and seasoned shrimp, and then we headed on to the pasta sauces and grabbed a jar of Prego Alfredo Sauce. (Prego was on sale, and I am all about a sale). I was short on produce, but knew I had a couple of items at home, so we went ahead to check out and made our purchase. I have to say it again because I’m so excited about it, thanks to Influenster, we got our new love Premio for free!!! (Free is my favorite price!) We took our free sausage and other items to the house, washed hands, and got ready to make some magic.

 

 

I was able to scrounge up some fresh mushrooms in my veggie drawer, and realized just how short on produce I really was, so I made due with a bag of frozen peas, which I thawed out in cold water while dicing up the ‘shrooms. I browned the sausages in a very large non-stick skillet (I planned on using this same skillet again. That’s why I chose a large one), took them off the heat and sliced them up and then put them back into the skillet to finish cooking. You can, of course, cook your sausages whichever way is your favorite, but I like to have a nice crispy brown casing on my own.

 

 

After cooking the sausages mostly through, I would normally drain the oil or fat that has developed in the pan after frying, but these sausages were fairly clean! No draining necessary, no extra oils, I was able to leave the sausages in the pan and use that same pan to begin putting together my sauce. (Another huge point for Premio! Oh how do I love thee, let me count the ways…) In the same pan that I used to brown my sausages, I added a little bit more oil, my diced mushrooms, my thawed and drained peas, and added some minced garlic. Stirring all of that around in the skillet I let it cook until the scent of the garlic and sausage filled my kitchen and the sausages were cooked all the way through. I then added my alfredo sauce and shrimp, mixed it all together adding some extra seasonings (season to your taste), and covered it up, letting it cook for a few minutes on the eye and allowing all of the flavors to blend with one another. We want to be sure to add the shrimp last because they are already cooked, and we don’t want to run the risk of overcooking. Go ahead and start cooking your noodles now. I chose angel hair, but then, I always choose angel hair. Pick which ever type of pasta works best for you. I personally think that a nice fusilli or even a penne would be great with this dish! Very soon you should start to smell the happy blend of flavors that you have created in your pan. Be sure to stir occasionally, and probably more than you would stir in a pot, as this is a skillet, and the sauce can easily burn if left to sit on the heated bottom for too long.

Once your pasta is done and your sauce is heated through, you’re ready to devour! I know it will be hard, but take some time to savor all of the loveliness in your bowl. Maybe make a salad on the side. Perhaps some garlic bread. I added a little parsley on top. Try not to inhale everything at once. Take a moment especially to taste what a flavorful, sweet and incredible sausage choice you’ve made.

 

 

Try this out! Add your own twists! Check out all of the Premio sausage varieties! Let me know what you think! Send me more recipes, ideas and views on Premio and tell me how your family (and you) cried out more Premio Please at your family dinner.

Hope you enjoy!

-just a girl-