Grandma's Cookbooks and Special Recipe Box Versus America's Obesity Problem

I have the good recipes!

After grandma passed away, I inherited her recipe box and cookbooks full of tasty and nutritious recipes from the good old days. I suppose that I could substitute some of the ingredients in her recipes. However, grandma's recipes would not taste the same.

Because many of grandma's recipe cards were tattered and turning yellow, I decided to write a recipe book for my children, using my great grandma, grandma, mother, and my beloved aunt's favorite recipes.

I must admit I had some excellent cooks in my family and they did not skimp on calories. They ate what they wanted and did so in a sensible manner. I never heard the word "diet" on any of these women's lips and none of these women were obese by today's standards.

A Family-Line of Excellent Cooks and Bakers

My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother loved their kitchens, loved to cook, and were never considered obese. In their time, there was no such thing as worrying about being overweight. These ladies were trim-looking women.

A doctor once told me that if a person is 30-pounds over their ideal body weight range, they are considered obese. Additionally, if a person can pinch just one-inch of fat from around their waist, they are considered obese.

All of grandma's recipes contained ingredients that made everything she cooked and baked stand out as the best of the best dishes.

My great-grandma died at age 87 from complications from an auto accident. My grandma died at age 91 from heart failure. Grandma's sister, my beloved aunt, died at age 93 from a heart attack. These women were splendid cooks, who never worried about "lite" anything in their cooking; they did not know the term "lite."

One day I said to my husband, "Boy, I do not have much of a chance to live to an old age as everyone died from heart attacks."

My husband's reply, "Yes they did die from heart complications but you need to look at the ages these women died. They lived a full active life to the day they died, in their 90's!

These women did not worry about using sweeteners. The only sweeteners on the market were saccharine, now off the market. They used plain sugar.

They cooked with whole milk and heavy creams.

They used lard in many of their recipes.

They fried their foods a lot.

Q. Why is this society so worried about cooking lite these days?

Q. Does everyone think that cooking "lite" is the answer to our obesity problem?

Maybe cooking and eating "lite" is partially the answer to an obese society, but there is more to the obesity problem than meets the eye.

I do know that "a diet" can help people lose weight, but not forever because no person can stay on a diet forever. I do know that it takes a lifestyle change for the rest of one's life to get the weight off and keep it off. I believe that it is better to eat smarter than to eat "lite."

• Great-grandma traveled a lot of the time and was on holiday a lot.
• My mom did not have the patience for teaching me to cook.
• My beloved aunt, grandma's sister, was a professional, career lady, like most today, and worked outside the home every day.
• The one woman that I had the honor of cooking with the most was my grandma. Grandma and I liked to cook and bake together, and she was an outstanding teacher.

Do not get me wrong. Great-grandma, aunt Charlotte, and my mom were superb cooks. I remember great-grandma for her unbeatable macaroni salad and corn beef sandwiches.

I remember my aunt serving up the best and freshest bluegill dinners at uncle and her cabin in northern Michigan. Meals consisted of her excellent homemade potato salad, fresh sliced tomatoes, corn on the cob cooked on the outside grill. She always used lard to fry her bluegill, in a cast iron frying pan placed on the outdoor grill.

Everything my mom cooked and baked came out tasty. She was a perfectionist.

Grandma, my mom's mom, was a great cook. Like my mom, everything she cooked turned out tasty. Grandma was a splendid pie maker. Her pie crusts were flaky and light (not "lite.") Her secret was using good old lard in her pie crusts. As Crisco came on the market, she would use this brand once in a while if she were out of lard.

These women ate anything they wanted to eat, but they knew their limits. None of these women were obese. Mom weighed 110-pounds. Grandma and auntie both weighed about 130-pounds. Great-grandma may have been a tad overweight at 150-pounds. She carried her weight well on her five-foot-six-inch frame and never worried about if she should diet.

The women of today would not think of using lard in anything. Using lard causes atherosclerosis or a buildup of plaque in the arteries. It is full of calories and just a bad thing to eat, or is it?

Remember, my family seemed to have longevity. I do not believe that it is all in the genes. It is the way people lived years ago that lent to living a longer life.

What is the answer to America's obesity problem?

Tips for Healthy Weight Management:

When I was a kid, my family had a good old traditional family doctor who gave me some valuable advice after I had our first son. This doctor said:

"Never go on a diet or say the word diet. Learn to do things a bit differently when eating."

His advice to me when I wanted to get the excess weight off was as follows, and I still read these same weight loss tips today in medical journals.

• Eat slower and chew each bite 20-times allowing one hour to eat your meal.
• After you take a bite of food, rest your fork down on your place.
• Cut only one piece of meat at a time.
• Always eat at the table. Sit in an upright position to help the stomach digest accurately.
• Learn to push yourself away from the table before getting that full, almost stuffed feeling in your stomach.
• Never drink anything when eating, but drink eight ounces of water before the meal and enjoy another glass of water after the meal.
• Never count calories, just cut your servings in half of what you would typically put on your plate.
• Enjoy anything and everything you want to eat. If you want a piece of grandma's pie, luscious chocolate cake, ice cream, help yourself, but be honest with yourself and eat only half of what you would typically take.
• Never get on the scales every day. It is a good thing to watch your weight. However, you can tell you are losing weight; by the way, your clothing fits.
• If physically possible, walk, walk, and walk some more.
• Eat meals off of a smaller plate. You are apt to put more food on a full-sized dinner plate. Grandma always ate from a more modest sized plate, and I could never understand why. Now I know why she did this and I tend to follow her example.
• Never go back for seconds, even when you eat from a smaller plate.
• Always leave at least three bites of food uneaten on your plate. I remember my mom doing this, and I wondered why; perhaps to keep her weight in check?

It is a massive help if you lose weight with a buddy who has the same views and desires to lose weight and focus on wellness and health. There was no such thing as lifestyle changes in grandma's day.

There is much more to what this doctor, my mom, and grandmas told me, and it has to do sitting down at the dinner table.

Sitting at the table teaches children good table manners.

Sitting at the table encourages communication between family members and friends.

Q. "Did I follow the good doctor's advice?"

I never did, and I feel this is where I made my mistake. Know that it is never too late to learn and I am focused on these healthy tips.

Eat one of grandma's great meals, then exercise!

Pick out an exercise pattern appropriate to your age and physical ability.

Make your weight loss happen with adequate exercise and good food control. Increase the protein and decrease the carbs. Even though my ancestors of past years did not worry about the number of carbohydrates they ate, I do try to control my carb intake to no more than 100 grams of carbs per day.

Choose an exercise plan that is right for your taste, physical ability, and age. An exercise right for you may not be an ideal plan for someone else.

• Running
• Walking
• Sports Games
• Yoga
• Weight Lifting
• Aerobics

Therefore, my questions are as follows:

Q. Why do we feel we need to eat lite and cook lite to lose weight?

Q. What is society doing wrong?

• Do you rely too much on fast foods for you and your family, foregoing well-balanced meals made with fresh fruits and vegetables?
• Do you chew each mouthful of food adequately? The experts say, "Chew each mouthful of food 20-times."
• Do you allow at least one hour to eat a meal?
• Do you cut your meat up first so you can eat it faster?
• Do you eat in front of the television and not at the table?
• Do you sit upright when eating or do you slouch on a couch to eat meals?
• Do you keep eating until your stomach hurts?
• Do you drink eight ounces of water a day and eight ounces of water before and after each meal?

Food For Thought

• Just because we have busy days and find ourselves running a daily rat race, it does not mean we are getting adequate exercise.
• When someone is obese, they frequently are malnourished.
• **Always consult your doctor before starting any exercise routine or lifestyle change. If your doctor prescribes you an ordered diet never goes off from this diet until you ask him or her. For an example a diabetic diet or a cardiac diet.

Pick an appropriate age-related exercise.

Walk, Walk, Walk

"Food" for Thought

Just because we have busy days and find ourselves running a daily rat race, does not mean we are getting adequate exercise.

When someone is obese, they frequently are malnourished.

**Always consult your doctor before starting any exercise routine or lifestyle change. If your doctor prescribes you an ordered diet never goes off from this diet until you ask him or her. For an example a diabetic diet or a cardiac diet.

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Personal Experiences