American Food

Iran is capturing sailors, The Stock Market is dropping like a rock, and Turkey has suicide bombings so I want to talk about something far more important, Food.

I have about decided that most of our Nations problems comes from our denial of our traditional culinary traditions. We were great when we were a Nation of meat eating, potato gobbling, desert eating folks who paid small heed to our diet.

Now, I see folks who are living on tiny bits of food and lemon water. This week I saw mention of pro golfer Jason Day's current diet of egg whites, broccoli, sweet potatoes and protein shakes. Tiger Woods has said that he lives on salmon and steamed broccoli. Babe Ruth, perhaps the greatest baseball player ever, lived on steak, hot dogs, pork chops and beer. See the difference?

I worked in a school kitchen and the kids ate what they wanted. It was absurd. For example, we, on occasion, served nachos, meat, chips and cheese sauce, and in addition, we always had Spanish rice and a cooked vegetable. What did the kids eat? Chips and Cheese. For the most part, that was it. No meat and certainly no vegetable. Occasionally, a bit of rice. How can the human body function with such sorry fuel? The answer, not well at all.

For fuel, which is really all food is, you need some substance. As the old Dire Straits song said, "if you want to run cool, you got to rely on heavy handed fuel." A few chips and some runny cheese sauce won't do.

And neither will rice cakes, tofu, steamed edamame or any of the other faddish health food do. Protein shakes are for folks who can't stomach solid food. Egg whites are the nutritional equivalent of the merengue we used to put on lemon pie. These are not foods fit for fully functioning humans.

Neither is junk food and quick packaged junk like box mac and cheese.

And, neither is Oriental food. Japanese, Thai, Viet Namese,  Korea, and Chinese food, while a pleasant change of pace, on rare occasions, is not substantial enough to keep you up and moving, mentally or physically.

Give me American food. Steaks, chops, burgers. Hot open-faced beef or turkey sandwiches with good, rich gravy over good bread. Give me meat loaf with mashed potatoes and green beans. Fried chicken, fried catfish. Grits and cheese and bacon. Eggs and fried potatoes. Rich white sausage gravy over fluffy biscuits. Hot dogs and baked beans, thick ham and Swiss sandwiches and good onion and cheese steaks. These are American foods. This is the kind of diet we ate when we were building this magnificent Country.

Good for you? Who really knows? Folks live a little longer now, but that is largely because of medical advances. But, you know what? At some point, each and every one of us is going to leave this lovely planet, and it won't be on a space journey. Do you want to live on tasteless food, constantly worrying lest you eat something yummy? Do you want to totter through life half starving your body and struggling for energy? Or, do you want to eat some hearty food that will keep you running like a locomotive. And for the weight conscious, Folks are more frequently obese now than they were in the days when I was growing up, the days when we ate decent, real food.

So America, if you want to be great again, eat up. Steak and potatoes tonight for dinner.