Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Food, Glorious Food

Food. Glorious food. It is something we all have in common. A need...and perhaps even a love...for food. And I certainly have my share of foods I love. Can you say "Chocolate", anyone?

There are certain foods I find particularly satisfying and at the same time quite healthy. (Chocolate is a health food, is it not?) These are what I would consider to be perfect foods. Not necessarily the best tasting in the world or anything that will win earn a place in Emeril Lagasse's next cooking show, but I struggle to find foods which are more perfect than these.

Probably at the top of my list of perfect foods is Chili. Chili con carne. Chili with beans. Chili con carne with beans. Mild or hot, pretty much any chili is great. Not only is chili filling (from the meat), but it has a great blend of high fiber (beans), and a rich source of vitamins (the tomatoes). I can eat chili every day. Often I do. And now that Wendy's lets you substitute their fries for a small chili, I can even get it when fast-food is the order of the day. The downside to chili is that it is hard to predict how it will impact your blood sugar levels.

Next up...Kashi Go-Lean Crunch. Okay, I'll admit, I was a bit leery of this cereal when it first came out. I had tried another Kashi cereal, and it pretty much tasted like twigs. But I was looking for a cereal that was high in fiber (more than 4 grams per serving). Go-Lean Crunch easily fits the bill at 8 grams. On top of that, unlike most cereals, it is packed with 9 grams of protein. But to top it off, it actually tastes good. Granted, it isn't a taste you expect at first. In fact, when I first tried it, I wasn't sure if I'd like it. But it turns out it is a cereal that tastes better the longer it sits in milk. Even after waiting fifteen minutes, this cereal stays crunchy in milk, but the taste improves with each bite. Rather addicting. The downside to this cereal, however, is price. It tends to be expensive, so I don't buy it as often as I'd like. Usually I buy the off-brand version of Frosted Mini-Wheats (which comes in around 5 grams of fiber). But if you find Go-Lean Crunch (in the white box) on sale, give it a try.

Finally, is Homemade Brand's Serious Chocolate Premium Ice Cream. Let me tell you, as a connesewer...uh...conniesuer...uh...connoisseur of chocolate, I've tried just about every chocolate ice cream in existence. But Serious Chocolate is the best, bar none. Okay, so it isn't healthy. But it is delicious beyond words, especially if you let it warm up to that point just before it melts. The only problem is that it seems to be difficult to find. Kroger doesn't carry it at all, and Meijer is rather spotty about it. But if you manage to find it, and you love chocolate as much as I do (although, I find that hard to fathom)...give it a go.

Oh, sure, there are plenty other foods...but those rank at the top at the moment. What about you? What are your foods you absolutely love?