The Modern Grocery Store

As I entered the grocery store for a few 'shortcuts', I realized how modern today's grocery store emporium had become. I was staring at a mountain of food from 'the make your own' to the 'ready-to-eat' fare. I was in meal time fantasy land.

Decades ago, I began to wonder if the time would ever arrive when the oven could become an obsolete appliance in homes of the future. Has that time arrived? The cornucopia of energy efficient table top appliances were beginning their debut on our kitchens counters, back then, saving time and energy costs while displacing the more majestic ovens, manufactured for all those 'catered' affairs. (Baked cheesecakes mattered, too). Two of them have invaded my heart and home: the pressure cooker and the Phillips Air Fryer, to my delight!

We were headed in a direction unheard of, in my youth, when dining out was a special treat, not the often, everyday, ordinary event it seems to be today. I shopped in grocery stores, with my mom, to buy simple ingredients: meat, vegetables, ground coffee beans, milk and eggs. Our bread and sweet buns were bought, day old, at the bakery where she worked. (We never noticed).

The deli department of today's grocery stores is more than just sliced deli meats and ready made salads, anymore. It's a transformative place like no other. We now have casseroles galore, dinner entrees for four, sandwiches and wraps, on-the-go, on every type of bread, housing the contents of meats, exotic spreads and greens. (Hold the mayo, please. Too much there. But is it mayo, anyway?). 

 

The deli counter is a catered system I have participated in with delight on a few occasions when I could not possibly cook that day. I was giving myself a much deserved day off. (Sometimes, there were  leftovers only for one. It was his right). But I was being pampered, too. And I liked it. No one knew what was happening, except me. It was my secret.

With such a vast variety of meal choices for our dining engorgement, (did I say that?) the origins of our food can also, sadly, be suspect. I am eternally happy that turkey is now available, year round. Small birds or large ones, they arrive fresh or frozen. I segment the fresh ones, then freeze. Full course turkey dinners are a short walk to my stand-up freezer. As long as labelling is front and center, we are able to make informed decisions when we buy food already prepared for us. No complaints there. In some 'horrid circumstances', however, we still have the deleterious corn syrup solids, glucose-fructose, found inside many of the foods we love to eat. Sugars should be not be in there but there it sits proudly in the ingredient list. These sweeteners should be restricted to desserts and in minute amounts. At least we know where they are and can avoid them. But often, these insipid carbs lurk under suspicious names in the prepared meals and sides we buy as they ambush us, unknowingly, triggering uncontrollable hunger cravings while taking us on a journey to ill health. (Obesity and diabetic epidemics didn't just happen overnight).

In my childhood/teen years, the t.v dinner, on aluminum trays, began a trend towards 'take-out'. But we always returned to cooking the old fashioned way. The grocery store was a simple place, then, within a half hour's walk. Grinding the family's coffee beans was a delightful moment for me, a duty I performed with glee, whenever shopping with my mom. I never developed a taste for the famous brew but appreciated its energizing aroma as I ground it in the store- twice.

We have mixed greens, arugula, kale, watercress, organic or not, on display in the produce aisle of today's technicolour circus, our modern grocery store. They can be added, in a quick fix, to augment the nutritional value of our instant meals. (A wrong must always be made right). It is comforting to know there are mini-sized versions of those 'horrible things' called cakes whenever a flirtatious mood for a slice of dessert hits. The slices are much smaller and thinner with fewer calories. In a pinch, berries can be tossed on top for that healthier approach.

We have access to foods from all over the world with an ever reaching hold on our appetites while the deli counter beckons us, nearby. Dinner will take too long and we are tired, understandably. Short cuts to dinner allow us to 'dine out' more cheaply, too, using today's modern grocery store, for those decadent 'time-outs'. My favourite meal is meat loaf, that often much-loathed dinner entree. I saw it one day in our local grocery store. 'We' were destined to meet, I thought. Mashed potatoes enticing me, nearby, did not disappoint. My husband preferred my version. But today it is my shortcut destination that will rule. (Message received). Dinner time will return to 'normal' tomorrow but in the meantime, I deserve a break today, maybe tomorrow, too. Perhaps, the rest of the week. Not sure. (Remember, I, too, am very busy).

Today's modern grocery stores is a cornucopia of delight and anticipation for me. But please do not misread my momentary excitement for naivety. Get rid of those additives, colour and taste enhancers and the ever present glucose-fructose in some of those 'ready made' meals you sell. These add-ins are not food. And you know it! You put them there, without our knowledge and permission. We have been duped by trust. Any thing new in the ever-expanding deli dept. always gets our attention, justifiably so. But soon the 'honeymoon' period will end. Be careful, Mr. Grocer, my stove is waiting. It will not take much for me to come to my 'senses', if the need arises!

We Met in -25 ºC.

Brrrr! It is -20 today, a frigidly cold morning for our sweet Mr. Wiggles, as he attempts to do his business, on three legs. The fourth one is being held in abeyance, too cold to touch the noisy, crispy white stuff called snow. He runs and runs, trying so hard to get away from that hurting freezing cold ground. Even playing hockey with that large egg-shaped plastic 'puck' is losing its lustre. Today, hockey is no sport. It is pain, with outside temperatures that cold.

I was reminded of 'that' horrible day, nearly 15 years ago, when Tiggy, our kitty cat, then a tiny kitten, was left to die, by the side of the road, on that March 3^rd, in -25º weather. Her life and death struggle gave me a new take on life: never give up and some of us are truly evil! Today's sub zero temperatures attests to her strength of that by-gone era. Back then, she was dying. At that moment, I was falling in love with her. A trip to the clinic to save her came in a most timely fashion. She'd had less than 25 minutes to live. Today she is in her 15^th year and loving her life as I do.

She was a newborn, with no fat and newly made muscle to help keep her warm but easy prey for the coyotes that roamed our rustic neighbourhood, in the country. She was painfully and slowly freezing to death. I had made a wrong turn, that fateful day, and the rest is a rich history of meows, hisses, bites and talking to me in her special way. We were meant to be.

Tiggy is adorable. She put our family through many challenges over the years. We persevered. Early on, she would escape. It was just her nature. When I spotted her near the trees, I warned her of the grave mistake she was making, even on warm summer days. It was Mother Nature's world, I cautioned her. Do not take her for granted, I would say. You have a great life with us and would never survive 'out there'. She knew. She would wait to be picked up, then moved to 'higher ground' where her siblings, the retrievers lived. Each kept to their own quarters, as animals generally do. Whenever they met inside, she would fuss while the male puppy ran towards his newly adopted sister hoping she would play with him.. He just wanted to have fun. She would watch then leave, always reminded that she did not need to be downstairs though she liked to walk on the wild side, occasionally.

She is an adult, now, following responsible dietary protocols, eating tiny amounts of coconut oil, mixed with a few drops of boiled water, then added to her prescription thyroid diet. (She has hyperthyroidism). This healthy fat has given her a rosy glow with a firmer profile. There is an inner strength that seemed to be lacking. (She eats her greek yogurt, too, from time to time). All is well in her kitty world. Her lab results are fine and within range, considering how deathly ill she was a few years ago. Then, she detested her special food. She wanted protein rich foods, high in iodine. But those choices were slowly killing her as she 'wasted' away, an ounce a day. Rational thinking had no part in her decisions. But soon, her body began to protest. She listened. I cleaned up her messes. Dry brushing is now her special spa moment, a daily requirement for health.

As another winter season descends upon us, I am reminded of all Tiggy has endured. Her thoughts and actions influence my decisions in all things medical and nutritional. She is an animal with wisdom. Her water is changed several times a day. (Cats hate their own saliva). Her stainless steel flat 'dry food' bowl is cleaned meticulously before use, all dry morsels, in a single layer when added. Sometimes, her clinical results have told one story while her daily life experience, another. What matters most is her daily truth, not a random one. Laboratory tests are but a moment in time, we are  reminded by our friend, a forensic pathologist.

When that frigidly cold day arrived, 14 years ago, I was ready for a truth like no other. My life's trajectory was altered that day. There was so much more to learn as Tiggy would soon show. She became my new teacher. I was fortunate that we met. We became the perfect match and the most poignant of all love stories.