Thankful Thursday: Food

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m a big fan of food. I love to cook it, I love to eat it, I love to talk about it.

Food is a gift from God

I am so thankful for food.

This week I’m thankful…

…for hamburgers grilled and beans baked
My company had our annual Friends and Family Picnic last Thursday. We invite the whole community to come over to eat, bounce in a bounce house, listen to music, and try to dunk somebody in the dunk tank. It’s always a fun time and this time was doubly-fun because my folks came up from Lincoln to spend the evening with Grace and I.

…for meals that keep on giving
I checked out a cookbook called Cooking for the Week from the library the last time I was there. I’ve prepared the first set of meals. The first “weekend” meal involves roasting two chickens and serving them with steamed broccoli and herbed biscuits. (There was also supposed to be a cheesecake–I ended up buying the stuff to make the cheesecake, but haven’t yet put it together.) Then, you eat off of that all week long. Some of the leftover chicken and some of the leftover biscuits becomes chicken pot pie (which was absolutely delicious). Some of the leftover broccoli and broth were used to make a linguine recipe. All this is great–but I expanded it a little further with chicken enchiladas one night and all the fixings for chicken noodle soup prepped and in the freezer for a rainy day.

…for a Father’s Day lunch with surrogates
Gracie had to work and I desperately needed down-time on Sunday, so we stayed in Columbus on Father’s Day (we’ll be celebrating our Daddy this Sunday instead). Erik was so good as to let us (and some others of the young adults in the church) intrude upon his Father’s Day lunch out with his own family. It was good food and even better company.

…for bracingly fresh hand-squeezed lemonade after a bicycle ride
Anna has plans for next Sunday, so she went to Lincoln for the real Father’s Day–which meant that I didn’t have a car to take me to my Mission’s Prayer meeting Sunday evening. Not a problem–I hopped on my bike and rode out. By the time I got there, I was parched, though, and Joy’s homemade lemonade hit the spot.

…for Wendy’s Apple Pecan Chicken Salad
This stuff is amazing. I never used to go to Wendy’s, so I wouldn’t have known about this salad except that Cathy mentioned it one day. I drove through the next time I was in GI late–and I was hooked. Mixed lettuce, dried cranberries, apple bits, candied walnuts, grilled chicken, and blue cheese topped with a pomegranate vinaigrette. The half size is just right and doesn’t break the bank either. This is my new go-to meal when I’m going crazy (like when I’ve been working collaboratively on weight losses all morning and have a training for new Dietetics Association officers all afternoon and failed to leave time to eat!)

…for tried and true recipes (that someone else made)
Truth be told, I prefer to make novel recipes. But I love eating the oldies but goodies. I’m so thankful that Anna prepared some tuna casserole Wednesday evening. It reminded me of when Dad used to cook–and how we kids would complain. But really, I love the stuff.

Food can be a feast for the eyes, for the taste buds, for the olfactory bulb, even for the ear. It can be fuel for my busy body, medicine to heal the pressure ulcers (read-blisters) I gave myself by walking too fast in ill-fitting shoes. It can be a medium for communication and fellowship.

But above all that, it is a gift from God.

Thank you, Lord, for this gift.