Wednesday, March 22, 2017

NEVER TOO LATE TO USE CHOPSTICKS

BLOG TOWARD HEALTH by Mary Cooke.  Using the pen-name, Mary Lou Cheatham,  co-authored  Travelers in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek with Sarah Walker Gorrell.

Chinese food—how I love it!  I confess that throughout my life I’ve eaten heavily battered and fried food, which I considered fine Chinese cuisine. Wrong.
My daughter has decided I should learn to use chopsticks.  Lately she’s cooked irresistible meals of Asian-flavored vegetables with fish and insisted we use chopsticks. I’ve lived a long and happy life without acquiring the skills of using chopsticks. I just poke my food with a fork and stuff my mouth. Imagine eating at her house. She serves meals with no silverware on the table.

Now in my seventies I’m learning to eat with two sticks held by arthritic hands. I’m overweight. I've discovered the need to slow down, enjoy conversation over dinner, and eat at a move civilized speed. At least, I need to do so when I’m eating Asian dishes. Obviously, I’m consuming fewer calories and eating more nutritious food.
Practicing this ancient art, which is new to me, I’m learning to use chopsticks to eat stir-fried food. We stir fry chicken with a variety of our favorite vegetables often. We season our stir fry with Chinese Five Spice and a tiny bit of soy sauce, low-sodium formula. I like to add copious amounts of ginger. I'm sloppy with the chopsticks, but my technique is improving.
Mastering the use of chopsticks is one way we are loving our healthy habits without going on a punitive diet.

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Through March 23, 2017, my newest novel, which I co-authored with Sarah Walker Gorrell, is free as a Kindle e-book.  Travelers in Painted Wagons on Cohay Creek shows what happens when Travelers (Gypsies) moved near south Mississippi pioneering families in the early twentieth century. Please download a copy and give us a review on Amazon. It doesn’t have to be long, although we like long. Sarah and I will be happy with “I liked it because....”












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