I saw this a while back on Tina’s blog and thought it might be just the thing for summer blogging. Kinda like a chick flick. Or chick lit by the pool. Light reading. Well, summer’s long gone and I never got around to publishing this post. But I’ve had apples on my mind lately, this time of year.
So here you have it… my food ABCs:
A is for Apple: What’s your favorite variety?
My very favorite is Macouns but you can’t buy them here in the Midwest. I still remember picking up a bag at a roadside stand in New Hampshire many years ago. Yum.
B is for Bread: Regardless of nutrition, what is your favorite type?
Wellll, if you’ve been reading long you know I have a bit of an obsession with bread. LOVE it. Too much. So pretty much I don’t eat it anymore. My favorite might be something hot and crusty fresh from the oven. Or a bagel or two or three. Sigh.
C is for Cereal: What is your favorite kind currently?
Okay, another food that tempts me. I really do like most high fiber cereals. Just can’t keep them around. I tend to pour them into a cup and mindlessly munch. If healthiness was no object, I love granola.
D is for Donuts: You might not currently eat them, but what kind do you fancy?
Can’t remember the last time I ate one. There were two large boxes at the family reunion brunch we went to in June and I easily managed to resist them. My favorite would probably be a warm glazed one. When I was pregnant with my first son I craved the little powdered sugar ones that come in a package.
E is for Eggs: How would you like yours prepared?
We keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge; they make a great snack. Even my teen would eat them before he left for college. But now, thanks to my cholesterol issues, I just eat the whites.
F is for Fat Free: What is your favorite fat free product?
Well, right now I’d like to say cheese. Since my quest to lower my bad cholesterol has heated up, I’ve been trying to find fat-free versions with little success. Fat Free Kraft Swiss Singles have really grown on me.
G is for Groceries: Where do you purchase yours?
My closest store is HyVee and I know where everything is so it’s the fastest shopping experience. (Yes, this uber-planner likes to put her grocery list roughly in order of the store aisles.) I also shop frequently at my local Super Target and my husband buys lots of stuff for us at Costco.
H: is for Hot Beverages: What is your favorite hot drink?
This one is easy! Last year I discovered some great hot decaf teas. Two of my current favorite flavors are coconut cocoa and cinnamon cardamom. But I finally made the switch to a green tea for mornings… hoping for all the purported health benefits.
I is for Ice Cream: Pick a favorite flavor and add a fun topping.
Oh this is like asking a mom to pick her favorite child! I’m the person who goes to the ice cream parlor and has to get more than one flavor because I can’t decide. You should see how many samples I have at the gelato store! One of my top picks would have to be cinnamon ice cream with chocolate chips mixed in. Yum.
J is for Jams or Jellies: Do you eat them? If so, what kind and flavor?
Nope. Used to like strawberry preserves back in the days when I ate PB&J sandwiches.
K is for Kashi: Name your favorite Kashi product?
I like the crackers and the cereals a lot, but don’t keep them in the house anymore. (Yep, more red-light foods.) So I guess I need to go with some of the frozen dinners. I keep a couple in the freezer for “emergencies.” And I take the bars with me when I travel.
L is for Lunch: What was yours today?
Since I’ll be posting this in the wee hours of the morning, I haven’t had lunch yet today. So, I’ll go with what I ate on the last day I worked on the draft: a Hungry Girl recipe for “Sloppy Joe’s” made with ground turkey breast and broccoli slaw. Very low-cal. And, of course, I skip the bun:)
M is for microwave: What is your favorite microwave meal/snack?
I make “refried” beans in the crock-pot once a week and reheat them in the microwave for breakfast every day.
N is for nutrients: Do you likes carbs, fats, or proteins best?
Oh, hands down I LOVEEEEEE carbs best. So I really work hard to eat more protein instead:)
O is for oil: What kind do you like to use?
I have a Misto mister filled with olive oil that I use pretty much daily on roasted veggies. Much thanks to my wise readers for telling me about this gadget.
P is for protein: How do you get yours?
I make a conscious effort to eat more and try to have some at most meals. My breakfast I mentioned above, beans, has protein. For lunches I usually have protein (with veggies) like leftovers from dinner the night before or black bean burgers or salmon burgers.
Q is for Quaker: How do you like your oats?
I rarely eat them anymore (see my comment above about trying to get more protein and less carbs) but when I do I go for steel cut and add a bit of sugar-free maple syrup and some ground flax.
R is for roasting: What is your favorite thing to roast?
Veggies! They taste so much better roasted! Wish I’d discovered this years ago.
S is for sandwich: What’s your favorite kind?
Well you might have guessed that since I don’t eat bread much anymore I pretty much don’t have sandwiches. But I could sure go for a panini right now:) And I used to love me some peanut butter and jelly. Since I ate while driving on last two road trips, I packed sandwiches: thin sliced ham and turkey with low-fat swiss and a bit of mustard on whole grain sandwich thins.
T is for travel: How do you handle eating while traveling?
Not very well. But I’m working on it!
U is for unique: What is one of your weirdest food combos?
My husband would probably say macaroni and cottage cheese with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top. But I haven’t had it in years.
V is for vitamins: What kind do you take?
I have a horrible gag reflex and really struggle to swallow big pills so I take an adult chewable multivitamin.
X is XRAY: If we xrayed your belly right now, what food would we see?
Ah, nothing:) I’m typing this with just tea sloshing around in there since it’s pretty early in the morning.
Y is for youth: What food reminds you of your childhood?
Good memories? Probably Devil Dogs🙂 Bad memories: liver. My parents made us sit at the table until we finished it; I went to the opposite extreme with my own kids.
Z is for zucchini: How do you prepare it?
I rarely eat it but my favorite healthy way is as “pancakes” with shredded zucchini, some egg and parmesan cheese, sautéed. Very tasty.
Now it’s your turn! Pick a few letters, maybe that spell your name or your initials, and share your answers. Or do the whole alphabet on your own blog:)
Waisting Time 
I ADORE THESE!!
and you made me smile, nod and git eager to read on when you compared em to chick lit (I do love me some chick lit.).
It’s that and a little glimpse at the woman behind the words.
Me? Im C.B.
C is for chocolate as it is 440a and Ive already had some and B is for BED where I wish I could be by my dang allergies work me up 🙂
Hmm… chocolate as an allergy fix? Maybe I should try that one myself:)
Hi Karen! This is a very interesting post. Yes, I’ll do this on my blog this week!
I really love grocery shopping!! And my favorite grocery store is HUGE (3 times the size of a big grocery store)and amazing! It’s like food heaven. It’s called Woodman’s, and it has so many varieties at the lowest prices. So we always find something interesting, fruit and veggie prices are very low, and we keep in the food budget. It’s my favorite date with my husband–but teen kids always want to go along too.
I also eat beans for breakfast. Just started a few months ago. Other days, I eat split pea soup with carrots and onions for breakfast. Both help stop carb cravings all day. Both help make sure I get in lots of daily veggie servings.
🙂 Marion
I never heard of that store. In my post tomorrow I talk about a different one that I discovered on vacation a few years back. Yeah for beans for breakfast!
So many letters, so little time…I’m just going to choose 3 letters randomly. F – the only fat-free product I like is 0%fat yogurt. I do like the 2% cheeses though. Q- I like rolled oats, but I like oat bran even more. Oh, and A – I love the honeycrisp apples. Pricey little orbs of joy, so my backup is Cameo apples, named after me, I’m sure. 🙂
Happy Monday!
We’ve been buying Gala apples from Costco. Between the two of us, we can go through four a day, easy. So, it saves money. I also like Sonya which I’ve only seen at one store near me and they are a bit pricey.
F is for Fit
D is for Diane
C is for Children
Hopefully that is self-explanatory! 🙂 I love your list Karen!
I love your C the most:)
C — Though I rarely rarely purchase it (because the entire box is GONE in two days), Barbara’s Peanut Butter Puffins!! Hands down! Without a doubt!
G — Kroger, Walmart, Target, and sometimes Whole Foods. My main shopping excursion is typically the super Walmart, where my list is also in order of the aisles.
P — I eat Greek yogurt seven days per week, and I eat salmon three or four times per week. I’ll usually order chicken in restaurants, but I never make it at home. I can’t stand the sight of uncooked raw meat.
V — I take Flinstones… when I remember to do it… probably once per week. I also can’t swallow pills. The last time I had to have an antibiotic, I asked the doctor for a liquid prescription, and he kind of chuckled.
That little quirk about raw meat gave me a chuckle. Salmon is so good for you! I can swallow small pills, and do on a regular basis for some health reasons. But, those big ones… I’m gagging just thinking about it. Puffins… yep, yummy. I first had those in my old WW days. Not the PB though; maybe those were not around back then.
This is fun so I’m going to wait and do the whole list as a blog post one of these days. But in the meantime…..
A is for Apple – I’m in apple heaven right now. Visited my favorite orchard yet again last Saturday and came away with Fall Fuji’s and Caravels. Both totally delicious.
L is for Lunch – Yesterday we had the last of some Pasta Fagioli soup I made earlier in the week. It rivaled Olive Garden’s if I do say so myself.
T is for Travel (of course, look who is writing this??) – Guess I’m a lucky girl. Travel time is EASY for me. If I could travel all the time, I’d have no weight or food problems. I’m so excited about going somewhere and what I’m seeing that I forget about food.
I think it would be fun to give this list to your spouse or best friend and see how well they know you!!!
And I’m in apple envy! That travel thing… oh if only you’d rub off on me. Hmmm… maybe you would if we traveled together!
Karen, I need to get some sleep & don’t won’t to short change this post so I will read it a bit later & comment! 🙂
I love this! I’m going to post for the first time in a milennium today, and maybe this will be my return song.
Fun post!
K – hmmm, I don’t buy Kashi products…
L – my lunch today is spinach salad, with 2 hard-boiled eggs, pecans, sundried tomato and a bun.
A – I wouldn’t say that Royal Gala is my favorite, but I eat those kind the most…
and Z – roasted zuchinni or zuchinni bread. But, I’ll have to try the zuchinni pancakes, sounds yummy…
We ate Gala the most too; we get them from Costco. Oh yes, zucchini bread would indeed be my favorite way to eat it too.
Love this. I’m doing it on my blog tomorrow since today’s post is already done.
What a fun idea! I’ll give it a shout back tomorrow also.
D: Buttermilk bars. I can only find these in CA. I usually allow myself one when I am back in LA.
E: Love scrambled eggs made more omelette style so the eggs are folded. I make them in a non stick pan.
G: We have HyVee, too, in MN! Not so much in MPLS, but in Mankato. One of my favorite stores. I actually shop at many stores now, including a local grocery (Kowalski’s: they are a bit high priced but hands down the best produce and deli) Traders Joe’s; and Super Target
J: Jam: Love apricot. Only eat it about once a week. Used to make it. My opinion is that the best PB and J is with apricot jam.
O: Never heard of that mister tool. Will look it up. I love Olive Oil, use it sparingly.
P: protein: probably chicken.
T; Most of the time I am pretty good with travel. I plan ahead, bring some 100 cal foods and allow myself something every day, but ALWAYS count the cals in.
Z: I love shreded zucchini in salads.
Have a great start to your week, michele
Never heard of buttermilk bars. I got my Misto at Bed Bath and Beyond but I am sure you can find them all over and online too. It is quite nice.
Oh what a fun way to get to know you. I have never had a macoun.
I think I will avoid answering some questions since I seem to be highly suggestible today.
I adore honeycrisp apples, Any bread – but pref. anything dense with a hard crust, Fried eggs. Strangely I do not eat many fat-free manufactured products. I do like Daisy low fat sour cream – that is the best sour cream ever. Same with Kashi. I do not buy those things. They are pure marketing genius but they are calorie bombs.
We spatchcock chicken and roast veggies along side. That is the entire household’s fave meal. The dog gets the skin and fat. It is the only meal that she looks into the oven window to watch it cook and when we pull it out she literally jumps with joy.
Glad to have your sour cream review since I never know which version to get. Spatchcock? Okay… I’m back from googling it:) When we buy rotisserie chicken, which I use in some recipes, I find it soooo hard to resist nibbling on some of the skin.
HI Karen. So fun. I’ll do my name.
R – Roasted Veggies for sure!
O – Olive oil more than anything else.
Z – Zucchini. Hmm…LOVE zucchini muffins and loaves.
Have a wonderful Monday.
Z – me too! But I don’t eat them anymore. Moderation… not my friend.
I had no idea there were so many varieties of apples … I’ve never even heard of several of them. I definitely need to get out more.
We get more here than we did in past years, but not are all good by the time they reach the shelves, in my picky opinion.
Cocoa Coconut tea? Heavens, where on earth have I been?
This is like the equivalent of looking into a person’s medicine cabinet to learn about them. I feel like I know you so much better – all from learning your ABC’s!
A reader recommended it to me and it is yummy! Republic of Tea.
Karen, this computer is fighting me today & taking all my comments into cyber space so my nice long comment disappeared! BUT I did say I am so like you with bread & cereals. I love fresh bread out of the oven & my love of certain Kashi cereals – NOT in the house! 😉
J – not a fan of jam/jelly
O – oatmeal in so many ways but always with cinnamon, ground flax, protein powder and bake with it
D – no donuts for me but as a kid, cinnamon rolls & crullers!
Y – 0% Fage or TJ greek yougurt!
Hmm… protein powder in oatmeal? My husband eats it every day with tons of cinnamon and it makes the house smell yummy.
Oh, what fun!
M – I’m new to having a microwave. Loving single serve bags of popcorn for an afternoon snack!
A – I like gala or Fuji apples – I really like honeycrisp (they’re HUGE!) but can’t find them at my local grocery store.
R – I make a fantastic roasted chicken! It’s surprisingly easy and totally delicious.
Y – Pasta any old way – reminds me of being a kid and family get togethers, with 30+ people to feed at a family reunion, there was a lot of spaghetti!
Someday I’ll try roasting a chicken. Maybe. I’ve collected a few recipes for it when I’ve come across them. We eat Gala the most.
Love it!
J- Jam. Smuckers sugar free raspberry. I like to mix it in my Greek, plain, yogurt.
I- Ice Cream…. I love all kinds. I cannot pick a favorite flavor. I like chocolate or peanut butter as a topping.
L- lunch today was a smoothie and a spinach salad
L- lunch yesterday was skipped as I took a well needed 3 our nap.
My husband puts smuckers on his vanilla ice cream! Oh… in college we put PB on top of the chocolate soft serve. Yum.
http://www.kclanderson.com/my-abcs-of-food
This is the kind of post where I have to take the time and read everyone’s comments. Oh, so many good posts are, aren’t they?
I’ll just say I like Gala Apples… that’s my “A”.
Love your list.
We eat those the most, Teresa. Easy to stock up at Costco:)
That was a fun post! Too many letter for this late at night so I shall just say that I don’t like any kind of fat free cheese- but I do like the 2% cheese! I like most apples except red delicious – I just don’t think they are delicious!
I’ve had some great red delicious but many not so great:(
Ok, your weird food combo is indeed weird, but yet I’m now strangely curious.
And your zucchini pancakes sound divine. To think I just usually steam mine!
Thanks for visiting on my SITS day!
I have to hide my zucchini:)
I loved this idea. I may use it myself one day. My favourite apple is Courtland. Available in Ontario. I don’t know about elsewhere. Favourite bread is anything I make at home especially whole wheat walnut bread.
I use those to make applesauce but have never eaten one uncooked. Must try. They have a short “season” in the stores here.
You’ve been awarded!
http://fatinsuburbia.blogspot.com/2011/10/versatile-blogger-award.html
Oh I love this entry! I’ll definitely want to post this one day on my blog as well 🙂
I used to also have a really bad gag reflex, so annoying 😦
This may sound annoying to you, but you can eat the egg yolks, is a common misconception that yolks raise your cholesterol, that’s just not true. I eat TONS of eggs a week, and when I increased my egg intake my cholesterol levels went from the 230s to the 180s. Your body makes cholesterol, and if you eat too little of it your body will make MORE, which is the reverse of what you want.
Here’s one resource about it: http://www.mohrresults.com/tag/do-eggs-raise-cholesterol/
And yolks are full of nutrients.
Thanks for the article, Bee. For me, with my family history and and the fact that my bad cholesterol was up despite eating well, I am looking closely for any potential cause. And, I know I’d been eating more eggs. So, I’m trying that. Seems most “experts” are still suggesting that people with cholesterol problems limit their dietary intake.
great post but now i’m hungry from reading it
Fun idea! Many of these would be the same answer for me…especially bread. Yum! Thanks for stopping by my blog today!
I love this! I’m going to do the full alphabet on my blog, with a linky back to you of course! Here’s a few letters:
How do I get my protein? cheese, greek yogurt, cheese, milk, cheese, meat, cheese, fish, nuts, cheese, beans
Do I prefer carbs, protein or fats? Honestly? All of them. I’m forced to eat protein first so it’s a good thing I love protein based foods. Although I like fruit and veggies, I wish that I preferred them instead of breads for my carbs.
Ice cream – love them all, but am forced to eat skinny cow and weight watchers now. It’s all good. I really like the dark chocolate covered white chocolate raspberry bars.
Ok, heading to read everyone’s answers on their blogs. Thanks for doing this. It was fun!