Dinner #1--Red Beans and Rice

We think fast food is equivalent to pornography, nutritionally speaking. ~Steve Elbert

When I started thinking about the For-Granted Diet, I was calling it (secretly in my head, of course--I don't need to be politically correct there) the Third World diet. To understand what we take for granted, I need to understand what people who don't have what we have eat and what they feel like.

Realizing that that may be somewhat insulting and revolting to some people, I changed the name. The idea is the same, though. People in other countries, and even some people here, survive on much less than I do. Happily, healthily. They make do in their lives with just the bare necessities.

So, with this spirit, I went to the grocery store, looking for something simple to make. Something that wasn't meat (a delicacy to many people in third-world countries). I didn't want something "quick and easy" although it turned out to be that way.



The goal was to find something that would be simple, yet fulfilling. I am a picky eater. I don't like mushrooms, I have tactile issues with tomatoes. Basically, I'm not a vegetarian and could never survive as one. So I need flavor, rice, substance.

With that said, I found a lovely red beans and rice meal in a box (helpful since I'm kitchen-ally challenged). Another standard it must meet is that it must be MSG-free. (Darling husband and I are arguing over whether or not I should inform you it is from a box, but I'm not going to lie. Perhaps, in the future, I will make my own, but not at this early stage in the FGD.)

The directions were simple:
Water, butter, packet from box. Bring to boil. Simmer 25 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes, dip pita bread in, eat.

The result was wonderful. A beautifully seasoned dish, whole wheat pita bread since I didn't have any naan bread on hand.

I was a bit nervous to share it with Darling Husband (since he up until this point did not know about the FGD) and my almost three year-old Eldest Son.



But Darling Husband loved it and the red beans and rice even got a thumbs up from the Eldest Son! Maybe the FGD could work after all!

I'm on that diet high. The first-day-I-can-do-this-and-no-one's-going-to-stop-me high. I know it will come crashing down, particularly since I am going out of town to the beach for the weekend. However, I am still going to be conscious of what I am eating and try my best to simplify, simplify, simplify...except for the key lime pie...