Is there such a thing as bad foods?

Or is it more poor choices? I am a faithful weight watchers member. I weigh in every week whether I think the scale is going to be friendly or not. One might as how do you know if the scale is going to be friendly? Does it say 'Hello my friend!'? Not at my meeting! A friendly scale is one that shows off your hard work, exercise and good food choices. Now wait, there are those words .....good vs bad.


I know I can be a slow learner, but why are some foods better choices? If I look at one more piece of chicken I might cluck! Broil vs fried, baked vs breaded, the comparisons never seem to
end.


So tonight I finally saw the movie 'Julie and Julia'. You might be thinking, has she lost her focus? What does that movie have to do with good health and fitness? More than you might think. Yes Julia Child was a master of French cooking and good cooking in general. She used the best ingredients she could find and afford. She did not skimp BUT did explain what the correct portion size was. I had a friend who lived outside of Paris. He and his wife would shop daily for the food for the evening meal. They did not have a big fridge like we tend to have here in the states.....so the freshest and best items are purchased.


Now that does have everything to do with a healthy lifestyle and fitness. I have been reading a lot lately about organic foods. Yes they are more expensive but IF WE EAT A NORMAL HEALTHY PORTION the food is not any more expensive. Whooda thunk??


Julia Child may not have used a boneless skinless chicken breast on a regular basis. She may not have tried to make a marinade with raspberry vinegar and a chipotle sauce....but she did know how to make vegetables look and taste divine. I chose to blanche some green beans and then finish cooking them in a pan that I had carmelized some chipolini onions and garlic. Julia Child loved butter......we do have that in common but I have to learn to use it judiciously. I want the full flavor but don't want to clog my arteries.....so I will use just a small pat of butter for the beautiful sheen and lovely flavor. The carmelizing of the onions was done with grapeseed oil which does not have a lot of flavor but a high heat point so it won't smoke.


Try eating what is in season. The flavors are phenomenal. I got an organic canteloupe earlier in the week. First it did not have the rough skin, second it was organic, and third it was ocally grown. How much better does it get than that? The flavor was so sweet....it was the perfect shade of orange inside and it was not loaded with seeds. The apples I got this week were also organic and local (I believe the place I buy from considers 100 miles to be local). Such a nice crunch when it was bitten into yet the flesh inside was crip....I had to fight with Sassy, my beautiful Boston Terrier, to get 'my share'!!


So to answer my own question, I do not believe there are bad foods. I believe any food in moderation is fine. It is a matter of making the meal or snack something that your body can readily use for fuel and not fat. Make sense??


To that end, I will take time to learn some deserts that are also full of flavor but also healthy. Let's face it, we all deserve a little sweet!!