Good food is not luxury in retirement — it is preventive maintenance for the body

[Surewhitey]

I do most of the cooking and am always on the lookout for an easy but tasty dish. Usually it's protein and 1-2 veggies or a few veggies in the air fryer and a grilled steak / chicken. Less cleaning is my goal after great taste.

DW got a dicer for veggies and it's definitely growing on me. Super easy to dice sweet potatoes, onions and parsnip (new, tasty surprise for me) for the air fryer...

 

[CautaServans]

One of the telling, and perhaps sad, experiences we had recently were when we were contacted by a food bank we have volunteered at, and asked did we want free fruits and vegetables. We replied sure, but aren't we taking them from others who need them? They said very few people take them, and most of them will end up spoiling and being thrown out. Meanwhile, the baked goods and pastries fly off the shelves there. We went, and the produce was in great shape. DW is actually debating if she should offer a basic "cooking/preparing produce" course through the food bank.

In my view, generally speaking, anything you can cook and prepare at home can be healthier than buying the same thing. You can control the level of "bad" ingredients, if any. In terms of cooking cleaning, (a) we tend to cook in bulk, so we are actually cooking 2-3 times a week, and (b) one can multi-task and wash/clean/load the dishwasher while the cooking is occurring, so that there is little or no mess, other than what is left is what is used to serve. For health reasons, it is worth it .

People working jobs that are hard on their bodies or more than one job just want something easy. I think being able to cook at home is something life saving about ER and FIRE.

 

[audreyh1]

I do most of the cooking and am always on the lookout for an easy but tasty dish. Usually it's protein and 1-2 veggies or a few veggies in the air fryer and a grilled steak / chicken. Less cleaning is my goal after great taste.

DW got a dicer for veggies and it's definitely growing on me. Super easy to dice sweet potatoes, onions and parsnip (new, tasty surprise for me) for the air fryer...

We got good quality parchment and use it to line roasting dishes used in the oven. This saves some major cleanup.

 

[NW-Bound]

If high-priced food is not good for the body, can it be good for the soul?

Two years ago, in a 5-week car trek through Italy including the culinary region of Emilia-Romagna, we visited a balsamic vinegar producer near Modena, and paid to have a tour of their cellars then have lunch there. The host that day was the proprietor himself, and we did have a good chat.

We enjoyed the experience so much, I bought 9 bottles of their best 25-year aged vinegar. Two for ourselves, 3 for siblings, and 2 for nieces and 2 for our children. For ourselves and for our children, I also bought 4 bottles of the lesser 12-year aged vinegar so that we can compare to the older ones. I could have bragged about this purchase in a BTD thread.

These bottles are also sold on Amazon. When bought directly from the cellar, even after VAT, I still saved some money compared to Amazon prices (shipping was free when I bought so much).

By the way, we learned a few things about the production, aging, and certification of genuine balsamic vinegar (mass-produced balsamic vinegar is something else). And we learned that certified aged balsamic vinegar had to be sold in bottles shaped like the photo below. Hence, on Amazon you will see many bottles from different producers looking identical.

The proprietor proudly said that he was the president of the aged balsamic producer association of Modena.

 

[CincyDave]

Also, growing herbs saves a lot of money
Very true. Fresh herbs at the grocery are crazy expensive. I grow cilantro, parsley, dill and several kinds of basil. Also a variety of tomatos, peppers, beans, cukes, summer and winter squash, corn and sugar snap peas. I like gardening and cooking,but also eat my fair share of pizza, pasta, burgers and other "less healthy" stuff too.

 

[griffithee]

You tell me... I'm in my mid 70s' now.

I do have high BP, which is controlled with meds and some may say I'm a bit heavy at just over 6' and 240lbs. But like the song says, I "May not be as good as I once was, but I'm as good once, as I ever was,". At least for now!

But how do you feel?!?! I’m 57yo, 6’1” and 265#. But I’m 18% body fat and pick up schools. And choke out kids half my age (BJJ). And feel GREAT!!!!!!

 

[Onda]

OP here. I am surprised there is so much discussion about BBQ, beef, etc. It is tasty food, but not particularly healthy. In moderation it is fine, but if you look at long-term nutrition patterns, diets built more around fish, vegetables, legumes, and lighter proteins consistently perform better for health and longevity.

 

[Car-Guy]

But how do you feel?!?! I’m 57yo, 6’1” and 265#. But I’m 18% body fat and pick up schools. And choke out kids half my age (BJJ). And feel GREAT!!!!!!

Actually better now than I did a year ago. Got off some meds about 8 to 10 months ago and that helped.

 

[Winemaker]

OP here. I am surprised there is so much discussion about BBQ, beef, etc. It is tasty food, but not particularly healthy. In moderation it is fine, but if you look at long-term nutrition patterns, diets built more around fish, vegetables, legumes, and lighter proteins consistently perform better for health and longevity.

If and when I'm lying in a hospital bed with tubes and wires sticking out of me, I'll know it wasn't tofu or kale that put me there.

Seriously speaking, if one maintains an active lifestyle, a weekly burger or two, a rack of ribs, is not going to kill anybody. Dietary cholesterol does not affect blood serum cholesterol like we were told back in the 1970's.

 

[thenameiwish]

Every trip to the grocery store is a case study for the results of bad choices.

Finding examples of what eating crap will do to one's health is trivial. Just look around, or maybe in the mirror. I struck up a conversation with the lady in front of me in the check out line who was lamenting the curse of diabetes while paying for a case of Dr. Pepper. She was a very nice lady and I felt compelled to draw the connection, but I kept my mouth shut. I never see visibly unhealthy people buying broccoli, liver or vegeatables.
What should be obvious is that eating good food is the right thing to do. Somehow pills and shots are more appealing than eating healthy?
The only conclusion I can come up with is that people are weak.

 

[Jerry1]

If high-priced food is not good for the body, can it be good for the soul?

Two years ago, in a 5-week car trek through Italy including the culinary region of Emilia-Romagna, we visited a balsamic vinegar producer near Modena, and paid to have a tour of their cellars then have lunch there. The host that day was the proprietor himself, and we did have a good chat.

We enjoyed the experience so much, I bought 9 bottles of their best 25-year aged vinegar. Two for ourselves, 3 for siblings, and 2 for nieces and 2 for our children. For ourselves and for our children, I also bought 4 bottles of the lesser 12-year aged vinegar so that we can compare to the older ones. I could have bragged about this purchase in a BTD thread.

These bottles are also sold on Amazon. When bought directly from the cellar, even after VAT, I still saved some money compared to Amazon prices (shipping was free when I bought so much).

By the way, we learned a few things about the production, aging, and certification of genuine balsamic vinegar (mass-produced balsamic vinegar is something else). And we learned that certified aged balsamic vinegar had to be sold in bottles shaped like the photo below. Hence, on Amazon you will see many bottles from different producers looking identical.

The proprietor proudly said that he was the president of the aged balsamic producer association of Modena.

Please share at some point how you consume this. I've had good balsamic on strawberries but am interested in how else it might be used.

 

[Koolau]

Since I began losing weight (intentionally) a couple of years ago, I have also begun spending a lot more on food. I buy items that are especially expensive in the Islands such as blueberries, strawberries, etc. I don't buy organic as I don't notice any difference and I have no issue with "chemicals" being used to raise my food as long as it gets washed off (by producers or me).

 

[Just_Steve]

Please share at some point how you consume this. I've had good balsamic on strawberries but am interested in how else it might be used.

Just for starters.
Chicken with balsamic glaze

Caprese sandwich with fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes, drizzled with balsamic glaze, on ciabatta bread,​

 

[NW-Bound]

Wow, the above photos of Italian food look so appetizing, even without the balsamic vinegar.

Please share at some point how you consume this. I've had good balsamic on strawberries but am interested in how else it might be used.

A common and top suggestion is to use aged balsamic vinegar on ice cream. I prefer plain vanilla ice cream. And the next popular use is on caprese salad.

To tell the truth, I have not used it much since the initial excitement. I guess my peasant palate does not fully appreciate this expensive condiment. And I will add this story. At a family gathering when I handed out the gifts to family members, my niece brought a lesser bottle from William-Sonoma for a comparison taste test. This lesser bottle is also 25-year aged, but the cost is 1/15 that of the DOP (certified) version. I read that lesser but still expensive aged IGP balsamic vinegar is diluted out using wine vinegar. Indeed, the IGP vinegar is thin, while the DOP is syrupy and thick as molasses. For everyday use, the IGP is plenty good.

 

[audreyh1]

We pretty much only use balsamic vinegar for salad dressing, and we’ve switched to the one-leaf grade as there is far less sugar. It’s still very good flavor.

 

[SnowballCamper]

My dad has gotten to be over 80 and his diet is crap by any modern standard. He avoids vegetables and prefers fried food. He has his share of medical issues, but is not overweight at all. My mother who had a much healthier diet died about three decades ago from breast cancer (in her 50s). DW's father died of a heart attack almost five decades ago (at about 40). I'm sure eating real food is better, but the effects seem to be marginal in most cases. I think exposure to environmental toxins is more problematic (heavy metals, pesticides, smoking, etc.)

 

[Winemaker]

We get aged Balsamic Vinegar from a winery in Napa Valley where the first product just came out in the past few years. Their stone "vinegar building" sits in the middle of the vineyard. PM me if you want the name of the vineyard/winery.

 

[Flyfish1]

OP here. I am surprised there is so much discussion about BBQ, beef, etc. It is tasty food, but not particularly healthy. In moderation it is fine, but if you look at long-term nutrition patterns, diets built more around fish, vegetables, legumes, and lighter proteins consistently perform better for health and longevity.

Agree with you. We have been eating less and less read meat over the years. Definitely more and more fish and the occasional vegetarian meal. Tonight is sushi grade tuna stacks....yumm. Having said that I do love a good steak or some ribs. I think the overall mediterranean diet is probably the best. Summer is coming to the northeast and soon we will have access to our garden vegetables.

 

[folivier]

DMIL had one of the worst diets I've ever seen. NO vegetables, did eat proteins but not as much as she should. Ate plenty of sugars though. More than anybody else I know. Great person with a huge heart and lived to 96.

 

[CaptTom]

OK, that's a joke, but it's thought provoking. I also find it humorous how food is such a fashion statement. There's always some food item which is in vogue today, and out of style next year.

We eat to live. We shouldn't live to eat. Portion control. Exercise. Moderation. Don't cut out huge categories of foods from your diet, and don't focus on any one as being some sort of miracle food. You'll be fine.

Here's an example of a stupid food fad. Table salt, sodium chloride, is made by evaporating sea water. You can buy salt which was mined from the ground, in formations naturally evaporated from shallow seas millions of years ago. It's cheap. And remember, the oceans millions of years ago weren't polluted.

But of course no-one wants to buy inexpensive salt. No, they want to pay more to get stylish "Sea Salt." You know, the stuff that was artificially evaporated from modern, polluted oceans.

 

[folivier]

At my age, 72, I eat what I want to. But kinda in moderation.
Don't forget the pink Himalayan salt.
Here in Louisiana it's ridiculous how some people just have to do something new when boiling crawfish. Pour mustard on them after they're boiled? Same with sticks of butter? That just makes them nasty to eat getting it all over yourself.
I'm one who doesn't get into fads whether it's food or clothes. Some of my clothes are 20+ years old and I still wear them.

 

[MarieIG]

Our practice of buying and preparing nutritious, tasty food started long before retirement.

 

[ElizabethT]

My primary motivation for eating nutritious food is 1) I feel 1000 times better afterward compared to how I feel after eating c#ap 'food', and 2) I appreciate being able to continue wearing smaller, lovely, figure flattering clothes.

I'll die when I die, but I prefer to feel (and look!) as fabulous as possible until that day arrives, which eating great, clean, close to the ground food consistently delivers.

Same reason I exercise/move my body so many miles each day, but that's a different thread.

 

[audreyh1]

OK, that's a joke, but it's thought provoking. I also find it humorous how food is such a fashion statement. There's always some food item which is in vogue today, and out of style next year.

I honestly hadn’t noticed “food as a fashion statement” at all. We still eat many of the old favorites at home. We don’t eat out much, but the local restaurants don’t seem to really change their menus. We travel and sometimes discover new things that we like well enough to replicate at home and these may get added to the favorites list.

As to the salt, yes DH has researched for sources of uncontaminated salt. But the French have been using and proclaiming the benefits of their sea salt for decades probably centuries, so that is nothing new. They even name some of it “fleur de sel”.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

Living in northern Wisconsin, fresh, healthy food can be difficult to come by for a good part of the year. Fresh (hot-house-grown) tomatoes in my neck of the woods right now are $4.69/lb. While a can of diced tomatoes is 99¢. And the $4.69/lb. tomatoes are either a pink-ish color, or if they look like a normal tomato then they sometimes go moldy within a day or two of bringing them home. DW bought a green pepper last week, went to use it two days later and there was mold at the stem area. When she just tried to cut that part off and use the rest, the inside was mold-filled as well.

We like to cook at home, but finding quality ingredients can be difficult. In August, if we look for road-side food stands (usually about 40-minutes away) we can usually get decent locally-grown sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans and cucumbers. And in September, there's all the fresh zucchini one would want. People who grow it have a hard time giving it away.