Friday, November 16, 2007

Portion size is in the eye of the beholder.

After all of the talk about my people and their large portions, it got me to thinking.

The women in my family can put away some groceries.

And I do not mean in the pantry.

Now that I think about it, none of us are rail thin. Most of us have had our moments of "Don't she look good?"s, but for the most part, we are all prepared for winter.

And that's all I will say.

My grandmother, Mama's mother, was very tiny when she passed away. She wasn't always that way. She had put on a little weight (the Southern way of saying one needs a girdle) and then she had bypass surgery which put the Fear Of God in her. From that point on, she ate like a bird.

She would take tiny bites off of a potato chip and then put it down. Who puts down a potato chip? She would always say she was getting full and when you offered her something from the table she would say,"Oh. Just a temp." That was her word for a small portion. (Like half a bite.)

But put a plate of fried catfish or popcorn shrimp in front of her and it was no holds barred. Granny could eat some fish. Oh, yes she could. Whenever our family had a fish fry, Granny could nearly beat my Daddy in the number of catfish fillets consumed.

Did I ever mention that my Daddy is also skinny as a rail? He is the only man I know who can actually tighten his belt after a large meal. Why, oh why did I not inherit this gene?

My daughter runs a close second to Daddy these days when it comes to eating a platter of catfish. The child will eat an adult entree complete with cheese grits and hush puppies. (And she is skinny as a rail.)


Granny would be so proud.

7 comments:

Karla Porter Archer said...

you are on a roll!

or a ribeye...
or potato chip...

no... a roll.

blessings,
karla

Unknown said...

Hi

Just found your lovely blog - it has made me smile :) Thanks from a fellow christian blogger - from N Ireland

Susanne said...

Yes, prepared for winter, that would be me. I've never understood having a tiny bite of something and that being enough to satisfy. I'd rather not have the bite at all. Because things just avalanche once the first bite happens. And potato chips? Oh my. My weakness. But then that's why I'm ready for several winters, I guess.

Rocks In My Dryer said...

*sigh* I used to be the way--put away food like crazy and never notice it. And then I turned 30 one day and the ol' metabolism came to a SCREECHING HALT. *sigh again*

Fiddledeedee said...

My nanny introduced me to the joys of "Long John Silvers." In her house, it wasn't dinner until it was deep fried in bacon fat.

Sadly, as I got older and began to resemble a stuffed sausage, I had to give up my fried food.

I still dream of Fried Okra. And Fried Green Tomatoes. ( Capitolized for importance.) Drats, now I'm hungry.

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Your blog is *beautiful* and love the content. I'm Southern, born and bred, so appreciate all the Southernisms.
I'm not computer savvy to track who designed your blog, do you mind saying?

2nd Cup of Coffee said...

The phrase "temp" is really interesting. I wonder if it's short for "temporary?" or "temptation?"