With the whole pandemic I took a job taking care of my mom at home : and with that Michael I am slowly learning to cook with her . She is legally blind so she tells me what to use
Hi Michael and everyone! We went vegan a few years ago, and this Christmas we are doing what we did last year: pizza bar! (with vegan cheese of course). My adult child went vegan several years ago for ethical reasons, and I joined in a couple of years ago more for health reasons (high cholesterol and BP). And going vegan now coincides nicely with what I hope will a movement toward more plant-based eating globally to fight climate change, health problems and less food-borne pandemics (Dr. Michael Greger has done amazing research on this topic). So, a small but loving vegan Christmas! Shopping-wise, we don't do grocery delivery and it seems that, anecdotally speaking, grocery stores have not been outbreak locations. I hope everyone finds love and hope this Christmas season! And let's have a a great 2021, first and foremost deep-cleaning the orange stains out of the White House!
Hi MS and MS Fam, hope you all have a happy holiday. So looking forward to the Turkeys and Angels show tomorrow.
In terms of Christmas Eve dinner we always have twice baked potatoes, a big salad and some type of protein. Since the weather is good we will either do a chicken on the outdoor kitchen rotisserie or maybe do cedar plank salmon. I already made a lemon pie since our lemon tree is producing massive fruit this year. Then we eat leftovers on Xmas day itself.
As far as this whole year we have held steady on the weight or just put on one or two pounds. My husband loves bread and dessert, and I love to bake (and I stress bake) so now that I look back on it we have basically been eating homemade bread and desserts since March! Before then, I had been off sugar for a long time. My goal for the new year (AFTER January 20) is to get off sugar again. Can’t believe how addicting it is, yet I feel so much better when I am off it. We were very lucky all year to live in SoCal and have our backyard pool so that saved our health and exercise all summer. Now it’s too cold to swim every day so we are back to walking and hiking with masks but the pool will be up and running again in early March. Swimming is the best and even though it’s outside I feel like walking and hiking around other people is still risky especially when some idiot runner comes up behind you and passes you when they are not wearing a mask. Who knows with this new UK variant.
To all here, have a great Holiday! We’ll catch you on the New Year Mike and listen to Joe next week. 😘😘😘
Good question! My wife and I switched to working at home since March. Right before that a friend got us hooked up with Hello Fresh. So we were able to use that to make our dinner choices much easier. It was nice to have that planned out and while listening to Mr. Signorile on XM while I make us dinner.
The best thing for me was that I went from skipping breakfast or grabbing something on the way to work as well as eating out in general to basically only food from home. With that I actually bucked the trend and lost weight in lock down. Being home I was able to walk more and even golf some during the nice weather.
For the holidays we kept it to just us two. Duck instead of turkey so we wouldn't have weeks of leftovers. Christmas will be the same story, Italian goodies for two this time with some leftovers for the long weekend! We will Zoom with the families again as that went well on Thanksgiving. It was good to spend the time together even for a half hour.
I’m definitely cooking much more from scratch although I still work (RN). My husband just retired. I really miss eating out. We live in the country so delivery options are limited to two pizza places. I also did a small garden this summer which I hadn’t done in about 12 years. Loved the fresh tomatoes. For Christmas my employer gave us a gift certificate for a half ham, turkey or vegetable platter so I opted for the ham. There will just be three of us so definitely leftovers to deal with. We will be making ham salad and casseroles or soups with the leftovers. I think slices can also be frozen but need to check on that.
I started baking like crazy back in the spring but then was eating too much. Our gyms and my swim classes have been closed since the end of March. Although I think the gyms are now open to 25%. It wasn't until September that I really got back into a great exercise routine, walking the hills where I live, yoga and videos. I also just bought myself a recumbent bike and it's been great. I can sit and listen to you or watch Hulu while I ride it.
At Christmas despite being separated from everyone, food has still arrived including a big box of German cookies. Being older and wiser now, I just flow with it and know that the eating will get back to normal, pandemic normal, soon.
Our restaurants are still closed except 25% on the patio and it's pretty chilly right now.
We are both retired and have been quarantined since March. We eat less and mostly eat at different times, therefore I keep the refrigerator stocked with 2 or 3 vegetable dishes, including salads. When I bake, I freeze most so we don’t over eat. I still cook hot meals, soups, stews, pasta etc. I am still spending the same amount of prep time in the kitchen. Sometimes I share with neighbors. We like to eat antipasto dishes. Our appetites have changed because we are stressed about the chaos happening but we also limited how much we watch/listen to because the repetitive nature of the news cycle is annoying and I like to hear from the experts not the pundits. I’m usually in the kitchen when I listen to you during the winter, but outside in my garden during spring and summer using my phone and earbuds.
As noted over the weekend, I will have homemade lasagne which I make once a year.
I formerly had a long tradition of having turkey on both Thanksgiving and Christmas but changed this a few years ago. I do believe my food choices have changed since the pandemic as I often have a craving for Chinese food but purchase it from a wonderful neighborhood restaurant that has won local awards.
I have always loved walking as it is a meditative outlet for me and I lift 10-15 pound weights at home. We have a lot of very steep hills in Seattle and I live close to one of the steepest in the city and everyone walks and runs out here as we have relatively mild weather although it did snow last night but has since melted.
One of my favorite winter foods is roasted vegetables which include sliced Yukon Gold potatoes, grated carrots and sweet onion slices/circles. which is mixed in with red pepper flakes, oregano, sea salt and drizzled in olive oil which is perfect with a salad.
I used to prefer summer as I love to travel internationally but have enjoyed the late fall and now winter season as I don't feel guilty watching films, reading or listening to Sirius throughout the day.
I am going to the hair salon at 1 PM so will be listening to you On Demand later today as I never miss your wonderful program.
I had hip surgery Thursday and am on crutches and have a brace. I normally do all the cooking and host extended family here. My boys are very excited as they are planning it all. We are having dumplings Christmas Eve and Christmas Day a bbq as the weather has been beautiful in CA. They have been extra loving and helpful as have our 2 dogs that don’t leave my side. Amazing how our fury companions juts know when we aren’t our best. It will be a quiet mellow Christmas and let’s hope for peace in the New Year! Happy holidays Michael to you , your husband and family and all your brilliant listeners!
I intentionally lost weight and had joined weight watchers about a month before the lockdown in mid march stated. I lost 26 pounds over the year although since December I have easily gained 5 pounds back from "feeling sorry for myself "eating with lots of comfort foods. I will look to get back on program after the holidays. For Christmas dinner my wife and I will have a vegan ham from the herbivorus butcher- we order it every year- with the fixings. Christmas Eve will be terrible- will be the first one in my life with no plans. Every time my wife brings up what do I want to eat that day, I can't answer and I get teary. Maybe takeout.
I've lost weight too since the pandemic. Still exercising as usual - hard to be still when you're a former dancer and gymnast. But I've also had quirky digestive issues since childhood. My family would accuse me of being a picky eater but I literally cannot eat the same foods most people tolerate without feeling horrible. I've had co-workers over the years accuse me of trying to remain a certain clothing size so felt somewhat vindicated in 2016 after a gastro tumor operation. I've always been mostly pescatarian any way - I hate beef and lately chicken tastes odd to me so gave that up several months ago. My non-hubby, on the other hand, has an iron stomach and can eat anything.
I'm also noticing after turning the big 60 this summer that my body is becoming intolerant of a lot of things. Fortunately I graduated from culinary school in NYC years ago (midlife career change attempt) so know how to cook. It has been tough to reduce my food expenses due to unemployment but skimping on my dietary requirements means I'll end up in the ER.
Michaelangelo - have you tried adding creme fraiche to your pumpkin/squash soup? I worked at Mercer Kitchen for several months from 2002-2003 and that was added to their squash soup before using the immersion blender to puree.
Thanks Michelangelo, I think a lot about this. I got many treats early on as a distraction, but now that we’re about at the halfway mark I am removing the treats as they added some unneeded pounds. My exercise can all be done at home. And, I taught myself some new food skills like massaging Kale for salad, and making sushi rolls.
The traditional NY meal is black eyed peas and collard greens. There was little change at our household, we always cook for ourselves and rarely eat out.
During the pandemic and the resulting isolation I have relied a lot more on comfort foods especially at milestones and events that should have been special. So for my birthday in the summer i ordered an ice cream cake and i couldnt get the one i wanted delivered so i settled with the most kid friendly which took me 6+ months to finish.
For Halloween I ordered a bag of candy which is mostly still sitting in my cabinet, although absent of any candy containing caramel.
Normally I hate sweets and had eliminated most sugary products from my diet. There seems to have been a psychological reason for wanting these items. Maybe to sooth myself.
I really wanted a turkey dinner for thanksgiving but could not swing it. One promenint local restaurant was offering one with flavored mayonnaise and that is a hard pass.
For the rest of the year I have made sure I have some comfort food and I don't feel bad about it. I have bean dip with cheese. Spinach quiche. And today I had disco cauliflower tots.
The weird thing about the pandemic is that I have lost a lot weight but the bad kind as in muscle and probably my stomach has gained some, but not being able to leave your apartment is really fucking something. I'm worried that with a vaccine that the recovery will pass me by like so many other things have. I worry about being included in things that make our lives better, because I never seem to be.
I am grateful that I have enough food to get through the rest of the year. I pray for the people who are not in that position and I fear I will be one of those people in the next few months.
With the whole pandemic I took a job taking care of my mom at home : and with that Michael I am slowly learning to cook with her . She is legally blind so she tells me what to use
Michael his whole year has been a nightmare
Hi Michael and everyone! We went vegan a few years ago, and this Christmas we are doing what we did last year: pizza bar! (with vegan cheese of course). My adult child went vegan several years ago for ethical reasons, and I joined in a couple of years ago more for health reasons (high cholesterol and BP). And going vegan now coincides nicely with what I hope will a movement toward more plant-based eating globally to fight climate change, health problems and less food-borne pandemics (Dr. Michael Greger has done amazing research on this topic). So, a small but loving vegan Christmas! Shopping-wise, we don't do grocery delivery and it seems that, anecdotally speaking, grocery stores have not been outbreak locations. I hope everyone finds love and hope this Christmas season! And let's have a a great 2021, first and foremost deep-cleaning the orange stains out of the White House!
Hi MS and MS Fam, hope you all have a happy holiday. So looking forward to the Turkeys and Angels show tomorrow.
In terms of Christmas Eve dinner we always have twice baked potatoes, a big salad and some type of protein. Since the weather is good we will either do a chicken on the outdoor kitchen rotisserie or maybe do cedar plank salmon. I already made a lemon pie since our lemon tree is producing massive fruit this year. Then we eat leftovers on Xmas day itself.
As far as this whole year we have held steady on the weight or just put on one or two pounds. My husband loves bread and dessert, and I love to bake (and I stress bake) so now that I look back on it we have basically been eating homemade bread and desserts since March! Before then, I had been off sugar for a long time. My goal for the new year (AFTER January 20) is to get off sugar again. Can’t believe how addicting it is, yet I feel so much better when I am off it. We were very lucky all year to live in SoCal and have our backyard pool so that saved our health and exercise all summer. Now it’s too cold to swim every day so we are back to walking and hiking with masks but the pool will be up and running again in early March. Swimming is the best and even though it’s outside I feel like walking and hiking around other people is still risky especially when some idiot runner comes up behind you and passes you when they are not wearing a mask. Who knows with this new UK variant.
To all here, have a great Holiday! We’ll catch you on the New Year Mike and listen to Joe next week. 😘😘😘
Good question! My wife and I switched to working at home since March. Right before that a friend got us hooked up with Hello Fresh. So we were able to use that to make our dinner choices much easier. It was nice to have that planned out and while listening to Mr. Signorile on XM while I make us dinner.
The best thing for me was that I went from skipping breakfast or grabbing something on the way to work as well as eating out in general to basically only food from home. With that I actually bucked the trend and lost weight in lock down. Being home I was able to walk more and even golf some during the nice weather.
For the holidays we kept it to just us two. Duck instead of turkey so we wouldn't have weeks of leftovers. Christmas will be the same story, Italian goodies for two this time with some leftovers for the long weekend! We will Zoom with the families again as that went well on Thanksgiving. It was good to spend the time together even for a half hour.
I’m definitely cooking much more from scratch although I still work (RN). My husband just retired. I really miss eating out. We live in the country so delivery options are limited to two pizza places. I also did a small garden this summer which I hadn’t done in about 12 years. Loved the fresh tomatoes. For Christmas my employer gave us a gift certificate for a half ham, turkey or vegetable platter so I opted for the ham. There will just be three of us so definitely leftovers to deal with. We will be making ham salad and casseroles or soups with the leftovers. I think slices can also be frozen but need to check on that.
I started baking like crazy back in the spring but then was eating too much. Our gyms and my swim classes have been closed since the end of March. Although I think the gyms are now open to 25%. It wasn't until September that I really got back into a great exercise routine, walking the hills where I live, yoga and videos. I also just bought myself a recumbent bike and it's been great. I can sit and listen to you or watch Hulu while I ride it.
At Christmas despite being separated from everyone, food has still arrived including a big box of German cookies. Being older and wiser now, I just flow with it and know that the eating will get back to normal, pandemic normal, soon.
Our restaurants are still closed except 25% on the patio and it's pretty chilly right now.
Happy Holidays to each and everyone of you!
We are both retired and have been quarantined since March. We eat less and mostly eat at different times, therefore I keep the refrigerator stocked with 2 or 3 vegetable dishes, including salads. When I bake, I freeze most so we don’t over eat. I still cook hot meals, soups, stews, pasta etc. I am still spending the same amount of prep time in the kitchen. Sometimes I share with neighbors. We like to eat antipasto dishes. Our appetites have changed because we are stressed about the chaos happening but we also limited how much we watch/listen to because the repetitive nature of the news cycle is annoying and I like to hear from the experts not the pundits. I’m usually in the kitchen when I listen to you during the winter, but outside in my garden during spring and summer using my phone and earbuds.
As noted over the weekend, I will have homemade lasagne which I make once a year.
I formerly had a long tradition of having turkey on both Thanksgiving and Christmas but changed this a few years ago. I do believe my food choices have changed since the pandemic as I often have a craving for Chinese food but purchase it from a wonderful neighborhood restaurant that has won local awards.
I have always loved walking as it is a meditative outlet for me and I lift 10-15 pound weights at home. We have a lot of very steep hills in Seattle and I live close to one of the steepest in the city and everyone walks and runs out here as we have relatively mild weather although it did snow last night but has since melted.
One of my favorite winter foods is roasted vegetables which include sliced Yukon Gold potatoes, grated carrots and sweet onion slices/circles. which is mixed in with red pepper flakes, oregano, sea salt and drizzled in olive oil which is perfect with a salad.
I used to prefer summer as I love to travel internationally but have enjoyed the late fall and now winter season as I don't feel guilty watching films, reading or listening to Sirius throughout the day.
I am going to the hair salon at 1 PM so will be listening to you On Demand later today as I never miss your wonderful program.
I had hip surgery Thursday and am on crutches and have a brace. I normally do all the cooking and host extended family here. My boys are very excited as they are planning it all. We are having dumplings Christmas Eve and Christmas Day a bbq as the weather has been beautiful in CA. They have been extra loving and helpful as have our 2 dogs that don’t leave my side. Amazing how our fury companions juts know when we aren’t our best. It will be a quiet mellow Christmas and let’s hope for peace in the New Year! Happy holidays Michael to you , your husband and family and all your brilliant listeners!
I intentionally lost weight and had joined weight watchers about a month before the lockdown in mid march stated. I lost 26 pounds over the year although since December I have easily gained 5 pounds back from "feeling sorry for myself "eating with lots of comfort foods. I will look to get back on program after the holidays. For Christmas dinner my wife and I will have a vegan ham from the herbivorus butcher- we order it every year- with the fixings. Christmas Eve will be terrible- will be the first one in my life with no plans. Every time my wife brings up what do I want to eat that day, I can't answer and I get teary. Maybe takeout.
I've lost weight too since the pandemic. Still exercising as usual - hard to be still when you're a former dancer and gymnast. But I've also had quirky digestive issues since childhood. My family would accuse me of being a picky eater but I literally cannot eat the same foods most people tolerate without feeling horrible. I've had co-workers over the years accuse me of trying to remain a certain clothing size so felt somewhat vindicated in 2016 after a gastro tumor operation. I've always been mostly pescatarian any way - I hate beef and lately chicken tastes odd to me so gave that up several months ago. My non-hubby, on the other hand, has an iron stomach and can eat anything.
I'm also noticing after turning the big 60 this summer that my body is becoming intolerant of a lot of things. Fortunately I graduated from culinary school in NYC years ago (midlife career change attempt) so know how to cook. It has been tough to reduce my food expenses due to unemployment but skimping on my dietary requirements means I'll end up in the ER.
Michaelangelo - have you tried adding creme fraiche to your pumpkin/squash soup? I worked at Mercer Kitchen for several months from 2002-2003 and that was added to their squash soup before using the immersion blender to puree.
Thanks Michelangelo, I think a lot about this. I got many treats early on as a distraction, but now that we’re about at the halfway mark I am removing the treats as they added some unneeded pounds. My exercise can all be done at home. And, I taught myself some new food skills like massaging Kale for salad, and making sushi rolls.
The traditional NY meal is black eyed peas and collard greens. There was little change at our household, we always cook for ourselves and rarely eat out.
Michael,
I did not have your onion pie recipe...(future cookbook?) but thought of you as I made my first onion pie.
Happy New Year ❤️
During the pandemic and the resulting isolation I have relied a lot more on comfort foods especially at milestones and events that should have been special. So for my birthday in the summer i ordered an ice cream cake and i couldnt get the one i wanted delivered so i settled with the most kid friendly which took me 6+ months to finish.
For Halloween I ordered a bag of candy which is mostly still sitting in my cabinet, although absent of any candy containing caramel.
Normally I hate sweets and had eliminated most sugary products from my diet. There seems to have been a psychological reason for wanting these items. Maybe to sooth myself.
I really wanted a turkey dinner for thanksgiving but could not swing it. One promenint local restaurant was offering one with flavored mayonnaise and that is a hard pass.
For the rest of the year I have made sure I have some comfort food and I don't feel bad about it. I have bean dip with cheese. Spinach quiche. And today I had disco cauliflower tots.
The weird thing about the pandemic is that I have lost a lot weight but the bad kind as in muscle and probably my stomach has gained some, but not being able to leave your apartment is really fucking something. I'm worried that with a vaccine that the recovery will pass me by like so many other things have. I worry about being included in things that make our lives better, because I never seem to be.
I am grateful that I have enough food to get through the rest of the year. I pray for the people who are not in that position and I fear I will be one of those people in the next few months.