In my eyes he is the perfect man. A cattle farmer who lovingly takes care of the Angus cattle in the pastures around our house. He enjoys every meal I prepare and tells me that he loves my cuisine. And he probably eats more vegetables than I do … even in restaurants when he orders a salad and I sometimes give in to fries.
Cowboys are an interesting breed. They are persistent but fail to find the need to do so. They like the simple life, but are more complex than they appear. Ranchers are animal nutritionists, vets, mechanics, accountants and riders all rolled into one. You believe in hard work. Getting enough exercise is hardly a problem. I like it.
Oh, and ranchers get up early in the morning. (Cows need to be fed. Newborn calves need to be checked.) So they retire quite early in the evening. No 8 o’clock dinner for this breed.
My cowboy likes the dinner we call “conglomerates”. Definition: Foods mixed together to create a quick, nutritious and, sometimes surprisingly, tasty meal. There’s no rhyme or reason here, just leftovers to mix with vegetables and other edibles that need to make themselves useful.
Here’s an example: We had a little leftover steak that I sliced and sautéed in a little olive oil, along with the last of the celery and cherry tomatoes and a dollop of mushrooms and peppers from the night before. I added some balsamic vinegar and served the whole menagerie over half a bag of baby spinach. Every meal an original!
What about the days when lunch is delayed because a bull got off or a cow had problems with her calf? In these cases, when lunch is closer to the afternoon, this conversation can follow:
“I think it’s a popcorn night.”
Interpretation: “I’m really not that hungry. Let’s just have something light for dinner. “(Cowboys call dinner” dinner “because they say,” Jesus didn’t have the last dinner. “)
Why popcorn? It’s easy and extremely satisfying. Popcorn in oil has only 35 calories per cup, according to the Popcorn Board, popcorn.org. We put ours in a cool popper that uses just a little bit of oil.
Popcorn is also a whole grain. That is, it contains all of the original components of the corn seed – germ, endosperm, and bran. The medical evidence is clear, says the Whole Grains Council (wholegrainscouncil.org), “that whole grains reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Few foods can offer such diverse benefits. “
Better go to bed. We have to be in the barn by 6 a.m. to saddle horses
(Barbara Quinn-Intermill is a registered nutritionist and certified diabetes educator for the Monterey Peninsula Community Hospital. She is the author of Quinn-Essential Nutrition (Westbow Press, 2015). Email barbara@quinnessentialnutrition.com.)
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