Learning to Count

  My two year-old granddaughters are learning to count and I am counting along with them. They count stairs, toys, and I count calories. Calories, what a horrible word, laden with frustration and guilt. Really it is a measure of energy which makes our bodies either purr like a cat or sputter like an engine, out of tune. As we are taught, first by our mothers, then by the medical media, fruits and vegetables are the best calories because they are packed with nutrition and are few.

   I can eat these gems anytime and they are my good friends; jicama strips and celery sticks. Dip them into a little hummus and the flavor expands.

     A breakfast meal I love uses greens in the morning. I once thought all greens tasted the same but, alas, they are quite different. Collard greens taste the best to me. I put a little olive oil in a pan and add ribbons of collards. A sush of beef broth kicks up the flavor.

   Along side the greens I fry two eggs and that breakfast carries me through the morning. Eggs, every morning is not my thing but certainly, several times a week.

  So let's count them;
     2 fried Eggs=180
     11/2 cups of greens=16
     10 celery sticks=6
     10 jicama sticks=23
A lot of food and energy and so little to count. Compare that to a bowl of cheerios 188 and milk 118, which leaves me light-headed and starving by noon.