Re-Entry into the Mainstream, Sort Of

We are just returned from my brother Jimmy’s magnificent wedding. It was so magnificent that Colson exclaimed that it was better than Christmas and that Jimmy and Heather should do this every year. Knowing that it was going to be a party week, I didn’t fight the food power much. But before I dive in, here is a picture of my brother and sister-in-law. They are gorgeous:

Ok - and here is my little family:

And one of the grandparents:

And before I get into the food aspect, let me explain why this wedding was so magnificent. First, my brother had the wisdom to wait for the right woman. Second, she is Chaldean and they know how to throw a party. The opening to the reception involved a dance called a Dubke (I think), with drums beating and a Lebanese singer singing, and my brother and his bride danced through this crowd of people for about 20 minutes before reaching the cake to cut it. It was the most primal, tribal experience I’ve had. Three hundred-plus people all clapping and moving to the beat. It was amazing. And loud. The reception was so loud that literally everyone’s ears were buzzing into the next day and for some people beyond that. My brother and his wife had a ball, and how they were standing by the end of the reception I don’t know. When they weren’t eating dinner they were dancing, and there were only two slow dances.

Now on to the food.

Dinners were pretty reasonable – meat and veggies, but dessert is what got me. The most delicious cheesecake was served at the rehearsal dinner. I haven’t had cheesecake in five years or so. It was so good that I had more cheesecake from another restaurant three days later. And the wedding cake was delicious as well.

We ate at the extraordinary Ike’s the second day, which is a Lebanese restaurant and a must every time I go back to Detroit. I had lamb and peas with rice, and Ike is so generous with his portions that I ate it for breakfast for two days.

Detroit is also home to Buddy’s Pizza, the Number 1 independent pizzeria in the country according to some pizza association. Buddy’s has the most incredible pizza, and the gluten-free pizza, which we had twice, is absolutely amazing. The crust is made from rice and potato flours and tapioca starch, and the sauce is just YUM.

We had one free day, and we went to the Henry Ford Musuem at Greenfield Village. It may be the only reason to go to Detroit if you don’t have the family reason to get you there. Both the museum and the village are amazing. The admissions person told us it would take about two hours to tour the museum, and after over four hours of really moving quickly, we saw maybe half of it. We will go back this summer, maybe, when we go back to Michigan for my sister’s wedding.

On the food front, the Henry Ford Museum offers local, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, pesticide-free lunches. It was the healthiest food we had during the trip.

The wedding food was phenomenal, but it, like the other foods, just didn’t carry the nourishing punch we are used to. Even Colson was missing our food. Poor guy, he was tired of eating salmon every week before we left, and yesterday he put his grilled salmon down pretty quickly upon our return.

It will be interesting to see how we adjust back to the Whole 30-ish life. I don’t know if I will have the “eat lots of nuts” needs, which strike when I start the Whole 30, or if these four days of off-diet eating aren’t enough to upset the process. Tonight is chicken soup night, which I can’t wait for. Our food tastes better than ever after being off the healthy food wagon for four days. 

 

Comments

[Maury]

Oh my! I am truly glad to read this post. I honestly didn't think you ever ate anything but healthy food. I know it is all relative, and I imagine most of what you ate in Detroit was really fairly healthy, and at home, I think you eat unbelievably healthy, but it is nice for me to know that not only are you a "goddess" but you are human, too! ;o)

[Laura Combs]

Maury...you crack me up! Of course I eat junk! I try so hard not to, and I think I do really well compared to most, but I know others who blow me out of the water.

Clearly you haven't read past blog posts like this one: http://movingstronglyforward.typepad.com/moving_strongly_forward/2012/02/dumb-ass-of-the-week-award.html

And there are more. Over and over I make the same "mistakes" but I am learning to be more accepting of them.

[Maury]

Oooops, finally got back to checking your post/reply. I did read that post. My husband (and therefore my kids) still eat Cheetoh's and Oreo's and other packaged goods. I still bake with real sugar, I cut back, but believe me it is a lot of bad stuff. I have had to let go of that for a little while, because my negativity toward it was causing way more stress and unpleasantness. Last night I got a big victory when my kids all told me that McDonald's doesn't even taste good. OK I can probably count on one (well maybe two or even four hands) how many times they have eaten at fast food joints, but yay! They are 6, 9, and 12, and they don't want that! That is a victory. And for now, I can balance the junk that they do eat with lots more of really good for you food, that is where our journey has to be. Fortunately, no one seems to have any really obvious health or brain issues, though I only wonder how much better everyone would be eating better. I will get there, but sometimes I feel like a snail trying to nudge an elephant! Have a great Memorial Weekend!