The last few years of my dad’s life, he ate a lot of peanut butter. I can’t remember if he was partial to crunchy or creamy but, whichever, he ate a lot of it. Peanut butter is one of the all-time perfect foods. It has protein, it fills you up and is fast and convenient to prepare and eat. I think, for him, all those things were why he ate so much of it. Those are the reasons I do. For many people there is a food they remember eating a lot of when they were kids. Spaghetti is a big one, chicken of all sorts, meatloaf, Hamburger Helper and pizza are all on the top most-eaten list.
When I was a kid, easy to make out-of-the-box foods were new and just coming to the forefront. We were a modern family and, like most of America, were trying them. Hamburger Helper, mac and cheese, cereals of all flavors. However, my mom, for the most part, always reverted back to the old-fashioned home-cooked classics, and nothing ever went to waste.
My kids laugh at me when I tell them we ate white bread torn into small pieces, sprinkled with sugar and then covered in milk for cereal. Although I haven’t had it in many, many years, I have fond memories of tearing the bread and pouring on the sugar – mmmmm, sounds good right now.
Sometimes on Sunday we would stop and get a box of fried chicken -- not a bucket from the famous Colonel Sanders but a box from another “fast food” chicken restaurant. The drive-through idea was relatively new in the early ‘60s, but it was something America was beginning to embrace. I remember we had a Jack in the Box close by, and it was a special treat to get a burger and fries from there. They actually had a giant jack popping out of a box turning around and around as their sign back then.
Jesus probably had a favorite food. Growing up with a Jewish mom, there had to be traditional foods he enjoyed and things he probably didn’t. I can hear her now, “Jesus, eat your dinner. You are not going to grow up and be a strong Savior if you don’t eat all your fish and lamb.” “Ahhh mom, I don’t care for lamb you know that, but I will honor you and eat it all, as it is written.” “That’s my little lamb of God,” she would reply, pinching his cheek.
Dr. Don Colbert, in his book “What Would Jesus Eat” said because Jesus was a Jew, he would have followed Old Testament dietary laws -- for instance, laws governing clean and unclean animals and fish. These laws were specific: cattle, sheep and goats were allowed, hogs were not. Fish with fins and scales were allowed; catfish, crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, shrimp), mollusks (clams, mussels) and others were not.
Colbert says Jesus would not have eaten an Easter ham.
Other staples in Jesus' diet, according to Colbert's assessment of the culture, would have been bread and other whole grains, vegetables, fruits and olive oil. Some say, however, that in those times he would have had to fend for whatever he could get.
Food group staples at our house are kinda weird. Ketchup is an old favorite and staple. Over the years my kids have covered just about everything with it. Of course salsa and picante is just about a must-have for meals. Then there is the newest and fastest growing food staple at our house -- ranch dressing. Ranch, as us regular users call it, has taken our home by storm the last few years. Our oldest son puts it on everything, and I do mean everything. Now his little brothers and sisters are starting to do the same. We go through bottle after bottle of the stuff every week. I know it is not the healthiest thing to put all over your food, but you have to pick your battles with your kids.
Robert Redford once said, “Health food may be good for the conscience, but Oreos taste a heck of a lot better.”
Man, do I get that. I love food and time around the table with friends and family. I enjoy a full kitchen when I am cooking and eating as we go. When I eat certain foods, I also reflect on my days as a kid and my dad’s last years. It’s like hearing a song from the past that takes you to that place where you heard it -- it can be an emotional thing for me in a weird kinda way.
Remember Saturday mornings in front of the television watching cartoons and eating cereal, popcorn at the drive-in, a kid’s burger from Jack in the Box, hot dogs at the ballpark, peanut butter and bananas while watching Fox News? Good times.
If you are blessed and want to give back, check out the Capital Area Food Bank – www.AustinFoodBank.org -- or the Water to Thrive Ministry – www.WaterToThrive.org.
God Bless,
TJ
