Should old acquaintances be forgot

It's January 1, 2010 and so begins the Walker family's attempt to eat real food, at home, at the table, using utensils, et al. I grocery-shopped today for a weeks worth of dinners, looking for items such as escarole and arugula. I bought sun-dried tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil (heretofore referred to by Rachel Ray--my new hero--as EVOO) and fresh mozarella and parmeasan cheeses. I am excited about cooking and hope the meals this week will be a marked change from the standard Walker fare.

But I know what I'm up against. We are leaving the world of processed food and drive-thru convenience and entering that much-feared area of the perimeter of the grocery, the outside aisles. My families' taste buds, I fear, are all-too conditioned to crave the two main ingredients of the American diet: high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oil. I must admit to some fear that after cooking a meal that consists mostly of whole foods with actual nutritional value, that someone (read: my husband) will pine for several tablespoons of corn-syrupy, cheap barbeque sauce to drown its flavor and goodness.

My first official home-cooked meal of the decade will commence tomorrow evening in the form of Peanut Chicken over brown rice. Each night this week I have a delicious and nutritious meal planned for the Walker five, and have jumped in with both feet to even invite the preacher over on Sunday for Pork Chops with Black-eyed Pea Salad.

In an extra-brave twist to the story, I have also parted company with refined sugar. I am not quite willing to end it all with flour, but will use whole grains wherever possible, and have chosen to abstain from sugar, particularly in the form of desserts. If you want to know what I am like in the middle of a sugar detox, please pick up your local newspaper and refer to any section detailing activities in downtown Fallujh.

Wish me luck, dear readers, wherever you are. Probably eating a big fat quarter pounder and ordering a Reece's Sonic Blast or Java Chiller. Damn it.