Wild Card: Food Is Life

Lunchtime 2021 by Angelica Cabrera

I'm tired of diets. Doing em, reading about em, talking about em. I'm over it. So let's talk about food instead. Food. What's it all about...

Food is not meant to be limited

Unless you have a severe allergy or reason you cannot have a certain food, there is no reason why you should be limiting yourself on anything. It pains my spirit when I hear someone say "oh I can't have this because this diet I'm trying says not to have it." If you are making an entire lifestyle change and are kicking out certain foods for good, that is wonderful. But limiting yourself to not eating bread at all when you only crave a sandwich once a week because whatever fad diet is out said bread is evil, not the best idea. Now I am not a health specialist nor am I a nutritionist, so do not take my word as law. But if you want a different perspective, walk with me.

If you limit your pallet from experiencing everything it can, how will you know if you love it or hate it? If you are offered something you never tried before, why not close your eyes and take the chance? If your first instinct is "because it might taste bad", remember the first time you tried something that is now a favorite or a household staple. We were not born on this earth programmed to only like one food forever. We were meant to experience it all. Every bite of it.

Become inspired in the kitchen

Now for those of us that normally do not cook, trying to boil water might seem intimidating in itself. But do you really want to be chained down to other peoples cooking, or worse, fast food 24/7? I love Taco Bell as much as the next girl, but after tasting fried lobster tacos on the beaches of Miami, I don't think a double cheeseburger from McDonalds is going to cut it anymore. My recommendation for those that are first starting out would be to start small but not too small. Don't just make a grilled cheese and celebrate because you slapped 2 pieces of bread with some cheese together. Get creative and make some bacon or use more than one kind of cheese and maybe the bread is upgraded to pretzel buns.

If you limit yourself from the possibilities of food, you will be limited in the possibilities for life itself.

For those that always make the same thing, branch outside of your culture. That does not mean pick up one cookbook and suddenly become an expert on the ways of French cuisine. Take the time to pick out a recipe site or cookbook that shares the story of the culture you are cooking from. Just like my grandmothers pass down their recipes to my mom who has passed them down to me, every culture has the same thing. Whether it's Apple pie or Arroz con Gandules or Tonkatsu Ramen, everyone has a story to tell with their food. Watch a docu-series about street tacos in Latin America, or follow a new chef on Instagram that makes things with fresh ingredients. There are so many different ways you can approach food it's insane. And once you start playing around, you'll never want to stop.

Recipe for Fried Shrimp Tacos

Ingredients

• Frying Oil (Canola, vegetable, corn, not olive)

• Bag of shrimp

• 1 egg

• Breadcrumbs (I use Italian cuz I LOVE MYSELF)

• Salt/pepper

• Paprika

• Garlic Powder

• Onion Powder

• Whatever else you got to throw on shrimp, I was running low on seasonings but there's that one seasoning that's good for shrimp so maybe go buy that and sprinkle a little bit on. 🤷🏽‍♀️

• Shredded Cheese

• Greens of some kind (Lettuce or Spinach or Spring mix, whatever tickles your fancy)

• Taco Shells or mini tortillas (hard or soft tacos)

• Sour creame

• Salsa

• What else you like on tacos?

Instructions that no one ever reads because it's tacos but whatever....

1. Prep ya shrimpies. Take the shells and the tails and whatever else off ya shrimp n rinse em. Put em in a bowl and all ya seasonings. Now you can either just plop the egg in there and mix it around until everything is coated in egg, or you can be fancy and whisk the egg before mixing it with the shrimp. Either way, mix it all together.

2. Get a plate and pour the breadcrumbs on there. Not all of it, just enough to coat the first, like, four shrimp. Flop a shrimp or two in the bread crumbs and put them on the plate and keep repeating until all the shrimp are coated. Add breadcrumbs to the plate as necessary.

3. Heat up your oil in your pan. If you are using an air fryer, good for you you have money. Follow those instructions. But if you are frying in a pan, heat up the oil on medium and then throw those shrimp in there. Wait like five minutes and then flip em. The goal is for them to be golden brown on both sides.

4. Take em off onto a paper towel release some of the grease left on them from the pan.

5. Tacos, assemble. There's no wrong way to assemble a taco. Just have fun and enjoy it. It's a taco, not a Rubix cube.

This article was written in the spirit of play and food. I hope that your food journey throughout life is a delicious one. See yall next week aka the day after 4/20! Celebrate!!!