Michigan's Best Pizza--October 1

I've started to receive some feedback from this blog.  Some have asked "Why are you doing this?" The answer is simple and uncomplicated.  I've had many food conversations with strangers and friends that I considered as daily jibber jabber, only to discover later that something I said really helped someone.  I remember telling a friend about all of the health benefits of eating flax seed.  When I saw him a year later, he said he had been eating flax seed for a year and that it really helped him.  I didn't even remember that I had told him about it!  Others have made comment about the fact that I haven't put on weight as I've aged, noting that it must be due to heredity.  That could have something to do with it but I know it is more than heredity.  There was a time when I ate a lot of the prepared foods available at stores like Costco and Sam's Club.  Although tasty, these foods are laden with fat, salt and sugar.  At the same time I was shorting myself of fresh vegetables.  Finally, I was drinking a fair amount of soda pop and fruit juice.  This was before the escalation of excitement around corn syrup sweetened juices.

If I had counted calories back in that day, I would have discovered that I had too many coming from fats and sugars and not enough coming from grains and vegetables.  I was eating too much meat and too many sweets.  But wait, these foods are enjoyable to eat.  That's why we eat them!

So...what to do?

Ahhh, this is the reason I'm writing the blog.  To share my food journey--which is the way I've learned to eat to keep the pounds off, to keep the blood pressure and cholesterol low.  I have taken this food journey with my wife, who I refer to in this blog as the gorgeous chef.  I gave her this name because they does most of the day to day cooking that helps to keep the family healthy.

Today I had the pleasure of eating an excellent pizza in my friend's restaurant, Mancino's Pit Stop, in Oscoda, MI.  You may know that several pizza empire entrepreneurs--Dominoes, Little Ceasers, Hungry Howies, Buddy's.  Well, my friend's restaurant, though co-located with a gas station, has the best pizza I have tasted since I had Ray's pizza in New York city many years ago.  I also had a small cup of Manhattan clam chowder and a root beer.  I ordered a 10" personal size pizza of which I ate two pieces.  I've included a picture of it below and was told that I needed to mention that the pizza had been sitting 20 minutes (it was still hot and tasted great).



My friend's son shot a doe earlier in the week so I went home with a few pounds of venison steaks and about ten pounds of smoked venison sausage links.  Yum!

Breakfast--fried egg, fresh parsley, orange juice, coffee

Lunch--couple of slices of pizza (pepperoni, green bell pepper, sauteed onion), Manhattan clam chowder, root beer

Dinner--couple of sausage links with shredded cabbage and whole wheat pita bread.