Week 31: Not So Devilish Dip – Recipe FAIL

What’s the unhealthiest, processed, and otherwise most disgusting food that you either love to eat now or loved to eat during your childhood?

I confess…this clean-eating, no sugar and no processed food allowed, healthy, middle-aged (ok, maybe a little more than middle-aged) mom has a long list of junk foods (see below) that I regularly consumed as a kid; however, now I wouldn’t touch ’em with a 10-foot pole. 

• Fried bologna sandwich
• Captain Crunch cereal
• Doritos
• Fluffernutter sandwich (marshmallow cream and peanut butter on white bread)
• Any kind of Hostess product… Ding Dong’s, Ho Hos, Twinkies, Cupcakes, and Fruit Pies
• TV dinners
• SpaghettiOs
• Grilled SPAM and cheese (I can’t believe I ever ate this) 
• Deviled Ham (virtually blended SPAM) with yellow mustard on white bread

It’s hard to imagine that my mother allowed me to eat any of that crap. In fact, it’s hard to imagine these consumables, because I refuse to call them food, can still be found on the shelves at your local grocery store.

In my mother’s defense, these items—except for the deviled ham—were not regular occupants of our kitchen cabinets and fridge. We could only buy one box of junk cereal per month, Cap’n Crunch was my “go-to” pick. Hostess products were only purchased for the first and last days of school, as well as field trips. And, I only ate TV dinners if my sisters and I were on our own, or my mom was having a dinner party.

One thing this blog project has taught me is that while my mom was an exceptional cook and very comfortable in the kitchen, many of the ingredients she used would not be considered healthy by today’s standards. I don’t hold her responsible for the processed, junk-filled ingredients, but rather, I blame the iconic sweet looking, apron clad Betty Crocker.

Somewhere between the releases of both King Corn and Supersize Me, I saw a documentary about the evolution of food and how it pertains to our distinctions between the socioeconomic classes. The supposition was that the invention of the cake mix was on par with the invention of the cotton gin, as far as homemakers were concerned, radically changing food preparation of the future. For a generation of women who were getting into the workforce, going back to college, or in some way redefining their role as homemaker, the ability to serve their family a freshly baked cake in half the time was revolutionary.

During the 60s and 70s, stocking your kitchen with foods we now associate with a lower socioeconomic population, identified you as a smart, savvy woman with the means to afford the most recent food items produced by Kraft, General Mills, Campbells, and the like. 

Now the tide is turning and, while I try to avoid generalizing segments of the population, you’ll find the smart, savvy cooks with financial means shopping at the health food store, farmers market, or in many cases growing their own organic produce. However, I’ve been witness to many families who struggle financially but still prioritize healthy eating, and I hope that trend will continue.

Rant Break: Federal food programs such as WIC and food stamps programs are still very limiting when it comes to organic and health food items. I have a hypothesis as to why this is the case, and I don’t want to subject you to my conspiracy theory, but if healthier foods help the development of a child’s brain and junk food does not, it leaves me wondering if members of the “upper class” are afraid to have healthy bright children come from underserved communities? 

Also, why do we even use the label “health food”? I mean, shouldn’t healthy and food be synonymous? And, if we’re going to make that distinction, there should be “toxic food” and “toxic food” stores, or at least “toxic food” aisles in the grocery store.

Yes, I ate disgusting food as a kid and even as a younger adult I craved Cap’n Crunch, but thankfully that is no longer the case. In fact, I find myself craving green salads if I’ve gone too many days without some crisp veggies. As a result, I let this week’s recipe be a complete fail, because I was unwilling to purchase gross ingredients.

Original Recipe – Deviled Ham Pineapple Dip

Vegan Deviled Ham ReVamp – FAIL

The Process:

As my (hopefully) soon-to-be—if my son is very smart—daughter-in-law said, “Deviled ham looks like cat food.”
Yet, I remember my mother making this dish and I loved it! Ewwwwww

Now, I don’t eat ham, nor do I really eat a lot of cheese, so I knew converting this recipe that combines the sweet and savory flavor of ham and pineapple would be a little tricky. I decided to go vegan or at least vegetarian.

Jenny, my aforementioned soon-to-be daughter-in-law, is a vegetarian and just told me last week about her favorite faux-tuna. I researched a variety of recipes online, got a list of Jenny’s ingredients, decided on a chick pea base and then add fresh, organic pineapple for sweetness. While the pictures make this look like it was a success, I would say this recipe revamp was a FAIL. It was edible but merely okay in flavor and texture and lacked the pop I would expect.

The possible causes for this failure are: I’m unwilling to use a ham or bacon flavored soy product; I chose not to use mayonnaise, which seems to be a key factor in any faux- ham, chicken, or tuna salad; organic canned chickpeas have lower sodium; and chickpeas with pineapple is an odd combination. 

If I figure out a better revamp, I’ll follow up with a recipe. I’m including photos, in case you want to give it a try. If you do (and it works) feel free to post the recipe in the comments below. 

Week 31 Recipe Pick

Our local farm stands and markets are jam-packed with fresh basil , so why not?

See you next week!

 

Tags: chickpea, chip and dip, faux food, healthier recipe, original recipe cards, summer, thoughts