corn on the cob

Who does not love a nice ear of corn to chow down on?!! I do not dare deny my love for some tasty corn on the cob! Especially here in the Midwest. Our afternoon cookouts just would not be the same! Mainly because with all the corn around this area, I am not sure what else we would eat! Hahaha! I do love watching my husband and kids eat it too! As long as I don’t get hit with the squirt of juicy corn on my cheek from across the table. Oh, I do remember getting hit with a squirt of corn juice or two by  my dad when I was little! He sure loves his corn on the cob. Now I know where I get it!!

And isn’t that what life is all about…enjoying time with your family and friends while sitting around the dinner table eating some mouth-watering corn on the cob? At least it should be. It is a little awkward writing about food today, when our country has so recently been saddened with the attack at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the brutal shooting of Christina Grimmie, and the poor little boy who was attacked by an alligator at the Grand Floridian resort. All of these things have brought me to tears over the past several days and I just pray for anyone that is at all connected to any one of those events. I can not imagine the feelings, the angst, the loss that they are going through right now.

And here I am writing about corn on the cob. How pointless and without words I am right now. But it is times like this that everyone needs to be uplifted in some small way. In my own family, we make wonderful memories around the table. So if I am able to share my love and passion with all of you out there and encourage you to bring your own families together in a time like this then I have somehow succeeded in my own small way.

Some of my favorite memories include cooking with my mom when I was little and learning from her (I am still learning from her by the way). I grew up in a loving home with two amazing parents, two older sisters, and my younger brother. We were always busy with tons of activities. You want a list don’t you…well here goes–>we had important things going on like capture the flag, 4-H, tennis, more tennis, and even more tennis. Yet, we always ate supper together even with all of our activities. It sure helped that she was a good cook even back when I was little.  Because of that, my love for food and nutrition came about. She was always teaching and encouraging me and it soon became my focus.

Anyway, as I rattle on and on, I believe that life is about big moments and little moments. The big moments include important accomplishments such as your college graduation, having a baby, getting married, etc and the little moments include the simple evening meals with your husband and kids. These little moments, in the grand scheme of things, become so important down the road. My husband recently built a wooden swing set for our 3 children and to see the smiles on their faces when that swing set was finished was more than I could handle. This little moment of mine is just as special to me as some of the big moments in my life. And in this moment, if there is one thing that I could suggest to you it would be to gather your family around your table and make a big little moment. You may not be a big fan of corn on the cob and that is okay, but find something that you do like and share it with them.

I hope to provide some sense of encouragement and hope for my friends out there. A few tips from a dietitian/mom’s perspective from today 1) grilling corn is the preferred method of cooking corn on the cob to save all of the nutrients in the corn versus boiling corn. When you  boil corn, the nutrients seep in to the water and you are better off drinking the water then eating the corn. 2) Choose corn that has a deep yellow color because it has the more nutrients than corn that is white or pale yellow. 3) Gather your family around the table this evening and enjoy each other’s company.

Love,

3 Scoops of Sugar [icon type=”heart”]