Our Bellies and Hearts are Happy

By: Erin Bast, Vice President External

Do you have that one meal that just makes you feel happy? That just brings you so much comfort? I know my family and I do but I need to break this topic into categories because, as a family, we are complex. There are five of us; we all have different needs and wants.

I will admit that I am not the healthiest eater; I try, but that’s as far as I’ll go into it. I have an 11-year-old boy who would prefer to eat anything deep-fried, whereas my two younger kids still enjoy eating their vegetables. My husband is a healthy eater as well. Sometimes it’s hard to balance all of these foodie personalities, but we can all agree on my spaghetti.

I would say that as a whole, our family favourite “home cooked” meal is spaghetti. Usually once a week, I will make a big pot of spaghetti and meat sauce. Yes, once a week. We are addicted. My sneaky mom trick is to add shredded carrots into the sauce…see there’s some veg in there 😉 This Alberta girl ONLY uses ground beef in my sauce. Now I have tried alternatives such as mild sausage, or turkey or chicken BUT the mild sausage doesn’t seem to agree with anyone in my family and nothing beats a meat sauce with ground beef. I also love to make my tomato sauce with nutritional yeast. It thickens up the sauce and adds a delicious creaminess to it. Plus, it tastes fantastic. This meal seriously does not last long in my house!

Outside the home, we all ALWAYS agree on what we are going to eat out – sushi!! Yes, my children are sushi addicts! Our favourite sushi place has got to be Shiso, right here in Red Deer. The staff are excellent and their food is so very yummy. We have tried many other sushi restaurants in our travels, and nothing compares to what they offer at Shiso! Our number one appy  is tuna tataki…we literally will fight over it! My hubby loves his rainbow roll, my oldest son loves beef yakiniku, my middle boy loves to share the fresh and baked oysters and mussels with me and my daughter loves butterfish, which I do agree is so yummy! It tastes like butter, but she could eat ten in one sitting.

I think this is all I’m going to write. I’m starving all of a sudden!!