Appetite for the Pandemic
D
Culture Shock
id you gain or lose weight in warrior in our family ( I think every family had quarantine? It went one way or the one). I was willing to fall on the sword for us other. Southern culture is deeply for whole chickens. rooted in food. We all know this. I dropped about 10 pounds. There are bibles dedicated to barbecue, the My nervous energy was only exhausted in hamburger and the art of the crawfish boil. walks and on my bike. I was taking in the spring In good times and bad, I have never lost my flowers that were blooming and smelling that appetite. wonderful lake air commingled with grill smoke. At a wedding – heck, yes, pass the cake. At a My social butterfly wings may have been clipped, funeral – by all means, let me at that potato salad. but in their place came a few more healthy habits In mid-March, when the first signs of (like not eating out lunch all the time). COVID-19 were gaining traction in the States, I My neighbors were grilling, too. was calm. No toilet paper – no problem. I bought While social distancing, we Gappers cooked baby wipes. our weight in hamburgers and grilled chicken. But the day Anytime Fitness closed, I got I think I hit up at least four crawfish boils (for jittery. As a realtor, I am used to flying by the seat a fun twist, add in a whole pineapple). I had Lacey Howell of my pants, but I have a gym routine. flaming cheese for the first time from a dock When Gov. Kay Ivey put out the word for (thanks, Ian Baas). shelter-at-home, I finally had my grocery store Businesses have slowly opened back up now. meltdown. I binge-bought meat and wine instead of hand Renfroe’s is back with pre-made jalapeño poppers stuffed sanitizer. I had scary visions of my street closing off, and with sausage and steak, which I love for a lazy no-cook night. there I would be: hungry and sober. I had lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant and went to I bought chicken, ground beef, sausage (oh the Conecuh!), dinner at SpringHouse. steaks, bacon and turkey. And boxed wine – a whole case, Folks retreated to Lake Martin to their cabins and have just in case my neighbor needed one, too. stayed on. I know they cooked their weight in chicken, too. Then I cooked it all. I have never meal prepped, but I was Maybe some decided to stay full-time forever. Time will tell, cooking like a mad woman. I washed more dishes in those just like a well-cooked Boston butt. six weeks than I had all year. It was self-induced meal prep for the too-busy-to-ever-meal-prep me. John was alarmed ~ Lacey Howell is a recovering English major from Auburn at the protein situation and tried to move some packs to who now lives on Lake Martin, sells real estate, rides horses the freezer, but I was unstoppable. I was the grocery store and loves good wine. Follow her at Instagram@LaceyHowell and on her Facebook page. Pandemic Panic Howell spent her pandemic cooking like a mad woman, washing dishes and losing weight.
46 Lake Martin Living