RE: Paula Deen Wants to Kill You
Thanks, Stephen, for bringing up Paula Deen. Last year I had dinner at Lady & Sons in Savannah and I can still smell the rancid butter that hit us in the face when we walked in the door. I’ve got to find the pictures I took of the food I ate–everything was dripping in butter. I remember the chicken pot pie was big enough for four and almost everything was fried. OK, she admits she’s “not your cardiologist,” but she really is contributing to the delinquency of dieters. The night we went, at least 75 per cent of the diners were beyond overweight–they were obese. It was sad–like people watching at the slots in Vegas–everyone was gambling with their lives.
25 Comments to “RE: Paula Deen Wants to Kill You”
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Nancy, why is it Paula Deen’s fault that people are overweight? She may offer up the food, but she can’t force people to eat it. People have a choice about dining out and what they eat. Paula can’t be “contributing to the delinquency of dieters” if the dieters choose to eat foods that are obviously high in fat and cholesterol, and on a regular basis at that.
Kristin, I totally agree with you! She doesnt hold you down and shove the food down your throats! I have never been to her cafe, but just watching her shows, you know she cooks comfort type foods.. fattening foods. So if you know that already, why even go there! Is is just so you will have something to talk trash about? Or does the writer of this article really truly believe that people who are overweight and obese should blame someone other than themselves for the “shape” they are in? I am speaking not as some “skinny” chic but as a former 300+lb person who knows darn good and well that I am the only one to blame for being obese as well as the only one who could make myself get back into a healthy eating life style. Do I ever eat fattening foods? Sure I do, but only occasionally and just much smaller portions, take the rest home or share a plate. Please stop blaming restaurants, tv shows, chefs etc for society being overweight. It is just stupid!
I’m more offended by Paula Deen’s heinous accent than her cooking style. She could prepare food that actually builds lean muscle while you’re laying on the sofa and I wouldn’t watch her show. Gawd awful.
LA NAN: Here’s my recommendation for how best to use Paula Deen as a public service:
To help relieve overcrowded jails everywhere, release the ‘non-violent’ offenders and force them to stay instead at home under house arrest (monitored of course) being forced and hear to watch Paula Deen.
BUT: Nancy. You are completely missing the point! When I am trying to shed a few pounds, I do one of two things: I eat whatever they say is the latest suspected salmonella culprit (this week it’s Mexican grown Jalapenos) or I look at and listen to Paula Deen. The first might make me throw up. The latter will make me mentally tattoo ‘Trans Fat’ across my buttocks.
Georgia is 14th in the nation with over 28% of the population being obese. In fact, you will find that most of the southern states are in the top 10 for obese states. Why? Because people in those states grow up in poverty. It’s called ‘food insecurity’. When they don’t have food their metabolism slows down, when they do have food they gorge themselves. Therefore, putting their bodies in a state of constant starvation mode, which leads to a chemical/hormonal reaction that causes weight gain. Bad food is cheap, good food is expensive. From childhood, people in this region are raised on inexpensive and high carb foods. Some people may find themselves skipping meals or cutting back on the quality or quantity of food they purchase at the stores. Then very simply, this region is genetically predisposed to diabetes, obesity, heart issues and general malaise. This repetitive cycle is continued into adulthood and therefore they go to restaurants (fast foods, home style cooking) where they crave the food their bodies tell them that it needs to function and feed its addiction; high fat, high carbs, and sweets. It’s a vicious cycle that is debilitating and sad.
It is better to educate ourselves about what we don’t know, than to judge. People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Nancy, very often your blog makes me feel uncomfortable and angry. You seem to promote negativity more than positive things that could make a difference. You have a powerful weapon in your blog, perhaps you should try using your powers for good.
(BTW- I weigh 101 lbs. how much do you weigh?)
Jane,
You say, “Then very simply, this region is genetically predisposed to diabetes, obesity, heart issues and general malaise. This repetitive cycle is continued into adulthood and therefore they go to restaurants (fast foods, home style cooking) where they crave the food their bodies tell them that it needs to function and feed its addiction; high fat, high carbs, and sweets. It’s a vicious cycle that is debilitating and sad.”
My point about Paula Deen is that it IS sad that she is famous for continuing this cycle.
And I wouldn’t have been so bothered by my experience at Paula Deen if I’d seen any options on the menu that presented a “healthier choice.” I don’t see how that is being negative. We all splurge from time-to-time, but the people eating there follow Ms. Deen like cult members. To them, she has given their ‘food insecurity’ a green light.
Jane — “Bad food is cheap, good food is expensive” is a misnomer (misphraser?). *Convenient* food, *pre-prepared* food, and *fast* food is cheap. Preparing food from healthy ingredients — say, chicken, rice, and vegetables with a side of some kind of fruit salad — doesn’t have to be expensive.
A lot of it certainly has to do with people craving sweet, high-carb, low-everything else food when they could eat better *and* more cheaply. Compare the price of, say, tap water to a six-pack of Coke ; a bunch of carrots to a bag of Cheetos; a bunch of bananas to a bag of Oreos. Compare the cost of a tub of quick oatmeal to a box of Cocoa Pebbles. See what I mean?
You can certainly argue that living in poverty has some connection to obesity but then you need to present and discuss argue other possible reasons for this — education as to eating right, time needed to cook, genetic predisposition to diabetes, metabolic instability (the last two of which you mentioned), etc.
So, the 4 different salads or seafood platter broiled are not healthier choices? Me thinks you went in with the “hatin on Paula” mindset. Why bother if you are not going to truly try a place with an open mind? Nancy, you may be a food critic, but to me you’re just a food snob.
And before I come across as holier-than-thou and a fitness/nutrition guru, I would say that if you look in my pantry, you’d find a mix of snack foods and ingredients, just like most people. As a lover of food, I certainly deviate from the “2500 calories per day” guidelines but I don’t make it a habit, and I try to make good choices when I can — which I believe is Nancy’s point here, that PD perpetuates the idea that tasty food has to be 50% butter, dusted with powdered sugar, and covered in syrup.
Hmmm, come to think of it, that sounds pretty good….
Anyone would have to do to become famous? Piece of cake! Tell people it’s okay to: BE a Trojan, don’t buy ‘em! Have tons of unprotected sex! You deserve to eat whatever you want whenever you want it! You’re right to be greedy and wasteful if you wish! Yes, as a man you deserve to inherit the earth! Gambling is good! Do it daily. You can double that college fund with scratch-offs! Buy thousands! God wants us to use our VISAs and MasterCards…..Buy it! Life is short! You deserve it! Jesus told me so!
Jane–how much you weigh has no relevance whatsoever.
Teri
I went a year ago and went in with little knowledge of Paula Deen. I had no idea what to expect. Call me stupid for not watching the Food Network, but perhaps I was taken aback by the fact that I was more surprised than biased. I went in with more than an opened mind–you are making assumptions, not me.
It is amazing that all those pictures of people in the south during the Depression when times were tough show no obese people–just thin starving ones. Or how ’bout pictures of African famines? No obesity there, either. The real culprit is that food is cheap in America and the cheapest food is usually bad for you. Healthy food from upscale markets is expensive. Poor people can’t afford Whole Foods. Instead of food stamps, the gov’t should support anti-obesity victory gardens so people can grow their own fruits and veges.
LM — more of the same myth. Yea, it’s true that your average family of four getting by on $20K/year isn’t going to be cruising Central Market and buying lean buffalo meat or organic chicken breasts. But what about the Farmer’s Market? What about the produce section of Tom Thumb? Quit saying that the cheapest food is bad for you until you really *look* at the price of junk food. It’s not cheap at all.
Prime ingredients [which all of us reading this use, at least some of the time] are expensive, no one’s saying they’re not. But to say you can’t eat well on a budget or that if you’re poor you have to eat like crap is just plain wrong.
Tsk, tsk, tsk Jane - tackiness abounds!
Okay. I was going to keep quiet but here’s the back story:
At one time Nancy Nichols was Nancy Deen, married to Paula’s elder son Crisco, living in Savannah. After giving birth to twin boys, Berle and Merle, her centerfold figure begin going, as had Nancy, south. During one Thanksgiving when Paula (‘Popover’ as she was called) put the spam fritters with Oreo/corn syrup glaze atop Nancy’s buttered bacon casserole, Nancy rose and snapped into the centerpiece mounted VCR a ‘Stop the Madness’ Susan Powter’ cassette and stalked out.
Shortly thereafter she was picked up on the highway by a man driving to Los Angeles who later became her second husband. Once in L.A. Nancy was nicknamed Aurugula as the first tag-team ‘organic wrestling caterer’ in Hollywood. Before long, the only thing buttered was her bank account which was said to be ‘Pleasingly Plump’ indeed.
During a brief stopover in LAX, ‘D’ publisher Wick Allison spotted her doing a photoshoot. Unfortunately, so did a family friend of Paula Deen’s son who attempted to seize Merle and Berle from the side stage. It was at that point… watching this once 26w house model at La Belle Ballistic Boutique in Savannah… now so lean and lithe, kick boxing her way across the tarmac retrieving her hostage boys, that Allison was able to convince Nichols to come to Dallas. The rest is new-age ‘D’ empire history.
Rawlins, you’re killing me!
This week a local man broke a Guinness World Record held by Paula Deen:
http://www.pegasusnews.com/new.....most-stra/
Craig, I do shop at the Dallas Farmer’s Market and the food is not cheap! It’s actually pricey compared to grocery stores, especially Sprouts (what an awesome store.) I guess I should have used the adjective “convenience” with “cheap.” When you eat at fast food places or 7-11, for ex., you usually aren’t eating healthy, but you get good value for the amount of food. Same with a lot of the deeply discounted items at grocery stores. They’re processed to their cores. I wish I could afford organic foods. Organic milk is $6 a gallon. Ouch.
It is strange that poor people are obese–it is not a typical side effect of poverty. Our country supports big agro-businesses which churn out processed foods are low prices.
i’m nominating nancy for the post of official dallas food snob.
Sarah- I mentioned weight because I did not want to come off as as a defensive overweight person, which is what I used to be, a product of a family with a history of obesity from Savannah, Georgia who finally educated myself about metabolism, exercise, nutrition and being healthy. I have first hand knowledge about the ‘Paula Deen’ meal plans, believe me :). Bacon fat was saved in jars and added to every vegetable, meat was always fried and fruit meant canned fruit in syrup or peach pie with peach ice cream.
If any of you are interested about learning about this phenomenon food insecurity/obesity among the poor without judging, just volunteer at the food bank and go to a nutrition education class in poor neighborhoods. If you are a chef, dietician, or just want to volunteer they have a great program and need people to help. You will be shocked, saddened and enlightened.
Bubba i second that. and she need to get her head out of her ASS
Paula’s food — whether in her restaurant or on her show — is ridiculously unhealthy and completely over the top. Having said all that, you can’t fault her for making foods she enjoys preparing and you can only fault the people who shove it in their mouths.
I believe it’s a bit pricier eating good, healthy foods in moderation than it is eating garbage, but it’s the same with smoking, drinking or anything else done in excess. People can only claim ignorance for so long. I think it’s just an excuse for eating less healthy and larger, unhealthy portions.
As much as I think McDonald’s and other fast-food places are a large factor in why we as a nation are obese, it’s not like Ronald McDonald was hiding a gun in that yellow jumpsuit.
It’s all Grimace’s fault, that obese purple bastage…
If you don’t like her food- stay home.
What the world doesn’t need is more food police. It’s getting tiresome.
This sammich would make a great gilled burger…yum