Top 5 for 5: Meg Lists Her Favorite Daily Foods

Senior Writer Meg Quinn has been serving up mouthwatering recipe posts since she joined The Hudsucker in 2014. For her Top 5 for 5, it’s only natural that Meg would share the 5 foods she loves to eat every day. 

At risk of speaking hyperbole: I lead a food focused life. You can always count on me to be either planning my next meal or snack, watching some sort of food television, reading articles about food trends, or adding things to my never ending list of food “to dos.” I might appear to be doing something else but please know that at all times the inner workings of my brain are somewhere between what-am-I-eating-next island and I-love-bread lagoon.

I am also a creature of habit and take comfort not so much in certain foods per say, but having those certain foods all the time. It might seem ridiculous for someone as food obsessed as I am to have more than a few foods that she eats literally everyday of her life, BUT if it ain’t broke don’t fix it – right? Here are my five favorite everyday foods.

name a more iconic duo

Peanut butter

Peanut butter and I go way back. All the way to my kindergarten days when I realized I would much rather cut that oddly textured straight-up sugar flavored spread known as jelly out of the sandwich equation and only have the delicious combination of peanut butter and potato bread. I’m sure that there were some parts of my life where I didn’t eat it all the time, but for the most part I’ve had peanut butter everyday of my life for the majority of my life. These days I tend to have it as my breakfast in combination with the next food on this list, or on a few slices of whole wheat bread for peanut butter toast. But truthfully, there are many times when I cut the delivery vehicle all together and just eat it straight from a spoon. When I’m suddenly feeling hungry or as though my brain isn’t working correctly, my first instinct is to get a spoon and grab one of the up-words of 6 jars of PB I have in the house and fix the problem. And you know what? Works every time.

apples prepare to be attacked

Apples

The partner to my peanut butter, apples are my favorite fruit and something that I do not think I’ll ever tire of eating. I’ve been doing the apple and peanut butter for breakfast situation for about 5 years now and just like any great love it’s time withstanding and never boring. Can you name a more iconic duo than an apple & peanut butter? It’s truly impossible. The most often way that I eat apples is with peanut butter in the mornings, obviously, but that’s definitely not the only way that I have them. Because of how well they lend themselves to different preparations, they are not only the most common fruit I eat but the one I eat the most different ways as well. I genuinely love apple sauce (especially from scratch), apple pie, a simple sliced apple with cinnamon and nutmeg sprinkled on top, and a nice baked apple.

taking selfies with bae

Kale

This one is pretty eye roll-y I know but I can’t lie, I really love kale and have it everyday either for lunch or dinner. I love the taste of it and have been doing this regularly for a few years now. Sauteed in olive oil with garlic and red pepper flakes is my default and favorite preparation that I can add to the side of almost any meal. It’s also my go-to green to put in a smoothie or to add to any pasta. It holds up so well in dishes because it doesn’t melt and disappear like other greens tend to, plus it’s nutritious, so it’s totally worked it’s way into my everyday diet. Even though I do try to get a few different vegetables in my mouth everyday, and most days I do succeed, there are some where this is the only one that I eat. When I’m rushing around, I know it’s simple to prepare and helps me feel a little better about my day if I know I got something green into my body, even if the only other thing I’ve had to eat is a ox of Cheez-Its. I realize that this is coming across like I am in a codependent relationship with my kale and to be honest, that representation is completely truly.

nightly comfort on the couch

Dark chocolate

While it’s a total no-brainier that I adore food in general, let me tell you that I am obsessed with dark chocolate and truly could not live without it. Not just any chocolate, but dark chocolate. I mean, I’ll never turn down a piece of chocolate, ever (even the chocolate-but-not-really-chocolate known as white chocolate has a place in my soul) but dark is my personal favorite and the kind that I have daily. The reasons are simple: I try to eat healthy most of the time which means despite my outrageous affinity for baked goods, most days I’m not eating them. At the same time, I am simply not a person that can go a full day without anything sweet so I use dark chocolate and all it’s antioxidants to fulfill that need. And when I say dark chocolate, I’m talking the 85-88 percent cacao dark chocolate, which I realize many people think is dry and tasteless, but I genuinely love with every fiber of my being. I love the intensity of the flavor, the lack of sweetness, and that a small piece goes a long way.

crystallized ginger getting chopped for cookies

Ginger

I am sitting here trying to remember when I first realized that I am in love with ginger. Is it alarming you that I tend to speak about food in the way that other people talk about actual living, breathing loved ones? I promise that I am mostly sane. Anyway, I believe it was when I was a little girl and would always see my grandpa with a ginger ale in hand. I started drinking it because I wanted to be as cool as him and then grew to love the flavor of the soda first and the actual taste of ginger later. These days I barely drink soda so the ginger I’m eating is either ginger root, ginger candy, or powdered ginger. My favorite use of ginger powder is obviously in baked goods like chewy ginger cookies and gingerbread. I love mincing fresh ginger root and tossing it with olive oil & garlic to sauteed some vegetables in, or shaving it into some tea if my stomach aches. But my one true ginger love is ginger candy. Holy LORD all mighty do I love ginger candy. I can never get enough of it and I’m on a mission to try all of the kinds I can get my hands on. Considering I believe I have about 4 different brands in my house as we speak, I think I am doing a pretty good job.

Do you love to be chained to a routine like me and have any foods you like to every day? Or are you a much more exciting person that I am?

Featured image: iStock

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