LaShara Lashawn

As much as we talk about the woes of cell phones, the internet, millennials, social media and how we wish things were like the times before, we would be remiss if we didn’t appreciate at least something about it all. I was born in the 90s so I am very familiar with technology I would say that I grew up at the height of new developing technology and it was happening fast. I might be of the last few who had typing classes offered, that’s if you attended public school in the Bay area. We have the terminator to thank for a large amount of budget cuts that eliminated elective classes such as typing. Yet we are to be prepared to compete amongst the masses but are under prepared. Your teacher wants you to be able to submit a 8 page double spaced one inch margin research paper but you don’t even know how to type sufficiently. Anyway I digress. 

I’m grateful for the internet and social media for a few things, exposure, information and connection. These are elements of technology that are a benefit yet can become problematic. In this case I’m greatful because I found brussell sprouts!

Whenever someone ask me what type of foods I like, or through casual conversation the question comes up “what did you have to eat?” I get this response that sometimes makes me annoyed. I eat “healthy” as some like to point out to me this is just what I really enjoy. A large part of it was that If I remember correctly my mom saw something about animals and how they are treated and then declared us vegetarians. Just like that we no longer ate beef or pork. I’m almost sure she watched something similar to what the health. The only thing was that we did eat chicken and fish. For a while if I ate beef or pork I would get sick. My mom always cooked decent meals but looking back at it, when my mom began making more money and as she became more educated on foods our quality of life even down to what we ate became better. I don’t really recall fresh veggies but we ate salad, which I love till this day. We did not eat out much and we rarely tried new foods.

When I moved out on my own I had to cook for myself and I wanted to eat well with the budget I had. I was never the child to hang around the kitchen and soak up all the recipes from my grandma or my dad. I would watch for a minute but I wouldn’t get involved too much unless asked. Being that the internet seems to be the answer for everything I quickly began to search of recepies, make boards dedicated to food on Pintrest, follow food pages and hashtags on Instagram, I even sought out YouTube on guidance for making a whole lobster once. Before one may ask someone for a recipe, buy a book, rent a movie and those are all good ways to share but with the internet everything is literally at the click of a button or there is an app for it! Fantastic!

Dont get me wrong I would love a cook book by Pattie LaBelle or Mrs. Curry.  With Instagram people can post pictures of their delicious meals with the recipes. Some of the meals would be mouth-watering, inspiring and some just a plain mess. I made a decision early on that I would always eat fresh veggies, no processed and minimal to no canned goods. I can not tell you the last time I had canned string beans. Honestly I never really like those much anyway.

I came across some new veggies called sprouts. Later on we would get a grocery store named Sprouts in my area, great place to shop. What in the world is a sprout? I had never had sprouts, my mom didn’t make them, where were those when we went to the grocery store? where they good? Sounds like something white people eat like caviar. I didnt have a clue. Since moving out Iv started eating asparagus, zucchini, squash, Brussel sprouts and couscous just to name a few foods. I love these foods they are on my grocery list often.

These foods are amazing and yes there is this narrative that white people eat certain things and that most of the time its unseasoned, potentially raw and nasty. This is not true of course. I have come to learn that often times certain foods, generational have not been provided to people of color for probably too many different reasons for me to go over at this time. Therefore we are not accustom to looking for it or eating it.

For my family I don’t believe my mom knew about those foods, she may have thought they were nasty, she may have not been able to afford it or maybe she didn’t like it so she never bought it or it can be a combination of all of them. I mean for the early part of my life we shopped at Food 4 Less then we moved up to Safeway then Safeway and Costco. We elevated a little bit and it really showed. It’s really upsetting how your economic status determines a lot about your quality of life.

A friend of mine found a recipe on social media for sprouts and she made it for a few of us to eat and my goodness it was amazing!!!! I knew I would have to make them one day for my self. About a week ago that day came. I figured since I was grocery shopping at Sprouts why not grab a few. For some reason I was intimidated by those little suckas, I didn’t feel like I could do much with them and I was worried that I’d burn them or they wouldn’t taste as good l. I would look at some recipes here and there but I hadn’t decided on a day when I would actually make them. I don’t like to waste so I knew I had to make them soon.

A few days later I had finally made the sprouts and it was the best feeling ever! It had been a while since I cooked something new! My excitement level was on 1000, I even had my cousin come by to have some for dinner and she helped me tear them thangs up.

What you need

1. Bunch or sprouts

    2. 2 Tbs vegetable Oil

    3. pepper, lemon pepper, garlic powder

    4. mozzarella Cheese

Directions

Rinse off the sprouts and then pat dry them with paper towel. Cut sprouts in half horizontally then put in bowl, pour in about a dash or two of each seasoning then add oil. Toss together. Place sprouts on baking pan and turn oven to 425 and let bake for about 20 minutes. Enjoy. Below are my before and after photos.

I’m not a food blogger but I mean a girl has to eat so I may feature some food wins. I would say that I’m a foodie, I enjoy trying new foods and restaurants. I really give thanks to the internet and social media it has opened new worlds and experiences to the masses. I am even able to communicate and creat connections over a picture of sushi from a restaurant in another state, country or right in the same city as me.

I am grateful for my experiences with food when I was a child. I can’t blame my mom for doing what she could. It was because of her that at an early age I knew what it ment to eat a little healthier. People made fun of me because I wanted the side salad at McDonald’s and not a burger. As an adult now I know that when I have children I will be able to expose them to 10x more than what I had as a child. The internet most certainly helped sprout a desire for something more something more healthy, seasoned and tasty. Lets sprout together.