“In my mother’s house, there were always apples.”
– Living Slim: A Canadian Woman’s Way
The past few months saw me transported from one of Melbourne’s inner city suburbs – tons of interesting Aussie cafés, bistros and food shops literally around every corner – to one of Calgary’s outer neighbourhoods bordered by a big box mall and a standard array of North American burger, breakfast and coffee chains. Not what Living Slim especially appreciates when eating out. But, I’ll admit, it was still strangely comforting for this returning Canadian to step into Canada’s favourite coffee shop and sit down with a simple brew.
But, wasteland as this mall may have been in terms of interesting dining, all was not lost.
Why? Because, (as I note in Living Slim), most of us are incredibly fortunate, in this country, to have a wealth of good food readily available in our standard, run-of-the-mill, found-almost-everywhere grocery stores.
The big box mall near me in Calgary, which sprawled over a really large area, had no less than three huge grocery stores. I was spoiled for choice. And while I do love my adventures with bistro food, I am fundamentally a home cook and a home eater. So, I was one happy camper regardless.
One shopping day, well into the Calgary fall that was practically a winter this year, as I picked up some beautiful Macintosh apples at one of those grocery chains, the cashier surprised me with a comment: “Ahh, you’re getting the fall Macintosh. They’re the best aren’t they?”
“Yes, I love them,” I replied, thinking, as I did that this fellow apple lover might just be a Living Slim kindred spirit. Trim, energetic, of a certain age and super friendly – in fact, Calgarians in general, I had noted, were super friendly – she was a treat to chat with.
“You just can’t beat their flavour can you,” she continued briskly. “They’re my favourite apple, especially in the fall, when they’ve just come in. Then later on in the winter, when they’re not so good, I buy my Pink Ladies. Oh, I just love my Pink Ladies. So crisp, so sweet, so juicy.”
My Pink Ladies. I was utterly charmed. My Pink Ladies. This person really did love her apples.
“Yes,” I agreed easily. “You just can’t beat the fall Macintoshes.”
”And that’s the first of many reasons Canadian woman can manage to live slim. No one puts on weight – ever – eating and enjoying the apple. And in Canada, we do enjoy lots of them.” – Living Slim: A Canadian Woman’s Way
