Question:
What are grits and how do you eat them?
No laughing :o) What can I say, I've spent all but the past year living in the midwest! Josii* — meltedbuttr (posted on March 7, 2003)
March 7, 2003
The only thing I can tell you is that they are made out of corn. I eat
mine with butter and sugar and they are yummy! Kind of like a cream of
wheat. I hear alot of people eat them with syrup on them, but I didn't
care for it.
— joeandteri
March 7, 2003
Josii - can definitely tell you aren't from the South! Reminds me of when
I lived in Iowa for two years and everyone freaked out over me bringing a
banana sandwich to work for lunch (another evidently Southern delicacy)!
And, btw, when I would fly home to NC from Iowa, I would always bring back
grits, Duke's mayo and some good NC barbeque! Anyway, to answer your
question....grits are ground corn and I eat mine with butter and salt, no
sugar. Cooked grits are better than instant, but the instant will
certainly do in a pinch. You can determine the consistency that you like.
And if you really want something good, when you can eat regular foods
again, grits, country ham and some good red-eye gravy!
— Debbie B.
March 7, 2003
grits are made from hominy. it is usually served at breakfast as a hot
cereal, with/without sugar. i prefer w/o it is sometimes served down south
w/fish. i again prefer mine w/butter and scrambled eggs w/cheese. in my
more adventurious day i'll also mix in a can of sardines packed in oil.
grits are a time honored tradition in our home as my mother was from
georgia, a georgia peach one would say, from down south. grits come in
many different flavors now,there are quick (which are the ones i
prefer),and instant with the following flavors, butter,cheddar cheese,
country bacon, red eye gravy and counrty ham, and the orginal. some people
add sugar which in my opinion ruins the taste. and to finally answer your
question grits are a hot cereal and is served usually at breakfast as would
be cream of wheat. happy eating, and enjoy.
— darlene C.
March 7, 2003
the trick to grits is water! i like my grits on the soupy side(kind of like
a cream soup thickness) with butter. i don't like clumpy grits..yuck! also
you can scramble and egg, prepare your grits and then mix the two together.
you can get slow cooked grits or you can get the little packets of it. but
on the directions it never tells you to add enough water. someone asked me
if you chew grits hahaha ohhhhhhhhhh tooooooo funny. i said you eat them
like ice cream(no chewing). good luck!
— k K.
March 7, 2003
Hi Josii, it is so odd to hear someone ask about what grits are. I guess I
never really knew what a gap in regions we have. I live in Alabama and
have all my life. Grits is a breakfast food, serve it hot, if it gets cold
it clumps and is not good at all. Do not put sugar on them. I am southern
born and raised and I have never had grits with sugar or fish. Butter,
salt, and cheese. This is the best way. I seen where one lady liked hers
runny. I don't, but you will have to figure out the consistentcy for you.
I like mine a little thicker than a soup. Hard to eat runny. I do often
mix a scrambled egg in mine. Stove top is better than the instant packs,
but if you are in a jam the instant are o.k., but you will not get a true
taste trying them first in a pack. They are great with sausage, eggs,
biscuits, and tomato gravy. Yum! Good Luck
— christy B.
March 7, 2003
The best way to discribe grits is that it's a hot cereal made of ground
corn (homony). It's a little thicker than Cream of Wheat cereal, if you're
familiar with that. It's typically served with butter. Crumbled bacon is
great mixed in it also. Grits and Cream of Wheat are my two favorite hot
cereals. :)
— Laurie C.
March 7, 2003
I agree with Christy, except for the fish thing. I am from South Carolina,
and we often eat grits with fried fish in my area. I have had other South
Carolinians tell me they haven't had them with fish either. Anyway, I have
never had them with sugar, and I don't think I would ever try it. Since you
haven't had them before, experiment with the sugar way and the salt &
butter way. I guarantee you will prefer one method over the other.
— Katrina S.
March 7, 2003
I forgot to add that instant grits taste like crap!
— Katrina S.
March 7, 2003
OK - I'm coming on this at the tail-end . Why the question? Is Grits a good
choice post-op to eat? What nutrtional value is it? I love Cream of Wheat -
haven't had Grits but I've a born and raised Michiganer. My husband was
stationed at Fort Bragg - said he had them and didn't care for them. Maybe
I'll try them - once?? Sally 3/26/03, Harrison, MI
— Sally P.
March 7, 2003
I ate alot of grits as an early post op. But I can NOT stand the instant. I
like the ones you have to boil in water. I enjoy mine only with milk and
sugar (or sugar sub). You can tell I am NOT from the South! lol
— Danmark
March 7, 2003
Now that you've learned about grits, you'll probably want to know about
hominy - which are dried then reconstituted corn kernals, sorta. They get
a unique taste - and they're nice and chewy. I made a pork stew where it
is called "posole" and everyone gobbled it up (chewing well, of
course!)
— Marti R.
March 7, 2003
Hi there, I had to laugh when I saw your post and the replys. I live in
North Carolina where grits are a must. But I was born and raised in West
Virginia where I had never heard of them. I personally can't stand them.
YUCK! It's a running joke at our church breakfast get-together's. I don't
eat them but I can cook them better than most folks that have lived here
all their life. (That's what they say anyhow). My husband loves them and
I've learned to cook them for him. And to the previous poster, Duke's
Mayo-Oh yes, before I moved here I couldn't stand mayo at all, but now when
we head north on vacation I have to take some with us.
— Jennifer M.
March 7, 2003
I love grits and tolerated them well after surgery! I was born and raised
in Ohio, but my dad grew up in North Carolina. I guess "regional
genetics" may be why some people like grits. Like mine with a little
butter - real butter, but I only have them once in awhile. Some people
just don't like the texture. Instant grits -yuck. Boil some water and make
the real thing!
— koogy
March 8, 2003
This reminds me of one line from the movie "My Cousin Vinny" when
they first get to Alabama (from NY) and go to eat breakfast. "I know
what a grit is, I've just never actually seen a grit."
<p>
I was born and raised in South Florida and raised on grits. We usually
have them for breakfast, but I used to make cheese grits for the fish fry
we used to have sometimes when we lived in Georgia. YUM!
<p>
Although its not the most protein-enriched food out there, you can add your
protein in it so it makes more sense to eat post-op. Add crumbled bacon,
ham, sausage, cheese or a combination of your favorite protein and it
tastes great!! Trial & error...
— thumpiez
March 8, 2003
I never had grits in my life, before WLS, but found that they were very
tasty and went down really easily. I added just a little margarine and
some garlic powder and found it delicious. Grits are from homoney, a sort
of grain. They're actually good and you don't even have to be from the
South to enjoy them! :)
— [Deactivated Member]
March 8, 2003
A funny site to check - just beware the cooking tips ~ nothin with bacon
fat can be good for us *grin* http://grits.com/
— Anne R.
March 9, 2003
I'm a central New Yorker and I had to look in the dictionary for grits and
hominy grits after a friend said she had them when she drove to Florida for
Christmas!
— JoSyrNY
March 13, 2003
LOL...Josii and other posters. Guess what? I'm originally from the Midwest
(Indianapolis, Indiana`by way of Chicago) and I relocated to Atlanta in
1985. I knew about "grits" BEFORE I came out here to the South
part of the country. Folks still tell me that I don't talk like I'm a
native "Georgian". However, grits are actually made of cron. It
comes from the hominy family. They are real small, kinda gritty, and can be
used as a cereal (in Indy, we put sugar on ours), but in the south, they
put salt and papper on theirs sort of like mashed postoes. Grits look like
a "thicker version of cream of wheat". You may need to include
them in your post op stage if you haven't done so already. They're not bad,
something to get used to IF you want to. I don't like them thick anyway. I
like them with the way we fixed them when I was in my hometown~as a cereal
with Splenda. Everyone has different tastes. I've known some from
California that have relocated here that have laughed at southerners for
years with grit jokes, and now a couple of those friends of mine are here
AND have had WLS, they don't laugh, but mentioned to me once "I'll
NEVER eat grits"...No, I didn't rub it in their face, but was
supportive of them during the time they had to since they didn't eat
oatmeal., said it looked like, we...I won't say it. Grits was the next best
thing or cream of wheat.
— yourdivaness
May 27, 2003
I see several people have already described "what" grits are, but
I just wanted to say if you decide to try grits....try both the cooked and
instant, because I see so many people ragging on the "instant
grits" but I don't like the cooked ones at all and LOVE the instant
grits with butter and sugar (subsitute Now) the flavor reminds me of
popcorn if you can imagine that ....maybe it's a generational thing??? and
btw I am trully a southener born and raised in Arkansas, now living in
Texas....;)
— prettygreen13
May 27, 2003
just another opinion...i like instant grits better with butter and and
measureable equal and a pinch of salt.
— kimberly T.
May 27, 2003
I like to make my grits (and cream of wheat and oatmeal) using milk instead
of water. It adds protein. I use instant grits. And, yes, I am from the
south!
— ctyst
May 27, 2003
Being a southern girl, I love grits. I ate them every day right after I
had WLS. Mostly, I ate cheese grits, the cooked kind, not the instant.
Instant grits are so nasty! Oh, and for those of you who were not raised
on grits, only make as much as you plan on eating at the moment. It
certainly is not something that you warm over. In my family, we eat grits
all kinds of ways... with eggs... with butter, salt, and pepper... with
cheese.... or with gravy. A while back, we all brought breakfast to work
and one of the men made cheese grits with garlic and jalapenos. Yum!!
— Lori B.
May 27, 2003
GRITS=Girls Raised In The South!...Now how you might enjoy them is a whole
other matter. I am a southern girl but think grits (the food) and hominy
are nasty. If you find a way to spice them up and make them high protein,
congrats. But just remember grits (the women) are sweet, smart, charming,
intelligent, and fun.
— Ann B.
August 27, 2003
Grits are very close to polenta, for you folks who are not familiar with
our southern staple. They are great cooked with some grated chedder
cheese. The instant are ok,, but the kind you have to cook for a while
have more creamy texture to me. Also they are great with fish, broiled or
lightly fried and also good with shrimp. This is a coastal tradition ( S.
Carolina, Georgia) way of eating grits.
— D.Dial
Click Here to Return