July 06, 2004

• Sounda like just what I need. I'm constantly distracted by how poorly I eat, but I'm too lazy to fix it.
• Damn. That's a good idea. And, impressively, not reliant on too much fish. (I do worry about putting on weight - laziness, improved public transport and a lack of gyms in my area mean I excercise less than your average stone - but when you hate fish and don't want to become a vegetarian, your dieting options become limited to the point of complete impracticability. Or the Atkins-death.) /personal anti-fish section So yes, this seems like a fine idea. Now, pick-up points... Washington - that's not anywhere near Islington, is it?... *sigh*
• My sister has tried the Jenny Craig thing a couple of times, but never stuck with it for very long. This sounds pretty good, but my guess is that it's seasoned for the least common denominator of seasoning eaters. Maybe the best thing to do is to try it for a week. I grew up in a meat and potatoes era, but, over the several eons since then, I've found myself sliding toward the healthier side, with no effort on my part. On the other hand, my complaint about most "eat healty" meals is that they treat vegetables so badly. The "lightly steamed" fad produces stuff that is neither raw nor cooked. Neither the crunch of raw veggies nor the unctiousness of cooked veggies, And, it pretty much eliminates a lot of the more interesting ones, like okra and eggplant. (I can hear you out there! They are not yucky.) I always think of "lightly steamed" as having been invented by a hospital dietician.
• I've been steaming vegetables lately and they're good. This may have something to do with tossing the beans and carrots in butter before steaming, though. :) And "lightly" steamed means the nutrients that normally are cooked out stay in, but I don't like them either. Plus I have a toddler who still doesn't quite have chewing down to a fine art, so I prepare our vegetables on the soft side of cooked. And a big roasting pan filled with diced eggplant, zucchini, yams (I'm talking little finger-length bittersweet vegetables unrelated to sweet potatoes), squash and kumara baked in the oven with a sprinkling of extra-virgin olive oil, some mustard seeds and garlic for a couple of hours is much better than any old steamed beans.
• tracicle, I don't know what kumara is, and the yams we get in the US are sweeter than sweet potatoes, but the your recipe sounds incredible. On the other hand, many people I've talked to in the US have starting baking local yams instead of potatoes. No need to do the lots of butter and sour cream thing.
• I quit reading at "mirkin" burger - I started laughing and couldn't stop.
• NZ kumara = US sweet potato, aka yam. NZ yam = "oka" or "oca", aka Oxalis crenata. Not grown in US afaik, of Peruvian origin. Personally I prefer to roast at higher heat for a shorter time, leads to more tasty brown crunchy bits.
• Do you eat in a healthy way? Only between dinner and breakfast.
• Ah, thanks vitalorgnz, I had no idea how I was going to explain yams.
• Anyone tried a 5-8 small meals a day diet?
• Merkin Burger?
• I used to get yams and yaks confused when I was little and just learning the words that start with "y." I found the concept of yak meat a little off-putting, and I haven't been much of a yam fan since.
• A Merkin burger.
• Is beer and coffee healthy? My kitchen is so small I cant actually cook anything in it. Plus I am lazy. So lazy my gas has been off for almost 2 weeks. Not because I cant pay the bill, but because I am lazy. (actually I paid it a couple days ago, but apparently the people who turn it back on are as lazy as me). Looks interesting, but I am not a gourmet, plus there are no pickup spots in Tokyo.
• freethought: some years ago, I read an article which claimed that the reason people in one of those Asian island cultures were so thin was that they ate pretty much continuously during the day, but only a mouthful or two with each "meal." I wish I could remember the details, but you may be onto something.
• SideDish, I almost envy you for living in an urban area. I'm lazy as hell when it comes to eating and would probably eat anything I could get at a drive-thru (with take-out for special occasions. Like dinner.) Pretty much only cook in winter, and that sporadically. I'd give the service a try, if I were you. (Though 400 bucks a month for food for one seems a tad high, but what do I know?) I've never been any good at that three-squares-a-day thing, and if someone else is willing to provide balanced meals that I don't have to think about, then great. Even better would be if they could figure out how to make it all pizza, burritos, subs, or soup and fresh bread. BTW, yams are my all time favorite lazy-person's nutritious food.
• surprisingly, my brother makes a living doing something vaguely like this. Private chefs are very popular in some places, but not a chef-on-staff, more like a caterer who drops by 2x a week to deliver prepared family meals. The meals are generally set, but can be altered for special occasions, nutritional specifics like allergies, diets or veganism - though many chefs are highly dismissive of that for purely asethetic reasons. Lots of people have just family dinners dropped too, as they can generally manage breakfast/lunch themselves. It varies. I find it really interesting how willingly people embrace being, essentially, "mothered" (which is not at all meant to sound condescending, I believe most do it because of the chef's skill, time and knowledge). And I love yams. And sweet potatoes. Especially with marshmallows (not healthy).
• Mm, ilyadeux. When I lived in California we had my mother and all of my in-laws (parents and brothers) over for a Christmas in Tahoe. I made all the most American things I could think of, including a huge dish of roasted sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows. They were probably the most sugary vegetables I will ever eat.
• I think of sweet potatoes w/marshmallows as supremely American too - my Thanksgivings in the US have always included it, whereas in Canada its more likely mashed/roasted. Don't know why, but am glad of it's once-a-year-ness - yummy, but sweeter than candy and twice as bad (all those carbs, you know).
• What Luck! I found this yammy link to pills that let you have all the goodness of yams without ever having to buy or wash or cook or taste them. However, as far as digestion goes, I'm afraid you're on your own.
• There is only one real diet - and that's excercise. when you excercise you will automatically eat correctly (trust your body - it knows what it needs - though dont think atkins diet here, people who excercise need carbs). excercise also makes you feel good about yourself, the key to so many things. and if you excercise I dont mean a wimpy bike ride - i mean running.
• healthy eating...my most cherished passion. having been an obsessive 'cook from scratch' nerd from the early 70's when i had a farm and milked cows, made my own butter and the bread to put it on. now, as a city slicker, i'm content to have an herb garden and some veggies out back. there's no 'pre-fab' food in the house. no boxed or frozen or canned or anything. well, i do buy canned tomatoes. everything is as fresh and pure as i can get it and full of green things from my herb garden. lots of flowers too, which makes my darlin' cringe and try to shuffle them off the plate. i do admit that it's not possible to go to my extreme if working full-time. it can consume a lot of hours when i get on a binge.i managed a comfortable compromise when i had more outside obligations. i use one rule of caution. if i can't say the name of the listed ingredients, i certainly don't eat it. and we are what we eat. that i have found to be very true. even my dog is so used to my good food that when i gave him a 'denturebone' one day, he was sick afterwards. i have the same problem as well now, if i consume something full of artificial ingredients, in a burst of insanity. *thank heavens for chocolate.* maybe i should go into business. sidedish, send me your meal plans.
• last fall i started the lots of mini-meals thing, and ive pretty much kept it up since then. that was combined with various sports seasons (still a high-school monkey), so while i didnt lose weight i did lose body fat. the trick is to keep it going so your metabolism doesnt crash when you dont have any food for more than 3 hours.
• Everything I eat is good for me -- still here, ain't I? Food I don't have to fix myself? You betcha!
• My parents use eDiets - you tell them what you want (vegetarian, quick meals, I dunno, things you don't like to eat) and they make up menus for you for each week with grocery lists and all (even including what prepared meals to buy, like Healthy Choice or Lean Cuisine stuff for lunches, if you want). Pretty flexible to your schedule and so forth. The meal plans and recipes look very simple, and the 'rents have lost weight and look great. They like not having to plan menus either. It's a pay-for service, I dunno how much, but I wouldn't pay for something like that which is why I haven't tried it myself. They're quite pleased with it though and have been using it for months.
• sidedish, i did find one other interesting option for you, from the Guardian.
• The Great Neurotic Art