Posts Tagged Food
Breaking Bread
Kind of off-topic post, but interesting nonetheless for our foodies out there.
The New York Time’s food critic, Frank Bruni, wrote this blog post today, Our Nightly Bread, which explores a positive side to restaurants charging for bread and butter these days.
As someone who loves, loves, loves warm crusty bread dunked in deliciously-herbed olive oil at good Italian restaurants (but could easily pass it up if it’s sub-par) I thought it was worth sharing.
Take a read and let me know what you think about charging for bread during tough economic times.
As for me, I’d rather pay for it and get the good, good stuff, then see a stale, wasted basket taking up space on the table!
2 comments April 28, 2009
Kids and “Bad” Food Anxiety?!
I found this recent New York Times article that piqued my interest, called, “What’s Eating Our Kids? Fears About ‘Bad’ Foods.”
I want my kids someday (when I have them) to have a healthy relationship with food. I want them to know fruits and veggies and whole grains and low-fat dairy are yummy, but I also don’t want them to freak out if someone offers them an ice cream cone. I want them to be able to enjoy the special treat without another kid (or mother) commenting.
I’m not a mom yet, but I still have an opinion on this: it’s one thing to encourage healthy eating habits (recently Michelle Obama’s been talking a lot about how her family find that balance between health and pleasure with respect to food), but it’s another thing to ban foods altogether — which can lead to binge eating behavior later in life or an unhealthy relationship with food (like I’ve experienced). (more…)
7 comments March 25, 2009
A Healthy Adaptation of an American Classic
Lately for quick dinners when my husband has been in class or we’ve been too stressed after our work/ fitness routines to cook, I’ve been making English muffin pizzas for dinner.
I have found they are a great way to get in some healthy fat, as well as a way to eat something I love. Sometimes I use fresh tomatoes, and sometimes I use marinara, but it’s one of the quickest four-food-groups menus I can come up with (whole grain, dairy, oil, veggie).
Double the recipe for two people. For dinner for one, I make mine using: (more…)
3 comments January 21, 2009
The “Entitlement Factor”
When I lost weight, my tummy shrank.
This might sound like a big fat “duh” response to weight loss … but my appetite for food didn’t necessarily shrink, too.
And it irked me, especially once I settled into a comfortable weight range, that I could be satisfied on less … especially when “less” was becoming smaller and smaller portions.
The truth is, I like to eat, and always have. I’m not an over-eater, but I’ve always enjoyed food — talking about it, thinking about it, and now as I’ve gotten older, reading or writing about it, too.
And if I go to the trouble of weighing and measuring my food like I do, I want to be able to eat it. All of it. I feel “entitled” to it. It’s “mine.”
This is why my plate is usually loaded first and foremost with fruits and veggies: I get the biggest bang for my buck with them. I can be part of the Clean Plate Club if I want to be, and not feel uncomfortable about my choices.
I want to finish it, I feel “entitled” to finish it. So I call it … the “Entitlement Factor”. (more…)
10 comments January 14, 2009
“Meet Your Body Where It Is”
I thought I’d share this inspirational quote today in honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
I found it in Courtney Martin’s book, Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters, which I finished this past weekend and probably will be talking about quite a bit going forward.
The quote was in relation to one young woman suffering with an eating disorder who finally one day snapped (in a good way) and “woke up” during a yoga class when the instructor shared those six small words with such ginormous meaning.
“Meet your body where it is” (more…)
16 comments November 26, 2008
Melting Pot Fun
Saturday night, my husband and I went to the Melting Pot to celebrate our second wedding anniversary (which is tomorrow).
We had a blast, and I’m so glad we went. I’d been with girlfriends in college, but he’d never been before. Since his love for cheese pretty much rivals my love for chocolate, I figured it was guaranteed to be a surefire success.
And oh, it was!
I planned (are you surprised?!) somewhat for the day by getting in a great cardio workout in the morning. I felt so good, I literally could have kept going, but knew that would be counter-productive if I ended up ravenous.
So we had a good brunch at home in the morning, then got dressed up, visited a friend and their new baby (totally made me want to have a baby — STAT!) and headed off to an early-ish dinner. (dinner at the Melting Pot is a 2 1/2-3 hr affair if you’ve never been, and it’s an hour away from us).
By the time we arrived at the Melting Pot, the aromas were enticing beyond belief, and I was super-hungry (usually I have an apple or something so I am not a wildebeast). But I wanted to save my appetite, and thought going hungry would be a good thing. And it was! (more…)
10 comments November 17, 2008
Wanted: Non-Obsessive Hobbies
I don’t know about you, but most of my hobbies seem to revolve around food or exercise.
I love working out, biking, running, walking, cooking, going out to eat, spending hours in cafés.
The books and magazines I read are food or exercise-related … and this blog I write is, naturally, 100% food and exercise-related.
I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing that these are my hobbies; in moderation, they’re healthy … and it could be much worse. But I also think there’s merit to broadening our horizons.
Not too long ago, a friend voiced her genuine concern that blogging about these things would only feed the obsession even more; she suggested that I try to find a hobby or passion that isn’t related to food and exercise. (more…)
16 comments November 7, 2008
On the Hunt for Moderation, “Information is a Gift”
I told Dr. G. last night about my big “coming out” yesterday.
And while she supports the notion of living authentically and listened intently, she also said something else that surprised me: “Remember, too, that information is a gift.”
She went on to say, “you choose when and how to give it.”
I’ll be honest; it took me a while to get what she was saying.
I’m of the Internet generation, where we’re encouraged to be transparent … even though we all know there’s certain risk involved in that. And being so open fits nicely with my personality. Given my “hardware”, I am the kind of person who wears her heart on her sleeve.
I tend to feel guilty when I am not being wholly transparent, which is why it was such a big deal for me to come clean about my identity on my various social media sites. And I’ve been known to over-share, to my own detriment.
In my mind, not sharing was being dishonest. (more…)
8 comments October 31, 2008
Banning Body-Snarking
Be honest. When is the last time you stood in front of the mirror and raved –seriously raved — about your appearance?
For me, it was my wedding day two years ago.
I’d never felt so beautiful in my waist-accentuated, fitted gown, all dolled up and ready to walk down the aisle to begin a future with the man I love …
And, feeling so beatiful, I radiated all day.
I don’t think I’m an exception here; it’s my hope that every bride feels gorgeous on her wedding day.
But aside from special occasions like that, if you’re like many women who suffer from body dysmorphia or negative body image, you probably don’t spend a lot of time preening at your own reflection.
It’s bad enough when we bash our own bodies, but now more than ever — especially thanks to the proliferation of celebrity-focused magazines and gossip blogs on the Web — women are bashing other women, too. It’s called “body snarking” and it’s getting ugly. (more…)
11 comments October 27, 2008
Why Are Women So Weird Around Food?
I’ve always wondered this, partially because I, myself, am “weird” around food (and working on it!), but Anne at Elastic Waist made a good point about this today, after a strange dining situation she’d had with some women.
We all know eating is a human function, required for survival and longevity. Like water, clothing and shelter, food is a basic need — not something we can “choose” to go without. If we don’t eat, we die.
We fuel our body with nutrients so, like a car, we run smoothly. Many men and women who are dieting play games with this, trying to see how little they can eat and still lose, but the truth is, without adequate food, we’re setting ourselves up for failure.
In fact, taken to extremes (as with anorexia nervosa, which tends to be more about control than food), women can lose their periods, experience hair loss, bone loss, the inability to conceive and a host of other side affects, most tragic of all being death.
In the end, we really do need food. (more…)
9 comments October 21, 2008
