Most of my cravings are unhealthy. Who am I kidding. ALL my cravings are unhealthy. Once in a while though, I crave a salad. When that happens I am so thankful that I don't question it. I just run out to get a salad before the craving passes.
Chop't is an excellent place to satisfy that fleeting craving.
I walked into a Chop't today and ordered a salad. They have choices of the greens. Romaine, Spinach, Mesclun and Arugula (for an extra 50 cents). I decided on the Romaine.
Then you have the option to pick 4 toppings from a list of what looked like 50 choices. You get a 5th one if you go before noon. What luck ... I was there before noon.
I had cherry tomatoes (the only kind of fresh tomatoes that should be had in the winter). Shredded carrots, cucumbers, chickpeas and for my 5th - some beets. It was a generous portion.
One guy puts all that you ask for in a huge plastic bowl; than another dumps it on a cutting board and chops away with a huge Mezzaluna (moon shaped Italian knife). He chops until everything is cut into bite sized pieces - hence the name Chop't. Quite clever, don't you think?
The salad is cut into the ideal bite sized pieces that can be eaten at a desk or even on a first date without looking awkward, as your lettuce dangles from the side of your mouth. I assess many a food by, if they are appropriate for business lunches or dates (the two tend to overlap - nothing messy like spaghetti, or stinky like raw onions).
{I know there is something grammatically wrong with the above sentence - but I don't know how to fix it. You know what I mean though? Right?}
Since it was before noon and I was going to have the salad later, I got the dressing on the side. A generous portion of Balsamic Vinaigrette.
I am eating the salad at my 'office desk' as I write this and am so satisfied and happy. I can't believe it. I am actually being satisfied, and made happy by a salad on a cold December day. What is the world coming to!
All this and a piece of bread for $7.50. Not bad I say. Not bad at all.
While a salad made from home can cost a fraction of the above amount - a 'holy' craving such as the one for a salad - I am willing to shell out some dough.
Today is New Year's eve eve. About 3 more days of holiday excess and debauchery that starts from Thanksgiving day. I think it is kind of fashion forward of me to get a head start on the whole diet thing that starts on January 2nd for a countless number of people (me included). While I intend to enjoy New Year's eve eating whatever I please, I am thankful for today's salad craving. It gives me hope that I will be able to get on the healthful wagon easily in 2009.
Happy New Year to all.
I sincerely hope that 2009 is better than 2008.
Do you plan to make any resolutions for the new year?
Let me know what they are.
Until I eat again!
December 29, 2008
December 12, 2008
Oprah and I have a lot in common - who knew!
In the past couple of days I have been reading previews of Oprah's upcoming magazine article where she will discuss her recent weight gain. The magazine comes out on January 5th, so I have no way of knowing what she wrote in the article but I have some ideas. I could probably write that article - about my life.
Weight gain, weight loss - and then weight again gain is an awful thing. It happens to so many people. One can argue that Oprah Winfrey is one of the smartest, most accomplished women alive - yet, food and weight is something she hasn't been able to conquer.
I saw a recent interview with her where she admits that she is addicted to food. While I would rather believe that food is not an addictive substance like nicotine or crack - i think it is - for some people. It is a tougher addiction than nicotine or crack since we all have to eat everyday. It cannot be given up cold turkey, never to be touched again.
To make peace with food is a complicated issue which I don't claim to fully understand or give adequate advice to those who have a food addiction.
Since I am not a scientist I don't know why some people develop an unhealthy relationship to food - but the fact remains that they do. Maybe it is a genetic predisposition; like that to diabetes, cancer or hair loss. Who knows. What we know is that it exists and so we have to work with what we know.
A genetic predisposition to something does not mean that we are helpless and have role to play in our destiny.
While all the salad in the world cannot make me look like Angelina Jolie - good food choices and exercise can make me look like the best me.
It all sounds so simple.
Eat less - move more and Voila! Weight loss. Then maintenance.
But no! Food is such a complicated subject. It soothes us when we are unhappy, it is there to celebrate with when we are happy.
All this may mean nothing to a person who has no food issues.
But I know that there are millions of people who know exactly what I am saying.
Millions of people who are not reading my blog - but if they were - they would know exactly what I am saying.
What am I saying?
I am saying that early this year I embarked on a weight loss regimen and was quite successful with it.
Then mid year I started becoming lax with myself.
And now toward the end of the year - I feel like I have lost some control over the battle. Not all control - but some control.
How does Oprah's struggle make me feel?
It makes me feel less guilty. With all her private chefs and fitness instructors - if she is still not able to win the war on terror - oh sorry, I mean the war on fat - then it is a huge and complicated problem.
It certainly doesn't give me license to throw in the towel and say, "if Oprah is fat then I'll be fat". But less guilt nevertheless.
Struggling with one's weight is a life long battle for some. It can be managed though with hard work, realistic goals and expectations. This is a topic for another post.
Tell me about your struggle with weight.
What works for you ... What doesn't.
Lets make 2009 a healthful and peaceful year.
Until I eat again!
Weight gain, weight loss - and then weight again gain is an awful thing. It happens to so many people. One can argue that Oprah Winfrey is one of the smartest, most accomplished women alive - yet, food and weight is something she hasn't been able to conquer.
I saw a recent interview with her where she admits that she is addicted to food. While I would rather believe that food is not an addictive substance like nicotine or crack - i think it is - for some people. It is a tougher addiction than nicotine or crack since we all have to eat everyday. It cannot be given up cold turkey, never to be touched again.
To make peace with food is a complicated issue which I don't claim to fully understand or give adequate advice to those who have a food addiction.
Since I am not a scientist I don't know why some people develop an unhealthy relationship to food - but the fact remains that they do. Maybe it is a genetic predisposition; like that to diabetes, cancer or hair loss. Who knows. What we know is that it exists and so we have to work with what we know.
A genetic predisposition to something does not mean that we are helpless and have role to play in our destiny.
While all the salad in the world cannot make me look like Angelina Jolie - good food choices and exercise can make me look like the best me.
It all sounds so simple.
Eat less - move more and Voila! Weight loss. Then maintenance.
But no! Food is such a complicated subject. It soothes us when we are unhappy, it is there to celebrate with when we are happy.
All this may mean nothing to a person who has no food issues.
But I know that there are millions of people who know exactly what I am saying.
Millions of people who are not reading my blog - but if they were - they would know exactly what I am saying.
What am I saying?
I am saying that early this year I embarked on a weight loss regimen and was quite successful with it.
Then mid year I started becoming lax with myself.
And now toward the end of the year - I feel like I have lost some control over the battle. Not all control - but some control.
How does Oprah's struggle make me feel?
It makes me feel less guilty. With all her private chefs and fitness instructors - if she is still not able to win the war on terror - oh sorry, I mean the war on fat - then it is a huge and complicated problem.
It certainly doesn't give me license to throw in the towel and say, "if Oprah is fat then I'll be fat". But less guilt nevertheless.
Struggling with one's weight is a life long battle for some. It can be managed though with hard work, realistic goals and expectations. This is a topic for another post.
Tell me about your struggle with weight.
What works for you ... What doesn't.
Lets make 2009 a healthful and peaceful year.
Until I eat again!
December 9, 2008
What makes a picky eater?
I wonder what makes some people picky eaters and others more adventurous.
I assume it starts from childhood.
I always loved to eat, and ate everything. I can't remember not liking anything new. Most of my childhood memories are based on food. I remember people through food. Like my aunt in Amritsar with whom I spent many summers - made the best parathas (flat skillet bread). Our next door neighbor made the most delicious pooris (fried puffy bread) and different vegetables on a lot of religious holidays. Our upstairs neighbor's daughter made the best tomato chutney.
When I was 9 years old we traveled to England, and then Holland and Germany for about 3 months each. In Holland we were staying with a Dutch family who made Dutch food everyday. My mother was concerned for me that I might start acting up and missing food that I was used to after a couple of days when the novelty wore off.
That day never came. I looked forward to meal time everyday. Even the simplest meals that they ate daily were things that I had never seen in my entire life. But I loved it. I found nothing weird or strange.
Keep in mind this was the seventies when India, where I grew up was a very different India from today. We had almost no access to western media. Other than a couple of American or British movies I may have watched in my 9 years of life. I had no cookbooks nor had I ever seen a food magazine. I had no idea what a pot roast was, or a herring or gouda cheese. I had probably never even seen a chicken breast in my life since we always cut up the chicken to make curry.
In Germany while staying with my uncle and his Dutch wife I was first introduced to fondue. I just loved it. A concept that couldn't be more foreign to me-but I just loved it. I was thrilled to be sitting at the table with our special wooden plates in front of us with different sauces. There were a few mayonnaise based sauces and probably horseradish and mustard sauces. In the middle of the table was a pot of bubbling hot oil. I was instructed by my aunt to take a piece of the raw meat (probably beef or pork chunks) and carefully set it in the pot. Each skewer had a different colored top and that told us who it belonged to. I waited patiently while my meat cooked. I don't remember how I knew when it was cooked. I am sure my aunt showed me the first couple and then somehow I must have figured it out.
Then I removed the meat from the oil and dipped it in those delicious sauces and then ... heaven. The hot crunchy meat with the cool creamy sauces-couldn't be any more delicious.
As I write this I think of the average dinner table today with a 9 year old and 2 others (I had younger cousins - probably 6 and 4 at the time). Most parents today would freak out about hot oil on the dining table. And some may have an issue with deep fried meat - I don't know. All I know is that I learned so much from those type of dining experiences.
I learned about a totally new food - in fact a totally new concept of food.
I learned to be careful around hot oil.
With the presence of hot oil we were expected to behave a certain way, like no fidgeting and no sudden moves.
I think those are excellent life lessons that come in handy in a countless number of ways through out my adult life.
Also, none of us kids ever got preferential treatment or special food made for us in Germany, Holland or when I was back home in India.
Kid cuisine is such an American thing. And it is a terrible thing in my opinion. I may have answered the question I set out asking - what makes picky eaters?
One reason is too many options, or maybe not enough. Spaghetti, Chicken Fingers and French Fries? What's that? There are a million other foods that exist.
Too much drama around food. I've seen parents hold their breath, "Will Billy eat the peas? I am going to hide the carrots in the muffin."
I think that is ridiculous.
Growing up we had no kid food. And on most days we had no say in what was for dinner or what we got to take for school lunch. We all ate what was put in front of us.
And no, this didn't make us feel deprived, abused or un-loved.
On special occasions of course, we were asked what we wanted and then that made the treat all the more special.
I know I don't have kids, but I was one - once upon a time. And I grew up with plenty of cousins. I just didn't see parents getting all bent out of shape like they do today about what we would eat. We ate what was there.
I am grateful for that.
I am sure I was a tad unusual for liking new food as much as I did. But it was also the attitude that we were taught - and that is, that different people eat different foods. We should be thankful when we eat, and we eat what is put in front of us.
The nervous energy that parents display when it comes to feeding their kids today is picked up on by the child and manifests itself in all sorts of ways.
Just feed your kids what you are eating yourself - as long it isn't a bag of Doritos and a pint of ice cream.
What kind of food did you eat growing up?
Are you a picky eater or do you embrace most foods?
What approach do you take when feeding your kids?
Agree with me. Disagree with me. I don't mind.
Until I eat again!
I assume it starts from childhood.
I always loved to eat, and ate everything. I can't remember not liking anything new. Most of my childhood memories are based on food. I remember people through food. Like my aunt in Amritsar with whom I spent many summers - made the best parathas (flat skillet bread). Our next door neighbor made the most delicious pooris (fried puffy bread) and different vegetables on a lot of religious holidays. Our upstairs neighbor's daughter made the best tomato chutney.
When I was 9 years old we traveled to England, and then Holland and Germany for about 3 months each. In Holland we were staying with a Dutch family who made Dutch food everyday. My mother was concerned for me that I might start acting up and missing food that I was used to after a couple of days when the novelty wore off.
That day never came. I looked forward to meal time everyday. Even the simplest meals that they ate daily were things that I had never seen in my entire life. But I loved it. I found nothing weird or strange.
Keep in mind this was the seventies when India, where I grew up was a very different India from today. We had almost no access to western media. Other than a couple of American or British movies I may have watched in my 9 years of life. I had no cookbooks nor had I ever seen a food magazine. I had no idea what a pot roast was, or a herring or gouda cheese. I had probably never even seen a chicken breast in my life since we always cut up the chicken to make curry.
In Germany while staying with my uncle and his Dutch wife I was first introduced to fondue. I just loved it. A concept that couldn't be more foreign to me-but I just loved it. I was thrilled to be sitting at the table with our special wooden plates in front of us with different sauces. There were a few mayonnaise based sauces and probably horseradish and mustard sauces. In the middle of the table was a pot of bubbling hot oil. I was instructed by my aunt to take a piece of the raw meat (probably beef or pork chunks) and carefully set it in the pot. Each skewer had a different colored top and that told us who it belonged to. I waited patiently while my meat cooked. I don't remember how I knew when it was cooked. I am sure my aunt showed me the first couple and then somehow I must have figured it out.
Then I removed the meat from the oil and dipped it in those delicious sauces and then ... heaven. The hot crunchy meat with the cool creamy sauces-couldn't be any more delicious.
As I write this I think of the average dinner table today with a 9 year old and 2 others (I had younger cousins - probably 6 and 4 at the time). Most parents today would freak out about hot oil on the dining table. And some may have an issue with deep fried meat - I don't know. All I know is that I learned so much from those type of dining experiences.
I learned about a totally new food - in fact a totally new concept of food.
I learned to be careful around hot oil.
With the presence of hot oil we were expected to behave a certain way, like no fidgeting and no sudden moves.
I think those are excellent life lessons that come in handy in a countless number of ways through out my adult life.
Also, none of us kids ever got preferential treatment or special food made for us in Germany, Holland or when I was back home in India.
Kid cuisine is such an American thing. And it is a terrible thing in my opinion. I may have answered the question I set out asking - what makes picky eaters?
One reason is too many options, or maybe not enough. Spaghetti, Chicken Fingers and French Fries? What's that? There are a million other foods that exist.
Too much drama around food. I've seen parents hold their breath, "Will Billy eat the peas? I am going to hide the carrots in the muffin."
I think that is ridiculous.
Growing up we had no kid food. And on most days we had no say in what was for dinner or what we got to take for school lunch. We all ate what was put in front of us.
And no, this didn't make us feel deprived, abused or un-loved.
On special occasions of course, we were asked what we wanted and then that made the treat all the more special.
I know I don't have kids, but I was one - once upon a time. And I grew up with plenty of cousins. I just didn't see parents getting all bent out of shape like they do today about what we would eat. We ate what was there.
I am grateful for that.
I am sure I was a tad unusual for liking new food as much as I did. But it was also the attitude that we were taught - and that is, that different people eat different foods. We should be thankful when we eat, and we eat what is put in front of us.
The nervous energy that parents display when it comes to feeding their kids today is picked up on by the child and manifests itself in all sorts of ways.
Just feed your kids what you are eating yourself - as long it isn't a bag of Doritos and a pint of ice cream.
What kind of food did you eat growing up?
Are you a picky eater or do you embrace most foods?
What approach do you take when feeding your kids?
Agree with me. Disagree with me. I don't mind.
Until I eat again!
December 4, 2008
Last Post This Year about Thanksgiving - I Promise
By now all are aware of my love of Thanksgiving.
After the day is over and all the dishes are washed and the guests have gone home … what I enjoy most are leftovers!
Ah! Just thinking of them right now is making me hungry.
They are best enjoyed on the couch watching my favorite show – Law and Order Criminal Intent maybe and preferably all alone.
Everything tastes so much better since all the flavors have married with each other and really bloom on the plate.
Maybe not too many points on visuals but the taste. Ah the taste.
The stuffing has had a chance to absorb more flavor; the gravy is richer and darker - oozing with the essence of pure turkey; and the mashed potatoes – oh the mashed potatoes. The roasted garlic has permeated each and every cell of the potato and become more garlicky – but not a in your face harsh garlic flavor. Instead, a smooth luscious flavor that envelopes you like a warm blanket.
Okay, I’m done. Sorry if I was too corny for your liking (I know I was too corny for my liking), but I promise there will be no such talk until November 2009.
I promised there would be no more Thanksgiving posts but I didn’t promise that this would be a short post.
I just wanted to share my uncooked turkey. A thing of beauty. Or is it beauty only a mother could love? I don't know.
{I realize it is sideways-but I couldn't straighten it ... technology is still hit or miss for me}
The holding area pre-feast.
I show you this to tell you that don’t be like most New Yorkers who complain that they have tiny kitchens.
My advice:
Be organized. Be very organized.
Use rooms other than the kitchen.
Pre prep as many things as you can; trust me, even with all the preparation – things will get hairy when the guests are hungry and surrounding the kitchen looking for things to eat.
I think Martha (Stewart for the rest of you) has created a bit of a delusion in some of us. She used to talk about throwing an omelet party or a pasta party where your guests pick their fillings and you prepare your guests’ desires to order.
Unless you live in one of Martha’s houses- just stick to pre-prepping and preplanning.
Okay, I am done.
I am ready to put Thanksgiving to rest.
Since I promised no more Turkey Talk this year - some parting shots.
Checking if the drippings are good and not burning.
Mmmm, So good, so delicious!
Until I eat again!
After the day is over and all the dishes are washed and the guests have gone home … what I enjoy most are leftovers!
Ah! Just thinking of them right now is making me hungry.
They are best enjoyed on the couch watching my favorite show – Law and Order Criminal Intent maybe and preferably all alone.
Everything tastes so much better since all the flavors have married with each other and really bloom on the plate.
Maybe not too many points on visuals but the taste. Ah the taste.
The stuffing has had a chance to absorb more flavor; the gravy is richer and darker - oozing with the essence of pure turkey; and the mashed potatoes – oh the mashed potatoes. The roasted garlic has permeated each and every cell of the potato and become more garlicky – but not a in your face harsh garlic flavor. Instead, a smooth luscious flavor that envelopes you like a warm blanket.
Okay, I’m done. Sorry if I was too corny for your liking (I know I was too corny for my liking), but I promise there will be no such talk until November 2009.
I promised there would be no more Thanksgiving posts but I didn’t promise that this would be a short post.
I just wanted to share my uncooked turkey. A thing of beauty. Or is it beauty only a mother could love? I don't know.
{I realize it is sideways-but I couldn't straighten it ... technology is still hit or miss for me}
The holding area pre-feast.
I show you this to tell you that don’t be like most New Yorkers who complain that they have tiny kitchens.
My advice:
Be organized. Be very organized.
Use rooms other than the kitchen.
Pre prep as many things as you can; trust me, even with all the preparation – things will get hairy when the guests are hungry and surrounding the kitchen looking for things to eat.
I think Martha (Stewart for the rest of you) has created a bit of a delusion in some of us. She used to talk about throwing an omelet party or a pasta party where your guests pick their fillings and you prepare your guests’ desires to order.
Unless you live in one of Martha’s houses- just stick to pre-prepping and preplanning.
Okay, I am done.
I am ready to put Thanksgiving to rest.
Since I promised no more Turkey Talk this year - some parting shots.
Checking if the drippings are good and not burning.
Mmmm, So good, so delicious!
Until I eat again!
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