Living with a calorie counter
Living with a calorie counter
It may be that time of year again when strange things start happening to your fridge. What with New Year resolutions and all, suddenly you find strange, tropical fruits like blueberries instead of your custard treat, or maybe a strange bottle of carrot and wheatgrass juice where the coke bottle used to be. If for some reason you can't find your instant mac-and-cheese, now it's frozen beans. That and the fact that there is no sign of your chocolate-coated cereal flakes. Something is off. Someone's been repopulating your kitchen, and it's not you.
Whether it is your parents, siblings or roommates you find that when it comes to dieting, it seems like you're in this entire movement — whether you like it or not. With no choice in the matter, how are you going to continue to enjoy your own lifestyle and live peacefully with dieters without seeming unsupportive of what they are trying to achieve?
Tried and tested, follow our advice on how to cope with the immersion of loved ones into this new faith.
- Under no circumstances should you ask how the diet is going. If it is going well, proof will be provided in the continued, almost religious absence of any of the above-mentioned food products.
- If the dieter asks how they are looking, always reply first "healthy" and then, if pressed, "amazingly well". Don't be specific and start pointing at slimmer areas and the ones that still need improving. After all, getting it wrong and sending the dieter into depression is hopefully not what you want to achieve.
- Eat whatever they are eating whenever it is offered up. Even if you follow different dietary requirements and taste, there must be some common ground, from that small grilled potato to that pot of roast chicken (minus the buttery additions and gravy). Even food is an important part of maintaining relationships with family and friends and it needs work and sacrifice.
- Never point out if they've fallen off the dieting wagon. Offering some of your chocolate stash is not the most supportive thing you can do. Neither is obtrusively insisting they get back on the diet. Pretend not to notice and only give a moral boost when asked.
- Last and best, do your research! Find out the one treat they are allowed on their diet and when they can have it and surprise them with it. This will show that: you are committed to their new lifestyle, and you know that the lifestyle can be difficult, so a taste of something delectable may be just the right encouragement for the tough dieting days ahead.
We love ... Remedies for the flu
Changes in weather are never helpful when it comes to keeping us flu free. So if the bug has managed to catch up with you then find relief in a mug of boiling water mixed with lots of lemon juice (for its Vitamin C) and honey. This mix will clear up your nostrils and have your vocals operatic once more. For a nutrient-filled snack that'll zap energy back into you go for that good 'ol chicken soup your granny and mum love to cook and add some garlic to it.
We recommend: Bacalhau (Portuguese cod)
1 lb salt cod
5 to 6 large potatoes
2 large onions, sliced
1 green peppers, sliced into thin strips
3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
black olives
4 cloves of garlic
pepper, to taste
2 tbsp parsley, chopped finely (if fresh)
1 tbsp vinegar
Step 1: Soak cod overnight, and then boil the next day in unsalted water for 15 minutes.
Step 2: Flake fish and set aside.
Step 3: Boil potatoes, slice and set aside, then slice onion, peppers, crush garlic and sauté in olive oil.
Step 4: In large casserole add a layer as follows, potatoes, then fish, sliced hard-eggs, onion, peppers and garlic.
Step 5: Sprinkle olives and parsley.
Step 6: Pour olive oil over the entire casserole.
Step 7: Then cover and bake at 350 degrees F for a 1/2 hour in a three quarter casserole dish.
The writer is an International Student Correspondent for Notes, studying at the University of Sydney, Australia
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