Lazy Luddite Log

6.6.06

A Day In The Food Of...

As someone in his 30s I now give more consideration to what I eat than I once did. Back in the day I could have Hungry Jacks for lunch and Red Rooster for dinner and feel just fine. Now if I do the same thing I am left feeling somehow queezy. More generally I have become aware of all the calls in the media and mass culture for us to live more healthy lives. I only go some of the way to answering that call.

I lack the patience to monitor the calloric content or nutritional value of what I eat. I simply cannot be bothered. What I do try to do is observe some basic criteria in selecting food. These criteria include variety and what follows is a description of what I eat in a standard day. Of course there is no such thing as a standard day but I have deliberately chosen a work day because the routines of a working day impose patterns onto other behaviours during such a day.

Breakfast: A bowl of muesli that is mostly oats but also has any or all of linseed, sunflower seed, almond, coconut, and sultana. This is partly submerged in soy milk (I honestly like some brands of this stuff). I also have a glass of orange juice on the side (I like it pulpy).

Morning Tea: 250ml of iced coffee flavoured milk (gotta have it).

Lunch: Four slices of toasted rye. One slice I have just with butter to savour that fantastic toasted rye taste. On the other slices I have Vegemite, Philadelphia light cream cheese, and peanut butter (salt-free sugar-free smooth - I have to be the only person in the world that likes smooth). I also have a mini-tub of apple puree and a glass of water (I drink water at other times if thirsty).

Afternoon Tea: 250ml of iced coffee flavoured milk
(still gotta have it).

Dinner: A plate of kangaroo and macadamia stir fry on a bed of risoni (which is wheat pasta made to look like rice) with any or all of minced garlic, capsicum, carrot, baby corn, button mushrooms, bamboo shoots, sundried tomatos, pinenuts and chives. With this I have a glass of Bickfords lime cordial.

Notice how variety comes into play with me having a different kind of grain at each meal and so on. I think it is a pretty decent mix but as it is only a standard day there is a lot that is hidden from this inventory.

I am lucky in that aspects of my life have forced healthy behaviours on me. As a public-transport using suburbanite I walk a lot every day (the weekly swim is more done to maintain that skill than to make me fit). I am also lucky to have a metabolism that keeps me relatively slim (the customary slowing of my metabolism in the late 20s has turned a thin person into a merely slimish one). However as that metabolism slows further I will have to make changes. Will I have to exercise more? If so I hope I can find ways that are passingly interesting (maybe more swimming). Will I have to cut back on food? All the things I have listed (and many other things besides) are just so nice! Now I'm feeling hungry...

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3 Comments:

  • Four slices of toast for lunch! I don't know how you stay slim :)

    I tend to assume that if I keep a fair level of variety, a good proportion of fruit and vegetables, and a decent amount of fresh non-processed food, that will be "good enough". My big problem is overeating, not *what* I eat - it helps to not have much of a sweet tooth.

    I do like sugar-free Peanut Butter, but (a) I'd like it Crunchy, (b) I'd really like it with emulsifiers, so it isn't so oily, and (c) I would like a little salt. Unfortunately this combination seems completely unavailable these days, it's a struggle to find one without sugar. Sigh.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At 06 June, 2006  

  • Mmmmm - your post makes me hungry too!

    I think you are eating very well from what I've learned about portions and nutrition lately. And if you find your weight is fairly naturally stable, then you're listening to your body and eating what is right for you.

    I'm waiting for the day when I can stop 'counting calories' (points in my weight watchers case) and just know what's right - but then I accept that that may never happen, at the moment I need that check & balance to see that I'm on track.

    If there's one thing I've definately learned though, it's all about portions. I think I just don't have that 'you're full you've had enough now' signal working - I now eat about 1/4 to a 1/3 of what I used to have in a portion for dinner.

    I agree too that variety is key - if you eats lots of small amounts of varied foods you feel a lot more full and satified that a large amount of one.

    Mmmm...I soooo need to buy some rye bread this week...

    By Blogger WaffleGirl, At 09 June, 2006  

  • To Korny

    Two slices would only be a snack while lunch is a meal and deserves more. I can do six slices but have been telling myself that four is as nice as six...

    I am with you on having emulsifier in peanut butter - one of my other criteria is 'convenience'!

    Like pretty much everyone I have issues with getting sufficient vegetables. I have to actively look for ways of getting them in a way I will enjoy. As for the portions thing - I tend to graze (on non-work days moreso) so have small portions but several of them.

    I could do a whole separate entry ranting about difficult-to-find products. So many things seem to get discontinued once I become a regular buyer of them!

    To Melinda

    I am 6'4" and waver between 92kg and 96kg (sorry for mixing Imperial with Metric). Apparently this puts me just within the upper part of the 'healthy' range in Body Mass Index (I understand however that BMI is overly simplistic as a health indicator).

    I am impressed by anyone who can keep a ledger of the energy they consume and expend (basically you are 'budgeting' but with energy rather than money) and make it work (for that matter I am impressed with anyone who can budget but that is another story...).

    I have a tendency to have bigger portions if they are there for the taking. It makes sense for ones appitite to work that way. If food is good for you (which it is) then it can make sense to (mistakenly) think more food is better. One thing that makes addiction to food different from other addictions is this: You need food to live so you cannot ever go 'cold turkey'.

    Luckily I am also 'addicted' to walking and that brings me to another thing - weather: One is likely to get bigger during winter coz of fewer chances to exercise and more of an inclination to stay indoors and have 'comfort food'.

    Just one more thing - rye bread rules!

    By Blogger Dan, At 13 June, 2006  

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