Good Food/Bad Food What's Left to EatWritten by Kathryn Martyn, M.NLP
What's Good Today is Bad Tomorrow: What Can I Eat?We've entered Twilight Zone when it comes to multitude of diets being promoted today. Starting with Atkins Diet, then South Beach Diet, now Hamptons Diet and more. All higher in protein, lower in carbs, but distinction should be quality of carbs, not singling out one nutrient entirely. If you are on Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet or any other variation of a high protein/low carb diet simply adjust from eating low quality carbs like refined flour and sugar products (think if it comes in a box, it's likely low quality) to eating more whole food products like fresh vegetables and fruits - yes fruits. Apples vs. Apple Jacks - You be Judge I know traditional Atkins Diet doesn't advocate much fruit (too high sugar) but think about that for one minute. My strong belief is that an apple is a good food, a bowl of Apple Jacks cereal may not be on an equal level. One is highly processed sweetened by added white sugar and corn syrup, and one is natural, plucked from a tree and sweetened by sun. Which would you choose? Don't shun fresh fruit for sake of following your low carb diet to letter. Eliminating healthy, wholesome foods is not best way to learn to eat better, but severely cutting back on frequency of eating highly processed foods is. I saw a site which called it GM or MM: God Made or Man Made. If you think of those terms when you go to choose your foods, it starts to make more sense. No one says you shouldn't eat chips, or whatever strikes your fancy, but make them a treat - and eat GM foods more often. Common Sense Diet Common sense will answer question about what to eat. If you are on Atkins, South Beach or any variation of low carb diet, avoid processed foods, not natural foods. Stop using "instant" breakfast, and cook whole rolled oats for instance. Sure you might have to get up 10 minutes earlier, oh well. You're worth it! You can still stay on a higher protein food plan, but this one minor adjustment will allow you to continue with your eating plan for a lifetime, rather than a short-time. I'd go insane if I couldn't eat my daily apple, banana or other fruit. I love fruit. I think there's a very good reason humans desire sweet foods - Vitamin C, and other nutrients, including bio-flavnoids.
| | The History of Thai FoodWritten by Andrew Hall
Thai food is famous all over world. Whether chilli-hot or comparatively bland, harmony and contrast are guiding principles behind each dish. Thai cuisine is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai. Characteristics of Thai food depend on who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked. Dishes can be refined and adjusted to suit all tastes.The 'Tai' people migrated from valley settlements in mountainous region of Southwest China (now Yunnan province) between sixth and thirteenth centuries, into what is now known as Thailand, Laos, Shan States of upper Burma, and northwest Vietnam. Influenced by Chinese cooking techniques, Thai cuisine flourished with rich biodiversity of Thai peninsula. As a result, Thai dishes today have some similarities to Szechwan Chinese dishes. Originally, Thai cooking reflected characteristics of a waterborne lifestyle. Aquatic animals, plant and herbs were major ingredients. Subsequent influences introduced use of sizeable chunks to Thai cooking. With their Buddhist background, Thais shunned use of large animals in big chunks. Big cuts of meat were shredded and blended with herbs and spices. Traditional Thai cooking methods were stewing and baking, or grilling. Chinese influences saw introduction of frying, stir-frying and deep-frying. Culinary influences from 17th century onwards included Portuguese, Dutch, French and Japanese techniques. Chillies were introduced to Thai cooking during late 1600s by Portuguese missionaries who had acquired a taste for them while serving in South America. Thais were very adapt at adapting foreign cooking methods, and substituting ingredients. The ghee used in Indian cooking was replaced by coconut oil, and coconut milk substituted for other dairy products.
|
