BBC theme – Hunger
First posted 3rd Feb 2012
Rare roast beef, mushrooms stuffed with goats cheese, rack of lamb, lemon drizzle cake, Asian cabbage salad, sesame seeds, Brazil nuts, banana loaf and mint chocolate. The list of my favourite foods could go on, thinking about food and cooking is something that takes up a large percentage of my time.
I am, like many, on a New Year diet. Although I did not binge eat or drink this Christmas and New Year, I have a need to loose a few pounds and eat more healthily. It is going really well so far, I am learning to accept hunger as not such a bad thing. No longer does the panic set in when I feel my stomach rumbling.
I do like to know where my next meal is coming from, but I am now happier than ever to miss a meal, it’s not going kill me, yes I might be hungry but I am not starving.
There are a few rules I’ve set myself. Less crisps, snacks and biscuits. More protein, less carbs. More soup, less stodge.
I love carbohydrates, they are my absolute weakness. Crisps, chips, jackets, rice, pasta, all delicious. I am surprised that after a meal with reduced carbohydrates I do feel less satisfied in the immediate aftermath, I am in fact no more hungry over time.
This pleases me and I think I have learnt a few things about my physical self over the last month. I may or may not have lost a few pounds, but I have definitely eaten less and exercised more, and it feels good.
Obesity is a buzz word at the moment, and I believe it is only going to get worse before it gets better. We eat too much, but this isn’t the only problem. We eat too much of the wrong stuff.
Too much mass produced salt laden (delicious) convenience foods. There are arguments for their lower prices and their ease of delivery. But they are all part of a culture of mass production and the inevitable mass consumption and they lead to a massive population.
I’ve never really been a fan of fast food, the big three, Mc Donalds, Burger King and KFC have admittedly all had their place in my life, but I think that I have had enough. I hadn’t eaten McDonalds for around 12 years until recently and I don’t think that I will be trying it again for at least another 12 years.
The Burger King has had it’s chance and I have been so disappointed with their performance that I no longer wish to eat their foods. Now, KFC is another matter, when the others fell about I could always rely on the Colonel. But even the allure of the chicken has diminished!
I think the fact that I can cook means that I have less tolerance for crap food. Cooking KFC style chicken in the oven with no added fat and little or no salt is easy and relatively healthy, especially compared with the ‘real thing’. I think that lots of people are scared of cooking, and the initial outlay for unfamiliar store cupboard ingredients could deter people from getting stuck in. I cannot recommend cooking and baking highly enough. Before learning to cook properly I ate fussily, avoiding vegetables and flavours that I was unaccustomed too.
But cooking, and shopping to cook helped me to learn what was cheap to buy (lentils, pulses and vegetables) and I think in the last 12 years since I left home I’ve only cooked 2 things that really were inedible. Quite good really considering mostly I’ve made things up as I went along, and learnt most of my skills from Ready, Steady, Cook (Thanks Ainsley).
Don’t get me wrong, I am still a fussy eater. I despise Cucumber, Celery and Coriander. I dislike smoked fish and I have a slight intolerance to dairy produce, so I avoid cheese, milk and butter whenever I can. Cooking for me is a bit of a pain because of this last one, but I do now eat and enjoy almost everything that is put in front of me. Not something that could have been said aged 18.
I thank my family, who like to cook and I thank the crazy notion I had in 2nd year of university that I would become a vegetarian. Not because of the fluffy animals and the important issues of animal welfare, but because I couldn’t afford good quality meat. It made me more creative and less fussy and I learnt how to use a lot of herbs and spices, pulses and vegetables. I still enjoy vegetarian food, and I think I shall aim to eat a lot less meat over the next few months.
Strangely I do now enjoy being hungry, I prefer to eat when I am actually hungry. The food tastes better. It’s a bit like the feeling of having a shower when you are actually really dirty. A day at the allotment, a game of football, or a day out hiking in the sunshine is really lovely, but the best part for me is the hot cleansing shower afterwards and the same goes for a really nice meal. I appreciate and enjoy it more if I am actually quite hungry, exercising is the perfect accompaniment to eating. Not only does it make you hungry it also burns off the calories of over indulging.
Let us not forget that there are millions of people in the world that are actually very hungry, in fact they are starving. This shouldn’t put us off our food, but it should put our consumption into perspective. We eat too much, and we eat too much of the wrong thing.
Next time I reach for the Pringles, I’ll consider a carrot, apple or a Brazil nut instead.
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EasterlyMoves 