Food :|

Back after a hiatus.. sometimes you get the niggling doubt at the back of your mind that God is simply being stubborn and wants you to listen to him RIGHT NOW! Which is why I spent the better part of this week clutching my stomach in pain. As it turned out, the pain seemed to be emanating from the right side and I had to visit my friendly doctor with whom I’ve gotten to be on first name terms these days.

Now, there’s an important lesson to be learned before you visit the University health center – No matter what your problem is, be prepared to answer these three questions:

“Are you pregnant?”

“When was your last sexual encounter?”

“How sexually active are you?”

I’m not kidding. I had gone a month earlier for a shoulder muscle pull and was made to fill out a questionnaire. My roommate had gone for a dental checkup and was interrogated the same way. Jesus, what’s with the paranoia, people?!

Anyway, I digress. Let me continue with the ONE subject that started all this.. food. As it turns out, my lesson no. 1 in the last post isn’t quite working as well as I’d thought. The equation is ridiculously skewed if the food is free and you have to spend 40 bucks later on tests and doctor’s fees. *groan*

However, let me go ahead.

Lesson no. 2(Ignore lesson no.1 in previous post): They all have nutrition labels.

Everything has a nutrition label, unlike back home. You can make out exactly what kind of trash you are eating, which is good, because words like ‘high fructose corn syrup’ and ‘trans fats’ will make themselves blindingly clear when you read them. Avoid these edibles at all costs – I won’t tell you why right now because there are like a zillion pages on corn syrup alone.

Lesson no. 3: Juices versus fruits. Go for the fruit.

Juices have preservatives. Fruit has fiber. Juices are costly. So is fruit. Juices will just satisfy your thirst (probably). Fruit will keep you fulfilled. I mean, not fulfilled in the ‘I’m content with life’ way but at least a ‘I’m satiated’ solution to an ever-demanding metabolism.

Lesson no. 4: Bread! Brown, whole wheat, honey..

When you see those super-sized Americans on TV or those size 20 clothes, you’ve got to be wondering what they eat, right? Well, wonder of wonders.. it’s that inane piece of bread. It’s eaten with everything, in every way possible. Rolls, wraps, sandwiches, slices, pizzas… everything you eat is bread! So the watch word is – ‘Watch Out!’.

Lesson no. 5: Fillings! Hummus, peanut butter, Chicken salad, eggs..

Believe it or not, one serving of peanut butter a day is recommended. Hummus and vegan chicken salad are excellent alternatives for vegetarians. But you wouldn’t want to be looking quizzically at the scale wondering why you put on.. it’s most likely they added a generous dollop of margarine or mayo. There. That’s your mysterious nemesis.

I guess I could go on forever.. let me stop short now and write on something else… or maybe grab a bite from the refrigerator.