Rebecca's Table

Is Slow Food a Movement?

Rebecca — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:41:30 +0000

Slow Food is just a term for eating and savoring whole fresh foods. It originated in Italy and was in response to the growing presence of American fast food there. Today, we’re all used to getting things quickly, and telling someone that they should invest more time thinking about how they eat is not something that they want to hear. What to do? I think making fresh food more easily available, consider its cost, and get people to try to cook and eat new things might be the way. Its a tall order to fill.

No Carbs for Now?

Rebecca — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:42:26 +0000

I’m following a low carb (meaning bread, rice, pasta, potatoes) for the next two weeks. I’m on day 2 and no complaints. Although I know I’m going to get tired of eating eggs for breakfast everyday. After the two weeks are up I will add some whole grains and fruit. But still keeping it minimal. I have followed this eating style before and lost a few pounds. But today I was thinking about Asian and Italian diets that are heavy on rice and pasta with small amounts of protein. These diets are very healthy and both my sweetie and I lost alot of weight when we spent months in China and Italy respectfully. So maybe I should just follow one of the cultural diets instead of the low carb thing to lose a few pounds.

What do you do when you need lose a few pounds?

Extra Few Pounds

Rebecca — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:24:04 +0000

As I was getting dressed yesterday I put on a pair of pants and they felt tighter than usual. It seems that over the last month I have gained a few extra pounds. Nothing really noticeable except to me. I have also started working out this past month, and am addicted to yoga. I do yoga and pilates 3-4 times a week. Anyway, I’ve decided to be super vigilant about what and how much I eat in order to lose about 5 lbs… maybe 10. This blog will help me keep track of what I eat. Although I’m not a calorie-counting, weighing-myself-everyday type of person, I do want to maintain a certain weight.

Hiding Small Sizes

Rebecca — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:27:48 +0000

I have slowly learned that various food/drink companies, such as Starbucks, Jamba Juice, and Häagen Dazs, have smaller sizes available, but don’t advertise them. Why would they do this? Money, basically. The cost of the cup and employee’s time is roughly the same regardless of the size, so the company is making alot more profit by selling us the larger size – even if you don’t realize its a larger size. But this all leads to eating or drinking larger portions, too. So I make it a point to ask if there is a smaller size then the one being advertised or displayed. At Starbucks I almost always order a ‘short’ instead of the ‘tall’ size. At Jamba Juice there is a 12 ounce, but its not considered the ‘small,’ which is actually the 16 ounce. And at Häagen Dazs, the regular (or small) has 3 scoops of ice cream, but there is smaller size available if you know to ask.

Eating in a New Location

Rebecca — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:06:39 +0000

After taking a short break from the blogging world… I’m back. I recently moved to a new city and stared a new job. Food and healthy eating are always on my mind, and I have somethings I have been wanting to write about, which I will do over the coming weeks. Something the recently caught my attention was the sudden death of Tim Russet and the aftermath of articles about heart disease. His death makes me even more certain about how eating can change our lives. With all the strides being made in medicine, it is not an exact science. Eating whole healthy foods, and maintaining a healthy weight are still and will always be necessary.

Has your health ever been affected, in a positive or negative way, by what you eat?

Food Trainer

Rebecca — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:36:15 +0000

Have you heard about people paying money for someone to teach them how to shop for healthy fresh foods? They go with you to the supermarket and explain things, and I think give suggestions on how to cook things too. I think more than anything it shows what a sad state food and eating are. In the past we all just followed the advice of our mothers and how we were raised eating. If any of you feel lost when going to the supermarket, there is a book that can help called What to Eat by Marion Nestle (no relation to the Nestle company). It also explains how supermarkets make a profit, and what that could mean for your health.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by all the choices at the supermarket. Do you?

Food with a Dash of Politics

Rebecca — Thu, 01 May 2008 04:33:16 +0000

I never thought how you eat could have anything to do with politics, but as I learn more and more about how we eat here in the US I’m beginning to see things through a political slant. Now this city girl is suddenly interested in the farm bill! Maybe some of you already realize this, but how our government decides to fund crops and farmers, and assist food corporations has a huge effect on what’s in the supermarket, how much it costs, and what ends up on our plate. Its so easy not to think about where your food comes from, but once you know, you can’t turn away.

Do you ever think about the food you eat?

Make it Healthy

Rebecca — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:19:45 +0000

This “Make it Healthy” installment is the hero. I love a good hero, and this one has lots of meat. It makes me hungry just looking at it. But its probably not the healthiest thing to eat.

How would you make this healthy?

Pollan’s Food Fight

Rebecca — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:13:55 +0000

I’m currently reading, and almost finished, Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. Everyone should read this book. It goes into detail about the food industry, and food politics in the US and how that all effects what we eat. At the end there is also, what he calls ‘eating algarithims’ – guidelines, not rules, about how we should eat. He talks a lot about the Western Diet, which is something I posted about not to long ago. But I called it eating like an American.

Big Apple Counts Calories

Rebecca — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 01:59:19 +0000

NYC is now requiring national food chains to list total calories for all food items. Read article here. The state Restaurant Association filed a lawsuit to stop it, but to no avail. I don’t really frequent many chain food places, except Starbucks, and the McD’s once on-a-blue-moon if you read my post a few weeks ago. I wonder if it will really change what people decide to eat. When I went to Starbucks I saw the apple tart was 100 calories, plus it has fresh fruit – so that’s what I got and it was good.

Will it change what you choose to eat?