Well, today is Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake (Tues-)Day if you're British. This means that people will eat ridiculous amounts of food and consume even more ridiculous amounts of alcohol today, at least around here.
Me, I'll use it as an excuse to eat up as much of the sugary stuff left in my cupboards as I can, which probably won't be all that much in the end, but let's see.
Breakfast:
1 large cup of Yogi Tea Chocolate
2 slices of bread with butter and this stuff (S)
"Lunch":
1 small latte (regular milk, because I really should talk more loudly I suppose :P)
1 ciabatta with goat cheese, bell pepper, watercress and red pesto (S?)
"Dinner":
3 large beer (...)
1 large hot dog with onions and barbecue sauce (S?)
So, not very sweet after all. Not very healthy either, but I never expected that today, anyway. I assume some sugar in the added condiments with my food, but not sure about that.
Now, tomorrow will be interesting again. More effort in eating healthy stuff. Yay!
Dienstag, Februar 21, 2012
Montag, Februar 20, 2012
Week 1, Day 1
I just decided to write down a food diary for these weeks. I have, on several occasions, tried this with a little book that I always carry with me, but I never manage to keep it up for very long. Maybe doing this every day and openly and for a limited period of time will work better.
So, today I had*:
1 large cup of Earl Grey
1 big bowl of porridge (oat milk+oats), with some berries (S), maple syrup (S) and linseed
2 handfulls of small tomatoes
1 cup of yoghurt with herbs
2 hard eggs
and then dinner which was potato salad with mayonnaise (S) and mustard (S), field salad with some poppy seed oil, and some chicken nuggets (S).
Also, I'm just about to make a huge cup of hot chocolate (S), to use up some leftovers (ie. to get rid of sweet things still in the house).
[Edit: I forgot...also about five corn/maize crackers.]
See where the sugar (S) is hiding? Some of these are quite obvious (berries, maple syrup, hot chocolate), some I suspected (mayonnaise, mustard), but what really annoyed me was that there's sugar in the chicken nuggets. Guess I really need to be careful about these convenience foods...anything breaded etc.
While at the grocery store, I also checked some snacks, and soy milk...roasted nuts with added sugar, sugar in the soy milk...
This is going to be interesting, challenging, enlightening. And fun, I guess. :)
*I don't always eat like this, but I slept in today and only went grocery shopping in the evening, so I had to make do with what was still left over from before my one-week-holiday away.
So, today I had*:
1 large cup of Earl Grey
1 big bowl of porridge (oat milk+oats), with some berries (S), maple syrup (S) and linseed
2 handfulls of small tomatoes
1 cup of yoghurt with herbs
2 hard eggs
and then dinner which was potato salad with mayonnaise (S) and mustard (S), field salad with some poppy seed oil, and some chicken nuggets (S).
Also, I'm just about to make a huge cup of hot chocolate (S), to use up some leftovers (ie. to get rid of sweet things still in the house).
[Edit: I forgot...also about five corn/maize crackers.]
See where the sugar (S) is hiding? Some of these are quite obvious (berries, maple syrup, hot chocolate), some I suspected (mayonnaise, mustard), but what really annoyed me was that there's sugar in the chicken nuggets. Guess I really need to be careful about these convenience foods...anything breaded etc.
While at the grocery store, I also checked some snacks, and soy milk...roasted nuts with added sugar, sugar in the soy milk...
This is going to be interesting, challenging, enlightening. And fun, I guess. :)
*I don't always eat like this, but I slept in today and only went grocery shopping in the evening, so I had to make do with what was still left over from before my one-week-holiday away.
Lent
Come Wednesday, Lent starts again. Last year, around this time, I fasted for around a week or so, drinking a lot of tea and juice and only eating rice and steamed veggies. It was...interesting (food never smells better than when you're not eating most of it), but I doubt whether it had a lasting effect on the way I eat, or my health. This year, I'd like to try something different - reducing and then ceasing my sugar intake for several weeks.
The way I reached this decision was one of those internet things again. There are a lot of blogs whose feed I receive, a long list in my Google Reader. There are some that I read regularly, but most, I just sometimes check them out. In this case, two weeks ago, late at night, working on a project but needing to take a break, I randomly clicked on one, and found that the author had dramatically reduced her sugar intake around this time last year, and had only good things to say about it.
This clicked with my dislike for any kind of dependency. I don't smoke, I don't drink much, I have problems accepting help because I think I should be able to do everything by myself, that kind of stuff. But I know I have this thing about sugar. And it's been annoying me for years.
So...this week should be week one, where I aim to reduce my intake. Which will probably only properly start on Wednesday, what with the festivities until then, plus the remaining sweet things in the house which need to be gotten rid of. So, two more days with lots of hot chocolate (and some of these, I guess), and then...reducing.
The way I reached this decision was one of those internet things again. There are a lot of blogs whose feed I receive, a long list in my Google Reader. There are some that I read regularly, but most, I just sometimes check them out. In this case, two weeks ago, late at night, working on a project but needing to take a break, I randomly clicked on one, and found that the author had dramatically reduced her sugar intake around this time last year, and had only good things to say about it.
This clicked with my dislike for any kind of dependency. I don't smoke, I don't drink much, I have problems accepting help because I think I should be able to do everything by myself, that kind of stuff. But I know I have this thing about sugar. And it's been annoying me for years.
So...this week should be week one, where I aim to reduce my intake. Which will probably only properly start on Wednesday, what with the festivities until then, plus the remaining sweet things in the house which need to be gotten rid of. So, two more days with lots of hot chocolate (and some of these, I guess), and then...reducing.
Dienstag, Jänner 31, 2012
Braving MTBR*
Last year, I didn't read all that much. This may not seem like a big problem, a lot of people don't read all that much. However, I'm not only a student of literary studies, I'm also the owner of many, many, MANY unread books, some of them my own, some of them obtained via Bookcrossing (and therefore longing to be on the road again). Plus, I really like reading. The other two things wouldn't have happened if that wasn't the case.
I know what held me up last year - Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn-tetralogy. I'd been promising my boyfriend that I'd read these books for more than three years, since they are amongst his favourites. However - I am no longer 16, I have read a lot of non-Fantasy since I was 16, AND it was a German translation which was obviously not done very well (you know it's bad when you read the German text and KNOW that something is wrong). I had huge problems getting into the story, and had marvellous rants about how this and that annoyed me about said book every time I finished one. My boyfriend alerted me to the fact that, if I didn't like it, I didn't really need to finish reading them all, but I was determined.
It took me from March until December. 3513 pages (I just checked). It sounds so much, but I know it could have gone much, much faster.
Anyway, most of my year was taken up by this endeavour. Which means I've maybe read about 10 books in 2011. And that IS a big problem, at least to me.
Accordingly, this year, I've got a reading resolution. One book per week, or 52 books by the end of the year. Single mangas don't count if I've read them before (I might count new ones, or at least make a separate list for them). Secondary reading for my PhD doesn't count, non-fiction books read in other contexts (I don't want to write 'for fun' since that would imply my PhD isn't) do.
This is the beginning of week five, and yes, I've read four books so far - the four Tiffany Aching novels by Terry Pratchett. I'd only read The Wee Free Men, back when it came out, and the follow-ups have led a sad and ignored life until now (except for when my boyfriend read them, resulting in him having read more Pratchett than me, which was, frankly, ridiculous). I've read them now, enjoyed them, learned from them. They have been an excellent start into this new year.
I'm currently reading The Heart of Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh (setting me straight about some of my beliefs about what Buddhism teaches), and will, I think, soon start on The English Patient (which I've read before, but will read again for an exam, and because it's good).
My parentheses are also still going strong. Hah.
*Mount To Be Read. Hey, listen.
I know what held me up last year - Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn-tetralogy. I'd been promising my boyfriend that I'd read these books for more than three years, since they are amongst his favourites. However - I am no longer 16, I have read a lot of non-Fantasy since I was 16, AND it was a German translation which was obviously not done very well (you know it's bad when you read the German text and KNOW that something is wrong). I had huge problems getting into the story, and had marvellous rants about how this and that annoyed me about said book every time I finished one. My boyfriend alerted me to the fact that, if I didn't like it, I didn't really need to finish reading them all, but I was determined.
It took me from March until December. 3513 pages (I just checked). It sounds so much, but I know it could have gone much, much faster.
Anyway, most of my year was taken up by this endeavour. Which means I've maybe read about 10 books in 2011. And that IS a big problem, at least to me.
Accordingly, this year, I've got a reading resolution. One book per week, or 52 books by the end of the year. Single mangas don't count if I've read them before (I might count new ones, or at least make a separate list for them). Secondary reading for my PhD doesn't count, non-fiction books read in other contexts (I don't want to write 'for fun' since that would imply my PhD isn't) do.
This is the beginning of week five, and yes, I've read four books so far - the four Tiffany Aching novels by Terry Pratchett. I'd only read The Wee Free Men, back when it came out, and the follow-ups have led a sad and ignored life until now (except for when my boyfriend read them, resulting in him having read more Pratchett than me, which was, frankly, ridiculous). I've read them now, enjoyed them, learned from them. They have been an excellent start into this new year.
I'm currently reading The Heart of Buddha's Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh (setting me straight about some of my beliefs about what Buddhism teaches), and will, I think, soon start on The English Patient (which I've read before, but will read again for an exam, and because it's good).
My parentheses are also still going strong. Hah.
*Mount To Be Read. Hey, listen.
Donnerstag, Jänner 26, 2012
Once more unto the breach my friends
I love writing. I love language. I love stories.
I am, in fact, attempting to write more than 200 pages of PhD stuff on the power of storytelling.
Why then do I not keep up with this blog?
Who knows. I'll just try again.
I may write about nothing of great importance. I may write about the banalities of daily life, like "Oooh, look, I bought a sweater with shiny stripes!", accompanied by a picture of said sweater. I might do nothing but complain about how all those big ideas I have are so hard to make into a reality.
Then again, I may write about said big ideas, and successes, and how the banalities of daily life can actually make up said life, and make it a happy one.
Who knows. I'll just try again.
I am, in fact, attempting to write more than 200 pages of PhD stuff on the power of storytelling.
Why then do I not keep up with this blog?
Who knows. I'll just try again.
I may write about nothing of great importance. I may write about the banalities of daily life, like "Oooh, look, I bought a sweater with shiny stripes!", accompanied by a picture of said sweater. I might do nothing but complain about how all those big ideas I have are so hard to make into a reality.
Then again, I may write about said big ideas, and successes, and how the banalities of daily life can actually make up said life, and make it a happy one.
Who knows. I'll just try again.
Mittwoch, November 30, 2011
Freitag, Oktober 14, 2011
Berry clafoutis in 3 easy steps
Step 1: Mix together ingredients until they look really pretty.
Step 2: Bake until your whole flat smells delicious.
Step 3: Devour!
Step 2: Bake until your whole flat smells delicious.
Step 3: Devour!
PS: I used this recipe (which is in German). I added some spices (cinnamon, nutmeg) to the egg mix. It was okay, but will not become a new favourite. If only I could find the recipe I used last year...the one that was seriously amazing and got me into this whole clafoutis thing in the first place...*dreamy sigh*
Mittwoch, Oktober 12, 2011
Tea: Drinking the Loot Part I
During Monday's tea party/tasting, I not only consumed many a tasty cup, but also squirreled away some of the many interesting varieties I did not have time to try into my bag. The loot:
As I needed some cheering up today, I tried two of them: London Tea's 'The Eminent Earl Grey' and English Tea Shop's Savory Blend, one of their special Christmas flavors.
I have in the past not been a big drinker of black tea, mainly being stuck on Yogi Tea's yummy spice blends and the odd cup of green tea in between. Lately, this has shifted a little, and I've drunk my share of black tea over the past few months, mostly with milk and honey to warm me up in spring. Some time this spring, I also had my very first cup of Earl Grey - astoundingly late in my tea drinking life, I know.
Anyway, this version of Earl Grey was quite nice. It smelled heavenly when I took it out of it's packaging, and it made for a lovely drink as well. I'm thinking that if my tongue weren't still slightly burnt from being too hasty (and possibly greedy) on Monday I would have enjoyed it a lot more. The fact that it was still quite nice (and didn't taste like vanilla at all *tiny obscure reference to Monday*) makes me think it must in fact be really REALLY good. It's also fairtrade, with a bag made from corn starch, so it's biodegradable. There's still the issue of the plastic wrapping etc, if you're looking into the green issue, but at least it's somewhat going into the right direction.
As for the savory blend, it smells like toffee in a cup. It tastes like toffee in a cup. Since it's a Christmas blend, there's also some hints of orange and other spices. Lovely.
Sadly, these are, afaik, not fairtrade, and again, there's that plastic wrapper. I know that's supposed to keep the flavours intact, but...I wonder whether that's really necessary.
The London Tea teas can be got in loose form as well...which fixes the wrapper issue. :)
And a final note, I drank both of these in the evening, and maybe I shouldn't have...I'm sort of sensitive to caffeine/theine, so drinking two huge cups of essentially black tea later in the day...makes for some lying awake. But then again, that's not exactly a special feature of these two blends, so if you're sensitive as well, you're probably being more careful than me anyway. ;)
As I needed some cheering up today, I tried two of them: London Tea's 'The Eminent Earl Grey' and English Tea Shop's Savory Blend, one of their special Christmas flavors.
I have in the past not been a big drinker of black tea, mainly being stuck on Yogi Tea's yummy spice blends and the odd cup of green tea in between. Lately, this has shifted a little, and I've drunk my share of black tea over the past few months, mostly with milk and honey to warm me up in spring. Some time this spring, I also had my very first cup of Earl Grey - astoundingly late in my tea drinking life, I know.
Anyway, this version of Earl Grey was quite nice. It smelled heavenly when I took it out of it's packaging, and it made for a lovely drink as well. I'm thinking that if my tongue weren't still slightly burnt from being too hasty (and possibly greedy) on Monday I would have enjoyed it a lot more. The fact that it was still quite nice (and didn't taste like vanilla at all *tiny obscure reference to Monday*) makes me think it must in fact be really REALLY good. It's also fairtrade, with a bag made from corn starch, so it's biodegradable. There's still the issue of the plastic wrapping etc, if you're looking into the green issue, but at least it's somewhat going into the right direction.
As for the savory blend, it smells like toffee in a cup. It tastes like toffee in a cup. Since it's a Christmas blend, there's also some hints of orange and other spices. Lovely.
Sadly, these are, afaik, not fairtrade, and again, there's that plastic wrapper. I know that's supposed to keep the flavours intact, but...I wonder whether that's really necessary.
The London Tea teas can be got in loose form as well...which fixes the wrapper issue. :)
And a final note, I drank both of these in the evening, and maybe I shouldn't have...I'm sort of sensitive to caffeine/theine, so drinking two huge cups of essentially black tea later in the day...makes for some lying awake. But then again, that's not exactly a special feature of these two blends, so if you're sensitive as well, you're probably being more careful than me anyway. ;)
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