For Day 19 of my 30 Chic Days Series, I've recorded the second chapter of my new book and the topic is on 'eating real food'. Instinctively I knew, as I'm sure most of you do, that choosing real food over anything processed is ultimately the best way to be healthy for a long time, and be slim.
Just knowing that doesn't make it any easier to make those choices when you're hungry and something looks delicious though. In this book reading, I go through all the ways that I turned my eating habits around from bad to good, a little bit at a time.
I'd love to hear of any ahas you get from these videos, I do hope you enjoy them, and I'll see you tomorrow. Eat real and be chic!
Fiona,
ReplyDeleteI love your 30 chic day series and enjoyed the reading of your chapters on food.You offer great strategies for cutting back on the junk food. I will think of you saying we should eat like adults instead of children the next time I go to grab chips or some other sweet,unchic food.
I have just listened to part 1 of your video, and most enjoyable it was, too. I gave up sugar in my drinks way back in 1972 and now even if my coffee or tea has been stirred with a spoon which has been anywhere near sugar I can taste it and it's truly awful!
ReplyDeleteI love hearing you read your chapters, Fiona, but they highlight how differently we Brits speak from you 'down there' in NZ! It's the vowel sounds. Your 'a' as in 'having' sounds like our e, as it's pronounced by you as 'heffing' and an 'e' sounds like our 'i' so your 'ten' sounds to us like 'tin'. Sometimes I have to think fast when you pronounce a word and only the context makes it meaningful. But I'm cottoning on fast (or, as it would sound to us if you were saying it, "fest").
We have always loved salads - yes, even my husband loves a plateful of salad! - and for the dressing I mix 1 part of white wine vinegar to 3 parts rape seed oil (cold pressed rape seed oil is the healthiest of oils - if you cook with oil, as I do, it is also better for you than heating up olive oil; I won't bore you with the reasons), and then about 1/2 a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard, a little black pepper and a pinch of sea salt (but only a minuscule amount and if you are worried about too much salt in your daily diet, this can be left out.) I put it all into a small jar I keep for the purpose in the fridge, give it a good shake, and it's ready.
We often have a slice of rye bread (the packet kind, a bit like pumpernickel) with a small scraping of low-far spread, and then I pile on shredded lettuce, slices of bell pepper, cucumber, radish, salad cress, spring onions (not sure if you call them that, some call them scallions), grated carrot, perhaps a small amount of coleslaw but if we have coleslaw I don't use the dressing, plus hummous (which I love, and which is added protein) - extras could be sardines (tinned), tuna (tinned), cold cooked chicken or even some small pieces of cooked (grilled) chopped lean bacon. With the very filling thin slice of rye bread there is no need for a baguette either and while baguettes are lovely, rye bread is more nourishing. Plus a glass of mineral water and fruit and yoghurt for dessert, this is our kind of meal, for lunch or dinner.
We only buy crisps (or you would call them potato chips) at Christmas, as a treat. Pizzas do not enter our house, ditto burgers, chips, processed food other than baked beans (reduced salt, reduced sugar type) as I've always cooked meals from scratch.
I will listen to part 2 shortly!
Margaret P
PS Just watched part 2, and enjoyed it, Fiona. Yes, three things are important in our diet: having a good mixed diet (with portion control), cutting out the cr*p (sugar being the number one culprit); and just having one small piece of quality chocolate at the end of a meal with a cup of tea or coffee, as a treat.
ReplyDeleteI would add that having sufficient water in the diet to keep the body hydrated is important. As an older person (hey, who am I kidding! Not older, just old!) I seldom feel thirsty, as younger people do, so I sometimes forget to drink water, ditto my husband, but there is nothing as good as plain old water to keep the body healthy. We are fortunate that even the stuff that comes out of our taps in S W England is good enough to drink (sorry if that sounds daft, but often tap water is highly chlorinated and tasted like swimming pool water). A jug of tap water kept in the fridge makes it even more potable, and we keep the relatively expensive mineral water for a once-daily treat.
Margaret P
Mars, it really does work!
ReplyDeleteMargaret, thank you for your comprehensive daily rundown of meals - you eat very healthy! I agree, remembering to drink water is important and you feel so good when you do. I have my days of less when I am busy, and I definitely noticed I don't feel as good. If I realise I haven't had much water that day, I'll drink a big glass every half hour; a few hours later I feel amazing.
your chapter on food is fantastic, I have followed your blog over the years & you have always had good food, eating,& nutrition advice.
ReplyDeleteAah, thank you Ratnamurti! I'm always trying to strike that balance between enjoying myself and being healthy :)
ReplyDeleteFiona, the videoing you have put together is just so lovely. I could go on and on about the subject matter, your sweet voice, your dancing eyes, your playful character. Suffice to say that you are a natural for this medium.
ReplyDeleteYour accent is charming.
When I first arrived in NZ some years ago I struggled with the word "dif". After the embarrassment of needing a simple word explained to me, it could only get better after that!!!
Fiona, you should record the whole book, I love listening to you, your voice is as gorgeous as the rest of you. Your impromptu comments enhance the experience.
ReplyDeleteMarguerite in Virginia
PP, aah, thank you, what a sweetie you are. I'm afraid I don't know about the word 'dif'. The only thing I can think of is when someone says 'same dif', short for 'same difference'. Is that it?
ReplyDeleteMarguerite, thank you, how lovely of you; and yes, I am doing an audiobook version :)