Thursday, February 27, 2014

Weight watching and healthy eating

There has been some discussion on the Guardian about weight and health issues lately, with two articles posted yesterday.

The first by Juliette Jowitt sought to uncover why more than half the UK is overweight, even though official figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) suggests that UK adults consume less than the recommended calories per day and most meet the suggested activity levels. The second, a commentary by Alexandra Jones, described Jones' experience as the fat kid at school and how it took a visit to the GP to teach her about food discipline.

Weight and health issues seem to be popular topics, going by the number of comments (more than 500 each) on the articles. Among many other comments, it was pretty much establised that the respondents in the HSCIC's survey probably under-estimated their caloric intake while overreporting the amount of physical activity they received in the 4-week period of observation.

The recommended daily intake for an average female is 2000 calories - pictures of its equivalent that I found online suggest that I consume more than that on a daily basis, and many have commented that those are generous caloric estimates as well.

As for the 150min of moderate physical activity per week (or 75min of vigorous activity) - I used to hit that with 2 x 90min of ballet a week back home, but even then I was gaining weight due to lots of eating out with friends and several-course working lunches and dinners. Now, due to my injured ankle, I clock about 105min of brisk walking a week, 25min of beginner's swimming lessons and another 60min or so of gentle yoga and ballet exercises. I've lost weight since coming here, but I owe that to eating out less as much as I do to getting more exercise.

Reading the articles and comments brought forth some thoughts about food and eating habits here.

The first is the amount of bad food on sale, namely sweets, chocolates, cakes and crisps. The variety and amount of such food in shops and supermarkets in the UK and Ireland is simply staggering - I was stunned the first time I walked into an Apple Green service station and still gawk at the rows and rows of tasty cakes and chocolates each time I'm at Tesco. The past week has mostly involved me walking into a store, staring at cakes and treats on sale and thinking, and thinking, and thinking about whether or not I should buy a packet of something - I finally caved in yesterday with a packet of mini lemon cakes.

Which brings me to the next thought about how thin people also think about their weight and how much they're eating. Some of the commentors who've since lost weight identified with how Jones treds the fine "line between willpower and obssession" - while I perhaps don't obssess over my weight as much as they do, I'm constantly thinking about it, despite having always been about a size 8. I really love food, talk about it all the time and make such an event out of eating - but I spend a lot more time resisting temptation than giving in. There're always thoughts about whether or not to have one more piece of chocolate, wehther I should buy some cake, whether to have KFC or make my own dinner, whether I should have sugar with my tea, whether I should eat this now that it's after 10pm, etc.

I think it helps to know how much is too much and stop before, for example, you finish the entire tub of ice cream. Which brings me to thoughts on portion sizes. Chocolates here come in massive bars - a regular Snickers is twice as much chocolate as what I'd eat in one sitting. I probably have my mum to thank for having always cut down Cadbury bars into two-square blocks and putting them in a container, as a portion of chocolate has always remained around that size to me. Even today, my practice is to pop one portion of chocolate into my mouth, enjoy that, then pause to think whether I want another (yes, always), and whether I can or should have another. It definitely helps in controlling the amount I eat, compared to if the habit was to wolf down one huge Mars Bar and, still feeling dissatisfied, reach for another sweet treat. Let's not forget either that starters here can come in main-sized portions, while the large mains are accompanied as well by half a plate of chips or mash - too much food even for a big eater like me!

In addition, the ingredients used in food require examination too. While consuming fat doesn't neccessarily make you fat (see the Business Insider's excellent piece on nutrition myths), the consumption of cream, cheese, and butter on top of all the sugar, carbohydrates and oil that we eat adds up - I can't bring myself to use many recipes as they call for cream and double cream or lots of butter. The teaspoons of sugar in the cups of coffee and tea we drink throughout the day can accumulate to a fair bit too.

Even supposedly healthier alternatives to snacks can be more unhealthy than we'd think, as evidenced by the below packet of Tesco dried fruit. One serving contains a whopping 22% of our daily intake of sugar due to the cranberries and blueberries having been sweetened with syrup and concentrated apple juice! Fruit juices also seem to be consumed in place of water a lot more over here, and reports have illustrated just how loaded with sugar they are.


Half a packet of this would almost max out your daily intake of sugar 
How can I not mention alcohol consumption as well? It's common knowledge that beer and wine are loaded with calories and sugar. Spirits are also mixed with sugary bases like Coca Cola and a night out almost always ends with a fourth meal of extremely unhealthy but oh so delicious things like a kebab, pizza, fish and chips, deep fried goujons, a Chinese stir fry (have you actually noticed the amount of oil and MSG in a packet of fried noodles??).

Moreover, lunch choices don't seem to help much either. Many people opt for smaller meals like salads or sandwiches for their mid-day meal, perhaps to avoid the post-lunch slump, when in fact dinner should be the smallest meal of the day as you'll have less time - as well as do a lot less - to burn off those calories. Also, salads are only healthy when they're not laden with high-caloric dressing, and a quick look at the nutrition guide on a packed sandwich should be enough to make you reconsider picking up that sandwich for lunch - really, something that leaves you hungry in less than 3hrs but with the caloric content of more than a third of your daily intake is not worth having.

There we are - just some thoughts that have been churning about from those discussions. Happy eating and healthy living! (Or at least try...)

Sunday, February 23, 2014

借酒消愁的方法

人若然不开心,醉也是理所当然。心越痛就越该慢慢地一杯一杯地让它痛。痛过后人就会觉得累,觉得累了就会很容易醉,醉醒了人就会觉得舒泰。这,才是借酒消愁的方法。

-- <<金枝欲孽>>

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

CoCo Restaurant - A Review

We were out yesterday for a belated Valentine’s Day dinner, as E was away for work last weekend, and thought that CoCo’s “Date Night on a School Night” special would be a good way to celebrate the occasion.  

Upon entering the restaurant, I was struck by its décor – classy at the entrance, kitschy at the near wall, cosy towards the back with tea lights and rose stalks on the tables, and pop-arty on the other walls. It was a bit of a hodgepodge, but I loved it. I thought for a moment that we were the only customers in this large restaurant, until I spotted the couple in the curved seats against the wall – a good sign.


The dinner deal comprised 3 courses each and a bottle of wine for just £50 per couple. As there were so many menus on their website, I was pleasantly surprised to be told that we could choose anything at all from the ala-carte menu. Orders placed, we sipped the wine that had been served. It was a Spanish Grenache rosé, with a label that read “I ♥ Rosé”. E joked that with such a label the wine couldn’t be anything fancy, but it was nonetheless deliciously smooth and fruity, with no hint of a bite. 

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The scallops were my favourite dish for the night.

I hadn’t had scallops (rp £8.50) in a while, and couldn’t wait to tuck into their plump flesh when my starters arrived. The scallops were done just right – seared and lightly caramelised on the outside, and firm and sweet when biting into their gorgeous flesh. The carrot puree enhanced the sweetness of the scallops, although the black pudding seemed a bit overpowering against the scallops’ subtle flavours.  

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I would have slurped up more cream if it wouldn't have looked so unbecoming

I couldn’t take my eyes off E’s prawn linguine (rp £7.25) either. I felt that there was slightly too much dill in the dish, but still happily slurped down the fresh prawns and delicious cream. It was a sizable portion, and as much as I’d have liked some bread to soak up the cream, that might have proven too much for a starter.


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I actually liked the simple salad with blue cheese dressing a lot.
 
I was in the mood for meat, and the choice was clear when I discovered that there was no top-up for the Hereford Sirloin (rp £22.50). It was my first time having steak served this way: topped with chopped chives and onion in a blue cheese sauce. Although I’m not a big fan of onions or chives, I found the toppings surprisingly juicy and flavourful, if just a little pungent.  

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The fan-shaped arrangement of the baby carrots is adorable. Would've sampled more of the pigeon and venison if my main weren't much bigger

E meanwhile had gone for the Co. Wicklow wood pigeon and venison (rp £19.95), which was beautifully presented with potato fondants, baby carrots, Jerusalem artichokes and blackberry halves. The pigeon was succulent and not in the least gamey, distinguishing it from what we’d tried at Shu. The venison was just as divine - well seasoned with the right amount of saltiness. Comparing it with what I’d thought at that time was good venison just 3 weeks ago at La Bastille, it seems like venison could benefit from a heavier hand with the spices.  

My favourite part of the mains, however, was the home-made, double-cooked French fries that we didn’t manage to snap a picture of. They were crisp on the outside, soft without being soggy, and had the most addictive batter. I was quite full by then, but we polished off the entire bowl of the best fries – double-cooked or otherwise – I’ve ever had.  

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Looks are deceiving: the parfait was delicious and the heap of orange peel marmalade was quite substantial too.

E is a big fan of the chocolate-orange combination, and it was no surprise that he went for the blood orange chocolate parfait (rp £5.50). The parfait was rich and creamy with just a hint of bitter chocolate, while the blood orange marmalade was tart and the peel lent a lovely texture.  

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Doesn't this remind you of summer?

E had some of the marmalade left, and I actually liked how it went with my coconut pannacotta (rp £5.50), which was light, smooth and creamy. The pannacotta had a sweet and tangy accompaniment of chopped mango, passion fruit and kiwi; its tropical flavours making it all the more enjoyable being savoured in the middle of winter.  

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This is about half of the section we were in; there was another section to the right.

CoCo’s service was leisurely and friendly throughout dinner – perfect for a date night. Our half of the restaurant eventually got a bit fuller with 5 couples in total, and there couldn’t have been more than another table or two on the other side of the walls. It was wonderful, and a far cry from last year’s experience of being wedged between two couples in Zen on Valentine’s night itself.  

The food at CoCo was absolutely delightful. The flavours and textures were great and I loved every dish. The “Date Night on a School Night” deal itself is a bargain – just the courses would have cost us £69 ala-carte, and the wine would have brought it to at least £80. CoCo comes highly recommended for anyone looking for a wonderful date night.


CoCo Restaurant
7-11 Linenhall St,
Belfast, BT2 8AA
028 9031 1150

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

A Year in Belfast

So, today marks the end of my first year in Belfast!

I'd thought I would have more thoughts on reaching this milestone - if I can even call it that - but my head and heart are surprisingly empty. I feel like I've been here for longer, and seem quite settled into life here, at least for the moment.

An example of some of the gorgeous weather we've been having - this from Feb 2013
Whenever people discover that I'm a (relatively) newcomer to Belfast and ask how I'm finding it, the answer always involves a moment's reflection, followed by a slightly surprised "It's better than I'd thought actually". E had set the expectations quite low, and we've been blessed with pretty warm weather for Belfast the entire time I've been here. I'm not at all missing the crowds back home, and although there's the occasional complaint that the few shops there are here aren't open for long enough to sell the limited range of items that they have, I quite like living without the the constant bombardment of materialism and consumerism I'd get at home.

On cold, rainy days I might think about how nice it'd be to feel warm again, warm all the way through, but I know that the moment I step out of the plane at Changi Airport I'll be roasting and disliking the humidity of Singapore, even when I'm indoors with air-conditioning. Indeed, I do get hit by sudden and strong cravings of all the local goodness of dishes such as laksa, char kway teow and nasi lemak, yet at the same time I'm quite happily eating my way around Belfast, exploring restaurants in a way that I couldn't really do back home for a multitude of reasons.

One of my first nice meals in Belfast - Valentine's Day dinner last year at Zen.
The main thing that gets to me about life here is the lack of a career - what little that I had back home has all but disappeared. Belfast, unfortunately, has no need for the few skills that I have, and the job market is incredibly difficult. It seems unreal, thinking about the amount I was earning versus wages over here, and it makes me appreciate the immense opportunities that fresh grads in Singapore have, as well as the willingness of our government to hire people with the capabilities but not necessarily the experience. This, undoubtedly, is the one thing I'd like to change the most about moving here, and I need to be more motivated and disciplined about using my time well and finding new opportunities.

Apart from that, things do seem quite good. I'm learning how to drive, and although that's taking about a third longer than I'd expected, I'm inching closer to acquiring a practical skill and greater freedom of movement here. I'm starting swimming lessons tomorrow; hopefully I'll keep it up and attain yet another useful skill and an exercise alternative to jogging, which I hate. I've kept up with the ballet, which is going nowhere but had never been going anywhere - nor had I ever the intention for it to develop into something more than a hobby to stay toned and flexible. I've also been introduced to a hot yoga place near work( only 30deg but it means I can wear just a leotard and leggings and not feel cold at all), which I plan to go to more frequently during the breaks in ballet between terms.
More free time means the opportunity to explore things like sand dunes on the beach of Newcastle, Co. Down
I definitely have much more free time here then I ever did back home. I'm not sure if the amount of time I have is on the right side of the balance - already, I feel myself being less able to multi-task or focus on a task at hand and push it through to completion; I'm also less efficient and don't deal with stress as well. I do feel that stress in small amounts is good; humans require some stress to push them to do things better and quicker - that my best results at university were in the semesters I was most busy is a case in point, as is the fact that I could do ballet twice a week (same as now) and maintain all those social commitments while in a job that had a 48hr work week back home. 

This means, however, that I'm reading more and enjoying life a little more. I have the time to cook most of my meals - which, combined with the additional exercise I've been getting from walking to work in my previous and present job, has resulted in me being slimmer than I've ever been since I left jc. I probably am slightly fitter as well, in that I can walk longer distances at a certain pace without tiring as easily as before. Also, I think my tastebuds are becoming a little more sensitive to salt, which can only be a good thing in the long run. My house isn't as clean or as tidy as I'd like it to be, but I've learnt to do the things that really matter to me, and to let the rest go 'cos they don't matter anyway.  
Did I also mention that yours truly, who killed many plants (including cacti) in Japan, has successfully kept a plant alive for a full year?
I think this can, overall, be considered a good year. Financially and professionally it's rubbish; on the bright side I'm employed and in better employment than the first job I had here, and am slowly (and hopefully surely) climbing up into the black following this move. Here's to hoping that the second year will bring opportunities for me to progress professionally, grow financially, develop personally and perhaps even give us the chance to move somewhere that will benefit us both! :)

 
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