Comfort food is cheap and makes you feel better. In times of trouble, we often turn to food to soothe our feelings and make us feel better. When you have problems — feel scared or depressed — family trouble — or just feeling a bit lonely or hard-done by — when all else fails, it is easy to turn to food.
We particularly turn to food we remember from childhood. It gives intense pleasure and recalls the past — a time when we felt secure and looked after. It gives that lovely warm feeling of being indulged and spoilt. The boarding school-educated tend to turn to rice pudding and crumbles. Men tend to like soup or a cooked breakfast, while women tend to go for a tub of ice cream or a bar of chocolate. Things that taste good and make you feel better. The excuse is that it makes you feel happier.
Too much comfort eating probably means that you need to make some positive changes in your life, to reduce the priority you place on comfort eating. For those trying to lose weight, comfort eating can begin by making you feel indulged, and end up leaving you feeling depressed by all the extra calories consumed.
Get Fit & Healthy
Build more physical activity into your day.
Why? Building more activity into your daily life positively improves your health, reduces stress, and burns calories.
How? Try these ideas:
• Try not to use the office or apartment elevator; try to walk up 2 — 3 floors instead.
• Pack your trainers and go for a relaxing walk at lunchtime before buying lunch.
• Park the car, or get the taxi to drop you off 10 minutes from the office.
•Use a basket instead of a trolley at the supermarket — it’s great for tightening arm muscles.
Recipe of the Week: Gallo Pinto
Ingredients
3 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups white rice
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
30 g beef bacon finely diced
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked red beans, rinsed and drained
Method
Boil 3 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Add the rice and bring back to boil. Reduce the heat and gently simmer the rice covered, until tender, about 20 minutes. Let the rice cool for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onions, garlic, beef bacon, cumin and pepper and cook over medium heat until golden brown (about 5 minutes). Add the beans and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the rice and cook until lightly browned and very flavourful, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve while hot.
Ask Alva
I am 16 years old. I am 5’ 7” tall and weigh 67 kilos. According to me, I am healthy, but I would like to reduce. I eat wholemeal biscuits the whole day and I don’t eat much fruit. I eat junk food once a week as I only eat wholemeal food the rest of the week. Can you tell me what my weight should be and what kind of diet I should follow? Is dancing better than a workout, as I prefer dancing to exercising. I haven’t eaten sweets for a few months. Can you please help? Sara
Your BMI — which measures the amount of fat on your body — is normal. Clinically, you are not overweight. Make sure you eat a healthy breakfast — cereal, skimmed milk, and fruit juice. Eat 5 portions of fresh fruit and vegetables every day. Eat salad every day and a portion of vegetables. Cut down on fat in food and grill food rather than fry. Don’t put oil in food, except a teaspoon of olive oil in salad. Try to get plenty of exercise and only have a small snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Cross training is best for your body. This means doing lots of different exercises — e.g. walk, swim, dance, play sport, jog, and gym. Try to do my Mini-Morning Workout every morning (get a free copy by emailing to [email protected]) and do sport three times a week. Alva