Southology

A Week’s Worth of Healthy Food Choices

By Betty ⋅ January 10, 2009 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅

New year, new food choices: Grape, cherry and pear fruit salad with almonds and walnuts (mixed by moi!)

My New Year’s Day dinner was at Tia Maria’s (more on that soon), and it wasn’t exactly an auspicious start to the year—in fact, I ate so much (and had some rather fatty chicken), that I felt bloated and seriously sick when I got home. Which turned out to be a good thing, really—it served as the impetus for me to seriously start minding what I ate.

Saturday: Grilled Four-Cheese Sandwich at Kenny Rogers’ Roasters (P99)

Sunday: Tempura Tuna Sashimi Tartare at Teriyaki Boy (P135)

A brief background: I was a skinny kid, the sort who could eat anything and not get fat. That lasted all the way up to my mid twenties, when a medical / hormonal condition caused me to start putting on some pounds. Or at least I liked to think that was the only reason. Used to being able to eat what I could, I kept eating the same things, rationalizing I could burn off the extra fat with exercise (for which I never developed enough discipline to do regularly). Add a fondness for exploring restaurants, a compulsion to try out all the dishes on the menu (or at least as many as I could write about), and the passage of time—voila!—you can imagine the results.

Monday: A shot of Wheatgrass at Zing! (P85)

Appearance was never an issue with me, probably because I’ve never really let go of my self image as a thin person: that just wasn’t motivation enough. What has made the idea of making smarter food choices shift from being a chore to an enjoyable challenge is the desire to feel better, to feel comfortable in my favorite jeans, to be able to enjoy food and not regret it afterwards. So I’m thankful for my stuff-myself-silly exercise, because without it, I’d still be, well, stuffed silly most of the time.

Plus half a Mediterranean Herbed Chicken Deluxe Sandwich at Oliver’s (P148)

The funny thing is, one of my favorite excuses for not eating well has always been that I have no choice, since I’m always, as a friend puts it, “lumalafang for Southbound.” I seriously wondered how a healthier diet would affect the blog: after all, you can’t go into a Pinoy restaurant and not try the lechon kawali, can you? Can you?!?!?!

Tuesday: Edamame at Omakase (P110)

Well, duh. Of course you can (but I won’t, since I do love lechon kawali, as I keep reminding you). But at least I now know better than to finish the whole damn plate just because it’s there. I know how to chew my food and not gobble everything up (seriously, I used to eat in a way you might euphemistically refer to as “maganang kumain”). And, perhaps the biggest eye-opener: most places will have something healthy you can order, but even if they don’t, that doesn’t mean you have to go for the most artery-clogging stuff on the menu; if you do have to try it, a few bites won’t kill you (yet! Wahahahaha! Well, seriously, you can always try stuff in moderation).

Wednesday: Half a Grills & Greens Salad with (a little!) Caesar Salad Dressing at Brothers Burger (P180)

My new favorite tricks: if I must order a lot, or a dish that comes in large servings, I have around half wrapped to go; I share meals with a like-minded healthy eater (this saves money, too!); I drag lots of people to new places to try so we can order lots of things to share, and I have a few bites of their food instead of appropriating a huge chunk. Plus I try to order some obviously healthy items so I get the most out of my meals. In this way I’ve tried seriously yummy ribs at the new Aussie Café next to South Supermarket, I’ve eaten at Brothers Burger while resisting the automatic impulse to order their yummy yummy chocolate chip cookies, and I’ve enjoyed a great sandwich at Oliver’s without having to eat the whole thing (I’ve tried it before, and it sits in my stomach like a rock).

Friday: Frozen Yogurt at ArAma in Serendra (P95) (I forgot to take a photo of Thursday’s meal: Starbucks’ new Egg, Tomato, and Spinach Wrap)

We’ll share most of our healthy food adventures in our main features, and occasionally I’ll get all excited and share some orders at old favorites here. I hope I don’t bore you to tears with all my veggie talk, and I hope you share your own food outlook and healthy secrets. Here’s to a wholesome year… and another week of healthy choices!

And the clincher… Chef Bernie’s Mouthwatering Ribs at Aussie Café… all two bites of it! (I ate off my sister’s order)

Here’s what I had: Chicken Vegetable Soup with Cajun Spice (P95). See? It’s not only healthy, it’s cheap too! Hahaha!!!

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