This study by the University of Minnesota and Harvard University reveals that when we ritualise food – even in the most bizarre ways – it enhances the food experience.
Image via lovelightsupyourlife.tumblr.com
I rather agree with this, as someone who has both a ritual for almost every food she eats and who loves food more than words can express. And so it has always been.
I pull apart all food into separate components. Then I eat the separate components, on their own. Then I eat them in different combinations. I think this is how I come up with recipes – from trying new flavour combinations.
When I was a kid, Mum would give us peanuts and sultanas in a plastic camping mug. I would eat them as “hamburgers” – one sultana squished between two peanuts.
I had to eat the hair off the “Gollywog” biscuit. After that I wasn’t all that interested in the rest.
I ALWAYS save the best thing on the plate until last.
I eat lemon garnishes. I use a wedge of lemon to scoop up the last of the sauce on a plate.
Our very first I Quit Sugar 8-Week Program starts Monday August 26, and over at I Quit Sugar HQ we are finally ready to host you all. If you were planning on being involved, now’s your (last) chance for this year. Sign ups for this round of the Program close Wednesday August 21 so make sure you’ve … Read more
I do my best work on planes in economy seats. I do my best thinking waiting in the line at the post office. We all Get More Done in unexpected places, where the contrast flicks us into inspired action.
My writing room at The Library hotel.
Which is why it was pretty cool to be in New York for two weeks finishing my next book. Which, by the way, is a follow-up to I Quit Sugar – let’s call it IQS#2 for now. I was in New York, by the way, to sign a book deal with an American publisher – let’s say it will be coming out in May 2014 for now.
I didn’t shop, I didn’t sight-see. Most days – when I wasn’t shlepping between publishing houses with my agent Laurie – I was in my hotel writing. I kind of loved that right outside there was so much going on that I was missing out on. The contrast spurred me on. It’s like being in Paris when all your belongings have been stolen. Or in the best croissant bakery in the world with a gluten intolerance. (I’ve done both.)
I found the rhythms of the hotel comforting. I felt like The Major in Faulty Towers. And I got work done, happily and calmly.
New York – in fact, most big cities – are places where working solo in public places is a really comforting and comfortable thing to do. Paris has a legacy of it with the existentialist philosophers doing all their best work in cafes. Have you read JPS’s The Waiter? British writers went to Milan at various points in history and sat in the aperitivo bars to work. The focus can quieten the freneticness. The absorption can bring you in closer to yourself. For in big cities it’s very easy to lose yourself. Again, contrasts.
Anyway, I thought I’d share some of the places where I wrote and got close.
A Writer’s Guide to NYC
* The Highline. This is a great writing hotel. But also a great eco hotel. And a quiet hotel. Oh, and a great slow foodie hotel. Thus ticking off the four points I look for in a joint.
On my recent New York trip to do pre-publicity for the US edition of I Quit Sugar I stayed here for almost a week. The building is epic – taking up an entire block in a quiet pocket in the meat packing district…just under the High Line, which in Summer is one of the best places
One of my favourite things to do when travelling is try out yoga classes. Especially in big cities. And especially when I’m frazzled. And one of my favourite I’ve tried is yoga teacher to the stars Tara Stiles’ vinyasa class at her Soho studio Strala. I was there last Wednesday.
Yoga at Tara’s studio. In my green shorts.
Tara’s class is a dance. And a wholly impressive exercise in gentleness.
There I was in crow pose to the strains of Red Hot Chilli Pepper. There I was holding Warrior #2 for five minutes to Run DMC. And there was Tara purring her encouragement in her mesmerising lilt, skipping around the class to adjust and touch us on the ankles, chuckling like a little girl. She chuckles the whole time.
But this is what is truly lovely. Throughout the class, when inviting us to take a pose further, she repeats this:
“It’s just something to do”
You know, no other purpose. No big aim. No mandate. Just to try it.
She follows with something a few of my yoga and meditation teachers have shared over the years:
So many of you have been asking me for a rundown of How to Eat Well in New York. I’ve just been there for two weeks and I ate health-fully every meal. It’s supremely easy to do so in a big city – there’s so much choice. Actually, too much. A few pointers from me, and then a rundown of places drawn from advice pinged my way on Twitter, Instagram and on this blog. Plus my own finds. Feel free to cut ‘n’ keep.
First meal in New York last week: a green “stalks” juice.
FYI: I mostly eat Paleo when I travel. By avoiding all grains, I avoid sugar and it steers me to denser nutrients. Also, the Paleo community are great sharers of information.
How to eat well in New York:
* Eat at “classic” breakfast joints. They do good portions of eggs. But just avoid the grits and hashes and toasts. And add kale.
* Add kale. Did I mention add kale. Every menu seems to have it as a side. Just order it wherever you go, for added fibre and nutrients. Failing that, Brussels sprouts. They’re the cruciferous rage here right now.
* Avoid vegan and raw joints for breakfast. I know, I know…it sounds healthy. And at dinner time these places can be great for a mindful vegetable fix. But the sugar content in most of the breakfasts is out of control. Even if it’s re-labelled coconut sugar or maple syrup or…agave!
* New York is obsessed with paddock/farm-to-table/plate. There are countless places doing this style of eating. And if they do, you can mostly count on it being clean and green and good.
* Salad bars: they’re pretty good these days and there are so many pertaining to be “natural”…even if they’re not
Yesterday I ranted about biking around New York. Today I share my #1 trick for staying fit at home and when travelling. I walk. And I walk. And I walk.
Photo by Eugene Tan, Aquabumps
I used to be a runner. I’d run ten kilometres to and from work each day. I’d run on the beach, and in the bush. I’d compete in soft sand races and go for 3-hour bush runs on weekends. But it all began to take its toll. I got injuries, hip complaints and, in general, the rushed, harried nature of running felt wrong. We’re not meant to push ourselves. We are meant to move, and be energised, yes. But, like New York Times writer Gretchen Reynolds says,
Humans are born to stroll.
I’ve since tweaked my exercise routine. I’m softer and gentler on myself these days. I still exercise daily, and I’ve shared how I exercise recently. But to walking: It does all the stuff running does – strengthens the heart and lungs, increasing overall fitness, help with weight loss and tone up muscles (people who live in walkable neighbourhoods are 2.7-4.5kg lighter), is great for your bones and, done the right way, it burns as many calories as running without the high impact injuries. It is also the best cure for anyone (me!) who gets inflammation and water build up – it helps to drain the lower legs of excess fluid, and helps prevent varicose veins by the pumping action of the calf muscles.
And because you end up walking at a more consistent speed than running, it’s a more beneficial form of tissue-cleansing:
I don’t like flying. Or driving. I’ve always ridden. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’ve owned a car for seven years of my life only. The rest of my adult life, I’ve ridden a bike to get around. Indeed, just three weeks ago I became car-less again. I really do prefer it. My tendency to attract parking tickets means it’s a particularly expensive habit. In fact, cars have always felt like way tooooo much collateral.
Hot New York chic on bike. LOVE the saddlebag. Which sounds weird, I know.
I landed here in New York a week ago (boy, it feels longer!), jetlagged to …Frankston (or some other end-of-the-line zone), and a waitress with leg tattoos said to me,
“We are not meant to travel faster than horseback.”
Or pushbike. The Ayurvedic tradition teaches this. Our cells are meant to move at a gentlemanly pace. At a pace that our breath can keep up with, I think.
My first day here I signed up for the Citibike scheme. I did the same in Paris last year. And Copenhagen. Do you know how it works? You insert your card. It costs $25 for a week for unlimited peddlies. You can pick up a bike pretty much every second block. You dart from spot to spot. It’s all above ground with fresh air in your hair. I don’t have wifi here (the dumb expense! the dumb expense!). So I look up my destinations for the day on Google Maps using the hotel wifi (or Starbucks’). Using the “bike” icon I get an exact map of where to go, timed to the minute, and download it on my phone. And on I ride, door to door.
Last week on my site, I Quit Sugar gave away one place in the I Quit Sugar 8-Week Program starting August 26. My site and the I Quit Sugar Facebook page were flooded with entries, and the IQS team and I have been really touched by everyone’s stories. Thank you to all of you who shared. … Read more
Today (it’s Thursday evening here) New York Times science writer (the guy who wrote “Is Sugar Toxic”) and author of Why We Get Fat Gary Taubes and I met for a drink. We wanted tequila. The bar only served wine. I had Cote du Rhone.
We met to chat about his Nutrition Science Initiative, a not-for-profit organisation to “fund and facilitate rigorously well controlled experimental trials, carried out by independent, sceptical researchers”. I wanted to share with him about the University of Sydney study I Quit Sugar is doing whereby members taking part in the online course can have their health monitored to see if quitting sugar has changed their status. It’s a big study that can provide you – personally – with a very good picture of what’s going on nutritionally for you. And if you live in Sydney and you’re cool to join The Program, you are encouraged to take part….find out more here.
(Oh, and we also discussed the Australian dieticians from University of Sydney – a different crew to the one teaming up with I Quit Sugar – who continue to claim that Australia is eating less sugar than ever before. But we’ll get to that in two paragraphs.)
Then we powered twenty blocks up Avenue of the Americas together to see if I could be snuck into the Harvard Club (where he was due to dine with a colleague) in shorts and running shoes. Alas, to no avail. But we managed to talk some more and
It’s a month away. To the day. The first I Quit Sugar 8-Week Program starts August 26, and the team are all madly getting ready to host you all. Seeing as it’s Friday, and I like to give things away on this site on Fridays, I’m thrilled to announce that today I Quit Sugar is giving away
one place in the I Quit Sugar 8-Week Program starting Aug 26, valued at $150!
Image via Favim.com
I’ve shared a sneak peek at the meal plans recently, and given you one of the recipes. But today I’m going to share a little more about how the program works, what you’ll be getting each week, and answering a few of the common questions that crop up. And further on, The Giveaway!
If you’ve been deliberating and you’re keen to just jump in, you can click on the button below.
Here’s how it works:
You’re considering quitting sugar, but maybe a little nervous to try on your own? Well, the 8-Week Program will help you through, holding your hand every step of the way. Each step is outlined, every meal is laid out for you, with full shopping lists, and substitution suggestions.
And we’ll be quitting as a community, so you’ll have plenty of insta-friends to help you along the way.
Here’s what you’ll receive every week:
A dietician-approved eating plan designed for busy people: clever bulk cooking ideas, fun take-to-work/school lunches, recipes that use economical ingredients and are easy to buy.
A shopping list that is geared to minimise waste and save you money.
