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Post by mickthecactus on Oct 1, 2017 19:21:23 GMT
I'd like to think it's getting like that here too. My 18 year old grandson is an excellent cook and pretty much self taught although my daughter, his mother, is also a great cook. But then her grandmother and great grandfather were also chefs. Great grandfather worked in the Golden Arrow train between London and Dover to Paris.
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Post by lagatta on Oct 1, 2017 20:02:11 GMT
Now THAT was a demanding job!
Remember that there are other body types than model-slim and tubby. Among men, some of these types are very valued in athletics, the building trades etc. I think that was also the case among women who had to lift and carry heavy things: nurses working with bedridden patients, cooks (whether chefs, line cooks or "les mères" de Lyon).
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Post by mickthecactus on Oct 1, 2017 20:06:46 GMT
I was under 10 stone when my son was born in1973 and now about 14 stone 5.
Very sporty once upon a time and played cricket into my '50's and football until my '40,s.
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Post by chexbres on Oct 2, 2017 7:03:25 GMT
Everybody in my building who has children - half-day for school on Wednesdays - prepares a sit-down meal. Sunday seems to be always chicken. Wednesday seems to be something with tomato sauce. But everyone seems to sit down at the table for an evening meal - even if it's just a piece of ham and salad.
The problem is scheduling when - and how - to go to which market. Sundays the supermarkets are closed in my neighborhood.
It does seem that people don't go out too much to eat.
My kitchen isn't complicated, and is around 5 ft x 4 ft. I have no gadgets. I don't even peel vegetables. My one luxury is a self-cleaning oven. But it gets the job done.
I used to have a very large kitchen in my first apartment. It was nice, but I found that I didn't use most of it.
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Post by bjd on Oct 2, 2017 11:39:11 GMT
I remember reading a comment by some famous French chef whose son had gone to the States for a language exchange, staying with a family. He kept waiting for the family to sit down together for a meal, but everyone just took stuff out of the fridge and went around their own business.
We always had and have sit-down meals, though rarely chickens on Sundays. This past Saturday was my husband's birthday and our kids and their families came. I was going to make a roast chicken simply so I wouldn't have to bother doing too much cooking while there were lots of people in the house but by popular request we ended up with Poulet Normand. (Chicken pieces cooked in cider with onions, apples and mushrooms and cream.)
I used to have a couple of gadgets (a vegetable peeler is not a gadget!) but they were mostly unused after one or two attempts, so I got rid of them all.
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Post by mickthecactus on Oct 2, 2017 12:19:54 GMT
Poulet Normand sounds delicious but I'm struggling to find a recipe that isn't in French. My French isn't up to it these days
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Post by bjd on Oct 2, 2017 13:37:00 GMT
I'll translate it for you, but perhaps it doesn't belong on a thread about losing weight! This is the version I originally learned: 1 chicken, 250 g small white onions, 1 clove of garlic, 40 g of flour, 60 g of butter, 150 of cream (crème fraîche), 500 g mushrooms, 4 large apples, apple cider, chicken stock, a bit of calvados, thyme/bay leaf/parsely, salt and pepper. Cut up the chicken (I usually just use chicken breasts because it's easier to cook and easier to eat). Roll in a bit of flour and fry quickly in hot butter (or oil if you live in the south of France ). Add onions, garlic, herbs. Salt and pepper. Cover everything in a mix of half cider and half chicken bouillon. (You guessed right, I use bouillon cubes). Cook on gentle heat about 45 minutes. Remove chicken pieces and keep them warm. Strain the sauce and thicken it with a roux (mixture of butter and flour with liquid from the sauce). Put back the chicken pieces. Gently fry the mushrooms. Add to chicken pieces. Peel the apples and slice. Add to chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Mix the cream and a dollop of calvados (or any cognac type alcohol) and then add to the chicken. Heat until it boils once. Enjoy. (My son cooked and used only cider but I find the mixture of cider+stock a bit better.)
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Post by mickthecactus on Oct 2, 2017 13:56:58 GMT
Thanks bjd. Appreciated.
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 2, 2017 17:50:44 GMT
We're sure to lose weight with that, if we are the ones who cook it. I can work up a sweat in the kitchen really fast when I am doing so many things.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 2, 2017 18:53:13 GMT
Don't kid yourself. Use this to calculate how many calories you burn while cooking. I like this chart better, though, as it shows that one can burn many more calories by the simple expedient of weighing more.
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Post by Kimby on Oct 2, 2017 19:28:19 GMT
My easiest way to lose weight fast: prep for a colonoscopy! The liquid diet, followed by the laxatives and awful cleansing solution, leave one clean as a whistle and about 7 pounds lighter!
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Post by whatagain on Oct 3, 2017 10:08:40 GMT
I am not sure an Irish coffee was a good idea when in a duet.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 3, 2017 14:13:11 GMT
Ha ha ~ took me forever to figure out what Whatagain really meant.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Oct 5, 2017 15:02:00 GMT
Yesterday's trip into town with my beloved culminated in a visit to Patisserie Valerie *sigh*
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 5, 2017 15:38:41 GMT
But how will you stay cheery if you never get a treat?
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Post by whatagain on Oct 8, 2017 23:28:04 GMT
Meanwhile I lost 3.5 kgms in 4 weeks. I need to be told it is a great achievement ;-) What is strange is that I don't feel like I am on a diet. I eat a lot but I changed somehow the way I eat.
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Post by mich64 on Oct 8, 2017 23:34:27 GMT
That is excellent whatagain! Do you mean that you eat different types food at different times of the day now?
I have lost the 5 pounds I gained on my holiday, plus another 2.
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Post by rikita on Oct 9, 2017 0:13:30 GMT
that IS a great achievement, whatagain ...
I, on the other hand, somehow have lost the willpower to watch what i eat, i keep making "exception days" all the time, and have gained some weight now ...
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 9, 2017 1:26:42 GMT
Oh, Mich -- that is an achievement! Are you dieting, or did you just go back to your normal way of eating?
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Post by kerouac2 on Oct 9, 2017 5:32:53 GMT
I know it is an achievement, what, because I saw you skip dessert the other night and leave the potatoes in your plate.
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Post by Whatnow on Oct 9, 2017 7:19:28 GMT
Indeed Mich and Kerouac. I know eat like a pig for breakfast. I stopped chocolate most of fat like sausages speck. I avoid mutton. I eat less in the evening and reduce patates rice and pasta at noon and even more in the evening. white bread is replaced by brown and I cook my eggs with olive oil not butter. I reduced wine and try to avoid white wine. Whisky should not even be contemplated. And some sport. About 2 hours in a gym and 2 hours of bike - mostly vélib
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Post by mich64 on Oct 9, 2017 16:06:34 GMT
Thank you Bixa, I am not dieting but I have already been doing some of the things that whatagain mentions, I have begun eating breakfast regularly, toast with peanut butter and a fruit, I am eating less in the evening and have gone back to eating a meat and a salad and drinking more water. I am going to take his advice to switch to a glass of red instead of white when I do have a glass of wine also. Once I get rid of this cold, I will also be back on my treadmill, my energy level is low right now and the cold is really affecting by balance but it is just a matter of time before the cold completes. Feeling good that I got rid of the holiday weight gain so quickly!
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Post by lagatta on Oct 11, 2017 14:49:47 GMT
Why is red wine better? Isn't the real issue whether or not the wine is dry? (little residual sugar). My favourite white wine is a bone-dry Portuguese Douro, with only about a gram of residual sugar.
I know many white wines are sweet, but that isn't always the case.
At least Whatagain (or Whatnow) doesn't have to deal with "sweet reds", a kind of heavy red wine usually from California that is "big", often with a very high alcohol content (15%) and a lot of residual sugar. That would be a guaranteed headache for me after one glass...
Yes, I force myself to eat some breakfast - I enjoyed the breakfasts Southeast Asians cooked for us in Amsterdam (they were participants, not hired staff), that often included FISH. Oh, my inner cat.
My appetite has returned, but not with a vengeance - I feel no desire to overeat, overdrink or anything of that nature. I prepared some chicken livers for later today as I'm still a bit lightheaded and it was suggested for iron. I certainly don't want to put any weight back on, but I have to be in shape to cycle with no vertigo. The main thing other than healthful eating is cutting portion sizes - using smaller plates or dishes, only heating up enough for one serving etc. Many people simply need less food after 50 or so, but still need good nutrition.
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Post by bjd on Oct 11, 2017 15:01:59 GMT
"There is also a significant amount of flavonoids in red wines, and these antioxidants are known to be able to lower risks of cancer. Generally, red wines are considered a healthier option than white wines. However, high quality white wines from certain winemakers may offer more health benefits than some red wines."
"Both white and red wines are good for your health. Although they are made with grapes, they do not provide the same health benefits as fruits. After they go through fermentation, the grapes lose some of their original nutrition, but they also gain new health benefits. One of the main benefits of white wines is that they can improve heart health and prevent heart diseases. They are also effective in promoting lung health.
Red wines have most of the health benefits of white wines, and they can contribute to your health in other ways as well. Since they contain the skins of grapes, red wines have a powerful type of antioxidants called resveratrols. Resveratrols offer excellent protection for your blood vessels, and they can eliminate blood clots as well. They are also effective in inhibiting the activities of enzymes that stimulate the growth of cancer cells and slow down immune response. Red wines also contain polyphenols, which are excellent antioxidants that can perform a wide variety of tasks, including reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels, improving the immune system, combating against harmful bacteria and preventing cancer. There is also a significant amount of flavonoids in red wines, and these antioxidants are known to be able to lower risks of cancer."
Just found this on the internet, Lagatta. It's what I have always heard too.
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Post by lagatta on Oct 11, 2017 18:34:57 GMT
Yes, I've read extensively on all that. My sort-of-adoptive grandmother lived to 102 and always enjoyed a bit of wine or porto. (My biological grandmother died in labour of my youngest uncle and his twin, who didn't survive).
You've probably met me at my postmenopausal porkiest - not at all "obèse morbide" but not comfortable meeting people as I simply didn't feel like myself, and certainly hadn't started binging on junk food or fizzy drinks... There is nowhere for people as short as I am to hide any overweight!
I'm so happy to have given away many garments that had become too big for me - not that I'll ever be a lanky fashion model, or give a shit about that, but I feel more like myself.
There is a bit of a downside to red wines for us allergics; usually they don't bother me, but when over sensitized, they give me a headache, and I'm not talking about the normal hangover that comes - as a warning - from excess.
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Post by bixaorellana on Oct 11, 2017 20:48:05 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Oct 12, 2017 1:33:06 GMT
Could be true, but I'd never drink anything as sugary as grape juice. Instant toothache and headache.
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Post by whatagain on Oct 12, 2017 6:23:54 GMT
My endocrinologist could not care less that I had put myself on a diet. She didn't even ask if I was doing sport. Seems all she was interested in was to write down the results of my blood Analysis. Too bad I was looking for a doctor not a bookkeeper. I am sometimes surprised by the way people do their job.
After that visit I went to have my eye examined ( fond d'œil in French - you can see lésions by looking at your eyes ) and had a lot of fun with my wife ´s colleagues having fun of me or flattering me or cajoling me. They are a good team and seem to have a lot of laughs together.
I have this inclination to believe people who laugh do their job better than people who don't. Maybe it is untrue but I don't want to spend time with boring or negative people anyway ;-)
One of the best remarks I ever got from my HR was that I don't take myself seriously but I do my job seriously. I try to make it my philosophy ! Anyway we should not take life too seriously since nobody gets through it alive ;-)
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Post by mickthecactus on Nov 2, 2017 9:23:22 GMT
I have taken up walking and try to get in a decent walk at pace every day. Been doing it for about 10 days now and surprised to find I have lost about 4lbs. Onwards and upwards! I need to lose about a stone and a half.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 2, 2017 11:13:35 GMT
That is great, Mick.
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