Health for life

Weve all been there with our parents – the same ol restaurant, with the same ol menu– because theyre reluctant to try something new, strange, or simply unappealing. And theres nothing intrinsically wrong with that, per se. People like what they like, and odds are, your parents eating habits have been pretty set for decades.

But wouldnt it be nice to try something else for a change?

Convincing your folks to move on to new cuisines and cultures can be a wonderful experience for all involved, and not just because kimchee is awesome. "Ethnic" foods, or foods found outside your traditional cuisine, are frequently:

• Less expensive: When HOTUS and I order Chinese takeout, we can turn $15 into dinner that night and lunch for the office the next day. While not as cheap as home cooking, its darn comparable.
• Healthier: Okay, so the ghee (clarified butter) in Chicken Korma wont put it on the happy side of the Eat This, Not That list, but non-traditional dishes can often pack in vegetables, lean cuts of meat, and healthy oils. Compared especially to most American-style restaurant meals, ethnic food is frequently a lighter choice.
• Educational: By eating foods outside of your customary cultural cuisine, youre exposing yourself to a new world of ingredients, flavor combinations, and styles of preparation, which you can then implement at home.
• Delicious: Mmm. Take two bites of baba ghanoush and call me in the morning.

But then again, were not talking about you here, are we? Were talking about your parents – wonderful people, to be sure, but not necessarily the most daring of eaters. So, how can you get your beloved Ma and Pa to dig into falafel, injera bread, and even sushi (or "bait," as a certain family member calls it)? Try five these strategies:

1) Pay for it. Sometimes, older folks (actually, any folks) simply dont want to blow money on something theyre not sure theyll like. So, pick an inexpensive restaurant and treat em. Think of it as an adventure you dont need hiking boots for.

2) Start at home. Prepping a meal for mom? Throw in a teriyaki side dish or a plate of pierogies. By surrounding a new food with ones she likes, it may seem more approachable.

3) Order a gateway food. Introducing your parents to a mild dish – one with a less-assertive flavor, similar to a recipe they might already love. Pad Thai is way Americanized, but its an effective tool for getting reluctant eaters into more daring Thai Food. For me, lassis and samosas were the gateway dishes to a lot of delicious Indian cuisine.

• SPECIAL NOTE: This can be a way effective strategy for people with an aversion to spice, which was probably the most-cited fear in yesterdays Ask the Internet comments. Feeding your parents a super-mild quesadilla proves to them that all Mexican food isnt a five-alarm chili, which could encourage them to attempt other dishes.

4) Embrace media. This might sound lame (I hope not), but for many folks, seeing a dish in a magazine, on a TV show, or at the movies – when its been styled and served in the best possible light by super-attractive people – can make it seem tremendously appealing. I wonder how many parents wanted an Italian meal after watching Julia Roberts slurp spaghetti in Eat Pray Love? Or how many folks decided Indian food could be super-awesome after 30 minutes of Aartis Party? Or how many moms and dads tried matzoh ball soup for the first time after seeing a glossy photo in Saveur? Probably a lot.

5) Know when to accept defeat. My dad will never, ever, ever develop a love of curry, no matter how many "mmm … slurp … ahhh" sounds I make while eating a big ol bowl of it. And that is totally, 100% fine. Not everyone has similar tastes, and pushing a loved one too hard can (seriously) get pretty annoying. Food should be a joy, not a struggle. Move on.

Opening parents - and anyone, really - up to new cuisines, and as a result, new cultures, is something from which we can all benefit. Happy eating.

Readers? Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Fire away.

~~~

If you enjoyed this read, you might also dig:

• Healthy Takeout on a Budget
• Learning to Love Foods You Hate: A How-To Guide for Frugal Eaters
• Serving Sizes and Portion Control: A Primer

Sweet readers! Today’s question is pretty self-centered, but what are blogs, if not digital representations of our desperate need for validation on a mass scale? Also, the winner gets a cookbook! Whee!

Q: A long, long time ago (37 days) in a galaxy far, far away (Lawn Guyland, Noo Yawk), I married a man of unparalleled awesomeness and beard-growing ability. Until that fateful evening, he was erred to on this blog as Husband-Elect. Now he has been … uh … sworn in (?) as my spouse, we need a new moniker.

What should we call The Artist Formerly Known as Husband-Elect?

A: Our favorite name will receive a copy of Giada De Laurentiis’ newest cookbook, Giada at Home: Family Recipes from Italy and California. (We went to Italy for our honeymoon, and I hear California is very nice, so its kind of fitting.)

As always with these kinds of things, there are a few rules:

• Entries must be in by this Thursday, October 14th, at 6pm. 
• One entry per person.
• Entries must include your idea and a name with which we can identify you. No anonymous comments, please.
• Winner will be announced in this Friday’s Top Ten Links post.
• In the case of a repeated idea, the commenter who mentioned it first will receive the cookbook.
• No family or friends of CHG bloggers can enter. Sorry, Ma.

Hope that makes sense, sweet readers. Can’t wait to see your ideas, and don’t forget to log on later for Jaime’s newest Green Kitchen column!

Want to ask the interweb a question? Post one in the comment section, or write to Cheaphealthygood@gmail.com. Then, tune in next Tuesday for an answer/several answers from the good people of the World Wide Net.

So Ive been thinking a lot lately about New Years Resolutions, and why they so often fail.  I see it every year in the gym... As soon as January 2nd hits, that place turns into a mad house, a clusterfuck if you will.  A clusterfuck full of everyday, hardworking people who have been neglecting their health all year long, especially over the recent holiday season, and are now determined to get in shape and lose weight.  But this clusterfuck never lasts.  It slowly ebbs away as the winter months go on, finally reaching a low in the Spring and Summer when the weather is nice and people return to their normal lives.  Hey, at least it gives people something to focus on other than the harshness of post-holiday Winter.

Of course not everyone fails in their New Years Resolutions; about 12% of us succeed, according to a 2007 study (1).  Thats right... just 12% succeed...  88% fail.  This year, 9 out of 10 of us will fail with our resolutions.  And what do we want?  No surprise, weight loss tops the list (2).

Why the horrible success rate?  Why do we fail at our goals to begin with?  And how can we be successful?  After some serious reading and thinking, Ive come up with the following:  three things you can do to succeed in your New Years resolution this year!

1.)  Set goals that are consistent with who you are.
Perhaps the most important thing you can do before you set a goal... know yourself and your values.  I cant stress this enough.  Sean Croxton wrote a great article about this topic here, I highly recommend it.  You need to do some soul searching.  If the things that you value most are your family, your business, education, religion, and the New York Giants... maybe you need to rethink your goal of losing 100 pounds this year.  I dont see health, nutrition, or exercise anywhere in that list, so unless you plan on denouncing football and God in the process, you wont find long-term success there.  Theres nothing wrong with not caring about health.  Everybody is different, everybody has different values.  Know yourself, be confident in what you stand for, and set goals that make sense for you.  

But just because you dont value health as much as other things in your life, that doesnt mean you cant have a successful health-related resolution this year.  Just gauge your resolution to the value you place on it.  If you only kinda-sorta care, theres nothing wrong with setting yourself a goal that lects that...  something relatively easy, like giving up soda.  You dont have to change the world here if youre not so inclined.  Just know who you are, and know the level of commitment youre willing to put into it.


2.)  Make sure youre doing it for the right reasons.
At the deepest level, behind every human action lies one of two emotions:  fear or love.  Setting a New Years resolution out of fear is a dead end street.  If your goal is to lose weight, ask yourself why you want to lose weight.  Is it because youre afraid of being unattractive?  Are you afraid of having a heart attack?  Afraid that you dont look like a Victorias Secret model?  If you set a resolution out of fear, then at the deepest level, you dont really want it.  Youll find that even if you do get there, the fear still remains. 

On the other hand, if you want to lose weight because you love the way you feel at that weight, because you love your life and you want to stick around for a while, or because you love being the best person you can be... then carry on.  If you do it from a place of love, you will get the return on investment youre looking for.  Recognizing whether you are coming from a place of love or a place of fear isnt easy; it requires a lot of self-lection.  Its a fine line, but its a crucial concept.  It could be the difference between success and failure.  Dont do it because youre afraid of what others think of you... fuck everyone else.  Do it for you.


3.)  Set goals that are realistic and attainable.
Now that youve got the first two covered, you need to set a goal that is realistic, and perhaps more importantly, it needs to be conducive to long-term success.  In other words, dont try to lose 50 pounds by February.  A.)  You wont.  B.)  Youll feel like a failure.  and C.)  You wont maintain it.  And if youve never weighed less than 150 pounds in your adult life, dont set your goal weight at 110 pounds.  It will not happen.  Accept it.

You would be wise to set both long-term and short-term goals.  Set a long-term, overarching goal youd like to achieve, and set short-term goals that get you there.  Lets say you want to lose 30 pounds by the end of the year.  Thats totally attainable.  Divide 30 by 12 and you get 2.5 pounds per month.  Shoot for 2-3 pounds of weight loss a month as your goal.  If you lose more than that, great.  But keep your goals modest and keep your long-term goal in sight.  The constant success will keep you motivated and you might even hit your goal before you planned to.  If you do, good for you!  I know I know... slow, gradual weight loss isnt sexy, but its the only way to go if you want to keep the weight off long-term.  Its far easier to implement a minor lifestyle modification than an intensive one, especially over the long haul.  If you set out to eat zero carbs, and exercise 2 hours every day, youll fail.  Quickly.  Take your time, dont get carried away, and keep your long-term goal in mind... theres no rush.


There you have it.  Three bits of advice to aid you this year in your New Years resolution.  I hope this helps someone out there.  Has anyone had success with their resolutions in the past?  How did you do it?  And what are people going for this year?  Id love to hear from you in the comments!