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Eating Nile Monitors in Florida
When i lived in uganda (near the actual Nile, where monitor lizards come from), a friend accidentally ran over a monitor in her car, and had the skin turned into a purse. Seems like a better idea than eating it!
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
On the one hand, all things you write about (feeling good, being balanced, at a maintainable level) are all really important. Potentially the most important. BUT. One of the things that's weird about American society is that most people's conception of what a truly 'healthy' or 'slim' weight actually is, is quite skewed from a global or health-based standard. Having very few slim people around has caused people to believe that slimness is an 'extreme' state not to be aspired to, rather than the weight that Americans used to consider 'normal'. So maybe think about that - does 218 lbs seems 'normal' based on the people around you, or does it seem like 'your ideal'? Are you settling for the average, or aspiring to the healthy?
Unique and fun Appetizers...what are yours?
I just made something for the first time that I'm going to make over and over: Put pretty/delicious sandwich fillings on a baguette that's been sliced in half. Then slice the baguette halves into bite-size slices, so that you now have about 20 little bite size open-faced sandwiches.
I did two kinds:
- Pesto, mozzarella, and roasted red pepper (I'd do tomato in tomato season)
- Fancy mustard, rare deli roast beef, caramelized onions
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Toronto cheap eats
I actually feel a bit shocked that no one's mentioned the Pomegranate restaurant on College St, near Bathurst St. Incredibly delicious and authentic persian food, in an interesting room, and the most expensive item on the menu is 14 bucks.
Eating Nile Monitors in Florida
When i lived in uganda (near the actual Nile, where monitor lizards come from), a friend accidentally ran over a monitor in her car, and had the skin turned into a purse. Seems like a better idea than eating it!
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
On the one hand, all things you write about (feeling good, being balanced, at a maintainable level) are all really important. Potentially the most important. BUT. One of the things that's weird about American society is that most people's conception of what a truly 'healthy' or 'slim' weight actually is, is quite skewed from a global or health-based standard. Having very few slim people around has caused people to believe that slimness is an 'extreme' state not to be aspired to, rather than the weight that Americans used to consider 'normal'. So maybe think about that - does 218 lbs seems 'normal' based on the people around you, or does it seem like 'your ideal'? Are you settling for the average, or aspiring to the healthy?
Unique and fun Appetizers...what are yours?
I just made something for the first time that I'm going to make over and over: Put pretty/delicious sandwich fillings on a baguette that's been sliced in half. Then slice the baguette halves into bite-size slices, so that you now have about 20 little bite size open-faced sandwiches.
I did two kinds:
- Pesto, mozzarella, and roasted red pepper (I'd do tomato in tomato season)
- Fancy mustard, rare deli roast beef, caramelized onions
I rediscovered _______, and now I love it!
Beets! I thought I hated them, and then a restaurant gave me a side of roasted caramelized beets, and I rediscovered them wholeheartedly. Turns out that I actually just hated canned, vinegary beets.
(I also hated hamburgers and meat sauce and meatloaf as a kid - anything with ground beef, basically. I'll eat those things now, but its more about slowly 'getting used' to them, than it is about re-discovery.)
Overheard: strange things you've heard people say about food.
I have a friend who says that she "doesn't like sauce." ANY SAUCE at all. She also says she "doesn't like -------" about absolutely any food she hasn't tried before. (So basically, her food repertoire is limited to foods she tried as a child.) It's INFURIATING.
(Also, coolname - the natural glutamates in those foods aren't equivalent to the huge quantities of artificial MSG that is added to foods. It's completely realistic that someone could be sensitive to MSG while also being able to eat naturally savoury foods.)
The Cartoon Kitchen: Tomato Fondue
I don't get it. This isn't fondue. When the cartoon reads "serve on the side", does that mean on the side of fondue? Or, is this simply meant to be fondue-esque? In which case, what do you eat it with?
The Cartoon Kitchen: Celery Root Purée
I made this once, It was a lot of work - just getting a celery root peeled is pretty laborious. Unless i was being 'careful about my carbs' and desperately wanted to eat something mashed-potato-y, i wouldn't consider this worth my time.
Toronto Wedding Reception Restaurant Recs
Jamie Kennedy at the Gardiner would probably be beautiful! I went there for dinner a few weeks ago and could so easily visualise it for a wedding.
Also, The Fifth would probably be great (but, like Jamie Kennedy, quite expensive). Sunnybrook estates are also beautiful, although not a restaurant. The Drake Hotel and the Gladstone both also do weddings, and would bring your wedding some 'downtown cool'.
And keep in mind... you can do some pretty delicious and sophisticated things with meat and potatoes!
The Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich
The ultimate grilled cheese sandwich includes either dijon mustard smeared on the inside of the sandwich, or worstershire sauce sprinkled inside, or quite possibly including sauteed onions.
The recipe presented here just gives you a good ordinary grilled cheese, exactly as good as all the other ordinary grilled cheeses.
Canadian Cuisine?
And just curious - to the commenters who think that canadian food is bad/food in canada is bad, what food are you talking about, exactly? 'Canadian' food, whatever that is? Or are you actually saying that there is no decent cooking in the country? (Which is patently ridiculous, considering that the kind of food and the range of quality is virtually identical to what you'd get in the states.)
Canadian Cuisine?
I live in toronto, and i've never really had game in my life, until a few months ago at a high-end restaurant. And in Ontario (and anywhere that's not British Columbia or the Maritimes) we don't get any more fish and seafood than you would anywhere in the States. When i think of Canadian-specific food, I think of Montreal smoked meat, poutine, and tourtier, which are all actually Quebecois foods, rather than generally Canadian. Butter tarts, nanaimo bars, and back bacon might be 'canadian', but they're hardly 'everyday foods'.
I think canadian food, at this point in time, is mostly about the ethnic mix of where you live, and whether you are on a coast (ie related to the seafood thing.)
My Seven Go-To Foods for the New Year: What Are Yours?
Ed, if you 'suffer' through the non-extra-sweetened yogurt for a while, it will begin to taste sweet enough. Give it a shot. Having a palate that is trained to prefer food that is extra-sugary is a guaranteed way to prevent weight loss.
That being said, here's my list:
- Sushi
- Soups (non creamy, but otherwise any kind)
- Chickpeas and beans
- OATMEAL (this is truly the ultimate diet food - it can be flavoured however you want -try diced apples, cinnamon, splenda or sugar, and slivered almonds- and it keeps you full for hours and hours due to all the fiber and lean 'perfect protein')
- Eggplant (roasted in the oven and then drizzled with a miso/honey/sesame oil sauce)
- Edamame, pomegranates, and artichokes: healthy foods that can be a good munchy slow snack in front of the television.
Serious Eats Gift Guide: New York Food
Other than the hot dogs, this seems more like a "great jewish food" list than a "new york food" list, at least to me. If you're ever in Toronto or Montreal head to their older jewish neighbourhoods and enjoy!
Toronto - Where to eat?
I actually dislike the taste and quality of the food. Everything is beautifully presented, but everything tastes exactly the same (they use the same 3 or 4 sauces for all their dishes) and very little of it actually has any relationship with actual asian food. Its homogenized 'asian food'.
I know several people who like it and more people who hate it. The food doesn't actual taste that bad but it certainly doesn't taste as good as any of the hundred thai/vietnamese restaurants scattered around the city. If i was visiting Toronto and was focused on trying good food, it's certainly not the place I'd want to try on my trip to the city. It's a bit like recommending the Olive Garden.
Toronto - Where to eat?
Good advice so far! I also agree that Spring Rolls is crap, funnily enough I also refer to it as the "fast food of thai food". Otherwise, i agree with all the suggestions above, including the one for Now's guide. I specifically second the reco's for 'Aunties and Uncles' and Easy for brunch.
You should also try Chinatown (Dundas and Spadina) in general, anywhere you walk into will likely be delicious and cheap. The Pomegranate is a fantastic and cheap persian restaurant on College St near Bathurst. Torito in Kensington market seems pretty cheap (it's a tapas restaurant), but it can unexpectedly really add up when you pick a bunch of 'small things' - but it's really delicious. And not horribly priced depending on your standards of what 'cheap' means. It's on Augusta south of College, in Kensington. Tabule (middle eastern food) on Yonge St between Eglinton and Davisville is also really good.
Dinner Tonight: Popcorn Chickpeas
You know what's better? Roasting chickpeas in the oven for about a 45 minutes until they're crispy and crunchy, and then sprinkling salt, or chili powder, or cumin/cinammon/chili, or herbs/garlic/parmesan. Crunchy snacky goodness!
Describe your latest or greatest sandwich creation
Hummus and roasted eggplant/zucchini/peppers!
Tuna (packed in oil) with cheddar cheese, slices of red pepper and cucumber, mayo and mustard spread on a baguette.
Turkey/stuffing/cranberry sauce/and leftover salad sandwiches!
Tomato, mozzarella, lots of basil, olive and oil and balsamic on bread that's crusty enough to stand up to the juices, but not so thick that you're eating mostly bread.
Eating Nile Monitors in Florida
@mepolo, the restaurant I work with serves a deep-fried alligator appetizer. I disagree with @iaspire in that it doesn't taste like fish or chicken. Tad does a light deep-fry, with the meat ending up also light, very sweet and not gamey whatsoever. Whoever cooks it does have to know what they're doing with it, which takes practice.
Eating Nile Monitors in Florida
@mepolo: It tastes like...fishy chicken. And it's usually served fried, so my point is: why eat it? Don't we have enough, as an advanced society, to eat that doesn't need to be fried beyond recognition in order to taste only okay?
Eating Nile Monitors in Florida
@lpc - my fil gave me a can of cajun alligator, but I've been reluctant to try it....what does alligator taste like? (Don't you tell me chicken.... ;-))
Eating Nile Monitors in Florida
I have to admit - everytime I read about a new "beast" that has started popping up on the dinner table I am always curious as to what they taste like. I imagine they would be similar to alligator meat, but I still would like to try it. I am truly the cat curiosity caught.
Eating Nile Monitors in Florida
i used to have a nile monitor as a pet. he was a vicious little dude. kinda bugs me that people are eating them. but then again, i eat rabbit, and some people keep those as pets.
Eating Nile Monitors in Florida
Spam in a lizard thread ... how cool is that? ;-)
I have alligator about once a month. Same difference. I also have bacon more than that, so Deuteronomy need not apply. ;-)
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
I thought you married in 1982; does it just seem like longer? You met your wife in 1978, so that's probably the number of years of fidelity you are carrying around in your head. And you are very close to looking just as good as you looked then. congrats.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
love your diet ed. i'm not big. in fact i'm pretty skinny but i'm trying to tone up and eating well is a big part of that. you've stuck with this for so long there truly is no going back. you're a winner. keep going. keep blogging i want to hear more
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
Ed,
I just started to seriously read your weekly Blog...how much did you weigh when you started the diet? I am a culinary school grad from way back and have some great low-fat, low calorie, and low carb recipes.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
Ed - I'm 6'2", and am down to 210 lbs (from 235-240 in November) thanks to a martial arts class I started taking, and slightly more careful eating. Will I hit my 'ideal' weight of just south of 180 lbs? Probably not. My goal is to hit 200. If I hit 190 (my college weight), I'll be ecstatic.
But the important thing is to be happy with what I've accomplished... but to remember that I can still do better.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
the best answer to the question of how much should I weigh is, whatever number you feel strongest at. I'm not kidding, I asked a dr friend and he said as long as you feel strong and healthy thats where you belong. If you can keep active and keep your stamina through the day, your actual number is meaningless. BMI is probably the best measure, but most of us can tell when we feel strong and healthy. Keep up the great work Ed! and I plan on reading your posts when I'm 90 ;-)
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
So if you lose abt a lb a week, does that mean you will stop writing this column in the next couple of months when you reach your goal? Many readers have looked fwd to it on fridays.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
Congratulations on your progress! Although weight charts and BMI are guidelines, there are other factors too, as so many have pointed out. My doctor feels that the amount of "work" your body is capable of is a good indicator of overall health. He's 60 years old, plays city league hockey, bikes, skis, and hikes. When I took up weight training, I actually gained weight (muscle weight), but my clothes fit better and I feel strong and healthy. So don't fret about being perfectly lined up with the weight chart--you know your body better than anyone, and can manage your life so you feel your very best.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
I just looked at some photos of myself at about the point where everyone noticed I had lost weight and everyone was cooing about how good I looked. Which is where you are now. At some point, people suddenly notice it. I don't know if it's because your face finally changes, or you buy new clothes, but there's a point where people suddenly notice.
And you feel all good about yourself because everyone's praising you. And, yes, you feel better than you did before. And you look better than you did before. And to your eyes, which were used to looking at the fatter you, you actually look decent.
But is it the ultimate, best you? Probably not. These people are praising your efforts, giving you encouragement, and the ones who care are hoping that you won't start backsliding. But I doubt your wife has tried stuffing cream cheese bagels in your mouth because she thinks you like a starving orphan.
It's hard to look at yourself realistically. It's easier to look at other people. Try to find other people who are your height and wear the same size clothes you do. Go to one of those clothing websites that have virtal models and create one for yourself and see what shape you're in. Then find people who are your height but weigh twenty or thirty pounds less. Do those people look painfully thin, or do they look like they're in better shape than the ones who are your size?
You've gotten this far. Keep going. Take people's comments as encouragement rather than as confirmation that you've reached your goal. Lose the extra weight that you want to, and if you don't like the results, you have some room to backslide a bit.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
Ultimately, your body will probably tell you for you. If you're happy when you get to your target weight and you feel healthy, then that's where you're supposed to be. @dbcurrie is right: if you lose so much that you feel like a stick, you can certainly put the weight back on.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
That's fantastic! You said you feel good and your wife thinks you're sexy. Well, there you are! I think the key is to eat in moderation, like you said, maintain a weight within a range you feel good at and stay active. Your body knows when you're hurting and when you need to lose a few. Listen to your body and hopefully you wont have to obsess with a number. Congrats!
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
Some years ago, I took off a bit of weight. I had a target weight based on the standard charts, and a goal size as far as fitting into a certain pair of jeans. When I hit both targets I asked a number of people whether I should quit losing or not. Without exception, everyone I asked said I was perfect where I was, and not to get carried away. So I decided that was it. I felt good, I looked good, I fit into the jeans, I was a size smaller in new clothes than I expected I would be (clothing apparently has grown) and some people were referring to me as "thin" or "skinny."
Now, I'm the same weight and the jeans still fit, but I don't think I'm skinny at all. I'm thinner than a whole lot of people, but that's because all these folks around me are chubby. I'm not overweight according to weight charts or my doctor but I'm not on the thin side of the size range, either. When I was setting goals, I wanted to be a size that looked normal and healthy and not like a starving model, but now I think that I should have NOT listened to all those people and forged on to lose the little bit extra. I'd still be within the normal range.
The thing is, once you're in the long-term losing-weight mode, it's easy to keep losing. In fact, it was hard for me to stay stable without working at it. I gave myself a setpoint and three pounds either way, and there were more than a few times I dipped below and ate an extra dessert. Not a bad situation to be in, but I didn't want to find myself losing another clothing size and having to get rid of the new stuff I bought.
Then I stabilized, and I've been this weight for quite some time.
So now, I'm thinking that I might cut back some more, put more miles on the bike, and drop a few more pounds. And I know what's going to happen. All those people who think I'm "perfect" now are going to nag me about how I'm getting too thin. No, I'm not. It's just that the average weight in the US has gone up so much that we've gotten used to it.
If you're happy with the weight you are, that's fine. But if you're going by other people's opinions, keep in mind that the chubby ones are jealous and the skinny ones are sucking up. Do what you feel is right.
And keep in mind that if you do lose another 10 or 15 pounds and you feel too much like a stick, then you can always put it back on.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
@jbout- not a kind thing to say. People come in all shapes and sizes, including 0.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
I'm going through some weight loss myself and have lost 9 pounds over 3 months thanks to diet and exercise. But, I have lots of muscle. People have told me I look like I've lost 20 pounds. Instead of focusing on the weight, I'm aiming for clothing sizes. I've dropped two sizes already - my goal is ultimately to be 2-3 sizes smaller. I know I will have reached my goal if I can go into a store and buy clothes from the regular sized racks.
I'm never going to be a stick - my body structure is too big for that. But I am determined to be healthy. Beyond size, I'm starting to think of physical achievements too. I may even start training to run a half-marathon sometime in the next year.
Reading your posts have helped too. Thanks for that.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
I agree that if there's some way where you can check your body fat you should look into that than just the numbers on the scale. A lot of people are way above their "ideal weight" based on BMI, so a better goal to aim for is losing 5 - 10% of your body weight, and lots of different studies have shown that even that amount of weight loss comes with TONS of benefits, like decreased risk of heart disease, diabetes, etc.
The Perfect Grilled Cheese Sandwich
add one more peice of cheese and some crispy bacon and youre set to go.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
Ideal weight and BMI are, strictly speaking, used as statistical markers for health risk. They are by no means good indicators of healthy appearance. If your BMI is elevated, you are at increased risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and other related illnesses. In general, most people at a "normal" BMI of 20 do not look terribly healthy by modern standards - they are TOO thin. Other factors must be considered as well - body fat percentage, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and serum glucose. If your BP, cholesterol and sugar are all well-controlled, your risk of life-threatening illness is markedly less, even if you are obese (so-called "healthy obesity") - the risk of arthritis remains high, though, due to joint strain.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
There isn't an ideal number for each person, and even the range of what our bodies look like when healthy gravitates over time (just like an 80 year old doesn't have the same face as an 18 year old, s/he doesn't have the same body composition). Yes, some cultures tend to have smaller boned, less muscular populations, so what is healthy and fit there is a lot smaller than what is healthy and fit in other populations (and there are exceptions in every group).
I think it's good to realize that what's healthy for you (the point at which you are eating a varied diet without consistently feeling hungry or stuffed) is different than for someone else. Striving to be too small doesn't just set people up for failure mentally - it trains the body to expect and prepare for famine.
Personally, I threw out my scale a couple of years ago, after realizing it only made me obsessive and unhealthy. It tells me absolutely nothing about my health that I can't get just from paying attention to my body.
Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 59: How Much Should I Weigh?
As long as you're healthy and your doctor says you're healthy, you're good. People who become fixated on numbers often develop disordered eating patterns (I differentiate between disordered eating and eating disorders because they are not always the same). The problem with government numbers and BMI is they often don't figure in all the factors. Muscular and big boned people can be "overweight" but healthy, and people with very little muscle are sometimes "underweight" yet have lots of visceral fat. According to BMI, since muscle mass isn't taking into account, Lance Armstrong is obese!
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I actually feel a bit shocked that no one's mentioned the Pomegranate restaurant on College St, near Bathurst St. Incredibly delicious and authentic persian food, in an interesting room, and the most expensive item on the menu is 14 bucks.