Hello, all,
I'm baffled by how to deal with certain cuisines. Ethiopian. South Indian. Tapas. Where you end up with lots of little plates around, and no plate of your own to portion onto, and it's kind of a free-for-all. And it's so delicious that "virtual plating" just seems too hard.
I've been trying to have a rule of "no seconds"--you get a bit of each thing, but don't come back for more--but it's not working. (Probably because it seems like just too little food that way. Plus, how do you get through an Ethiopian meal with only one piece of injera bread?) These are the meals that screw me up--these are my red days. I see all the little plates, and I tend to throw out the rules. It doesn't screw me up too too bad--I don't snack or get dessert afterwards--but I do overeat at these meals.
I'd love to restrict these meals to weekends--then it'd be easy--but I don't always get to decide where to eat! And I love these cuisines--I'm not going to pretend not to!
Suggestions? Thanks!!!
M
certain cuisines
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CatholicCajun
- Posts: 317
- Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2008 12:32 pm
- Location: along the beautiful bayous of south Louisiana
Hello Mary! Well honey, I would help you if I could, and at the risk of sounding dumb, I have never had, seen, smelled or even know any of the kinds of cuisine you listed, New Orleans may have some of those, but we never go to the city anymore, and I don't know if I am brave enough to even try some new cuisine, but I am sure you will find some people on this board much more traveled than me who can help you. God Bless.
Je'sus, j'Ai Confiance dans Vous
Well, you could see it as a more general problem--not necessarily just with those cuisines, although they're some of the very trickiest.
But the general problem being the unstructured, multi-plate, family-style, semi-festive restaurant meal, where everything's shared.
I thought I had a good solution with interpreting "no seconds" as only one serving from each different food on the table, but I'm realizing that this is still tripping me up--these are my red days.
Often, only one serving of each food just seems like too little (although it probably wouldn't be too little, actually), so then I tend to chuck the rules out.
But I can't figure out a different rule to prevent me from overeating.
"Virtual plating" is just too ambiguous for me: I need something really clear.
This is my BIG problem with No S: I don't have a problem with sweets or snacks, but I have a REAL problem with overeating at social, restaurant meals. I'll feel bloated for the next day or two. Ugh.
It's weird: it's not alone with the Ben and Jerry's that's a problem for me, but rather sharing a nice meal with a bunch of friends. I end up eating more than anyone else.
And there's just no way I can avoid eating out on weekdays...
Any help much appreciated!
But the general problem being the unstructured, multi-plate, family-style, semi-festive restaurant meal, where everything's shared.
I thought I had a good solution with interpreting "no seconds" as only one serving from each different food on the table, but I'm realizing that this is still tripping me up--these are my red days.
Often, only one serving of each food just seems like too little (although it probably wouldn't be too little, actually), so then I tend to chuck the rules out.
But I can't figure out a different rule to prevent me from overeating.
"Virtual plating" is just too ambiguous for me: I need something really clear.
This is my BIG problem with No S: I don't have a problem with sweets or snacks, but I have a REAL problem with overeating at social, restaurant meals. I'll feel bloated for the next day or two. Ugh.
It's weird: it's not alone with the Ben and Jerry's that's a problem for me, but rather sharing a nice meal with a bunch of friends. I end up eating more than anyone else.
And there's just no way I can avoid eating out on weekdays...
Any help much appreciated!
I've had Ethiopian and tapas. I just pay attention to how I feel. Do I feel satisfied? If so, time to stop.
Beyond that, I think life is too short to worry about whether or not it filled a virtual plate. If it was more -- so what? Actually, I tend to think that what I eat there wouldn't fill a dinner plate.
Beyond that, I think life is too short to worry about whether or not it filled a virtual plate. If it was more -- so what? Actually, I tend to think that what I eat there wouldn't fill a dinner plate.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."
"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."
Where I come from we have "picadas" that are always eaten with tall glasses of beer, which is our own version of tapas, what people do in those occasions is treat the table like a buffet line, you pick what you are going to eat and leave the rest, you stop when satisfied, if you are in a situation in which the little dishes keep coming, like in a tapas restaurant or sometimes in the case of mezze, then, well, eat just a morsel of each until you feel satisfied.
It's very hard to stop, especially when you feel that it's enough and oooh, there comes the stuffed squid!, or whatever it's your favorite, but you gotta remember that if you overeat, later on, your distended stomach will make you feel sorry for doing so and it won't be such a nice experience any longer.
It's very hard to stop, especially when you feel that it's enough and oooh, there comes the stuffed squid!, or whatever it's your favorite, but you gotta remember that if you overeat, later on, your distended stomach will make you feel sorry for doing so and it won't be such a nice experience any longer.
We love ethnic cuisines. Personally, I am not crazy about tapas because of the amount of olive oil that most restaurants use. I adore Indian food and think that if you eat chicken you could have a plate of tandoori, rice, spinach and split a naan with someone. There are all kinds of vegetarian curries and vegetables as well. If you live in a town with a Green Papaya (Thai cusine) restaurant, you are in luck. The luncheon menu has a lot of choices for $6.95, and everything is well-prepared and healthy-ish. The portion is one plate and just large enough for a little bit left over for dinner.
Thanks, you guys!!! Wise words.
I guess it's just really one of those things where you need some common sense--eat until you feel satisfied, try a bit of each thing, but don't overeat. I'm just not always so good with common sense! (Which is why, generally, I find No S so useful--it's about learning the common sense that I somehow don't have.)
Or maybe it's more that I don't trust myself to have common sense, at least not around food, and that's why I like having the reassuring security blanket of some hard-and-fast rule I can check myself against. But you can't make hard-and-fast rules to deal with every conceivable situation: sometimes you do just have to trust yourself!
One thing I was thinking about is the place of old-fashioned table manners in this; they exist to slow down your eating, to make a meal more social, to share the food equitably. Maybe in situations where the "one plate" rule just doesn't work, I can try just thinking about eating really POLITELY, and that'll slow me down enough to where I don't end up gorging myself and regretting it. My companions will probably appreciate this approach, too!!
I guess it's just really one of those things where you need some common sense--eat until you feel satisfied, try a bit of each thing, but don't overeat. I'm just not always so good with common sense! (Which is why, generally, I find No S so useful--it's about learning the common sense that I somehow don't have.)
Or maybe it's more that I don't trust myself to have common sense, at least not around food, and that's why I like having the reassuring security blanket of some hard-and-fast rule I can check myself against. But you can't make hard-and-fast rules to deal with every conceivable situation: sometimes you do just have to trust yourself!
One thing I was thinking about is the place of old-fashioned table manners in this; they exist to slow down your eating, to make a meal more social, to share the food equitably. Maybe in situations where the "one plate" rule just doesn't work, I can try just thinking about eating really POLITELY, and that'll slow me down enough to where I don't end up gorging myself and regretting it. My companions will probably appreciate this approach, too!!
I'm asian and I can relate. We often eat out in Chinese restaurants where everyone shares dishes set in the middle of the table. Depending on how full I am, I have two servings of each dish, and a third serving for my favorite or one serving of each dish and a second for my favorite.
And in case two/three servings sounds like a lot, when you're eating out with other people I find you automatically tend to not take lots for each serving because you don't wanna seem greedy.
Also another tip is to eat slowly so that you're not finished before anyone else. I find if you eat slowly no one notices you're serving yourself less.
Hope that helps.
And in case two/three servings sounds like a lot, when you're eating out with other people I find you automatically tend to not take lots for each serving because you don't wanna seem greedy.
Also another tip is to eat slowly so that you're not finished before anyone else. I find if you eat slowly no one notices you're serving yourself less.
Hope that helps.
It helps to eat as slowly as possible, that way you enjoy the food more and there is a certain social pressure to not continue eating once everyone else has finished!