For the Love of Carbs
In one of the near infinite permutations on the topic of food possible for conversation, the latest one my friend C and I had left me wondering about the absymal reputation carbs have been suffering for the last 13-15 years. If my recollection of female obsessions, fitness trends and myths are correct, carbohydrates' fall from grace began with the popularity and heed of the Zone diet. Before that, the overarching grain of wisdom was if you want to eat healthy, stick to low-fat carbs like pastas and bread, avoid the obvious high-fat havocs like fast food, anything that hails from New Orleans, anything that ends with "fries"- French fries, Belgian fries, chili cheese fries (sigh), and don't get too chummy with the protein family.
I still remember the many occasions where I would eat all the rice and nuoc mom (fish) sauce off my plate while leaving the whole lemongrass-grilled chicken leg sans two or three bites to be doggy-bagged and divvied up into 2 more meals each with more rice or noodles. Gone are the cavalier way I consume cinnamon raisin bagels, caramelized French toast, silky congee with thousand-year old eggs and minced pork, savoury sticky rice rolls, spaghetti pomodoro (first dish home economic teacher taught us), and a staple bowl of white rice with dinner. Just to name a few.
The Zone diet and the stubborn lifelong fifteen pounds I finally lost through it was the catalyst to my fanatical spurning of all simple and semi-complex carbohydrates for a good part of the aughties. Of course there were deviant occasions, especially while traveling, but overall, my healthy eating habit has been exemplary by any assessment. Not only has my disciplined eating been beneficial to me, but its perceivable consequence has inspired those friends and families around me to tweak their eating habits too.
But, my conversation with C sparked an interesting dilemma. We started talking about dishes we'd never buy because we can make them (though in her case, mostly her mom) so much tastier and more generously. So we each rambled off- with ample interspersion of lip smacking and sighs- a menu of home cooked staples from our respective kitchens. It was quite stark the high percentage of carb-centric dishes there were among our lists. Then she commented on how lucky her nephew is to be able to enjoy her mom's cooking since he is (practically) living with her as opposed to her niece who isn't.
That got me thinking about the next generation in my family. Would I or should I even let them grow up on what I grew up with? I was okay with forgoing the many comfort food of my childhood but I was still nostalgic over them from time to time- they are here in my memory to crave and reminisce. Should I deny my kids those old-time classics and opt for the organic, local grown, low-carb, balanced protein and plant-friendly cuisine I'm benefiting from?
'Yikes' I thought! Thankfully, I don't have any children yet, but it's something that I'll need to decide on. Using more water, expending extra energy, aggregating excess carbon footprints- all to make multiple meals is not acceptable nor economical.
In the meantime, I think I'll eulogized those exceptional and addictive carbs of my childhood in an archive list...
I still remember the many occasions where I would eat all the rice and nuoc mom (fish) sauce off my plate while leaving the whole lemongrass-grilled chicken leg sans two or three bites to be doggy-bagged and divvied up into 2 more meals each with more rice or noodles. Gone are the cavalier way I consume cinnamon raisin bagels, caramelized French toast, silky congee with thousand-year old eggs and minced pork, savoury sticky rice rolls, spaghetti pomodoro (first dish home economic teacher taught us), and a staple bowl of white rice with dinner. Just to name a few.
The Zone diet and the stubborn lifelong fifteen pounds I finally lost through it was the catalyst to my fanatical spurning of all simple and semi-complex carbohydrates for a good part of the aughties. Of course there were deviant occasions, especially while traveling, but overall, my healthy eating habit has been exemplary by any assessment. Not only has my disciplined eating been beneficial to me, but its perceivable consequence has inspired those friends and families around me to tweak their eating habits too.
But, my conversation with C sparked an interesting dilemma. We started talking about dishes we'd never buy because we can make them (though in her case, mostly her mom) so much tastier and more generously. So we each rambled off- with ample interspersion of lip smacking and sighs- a menu of home cooked staples from our respective kitchens. It was quite stark the high percentage of carb-centric dishes there were among our lists. Then she commented on how lucky her nephew is to be able to enjoy her mom's cooking since he is (practically) living with her as opposed to her niece who isn't.
That got me thinking about the next generation in my family. Would I or should I even let them grow up on what I grew up with? I was okay with forgoing the many comfort food of my childhood but I was still nostalgic over them from time to time- they are here in my memory to crave and reminisce. Should I deny my kids those old-time classics and opt for the organic, local grown, low-carb, balanced protein and plant-friendly cuisine I'm benefiting from?
'Yikes' I thought! Thankfully, I don't have any children yet, but it's something that I'll need to decide on. Using more water, expending extra energy, aggregating excess carbon footprints- all to make multiple meals is not acceptable nor economical.
In the meantime, I think I'll eulogized those exceptional and addictive carbs of my childhood in an archive list...
- Caramelized French Toast
- Cream cheese and Jam Pancake
- Pandan and Coconut Waffles
- Toasted Steam Bun with Condensed Milk
- Vietnamese Congee -Pork Sausage, Chicken
- Basic Chinese Congee -Fish Fillet, Thousand Years Old Egg and Minced Pork, Dried Scallop and Shitake Mushroom
- Rice Flour Rolls -Banh Cuon, Rice Flour "Intestines"
- Spaghetti stir fry
- Pasta al Vodka
- Pasta al Balsamic & Butter
- Coconut Carbonara
- Cheese fritters
- Rice and Cheese
- Pan fried Rice cakes with beef and Asian greens
- Easy Sticky Rice with Chinese Sausage
- Saucy Egg Rice with Spam
- ...
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