Right food, right mind
For much of last year, I was not as healthy as I would have liked to have been. The main reason was being too busy. Too busy to exercise properly, too busy to eat sensibly… But as the year drew to a close, I made a conscious effort to clear my schedule and to identify the things that enhanced my life rather than just doing things ‘cos I had to do them or ‘cos I was obligated to others. There were two key themes that emerged - I wanted to focus on being creative and active.
Over the Xmas period, I was glad for the time out to recharge my batteries and think about how I was going to make sure these two themes could underpin 2010.
Creativity for this year means: making sure I have time for blogging and creating online media such as photos, podcasts and video. What I love about blogging is that my blog is a blank canvas on which I can create anything, using the people I meet, the art I see, the films I watch, the books I read, the thoughts that may pass through my mind. I love how I can use it to connect with people by inviting them to share their stories or views on the blog or by writing up an event that I’ve attended or pondering more deeply on a conversation I may have had with someone. It’s also a fun way to capture quirky or interesting images that have caught my eye and to play with making videos or podcasts about the world around me.
Being active this years means: picking up on the running that I’d started to enjoy last year but had not had time to improve on. Not being very athletic at school, I had never thought I’d enjoy running but taking the time to build up my stamina and speed over the last few months, I’ve really come to thrive with it. I’m still not very fast compared to other people and I still can’t run for much more than an hour - but for me, it’s been a real breakthrough! As a result of running - and seeing my running improve over time - I’ve become more aware of the need to eat more healthily as well as generally looking after my health. And being fitter means that I have more energy, feel more cheerful and positive (especially important through these last long dark winter months!) and more alert and creative!
One of the things I used to be rubbish at was making sure that I ate healthy portions and at regular intervals. Here’s an example. I’d have lunch around 12.30 and then not eat again till dinner at 8, by which time I would be grouchy, tired, headachey and generally unbearable. Then, at dinner, I would eat way too much because I was starving and I’d feel stuffed for the rest of the evening, storing up all that weight to make me chubby over the next few days.
So what to do? The answer is to snack with healthy snacks in between the main meals, which has the advantage of making sure I have a regular supply of good fuel so I’m not running on empty and also of making sure I don’t wolf down excessive amounts at meal times. One of the best snacks I’ve discovered so far is roasted pumpkin seeds. Apart from being packed full of good stuff that helps with depression, cholesterol etc, they are also pretty tasty when they are roasted.
Well, I say roasted. But in fact, I dry fry them. Here’s how:
1. Heat a non-stick pan on the stove.
2. Pour some pumpkin seeds onto the pan - about enough to cover the bottom of the pan plus some. Do not add anything else: no oil, nothing.
3. Stir fry the seeds dry till they start to pop and jump around.
4. Take the pan off the heat/ turn off the heat when a few have started to pop, but continue stir frying. The reason for this is that if you keep the pan on the heat, it will be too hot and they will burn. The heat you’ve already got will keep popping the seeds so keep stirring.
5. They will make a lovely rustley sound when they are ready, which means that they have expanded and popped. They should look a mixture of green/ khaki/ brown.
You can eat them on their own like you might eat nuts. Or sprinkle them over salad - or even fruit salad. Or sprinkle them over pasta. They have a nutty flavour that goes perfectly in any of these situations.
When it comes down to it, it seems to me, it’s the little things that make the difference. When I’m feeling down and overwhelmed and exhausted and plummetted into an existential crisis, it’s most likely that I’m have a low blood sugar moment and when I’ve had a healthy snack, it’s amazing how I seem to perk up and life all seems worthwhile again! It’s the same with the running - just having a go and then making it into a habit and before too long, I have more stamina and feel more energized. And as for blogging, it helps me take notice of the people and world around me and makes me curious and thoughtful - and perhaps a little bolder when it comes to making a connection with someone I might not otherwise get to know.
I wouldn’t say that pumpkin seeds have changed my life, but they certainly have helped me make the changes I want to make.
Pictures:
Painting, thanks to seeminglee from flickr.com (CCL)
Runner, thanks to Hamed Saber from flickr.com (CCL)
Pumpkin seeds - my photo
Posted by Yang-May Ooi on Friday, March 19th, 2010 at 2:00am





















