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This is going to be a long one, so if you don't want to read the whole thing, basically this is just why I will never, ever, eat brown rice sushi. I love PB&Js, and one of the ways I make myself feel better about that is by making a "healthy" version. I don't add any new steps or ingredients ā€“Ā I just use whole wheat bread, organic peanut butter, and jelly with no added sugar. And it tastes wonderful. Sure, it's more expensive than a regular kid-friendly PB&J, but no more expensive than a lot of other healthy dishes. My point is, I get why people want to make healthier versions of their favourite foods. But some things just aren't meant to be healthy. Take ramen, for instance. Instant ramen is a true indulgence, a beast of convenience and modernity, so detached from anything resembling cuisine, but it tastes so fucking good, and isn't the artificiality of it part of the charm? Restaurant ramen, on the other hand, is a delicacy, probably made by someone who has been doing it their entire life. If you get it at the right place, at least. And then, for some reason, I see people making "healthy" homemade ramen. What are you accomplishing with that? You're not going to get the richness or luxuriousness you could get at a restaurant, or the pure, uncut satiation of the instant stuff. It's the worst of both worlds. You're spending tons of time and money on a simulacrum. What a waste. So, if you feel tempted to follow some recipe you found online for healthy fish and chips, ask yourself if it's really worth it. With the time, money, and energy you spend on it, why not try making a new recipe? Chances are, you could make something just as healthy with the same or similar ingredients, that isn't just a bastardization. Think of all the amazing healthy dishes you never learned to make, never tried, because the prospect of healthy fish and chips was so enticing. It sounded too good to be true, and it was, and now you're probably one step closer to giving up on health food forever. This is getting far too long so I'll leave you with a paraphrase of Hank Hill. "You're not making healthy eating better; you're just making your favourite food worse."
Nov 16, 2024

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If youā€™re hungry but questioning how ā€œhealthyā€ a food or meal isā€”but the alternative is that you donā€™t eat at allā€”that food or meal is healthy by default. Eat! (former nutritionist who often has to say this to myself too, as chronic illness increases the risk of disordered eating and just being hella stressed doesnā€™t help either)
Mar 19, 2024
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I think some lifestyles choices are very unnecessarily politicized right now because bad actors have captured the entirety of the discourse surrounding them for their own rhetorical purposes and twisted them to fit their biases. Iā€™ve actually been attacked recently and accused of being an alt-right nutjob by someone who knows the way I eat which saddens me! Itā€™s also difficult to talk about your own dietary choices sometimes without making people feel personally attacked so when I say this keep in mind itā€™s just what works for me ā¤ļø I avoid seed oils as much as possible and choose to use butter, olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil instead (if you would like to hear a coherent, logical, data-driven argument for this check out this video). I donā€™t eat a lot of chicken and rarely if ever eat pork; if I eat them itā€™s usually pasture-raised chicken and forage-fed heritage pork from the farmers market because the meat is higher quality due to their diet and better animal welfare standards. Same with eggs; I would never buy eggs at the store when I can get the best quality eggs I can buy for like $6 a dozen from my favorite friendly farmers. I eat fresh produce in season but I honestly love organic frozen vegetables because theyā€™re cheaper and easier to manage. I eat a lot of grass-fed beef and grass-fed New Zealand butter. I go through wedges of aged parmesan absurdly quickly. I love organic pasta imported from Italy and try to buy organic for almost everything. Lots of black espresso. fresh bread from my neighborhood bakery and dessert about once a week. I donā€™t like to carelessly or mindlessly eat sugar; if Iā€™m going to do it I want it to be a real treat! Love carbs. If I buy processed food I prefer that it has a short ingredient list and you could say I live in an ā€˜ingredients household.ā€™ I donā€™t eat until Iā€™m hungry (usually somewhere from noon to 2:00 pm) at which point Iā€™ll eat a snack with protein and fat. I eat one big meal at the end of the day. Iā€™ve tried a lot of different dietary lifestyles. I was a vegetarian for about a decade and a vegan for a good portion of that time. I ate keto and fasted regularly. I didnā€™t eat any sugar for a couple of years. Iā€™ve incorporated elements from all of these and found a way of eating that I enjoy! I feel good in my body and Iā€™m never stressed about what Iā€™m going to eat. Food is a joyful thing for me and my dream is for better nutritional education and the ability to buy healthy foods (whatever that looks like to them) to be accessible to everyone šŸ™
Nov 12, 2024
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Food is one of the worst things for you. For most of the summer, I was having a large smoothie with whey protein isolate, egg yolks, powdered coconut oil, and frozen berries. Only for the past several days (Iā€™m recovering from SARS COV-2) have I abandoned this highly caloric, insulin-bomb of a breakfast, replacing it with cold water, creatine, and powdered coconut oil, blended. You wouldnā€™t believe how much sharper I feel mentally, how much less hungry I am all morning, my neighbors have stopped complaining about my outburstsā€¦ the list goes on and on.Ā  Oh, but back to food being bad for you. I really do think eating a ton of food is one of the worst things for you. You can read about this in my book, in which the protagonist, in an attempt to gain weight and become physically more imposing, starts eating a ton of food, and his quality of life suffers greatly. Itā€™s a really clever commentary on masculinity and ā€œimprovement cultureā€ in general, actually. You should read it.Ā  I too have gone through periods of regimented physical activity (lifting weights) and eating large quantities of food, and it always leaves me feeling terrible, physically and mentally. Lately Iā€™ve started eating huge portions of vegetables again (bag of Brussels sprouts, bag broccoli, two large zucchini) in the middle of the day and itā€™s been working out really nicely for me. Skin cleared up, mind feels sharp, face looks more chiseled and handsome, itā€™s been great.Ā  You (the reader) should probably eat less food, just like, statistically, most people eat too much. I know that might not be true for the target audience of this newsletter, so if you have an eating disorder then you should eat a little bit more (but not too much too fast), but most people should eat less food and replace some of the food theyā€™re already eating with more vegetables. Theyā€™ll experience great benefits from eating their first meal as a large bowl of vegetables with ghee around 2pm.Ā 
Oct 7, 2024

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Maybe some kettle cooked chips as wellā€¦ on a paper plateā€¦ now we're talking
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