What are your eating habits? Lifestyle?

[junglechef]

Don't have any figures for proof but I can't believe that frozen 7/11 meals are good for anything but to satiate ones hunger with the last amount of effort. Just for starters whatever nutrients that havent been destroyed from processing (never the less what they are adding) the microwave will kill most of the goodness left. If one looks at the food courts the food hygiene has much to be desired, just look how they keep the pork leg sitting over warm liquid to keep it in the most suitable temperature for bacteria to multiply. If one checks out the street stall carefully if is possible to find some that are ok but I order food that has to be cooked and often ask to see the raw product first unless I am familiar with the place. If you ask nicely, maybe playing dumb a little as you don't quite understand and are trying to choose what to order, they seem not too mind you checking out their raw meats etc. As for the salt crusted fish its the same as other stuff, if one knows how to pick and handle it can be a great meal. The meat get salty from the salt dissolving which happens when it gets wet. Either it can be from the day before or is overcooked. But usually it is from when they put it in a plastic bag and the heat has nowhere to dissipate thus making the fish steam from inside and melting the salt crust. I open the bag immediately when they hand it to me or even better dont let them close it and once home open it up completely. The sooner it's eaten the better but I always take all the meat off if there is any left for the breakfasts rice soup. I'm not preaching that everyone should eat healthy because I choose to but it is possible with a little effort here. A good place to start is if it looks like something your Grandmother would recognize as food.

[Cuban]

....as for putting on weight when dining at home, the problem IME is portion control. I am forever reminding my brilliant cook wife that I need half of what I'm presented with - as I'll seek seconds if still hungry 15 minutes after a meal.

When dining out any good business will monitor portion control as that is where the profit is lost.

[alfieconn]

Most meals cost us about 300-500 baht per person. We both put on a lot of weight.

What was you eating for christ sake ?

[cloudhopper]

Mrs hopper thinks she's a doctor and hardly ever can be persuaded to eat at restaurants due to smoked cooking oil, poor hygiene and use of dangerous pesticides in the food chain. So I end up eating a huge variety of our own organically grown fruit, veggies and brown rice. Plus homemade bread and lots of greens Mrs h picks from the side of the road. I compensate with lots of alcohol, herbal remedies and candy bars.

[KRS1]

im still searching for the ultimate grapow gai.

its fun to search.

[junglechef]

Which brown rice brand do you use and where do you buy it?

As for the portion problem Cuban I'm not sure how you are served food but if a plate is made for you in the kitchen as opposed to family style where the dishes are brought out for one to serve themselves and easily can take seconds and do I hear thirds. This is my downfall but as I live in Thailand we eat Thai style unless I'm doing some fancy smancy plate presentation for some Western dish just for fun.

[FolkGuitar]

Most meals cost us about 300-500 baht per person. We both put on a lot of weight.

What was you eating for christ sake ?

Western-style dishes mostly. Rather large portions of meats, very small portions of veggies. Lot's of sausage, bacon, minced pork, etc., etc. that I would cook Mexican style, Italian, Cajun, German, etc. Also eating a lot of bakery products every day. Having a half dozen fresh croissants for breakfast, along with Camembert, Brie, or Stilton cheeses quickly adds to the cost and the waistline. These days meats have become a 'flavoring' rather than the main ingredient in our diets, and croissants reserved for the occasional Sunday breakfast. It's remarkable how fast the cost drops, and along with it, the pants size. I've gone from a tight size 42 down to a size 34 (and still dropping) in the last year, changing only diet (NOT dieting!) and doing more walking. 5 years ago I would take a songtaew from Hillside 4 to Icon Square. These days I don't think twice about walking from Kad Suan Kaew to Phantip Plaza.

We still eat Pizza and ice cream, french fries and chocolate, what ever else we get a craving for. I refuse to give up KitKat bars. We just don't eat that stuff every day. We aren't dieting. We've changed our eating habits.

Edited September 11, 2013 by FolkGuitar

[cloudhopper]

Which brown rice brand do you use and where do you buy it?

We grow our own. 1 small crop lasts us 2 years and another TVFer (who also grows his own) mills it for us as needed. We have a crop going now and it looks beautiful.

[Chiengmaijoe]

Quite a dull topic has inevitably been livened up by the replies. Street food is no good because the dishes are washed in dirty water, the ingredients are of low quality and the cooking oil is over used. Food courts are just as bad because the food is full of sugar and msg. 7-11 has all the goodness zapped out of the processed food so count them out to. Fresh vegetables are full of chemicals and white rice is no good for you. Everyone already knows how bad a western diet is for you. By all accounts it's a miracle that anyone passes out of infant-hood and most people still out there are lucky to be alive, but probably don't have long left.

I'm waiting for someone to re-release that Paul Simon classic, "The only living boy in Chiang Mai".

[junglechef]

That's some of the negatives but there have been posts highlighting the positives available here, even someone grows their own brown rice! I think I've given a pretty doable example of a way to make it work with convenince, cost and health all taken into consideration. With that attitude might as well just give up on everything unless one just doesn't care about what they put into their bodies as many don't. I'm not claiming I'll live any longer but I sure feel better every morning.

[wolf5370]

http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/diet-tips/ask-diet-doctor-does-microwaving-vegetables-really-kill-nutrients

Q: Does microwaving "kill" nutrients?

A: Despite what you might read on the Internet, microwaving your food does not “kill” nutrients. In fact, it can make certain nutrients more available to your body. In terms of the impact on your food’s nutrients, microwaving is the equivalent of sautéing or heating up in a pan (just a lot more convenient).

Read the article - the anti microwave myth is still strong it seems!

[muchogra]

Going to Boston Seafood Party and Red Lobster with my wife were special occasions when we were both students. Man, that was $19.99 per head then. Today, $19.99 in Thailand is way too much for me. Well, it's more the wife who doesn't want to 'waste'! So, we go to markets here in CM often and buy bunches of vegetables for B10 per bundles. Are they fertilizer free? I doubt it! But I can eat it.

I used lard in my restaurants back in the States. Wow, they smelled so good opening that 5- gallon drum. Where here can you find them? Even if I use lard in my cooking, I think I'm healthier than many of you who eat your "regular" so-called "Western Food"!

Just eat everything with moderation and forget about what other people tell you. I have seen too many died listening to people who advised them to change even at older ages. But, do cut back though!

[Joe Mamma]

Perhaps this could be part of the 'Let's meet up once a month to discuss topics' thread.

I'm bricking myself in anticipation.

Eat sand and Shit a brick, Man!

[Joe Mamma]

One of the many benefits of living in skunkfart acres (the country), is that the meat and veggies and seafood and all the trimmings come from within 10 kilos from home. Not only fresh and chemical free, but unique to the area and mighty tasty and cheap. Them eggs are still warm from the laying too. See y'all

[Ulysses G.]

i would be surprised if the typical 30 baht meals are healthy at all.

There are tons of places selling Thai vegetarian food here for 30 baht for 3 dishes and brown rice. They are about as healthy as you can get (other than the oil and the non-organic factor).

[junglechef]

"Read the article - the anti microwave myth is still strong it seems!"

There are scientific studies that "prove" one side of a argument and other's to refute it. Just look at the global warming discussion. One can easily find an article to back up one's claims on any topic. Many are published by concerns that have a vested interest in the results. And how many times do we see a reversal by the experts in matters of health when it comes to what's good for us and what's not. Food trends and fads are also a factor in determining what people eat at any given period in time, the recent raw food movement is a good example.

As I'm not a scientist but a Chef I'm not realy qualified to argue the point of how microwaving effects food and subsequently those who eat it. But I feel comfort from the belief that the meals I prepare for my family are wholesome and nutritious.

[Ulysses G.]

I agree that microwaving does not destroy nutrients any more than other cooking methods and so do most scientists. The real culprit for lost nutrition isn't how you heat veggies, but how much water you use. Boiling and pressure-cooking cause nutrients to leach out of veggies and into the cooking water.

Most scientists also agree that MSG is only a problem for a tiny percentage of the population and that a gluten-free diet is used to treat celiac disease and that most other people who avoid it are deluding themselves because avoiding gluten is fashionable right now.

[pgrahmm]

When eating on roadside stalls, just witnessing how they clean the dishes is a horror! Possibly a few buckets of soapy water the for whole night!

One time I was not driving but a passenger. We came to a stop & I watched a roadside vendor pluck a plate out of a garbage can - wipe it with a rag & place it on top of the stack of plates waiting to be used.

Shortly after that bought food as a take away - bit something and removed a spiral piece of metal about 1" long (looked like a lathe shaving but probably something from a worn out piece of food processing equipment). Have stayed away form them since.

Since then have not used the roadside approach too much.

Diet wise I much prefer the Thai approach. My wife if filipina and persists on a combo western/fila approach and I've not been happy with that or the weight gain...may have to make some changes.......

Edited September 12, 2013 by pgrahmm

[hellodolly]

Scientific studies are for idiots looking to prove their way of thinking. With the advent of the internet you can prove with a scientific study any thing you want to prove.

Look at the facts we have people here eating all the wrong foods the ones that kill them living into their 70s 80s and even in their 90s 100 years ago they would not live that long. In my life time I have seen the average life expectancy rise by 10 years. The only thing I pay attention to is the stated on the packaging amount of sugar.

Thai Visa is a wonderful source of information. I see one poster claiming you can get fresh sea food from with in 10 kilometers of Chiang Mai.

[Ulysses G.]

You can't prove anything you want with real scientific studies. You can "prove" anything you want if you rely on opinionated nuts with their own agenda and a website to promote it.

[ARISTIDE]

So I suppose you haven't been to Pa Paad's place. Although 700 km from the sea, telling her seafood not fresh is an absolute suicide.

Scientific studies are for idiots looking to prove their way of thinking. With the advent of the internet you can prove with a scientific study any thing you want to prove.

Look at the facts we have people here eating all the wrong foods the ones that kill them living into their 70s 80s and even in their 90s 100 years ago they would not live that long. In my life time I have seen the average life expectancy rise by 10 years. The only thing I pay attention to is the stated on the packaging amount of sugar.

Thai Visa is a wonderful source of information. I see one poster claiming you can get fresh sea food from with in 10 kilometers of Chiang Mai.

[elektrified]

Diet wise I much prefer the Thai approach. My wife if filipina and persists on a combo western/fila approach and I've not been happy with that or the weight gain...may have to make some changes.......

Like trading in the wife for a Thai who can cook Thai food???

[FolkGuitar]

There are tons of places selling Thai vegetarian food here for 30 baht for 3 dishes and brown rice. They are about as healthy as you can get (other than the oil and the non-organic factor).

Not just vegetarian food. Many of the places we eat at use a small amount of meat or poultry as flavoring for the dish. 95% veggies, 5% meat. A small amount of MSG, a teaspoon of unrefined sugar... This isn't unhealthy. Breakfast today was good sized serving of Pad Phat Keng Gai, crisp and crunchy green beans, green pepper, and a few pieces of chicken. Cooked in a red coconut milk curry sauce, it can't get much healthier. Almost no oil used, very little sugar... All the minerals and vitamins of veggies that haven't been over-cooked, the protein/amino acids of the chicken, low fat, low calorie, good taste. And it cost me 10 baht. Rice was another 5 baht. I also opted for a hard-cooked egg for another 5 baht to to balance out the proteins. 20 baht total. Brought back to my apartment and eaten with a couple of cups of English Breakfast tea. My wife added a fried chicken leg to her breakfast instead of the hard-cooked egg. It was cooked fresh while we were standing there. Clean oil, none of the rancid smells you always get with old oils.

To those who say 'ALL' street food is bad... Sorry, guys. While there are a lot of dirty dish places, a lot of old rancid oil places, it just isn't the rule. (And how many Thai housewives wash their dishes using bottled water? What indoor restaurants? I know that in 10 years of living in Chiang Mai, we have always washed our dishes in ordinary tap water.) Just as there are good and bad indoor restaurants, there are good and bad street vendors. Once you learn where the good ones are, eating can be a very inexpensive, healthy, and enjoyable experience. You just have to learn where to go.

[hellodolly]

So I suppose you haven't been to Pa Paad's place. Although 700 km from the sea, telling her seafood not fresh is an absolute suicide.

E11487608-0.jpg

Scientific studies are for idiots looking to prove their way of thinking. With the advent of the internet you can prove with a scientific study any thing you want to prove.

Look at the facts we have people here eating all the wrong foods the ones that kill them living into their 70s 80s and even in their 90s 100 years ago they would not live that long. In my life time I have seen the average life expectancy rise by 10 years. The only thing I pay attention to is the stated on the packaging amount of sugar.

Thai Visa is a wonderful source of information. I see one poster claiming you can get fresh sea food from with in 10 kilometers of Chiang Mai.

Thanks for the warning. I will bear it in mind if I ever eat there.

Would it upset her if I agreed with her yes it is fresh a week ago.

As for food carts I will never forget what I read in Lonnly Planet years ago. When eating off a food cart you can see where it is coming from and how it is handled. 50 years ago I worked for a restaurant and hotel supply company we had every thing including a shop to make all the stainless steel sinks counters and what not. Occasionally they would remodel a kitchen. Once you got the old stuff out what you had left was enough to make you want to puke.

People go on and on about McDonalds. My ex worked for them once and they had every thing on wheels and every night there was some one there to pull them all out and clean behind them.

[junglechef]

You can't prove anything you want with real scientific studies. You can "prove" anything you want if you rely on opinionated nuts with their own agenda and a website to promote it.

My experience is that it's not so simple. My childhood dinner table conversations often had different opinions being put forward on a variety of scientific topics by my father, a world acclaimed Biochemist and his friends which included people at the top of their fields whom quite a few we're Noble prize winners.

Even using the same study results they would come to different conclusions and had no trouble intelligently, to put it mildly, argue deep into the evening.

[FolkGuitar]

You can't prove anything you want with real scientific studies. You can "prove" anything you want if you rely on opinionated nuts with their own agenda and a website to promote it.

My experience is that it's not so simple. My childhood dinner table conversations often had different opinions being put forward on a variety of scientific topics by my father, a world acclaimed Biochemist and his friends which included people at the top of their fields whom quite a few we're Noble prize winners.

Even using the same study results they would come to different conclusions and had no trouble intelligently, to put it mildly, argue deep into the evening.

Scientists have a habit of all to often coming up with a theory, then devising scientific tests to validate that theory. It's easy enough to do. Then another scientist comes along and has a counter-theory, and he devises scientific tests that prove his theory. It's not often that studies are made that are completely unbiased. There's no money in that. The results are that you can almost always find some group that has used 'scientific method' to prove both sides of an issue. THEN.... when ever some nutter group needs as "valid scientific proof" of their claims, no matter how bizarre they may be, it's available to them as "PROOF!" And unfortunately, society at large tends to favor reading and quoting the nutjobs because they are far more interesting than the dull, old scientists!

Add to that mix-up the fact that even the most unbiased groups find themselves making 180 degree changes in their proclamations as science uncovers new facts. At one point, even the American Medical Association stated clearly that Vitamin A was not needed by the body... Just recently, the CDC has put out an advisory against washing raw chicken before cooking it, stating that the 'aerosol factor' involved in the water spray actually spreads any contaminants over a much wider area. Julia Child is turning over in her grave.

1. Don't buy food from a vendor who looks like he's on Death's door, coughing up a lung.

2. Don't buy food from a vendor whose cart has three inches of caked-on grease.

3. Don't buy food from a cart where you can smell the rancid oil, spoiled seafood, or see things crawling out of the meat.

4. If you're worried about dirty dishes, buy from a vendor who sells in disposable plastic trays.

5. Watch the vendor cook some other dishes. If he ladles on tons of sugar or MSG find another vendor. There certainly are plenty to choose from.

In 20+ years of eating in Thailand, the only time I ever got an actual case of food poisoning, it was from eating the Sunday Brunch at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok. That was about 15 years ago. Sure, there are times we get the G.I. Blues once in a while. But no more often than we get them in our own countries; perhaps that happens once every 3-4 years. A couple of Pepto pills and we're good as new the next morning.

It's not what country you are eating in. It's what you pay attention to when you choose to eat.

[elektrified]

Many of the places we eat at use a small amount of meat or poultry as flavoring for the dish. 95% veggies, 5% meat. A small amount of MSG, a teaspoon of unrefined sugar... This isn't unhealthy. Breakfast today was good sized serving of Pad Phat Keng Gai, crisp and crunchy green beans, green pepper, and a few pieces of chicken. Cooked in a red coconut milk curry sauce, it can't get much healthier. Almost no oil used, very little sugar... All the minerals and vitamins of veggies that haven't been over-cooked, the protein/amino acids of the chicken, low fat, low calorie, good taste. And it cost me 10 baht. Rice was another 5 baht. I also opted for a hard-cooked egg for another 5 baht to to balance out the proteins. 20 baht total. Brought back to my apartment and eaten with a couple of cups of English Breakfast tea. My wife added a fried chicken leg to her breakfast instead of the hard-cooked egg. It was cooked fresh while we were standing there. Clean oil, none of the rancid smells you always get with old oils.

To those who say 'ALL' street food is bad... Sorry, guys. While there are a lot of dirty dish places, a lot of old rancid oil places, it just isn't the rule. (And how many Thai housewives wash their dishes using bottled water? What indoor restaurants? I know that in 10 years of living in Chiang Mai, we have always washed our dishes in ordinary tap water.) Just as there are good and bad indoor restaurants, there are good and bad street vendors. Once you learn where the good ones are, eating can be a very inexpensive, healthy, and enjoyable experience. You just have to learn where to go.

Sorry but MSG, a teaspoon of unrefined sugar, coconut milk, fish sauce, soy sauce, and no doubt cooked in palm oil is not healthy. Multiply this 3 times a day and you are not eating healthy at all.

We never eat street food. In fact the g/f and her entire family never eat street food and they are Thais. The main reason is that the meats, poultry, and seafood are not stored safely and/or handled properly. One aunt was hospitalized for almost a week more than 10 years ago from severe food poisoning. Also the street sellers tend to use vegetables that look good because they have been sprayed with endless chemicals. More and more restaurants in Chiang Mai are putting up signs that they wash their vegetables in Bicarbonate of soda; something we have been doing for 5 years now. We usually cook at home and never use MSG and always use olive or rice bran oil. We always cook brown rice because white rice is not so healthy and our child loves brown rice. We do buy gai yaang, naam prik, som tam and a couple of other things at the market. We also buy some things like raad naa and some noodles for our child but we know the vendors and know that they don't use MSG and they wash the vegetables in Bicarbonate of soda. The g/f does frequent noodle shops that she has been going to for years.

[Ulysses G.]

In 20+ years of eating in Thailand, the only time I ever got an actual case of food poisoning, it was from eating the Sunday Brunch at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok.

I have a similar story, but my one time was after eating airline food on a trip from Thailand to Nepal. On the other hand, I have freinds who claim to get it after going to some of the best Western restaurants in Chiang Mai.

[Ulysses G.]

You can't prove anything you want with real scientific studies. You can "prove" anything you want if you rely on opinionated nuts with their own agenda and a website to promote it.

My experience is that it's not so simple. My childhood dinner table conversations often had different opinions being put forward on a variety of scientific topics by my father, a world acclaimed Biochemist and his friends which included people at the top of their fields whom quite a few we're Noble prize winners.

Even using the same study results they would come to different conclusions and had no trouble intelligently, to put it mildly, argue deep into the evening.

You might have a point. I guess that nothing is for sure, but, if the preponderance of scientific evidence says that MSG only bothers a very small number of people, that too much salt causes high blood pressure or that too much saturated fat is bad for the heart, IMO, it is worth listening to.

[junglechef]

FG has some good advice some which might be considered common sense but I understand the need to mention it. I'm not sure what plastic trays your referring to but I read a report (smiley face) about how dangerous the styrofoam trays are here because the hot food melts them hence the ingestion of this poison. Love how the MO was the cause of your bout, sure proves your theory (smiley face #2). But your implication that money is the only factor in mankind's endeavors I'd like to again use my father as an example. He was a honest and wholesome individual who turned down many offers from major corporations to pursue his noble work while living on a university professor's salary of at least ten times less than the other offers. As one of the first people to work on Alzheimer's disease his work lead to some major scientific break throughs on this and other studies. So I differ with you as I know personally his work was unbiased and his refusal to play politics was probably the reason he didn't receive a noble prize. Luckily there are other like minded people who gave him grants so he could operate his laboratories in the USA, Hungary and Israel. Tough I realize capitalism and the pursuit of the might dollar or baht is the driving force of the modern world I still believe that there is lots of good on the earth, not that all business is bad by any means, and have hope in the future and teach this to my children as well.