Fueled By Flapjacks: The Battle of the Bulge

Fueled By Flapjacks

Friday, November 16, 2007

The Battle of the Bulge

I don't cook or bake much. This is not because I don't want to or because I can't find the time. It's more of a defensive manoeuvre to protect my waistline, to prevent my hips from burgeoning over the edge of my skinny leg hipster jeans in what has been dubbed the "love handles", to stop my buttocks from becoming tripping over the fine line from J-Lo resemblance to Roseanne resemblance. My lack of cooking is all part of my own personal battle of of the bulge. And I'm sure many of you woman out there can sympathize. None of us eat what we would like to or as much as we would like to. There is this obstinate thing called fear (of fat and heart malfunction and all the other big bad medical diagnoses out there) which is channeled into this other thing called discipline or self-control.

If we all lived in a magical world called The Land of Eat As You Please, I have to admit, I would probably never stop eating. I'd be insatiable. In fact, it's probably a good thing because I would never get anything done. Of course, I'd be one hell of a great food writer because I really would be The Girl Who Ate Everything. But alack, I must content myself most of the time with my recommended caloric intake... and sometimes less so. I don't have a balanced diet. I favour deliciousness over nutritiousness, though every so often I do have a craving for green things that grow in the garden - not snails, not grass - oh hell, there are probably plenty of green things growing in the garden - a person standing out there might have green boogers growing in his nose - I should be more specific - I mean broccoli, but often spinach, carrots, cauliflower and mushrooms (I love mushrooms)... actually a bunch of vegetables that are not green (I love kumara and pumpkin too!). This still doesn't excuse all the sugar and carbs I consume.... but what was my point?

Oh yes, alas, most of the time I must content myself with living vicariously, by fantasizing. How do I do this? Well in case you didn't know. I am addicted to food blogs. My day begins by hitting up Bloglines and checking out the deliciousness that has been whipped up in others' kitchens and gone into others' mouths. It really is a beautiful way to start your day and is calorie free! Yes, I also love a gorgeous photograph of a sunset or a beautiful building or a dew-dropped lily but food photography (or food porn as it is endearingly called) is my favourite. It is the main reason why I want a Canon EOS 400D. The XTi Rebel they call it. I call it "my baby". This might seem obsessive, but it is a good thing. It suggests ownership, it suggests that I have already gained possession of it, that it is mine. This is the kind of behaviour that books and films like The Secret recommend and it does work. I formed an attachment to this laptop before I got it, giving it the names Fawkes and it showed up, a day late mind you, but very close to schedule. Now in case you've still missed my point because I have definitely buried it within a jungle of rambling (yes it is possible to build a tangent on a tangent), I love food blogs and I suggest you take up my hobby. I like to spread the joy. It is much more enjoyable than seeing the latest fashion catastrophe of Britney Spears or seeing yet another A-List celeb emerging from Mr Chow yet again. It's food. It is something we can all enjoy. In fact, eating next to sex is probably the most shared worldwide hobby. We all do it, we all love it and I think if we all enjoyed doing it together more, the world would be a better place.

So because I have yet to put together a new food post, here are my top 5 favourite food blogs:
1/Tastespotting - The No.1 portal to deliciousness. It is a constantly updated What's Hot of food porn with pictures and links. I drool over it daily. My day is not complete until I have checked out Tastespotting 2 or 10 times (btw, 10 times is what happens when you sit on the internet all day with a tab open with Bloglines running)
2/The Girl Who Ate Everything - Robyn is my fave food blogger. Not your typical food writer, but all the better for it. None of the snobby pretension, just a down-to-earth, sometimes self-deprecating girl who loves to eat, take pictures and describe what she eats in hilarious detail. No one describes food like Robyn or shows such intense enthusiasm for gelato or macarons. She is the reason I got into food blogging in the first place and she doesn't even know it. Now she makes a living for it because she works for Serious Eats.
3/Dessert Comes First - Run by a lovely woman in Manila, this was also one of the first food blogs I fell in love with. Lori appreciates dessert just as much as I do though she does post on a bunch of other things too. She takes fantastic pictures and writes wonderful descriptions in the way that an accomplished and published food writer does.
4/The Wandering Eater - Tina lives in NYC and is also one of my daily blog reads though she doesn't update as much being a busy girl. But I'm so envious of the sophisticated New York restaurants she visits. I'm so jealous of anyone who lives in NYC.
5/A Passion For Food - Kathy writes of her almost daily eats, also in Manhattan where she moved from Hawaii. She seems to have a penchant for good bakeries.

That's your intro to the world of food blogs, or rather my world of food blogs. I search through many more but these are my daily digests.

posted by Lauren @ 10:37 AM

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