So today was unseasonably warm, delightfully so. I mean, is it normal to reach a high of 64 degrees on March 18th? In any case, this encouraged me to walk a bit during lunch, and also after work. (Well, the weather and the fact that my gorgeous new suits -- gifts received in October -- are becoming precariously tight, if not occasionally downright painfully uncomfortable. Bleh!)Coincidentally, I have experienced a craving for tart/tangy/salty foods lately (and not just gooey, fudge-y cakes), so I combined the two (craving for bizarre foods + walking weather) for a stroll through Chinatown after work, stopping off at the venerable Kam Man Foods on Canal Street.
You see before you the partial results of my snack attack supply run: crystallized ginger, preserved kumquats with lemon, dried orange peel, and salted preserved plums. (I also bought pistachios and dried apricots, but you've all seen those before, so, no pic.)
Coincidentally, I am currently listening to Jackie Chan sing the theme song -- in Mandarin -- to a Jet Li movie while I type this. (Yes, Jackie is also a Cantopop star in Asia. Dig it, baby.) Clearly I have made a detour into the strange and random this evening.
Unfortunately, once inside Kam Man (and demonstrating why you should NEVER GO FOOD SHOPPING WHILE HUNGRY) I, er, also succumbed to something which I have forbidden my mother to ever give me, for I will eat the entire bag at a sitting: Calbee (Baked) Shrimp-Flavored Chips. As the ad for another brand says, an open bag is an empty bag. (*urp*) Welcome to tonight's dinner. And did I mention the Hostess cupcake I had for dessert? Many, many demerits for me.
I guess this completely counteracts my healthy eating for the rest of the day, such as the 7-grain bread with all-natural peanut butter which was my afternoon snack, the organic whole grain (frozen) waffle with maple syrup and Smart Balance ersatz butter which was breakfast, and the homemade chicken salad sandwich with a side of Stonyfield lowfat lemon yogurt for lunch, topped off with a gargantuan fruit salad from the street cart (whoops -- I only just realized that was a no-no. D'oh!) which you see in part here -- I'd already picked off all of the red fruits: seedless grapes, strawberries, watermelon.
Hmmm...a debate for the MSKCC dietitian: healthy foods prepared at a street cart -- yea or nay?
I think the problem with street food is not so much that it is unhealthy, as that it is more likely to be germy. So, I would imagine uncooked fruit from a street cart would be a no-no (and, aren't you only supposed to have salad prepared by your own hand?). I'll be curious to hear the verdict.
ReplyDelete--Margaret
So sorry about the grapefruit: I've been eating it like mad this week, ever since my mom reminded me it exists. It's not a fruit I eat often, but then, prior to this, NO fruit was one I ate often :-).