Food Glorious Food

I love eating.  In fact, if I could have one superpower it would be to have the ability to eat as much as I wanted whilst having the figure of Gisele Bundchen.  Without wishing to generalise, Americans also like to eat - I would say about half the adverts on TV are food-related and it is about as cheap to eat out as it is to buy nice food and eat at home (although bear in mind I shop at Whole Foods, aka "Whole Check"). 

On Friday night the marvellous Bridget came to babysit and we went out to the North End.  First, we took in a show and a few brewskis at the Improv Asylum.  If ever you are in Boston and at a loose end of an evening I highly recommend this comedy club.  We are such locals now we were able snigger knowingly at the jokes about how crap the T is!  Afterwards we went to Bricco for a slap up Italian dinner.  By the time the picture below was taken we were on our third course so (a) pretty drunk and (b) so full that nearly all of what's on my plate made it home with us in a doggy bag and fed us both handsomely for lunch the next day*. 

However, spring is now here and I can no longer avoid the fact that, since Zoe arrived 5 months ago, I have done no exercise, eaten enormously (last night I had 10 "2-bite" brownies - that's 20 bites of brownie, people!) and am about to join the outdoor pool around the corner for summer sunbathing purposes.  I have therefore taken decisive action and started a yoga course recommended to me by my fellow Isis mom Katie. It is a 2 week "spring cleanse" course that combines yin yoga, shiatsu massage and a detoxing diet.

The yin yoga is extremely well suited to a lazybones like myself.  It basically involves a lot of lying down. No kidding!  All the positions are done either lying or sitting down - brilliant!  The shiatsu massage (happening on Friday) is bound to be good.  The diet however is another kettle of mung beans altogether.  No more meat (fish is OK), no more bread, no more TEA (!), no more 2 bite or even 1 bite brownies, NO BOOZE (argh!), but lots of fruit and vegetables and healthy proteins like beans and pulses. 

I really think I should give the diet a proper go.  Clearly the alternative is sitting by the pool in a shroud surrounded by empty doggy bag cartons.  Wish me luck!


* I am a complete convert to the doggy bag lifestyle.  In fact, many of Eamon's dinners have been my leftovers from lunch out, poor thing!  In the UK either the portions are smaller (not hard) or else people must be too embarassed to ask for their leftover food to take home (why?).