Monday, November 8, 2010

China Update: Sichuan Food

I are so excited about all of the wonderful food that we are going to be able to eat in China. The food is one of my top 10 reasons for being excited about traveling to China.

I love Chinese food!! I love making, eating, and talking about Chinese food!!

Even though I am very excited about the food, I am also a little nervous. Questions flood my mind as I try to figure out how this trip will affect my weight loss maintanence. How I will count my points? Will I be able to show self-control with food? Will food become a comfort to me in a foreign culture? Will I lose it while I go three weeks without attending a Weight Watchers meeting?

I begin to panic as these questions crowd my mind.

"Snap out of it", I tell myself. I just learned in my Bible study to replace the lies I believe with God's truth. I think the same principle applies here, I must replace lies with truth and stop panicking.

I must go back to basics. I might not know how many points everything is, but I can guess and do research before I get there. I can bring my own measuring cups. This sounds silly, but it is important to me. I can and will show self-control, only eating when I am truly hungry. I can earn activity points by walking or doing other exercise. I can also bring Weight Watchers magazines to help keep me motivated. Finally, I will pray and ask God to give me the strength I need. I was God to be my source of comfort, not food.

It sounds like I have more control then I thought I did. I am glad that I have been able to think this through. If I go unprepared I am sure I will come back discouraged, because I gained weight. However, I refuse to let that happen. I will prepare myself as much as I can, now before we leave.

I feel so much better now that we talked about this. Thanks for helping me process my feelings! Are you facing the same kind of challenge over Thanksgiving or Christmas? Maybe you could use some of these ideas. What do you do to stay on track when you travel?

. . . . . . . . . .
For those who are interested, here is a little bit about the Sichuan food we will be eating.

The Sichuanese are proud of their cuisine, known as one of the Four Great Traditions of Chinese cuisine, which now is famous all over the world. Szechuan cuisine is of "one dish, one shape, hundreds of dishes, hundreds of tastes", as the saying goes, to describe its acclaimed diversity. The most prominent traits of Sichuanese cuisine are described by four words: spicy, hot, fresh and fragrant.

Sichuan Province is famed for bold flavors, particularly the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of garlic and chili peppers, as well as the unique flavour of the Sichuan peppercorn. Peanuts, sesame paste and ginger are also prominent ingredients in Szechuan cooking.


Szechuan Pepper


The Sichuan peppercorn huājiāo ('flower pepper') is commonly used. Szechuan pepper has an intensely fragrant, citrus-like flavor and produces a "tingly-numbing" sensation in the mouth. Jon has some of these at home, so if you want to try one just ask.


Chili Pepper


These peppers are very spicy. One time I asked Jon to just put a few in the Kung Pao Chicken he was making for us. It was too hot for my blood, but Jon loves them. Sichuan has some of the spiciest food in the world which is probably why Jon has such a high tolerance for spicy foods, because this is what he grew up eating.


Hot Pot or Huoguo


This Chinese fondue or steamboat, refers to several East Asian varieties of stew, consisting of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table. Typical hot pot dishes include thinly sliced meat, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings, and seafood. The cooked food is usually eaten with a dipping sauce. In many areas, hot pot meals are often eaten in the winter.

Jon and I have friends in Texas that we like to get together with them and eat Hot Pot. We never thought that we would meet people who love Chinese as much as we do, but God had other plans. We are so thankful to be able to share our love of Chinese food with others.

10 comments:

mrsmarkdave said...

I just finished doing Beth Moore's study "Breaking Free". It is 10 weeks long and it took me to the 10th week and 5th day for this truth to sink in. I am using all of my energy to fight my battle rather than to seek the Lord. I know when I'm having a weak moment, I will lay on my couch and fight and fight and fight the temptation until I finally break. What I NEED to do, is seclude myself from my idleness and take my Bible and read and pray. I'm also praying for a heart that Loves the Lord and YEARNS to know him. Because at this time, I don't have that kind of a heart. I spend time with Him because I HAVE to.
Anyway - just wanted to share what I learned last week. Your journal is so encouraging to me. I lost 11 lbs since starting WW again in April. As of last Tuesday, I've gained that plus 1.5 lbs back. YIKES! Well, I'm not happy about that, but I must just keep trudging on. And now I'm a little more enlightened on how to do that.

Jen Newsham said...

MrsMarkDave - Thank you so much for sharing what you have learned this week! Sometimes it does take us that long to get what God is trying to teach us. I am glad that He is transforming your heart.

Congrats on losing 11 pounds overall. Keep plugging along!

Weightless said...

Like you, I try to plan around things that might hinder me. I'm not at all worried about Thanksgiving or Christmas this year. I faced them last year and lost weight or maintained. This year, I am doing a Turkey trot 5K run Thanksgiving morning.

When I went on vacation (camping) this year, I didn't lose, I just maintained. I made healthy choices where I could but I still wanted to be able to enjoy my vacation. Activity (hiking) helped too. But in general, I want to be able to enjoy in all the joys of vacation, food included. But just because you want to enjoy doesn't mean you have to go overboard. I'm learning that each day. :)

Oh btw, I love Chinese food too.

Losing Brownies said...

You are so strong and devoted to WW that I'm sure you'll make it work for you over in China. And if you do gain a little, you have the tools to lose it again.

Jen Newsham said...

Weightless - Thanks for sharing! That is great that you are doing a turkey trot this year! Good Luck!

Losing Brownies - Thanks for the encouragement!!

Lindsey Holder said...

Wow, great info.! That's awesome about your China trip & congrats on your weight loss! Glad you found me through BlogFrog!Lindsey

Tina said...

Jenn,

You can do all things through the Lord. Of course you can figure out what and how much you can eat. You are going to do great!

Have a great time and enjoy your trip!

In Christ's Love & Prayers
Tina

Jen Newsham said...

Lindsey - Thanks! I am glad to have found you on BlogFrog too!

Tina - Thanks for your encouragement! Sometimes I just need to be reminded that I do have the skills to maintain my weight.

Sarah Lynn said...

Hello! I found your blog from my Blog Frog page. :) How exciting to visit China! I've only been in the Hong Kong & Shanghai airports (on the way to the Philippines.) I love Chinese food! Actually probably any Asian cuisine! :-)

Jennifer said...

Sarah Lynn - Hi! I agree with you, any Asian cuisine is good in my mind! I am so excited about our trip.

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