Newly pregnant and after chowing down my third helping of Vindaloo (a chilli craving that was not abated by this curry), I jump in my best friend’s car to head to a healthy cooking class that was promoted through Thermomix. I’d had one since Christmas and found it the most amazing machine ever, but I was using the most basic of its functions. There were no cooking stations or lessons, instead it was a lecture theatre filled with people and we were already late. We quickly sat down and realised that we were about to be preached at.
Cyndi O’Meara, the speaker, was charismatic and enthusiastic but best of all she made sense. She spoke about processed foods and their attribution to illness and the obesity epidemic, especially in children, and she pointed out that people don’t read labels. Smugly I turned to my girlfriend and smiled, knowing I check labels and would be fine. After a bout of gestational diabetes and having a child, I always check the label for sugar content and calories. Cyndi smiled at everyone nodding that they checked food labels and then asked if we looked at the ingredients. Ummmm…no.
I had barely glanced at the most important signage on the packet. The one that tells you if the food company, despite their claims to be healthy, used real food or not. I felt a bit sick, especially as I was growing new life inside of me and had been thinking I was relatively healthy. The rest of the talk we were glued to our seats and vowed to throw out all our awful, packaged items once we got home. My husband was not thrilled. He begged to keep his cordial, even bursting into song, “”my Dad picks the fruit…””, to prove his point that the company uses real fruit. We checked the label….no fruit. Sorry Daniel. He also was opposed to losing his snacks. I suggested nuts and fruit and he screamed, “”I’m not a tribesman!” Seems as if someone is a little too attached to his junk food.
Anyway Cyndi’s website http://www.changinghabits.com.au/ is a wealth of information on the subject of eating for health and vitality, you should all check it out.
