Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Patiperra & co goes vacation...

Leaving home base to do what my blog name boldly suggests to be my raison d'etre... Let's see if I can keep my promise to myself to stay away from the World Wide Web while out and about... or whether I'll have too much on my mind having to step in here for an update. It all depends on the adventure and my accompanying patiperros!

But just so you know, this time I might not report back on our discoveries of the world through children's eyes. You see, I am planning to give both them, hubby and a pile of books my complete attention. Because I think we all deserve just that.

I wish you all a RELAXING midsummer!

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

El sudamericano de mi vida...

...trajo esto hoy:

No porque si nomas, sino porque yo lo merezco.

Feliz de tener alguien a mi lado que de el apoyo 100% de mis pretenciones.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Sugar, honey, honey .... deceitful and dangerous!

I have gone from GI, to LCHF, to Wise Choice and during my food journey I have tried to keep myself informed about how my body reacts to especially carbohydrates, as I myself have had a strong feeling that carbs are the driving factor of my sugar cravings (disguised as chocolate, cookies, icecream etc).

Both GI and LCHF helped me to stay away from the sweets, LCHF with even better results. Right now I am trying to implement an eating habit that is not so high in animal fat and that still offers something for everyone in our family. The solution has been something inbetween LCHF and Wise Choice. Well during the past 3 years I have become increasingly convinced that the consumed sugar in our diets cannot be sane. When you try to eat low carb you really start noticing that HIDDEN SUGAR is everywhere. It is not only in cookies, candies and icecream that you find sugar, but it is also in mustard, in 100% fruit juice, in ketchup and all other spicey premade sauces, non-natural yogurts, fruits (!), in marinades, in most cereals. As said before, going to the grocery store has become a challenge - as most of the products on the shelves do not suite my aim to maintain a blood sugar level that does not fluctuate.

So while fat has been banned almost 30 years ago, sugars have increased exponentially. Isn't it crazy that the experts say that we get fat from fat but at the same time we have never been as fat as today? Wouldn't it be more logical to look for the vilain in the sugars?

Well someone did. After watching Robert Lustig's lecture on the harm of fructose (Sugar - the bitter truth ), I cannot get his message out of my mind. He makes a clear point, I am sure some of the issues can be debatable by practicioners, but really couldn't this just the bitter truth? Something that we all should know? But it isn't being debated because both food industry and pharmaceutical companies are to loose...

I am struck by the following facts/arguments presented:

- Fructose in the way it works is pretty much equal to alcohol with the difference that it does not influence the brain. When dealt with in the liver it turns into fat, fat that is stored in the body and that in the long run can cause a thread of deseases, the most common one in Western world today...

- Breast milk formula contains high amounts of fructose, and according to Lustig it is not uncommon to find obese 6 month old babies, fed on formula!!! Some time ago I remember having read an article in the local newspaper on the effects formula could have on obesity later in life...no wonder.

- Young children, even the fetus, become easily addictive to the sweet taste (no news in itself, but combined with the rest of the lecture, this is a BOMB). Lustig presented the case of chocolate milk with high dosis of fructose in it. Parents were feeding their small children with this stuff because "how else do we make them drink milk". Absurd for a parent in Finland; Children drink milk, with every meal. Even adults drink milk with their meal.... but is it so absurd after all, I admit myself to having fallen into the pit: I have spiced spagetti with ketchup so that daughter would eat at least something. I have added honey to the natural yogurt (high dosis) to make her eat at least something for breakfast. I know I am not the only sugar junky in the family and I get a bit of bad concious thinking of those pregnant days letting my cravings have their say in my eating habits...Could my daughter have been exposed to too much sweets already in my belly? Son never posed such cravings on me...and he does not scream for sweets in the same way either...at least not yet.

I gather we have another 5-7 years of time to make our kids understand that drinking soft drinks and consuming too much of candies is not good for them. Once they hit the teens, or even the preteens, they will have the opportunity to chose what they buy for their week allowance themselves. Because, in difference to alcohol, soft drinks (and other high fructose products) do not come with an age limit. This will be a tough job and question is, can we really reverse the sugar cravings already present? Well, at least I am ready to give it a try. Now more than ever!

Wanted: wise choice restaurants...

Just as we agreed with hubby yesterday evening that we will try to avoing junk and sugar on our vacation there is a one page article in HBL today on junk food being served in almost all family destinations in Helsinki. I have also before been annoyed with the food offerings of our amusement park. I do not think it ok that sausages&french fries are the menu of (all) the day in every kiosk of the place. Of course the kids will not want any other food if this is what is being served. Good luck in trying to take them to the a la carte restaurant after having seen the fast food outside... And if it only was that one place where you are confronted with this whining marathon "Mommy I want this and that" then fine. But sugarfilled temptations are being served everywhere you turn when stepping out of your home (and the Helsinki city parks). So picking wisely your food is not really an option...I hope to see a different trend in the promised land of LCHF.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

The toxic sugar

 I just read a long article on sugar and its effect on our body. Is sugar toxic?

The article is a bit long and somewhat hard to follow for a non-body-expert as me. But I still read the whole thing and was struck by a few things.

The author of the article, Gary Taubes, is the same guy that has written the book Why We Get Fat. I take it he is the U.S. equivalent of the Swedish "kostdoktorn" Andreas Eenfeldt, author of the book Matrevolutionen. At least his argumentation on sugars follow the same path as Eenfeldt. They both believe that sugars (and carbohydrates all together in the case of Eenfeldt) cause diabetes, heart diseases and possibly also cancer. Taubes speculates that our sugar diet is directly linked to increased amount of breast cancer...

My first reaction to this article was the following:

First of all, I do not understand how come sugar is NOT considered to be the cause of diabetes?!? I remember that diabetes used to be referred to as "sugar sickness" back in the 80's. Nowadays I rarely hear anyone talk about sugar sickness anymore, everybody talks about diabetes...

Secondly, how can it be so hard to find out the REAL harm of sugar and fructose syrup in our diet? Cholesterol, and animal fat with it, was practically worldwide blacklisted over one night back in 1982. If it was up to me I would ban all high fructose corn syrup and sugar-filled industry products all together right away. Just tuck all those sugarfilled products under the cashier disk together with the tobacco - obviously there is not enough space under the cashier, as the majority of the stuff in the grocery store contains these ingredients...but place an 100% tax on the articles and hide them away in a state owned store like Finnish licor shop Alko.... Then we can see what happens to our bodies after that....Apart from half of the population going around with severe headaches and shaking bodies for a few weeks, predicatble reaction for all those hardcore sugar junkies out there.... Believe me, I have done carb-detox a few times, I know what I talk about... sugar is addictive, and I would not at all be surprised if it is poisoness as well...

Once again I feel we are doing the right thing in switching towards the Wise Choice Diet in our family. I just need the inspiration to stay faithful to this lifstyle. After a few weeks of sugar free (and wheat free) diet for all family members, I clearly see the short term benefits, especially avoiding mood swings. What if long term benefits are something larger than life? As summer vacation is about to start and we are about to step out of our daily routines, I hope we still can avoid sugars all together in our diet... without being considered the freaks of the century.

PD: I an still to watch the Youtube session of Mr. Lustig, referred to in the NYTimes article. But its 90 minutes long, so I'll do it another day. So long and goodnight!

Conquistando la pista de baile - unas reflexiones

A noche salí, salí tanto que llegue a conquistar la pista de baile. Eso, queridos lectores, es un lujo que esta "ex reina de Suecia" se permite raras veces en su nueva vida... Tan poco salgo estos días que si un turista me preguntaría a donde ir a bailar, no tendría la mas remota idea que contestar. Teatteri es de la decada pasada, Mecca también. Pero ayer aprendí que uno de los lugares más solicitados ahora se llama Le Bonc...y eso se podía ver ya por la fila afuera del lugar.

En Chile vas a recibir un cordial bienvenido a la puerta del discoteque. Te van a practicamente abrazar de bienvenido, ofrecer tragos libres si le des el placer de pisar su pista de baile...

En Finlandia, el portero es la persona mas pesada del lugar, con un actitud de que si no eres famoso eres un Don Nadie sin derecho de entrar... te va a mostrar tu lugar a fin de la fila de 50 metros, teniendo que esperar entre 30 minutos a una hora para poder entrar. Pero si eres Don Alguien, o tienes mucha plata suelta, vas a poder pasar esa fila de Don Nadies falicmente. El portero va a ser igual de pesado, pero va a recibir tu plata (quien dijo que no tenemos corrupción en Finlandia?) y te va a dejar entrar. Tragos libres? Sigue soñando. Llegando adentro te espera la cajera donde pagas la entrada y la guardaropa, precio que equivale a dos tragos en el bar...Una vez a dentro te vas a dar cuenta que la pista de baile está vacio y te vas a preguntar cual era el afan de hacerte esperar tanto afuera en la lluvia si el lugar nunca estaba lleno. Bueno, es la manera de los discoteques de hacerse solicitados. Porque solamente los lugares mas "cool" pueden darse el lujo de tener un portero pesado y una fila larga de personas desesperadas por entrar.

Saben porque supe que Mecca ya es del pasado (y falta poco a que se cierre)? Correcto, por la falta de tanto fila de desesperados como portero pesado.

Algunas cosas nunca cambian.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Hay pan - Hay gobierno

Algo tan natural como en señal de que "hay pan" en los pueblitos del campo chileno, puedo ahora proclamar que en Finlandia hay gobierno. Aunque el gobierno finlandes solía ser algo tan natural como la marraqueta chilena, hasta ayer yo estaba a punto de compararlo con bananas mas que con pan... Durante toda la memoría mia, el gobierno siempre estaba, no caía, nadie cuestionaba su existencia... hasta esta primavera. Los politicos se sentaban a negociar, negociar y aun mas negociar - a puertas cerradas. Los partidos entraban y salía de las negociaciones. No importaba si el partido habia ganado o perdido las elecciones, lo mas importante era encontrar un camino común con el partido más grandes. Realmente, fue algo extraordinario. De repente la politica finlandesa se puso interesante!
Ahora seis partidos (de ocho en total!) han acordado de un programa en comun para los proximos cuatro años. Va a ser interesante ver como van a gobernar, especialmente si la crisis financiera de Grecia, Portugal, Irlanda y los demás se muestra ser tan catastrofico como Fukushima en Japón...Vivimos en tiempos interesantes, la política ya no es lo que era antes... por fin vale la pena discutir visiones del futuro, porque parece que si existe diferencias entre Partido A y B. Quedo atenta a la continuación de este nuevo fenomeno finlandes!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Princess dreams...

Its been a year now. Or maybe even two. When I have had to raise a princess in my house. It all started very nicely. I was in control of things and I was able to be true to my convictions on unisex upbringing (hubby might have had objections, but minor such). Most clothes I bought to our baby girl was unisex colored. I usually found more practical clothes in the baby boy section than in the baby girl. Hello- how is a baby supposed to gracefully wear a dress? There is no way a dress will fall nicely on a baby lying on her back, needless to say on a girl who has learned how to crawl... But around the age of two, this girl of ours started to have an opinion of her own. And the older she grows, the stronger it gets. At the age of three, our health care nurse gave me the advice to forget about deciding her clothing; "let her decide, then it will pass". Eleven months later and it has not passed. Every time I try to have a say in her dressing, it ends in major world war scenario. In sum, my dilemma is how to maintain my own peace of mind while letting my daughter live out her princess fantasies.

There is no end to her obsession with the princess theme. And whenever she sees a product (does not matter what type of product) with Snowhite, Cinderella & Co, her imagination kicks off; "mommy, that is me in blue, you are the one in yellow, and best friend is the one in pink". If she could, she would be dressed as princess every hour of the day. Night time she already sleeps in a Disney princess dress pyjama - my fault- impulsive reaction in a Chilean mall in February - just had to buy it to make her day!!! You see, I have my very weak moments, after all I am the mom of the best chick in the world! What bugs me the most about all this is that although I know that it is a perfectly normal developmental phase of any preschool girl, I cannot forget that most of this materialistic obsession has been created by the very talented marketing staff of Disney. And this is what is driving me crazy.

An extract of the informative article (What's wrong with Cinderella) on the subject: Head of Disney Marketing explaining how they started to develop the princess gadgets:
“Standing in line in the arena (of Disney on Ice), I was surrounded by little girls dressed head to toe as princesses. They weren’t even Disney products... And the light bulb went off. Clearly there was latent demand here. So the next morning I said to my team, ‘O.K., let’s establish standards and a color palette and talk to licensees and get as much product out there as we possibly can that allows these girls to do what they’re doing anyway: projecting themselves into the characters from the classic movies.’ ”

My daughter's imagination has been kidnapped by Disney! And she is not the only one. I note a group frenzy among her daycare friends. On toy day, they bring their small Disney princess to daycare, to play princesses. Whenever there is a birthday party, the obvious theme is of course: princesses. And thanks to Disney, there is absolutely no problem in creating the most faboulous pink princess party. You just go to the nearest paper store and you'll find napkins, princess crowns, paper plates, and small plastic bags (for the toys to be given to the invited friends(!)) with the most famous Disney princesses printed on top. And the majority of this stuff will not last for longer than a day - cheap and bad quality.

Most of us go with the flow. I confess having organized a pink princess party last summer. I tried to avoid Disney stuff. But still, our girl had a crown, she wore a princesslike dress and the table was decorated in pink (with princess-printed napkins). We want to see our girls happy on their birthday, we want them to fulfill their dreams - already at the age of three!

Now, getting close to the age of four, I would really like to stop the train somehow. But I do not know how. It is clear that pear pressure is not going weaker. The girls are influenced by each other and the more the friend gets, the more envy it produces at the other end. Anyway, as we get closer to the next birthday party, I start planning to do something different this year. To show that mommy is still in control and Disney has not got its foothold in this household yet. I will not give in... at least not before time and ideas run out and I find myself obliged to head to the nearest paper store to get the essentials for a successful princess party....

In two more years, you'll find me writing a posting on the boy's obsession on the dinosaurus theme!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Passionens rulett

Inspirerad av en väninnas senaste blogginlägg (Ta mig som den jag är) sitter jag här och tänker tillbaka på min egen kärlekssaga. Saga av stora mått, åtminstone för mig, sagans prinsessa. Känns overkligt att denna eviga sinkku, jämställdhetsfanatiker, som aldrig i livet skulle hitta en lattare, nu gladeligen sitter fast i träsket med en härlig sydländsk man och två underbara småttingar. Barnen är väl det yttersta beviset på hur vår bipolära saga blivit sann (uttryck använt av min svärfar i sitt bröllopstal, as in from south pole to north pole - ja och kanske lite temperament då...men bara pikupikulite...) .

Men det var ju inte alltid klart att vårt förhållande skulle hålla. Långdistans är aldrig lätt. Och när långdistansen är kryddad med uppehållstillståndsproblem i varderas hemland och osäkerhet gällande bådas framtida karriärer, ja då är det extra besvärligt. Men vi klarade det. So far so good. Vi chattade nätterna igenom det första året. Jag boomerangade några gånger över Atlanten och Ekvatorn (tack till stipendiefonderna!) för att bli på det klara med passionen och kärleken. Vi hittade våra lösningar och vi fattade gemensamma beslut om hur vi skulle bygga upp vårt liv tillsammans. Det kan låta lätt nu så här efteråt. Lätt var det sista det var. Inget av detta skulle ha fungerat om vi inte varit så övertygade om att vi hade något unikt mellan oss, något vi inte kunde låta passera som en lättsam flirt.

För mig finns det få sånger som Lisa Ekdahls "Vem vet" som beskriver det jag kände våren 2003, då jag fattade beslutet att satsa på en kärlekssaga på andra sidan världen.
...Du är en saga för god för att vara sann, det är en saga i sig att vi funnit varannn, vi kunde lika gärna aldrig nånsin mötts, eller var vårt öde bestämt redan innan vi fötts...

Men vad det skulle bli av vår saga, det hade jag alltså ingen aning om just då. Det enda jag visste var att jag måste ta reda på just exakt det. Annars skulle jag aldrig kunna gå vidare. Jag antar att det var passionen som talade. Och så här åtta år senare kan jag säga att jag nu vet att vi gjorde rätt.

Nu kan jag inte säga något om framtiden men visst gifte vi oss för att leva resten av livet tillsammans, och den delen av storyn har inte förändrats under de senaste fem åren i äktenskap.Trots det kan jag konstatera att alla mutlikulti-förhållanden inte klarar sig ens så här långt. Problemet är ju att man måste fatta ganska stora beslut jätte tidigt i förhållandet, innan man riktigt känner varann. Om man bor på två olika kontinenter blir den ena tvungen att bryta upp i sitt hemland för att flytta till den andra och börja på ny kula. Här skiter det sig ofta. Om man inte snabbt får in foten i det nya samhället så tär ens första månader av drischande garanterat på förhållandet. Vi hade god tur men förberedde oss också väl för detta skede (jag åkte inte iväg på endast ett kärleksäventyr, utan på en otroligt givande praktikperiod).

Min väninna skriver i sin blogg om sitt tidigare äktenskap, som även det var "bipolärt", argentinare med finländska. På sin blogg har hon öppet och ärligt berättat om sina erfarenheter för att hjälpa andra i liknande situationer. Här vill jag vara explicit; Något vi diskuterat är att deras äktenskapet absolut inte gick i kras för att det var ett multikultiförhållande, utan för att det nog aldrig var meningen att de skulle leva tillsammans. Däremot är jag övertygad om att deras story kunde ha haft ett finare och framförallt snabbare slut, om inte även de varit tvungna att fatta de stora besluten alldeles för tidigt. Man spelar lite rysk rulett i det skedet; driven av passionen att ge upp allt och satsa allt på ett kort. Det enda man kan hoppas är att man faller rätt när passionen lägger sig. Själv landade jag mjukt, och det tycks även min väninna ha gjort, men först i andra rundan. Ironiskt nog heter hennes blogg just "Mjuklandningar" - jag undrade om hon tänkte på passionens rulett när hon startade bloggen.

Denna gång tänker jag göra ett undantag. Jag tänker inte sluta i positiva ordalag, utan med en tankeställare. På basen av vad min väninna berättat hoppas jag att alla de som lever i ohållbara förhållanden tar till sig orden i denna sång: Spring för livet. Mitt omusikaliska öra kopplade genast ihop detta med Lisa Ekdahl - men budskapet i Sara Vargas sång var något helt annat än den romatik Lisa brukar förmedla: Man skadar inte den man älskar...Spring för livet om det är dig kärt, att slå tillbaka är det inte värt. Du kan inte förändra, du kan aldrig förstå, det enda du kan göra är att gå.


Skål för hållbar kärlek; den enda rätta kärleken!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Bird scarers to let

Having a side business as a staying at home mom is never wrong. The income the state keeps you with is minimal, and support from hubby always under negotiations. No, to be an independent woman side-business is really the solution. Problem is only how to combine work with small children. After all, you are a staying at home mom, and you are supposed to be 100% dedicated to the kids. Well, I think I found the solution, an all-in-one solution. Which also means that people in Helsinki can start enjoying their summer ice cream all by themselves, without any angry birds circulating above their heads. The solution is called "A and G - the best bird scarers in town".

My kids have started a new hobby, when ever they see a bird, big or small, the run after it and scream wrooooaaaaaaa...until the bird flies away. Birdlife on our home yard used to be abundant. It is not anymore. Feel kind of sorry for the old ladies with their kitchen window towards the front yard, they must be quite bored now that the birds have emigrated to safer places.

So my business idea is to offer my kids to the city of Helsinki. The sea gulls have become a serious problem in the touristy part of the town. You can no longer eat an icecream in open air without being under attack from angry birds. My kids could take care of the problem. As they did yesterday when we went grilling at an open grill (on Seurasaari/Fölisön). The birds had no chance when the kids (and mom) started their scary bird show. WRooaaaaaaahhhhh!

There is just a small obstacle to my plan that I need to discuss with my lawyer.... Consídering the age of my kids, it will take another 10-15 years before we can start the business. Silly child labor laws...

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Om sommaren och vintertrauma

Tänk så skönt det är att tillbringa en förmiddag i en lekpark full av lekande barn och smilande mammor (och några pappor också, men de jag så smilade inte, de hade bara en kamera runt halsen). Mammornas smil kommer säkert av den STORA soppskålen som tas fram klockan 12:00. Herredumilde så skönt att någon annan kokar för mina ungar, och att det enda jag behöver göra är att ge två djuptallrikar åt en parkassistent som sedan ser till att dessa fylls med lagom varm laxsoppa (inte brännhet, det är det väsentliga här; jag behöver inte skrika hysteriskt: DET POPPAR när barnen för första skeden till munnen). Ännu skönare är det att inte behöva städa upp klottet från golvet efter lunchen. Blöjbyte, vagnen i liggläge och hoppla så kan man fokusera på det väsentliga: dagens kaffen. För den äldre ungen är ju självgående i park sedan länge. Speciellt när man stämt träff med lekkamrater i samma ålder och man tillpåköpet får kaffesällskap under sovpausen. Nästan som kaffepaus på jobbet. Prat om dittodatt, slipper fokusera på arbetet.

Och vad är inte bättre än att stämma träff med andra lekkompisar till eftermiddagen, vid en artificiell insjö, för att plaska och äta lite hemlagad råsmart middag vid sjön. Okej, detta var inte lika lätt som parkförmiddagen; jag måste först fixa middagsmaten och sedan se till att ungarna hölls vid liv i det grumliga vattnet. Svårare. Men ack så lätt i jämförelse med de där en-meters-snödrivorna-på-bannemig-alla-gator-i-stan. För att inte tala om de där femton dragkedjorna och ylleplaggen som skulle på och av i över fem månader. Nej vet ni, jag tror jag har vintertrauma. Behöver nog gå hos en psykolog innan nästa vinter, eller sen helt enkelt emigrera till söder om ekvatorn.

Men just nu, just nu njuter jag. Sommaren är som bäst just nu. Allt det jobbiga är bakom oss, allt det härliga framför oss. Jag njuter!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Pan da poto - pero como eliminarlo?!?!

Recibí una pregunta muy valida hoy de una amiga. Me pregunta lo siguiente:

Mia, ya no comes pan para nada?
Cuentame como eliminarlo, estoy tratando pero tarde o temprano caigo !! Que desayunas tu?


No es la primera vez que alguien me pregunta lo mismo. Me pasa bastante en seguida...Y tiene que ver con mi cambio de estilo de vida. Algo que comenté aquí en el blog en febrero - la comida revolucionaria- una nueva manera de pensar lo que engorda y lo que no.

Entonces, mi repuesta fue lo siguiente:

Es como dije a otra que tuvo el mismo problema; EL PAN. En pasos pequeños, pero firmemente mirando la meta.

No puedes sacar el pan de la dieta si no sabes con que sustituirlo. No debes andar con hambre. Y no se trata solamente del pan. Se trata de todos los carbohidratos. Sin carbos en tu dieta por un tiempo minimo de 3 semanas vas a sentir menos tentaciones de comerlos. El truco es comer productos que te llenan, sacan el hambre por mas tiempo y entonces saca las ganas de comer entremedio de las comidas.

Entonces, primero tienen que estar claro con que cosas puedes comer. Manten en tu miente; lo menos procesado, lo mejor, lo mas natural lo mejor. Toda comida industrial: mantente esceptica.

Aqui van los ingredientes basicas de este "estilo de vida" (no es dieta):
- Todas VERDURAS que crecen ARRIBA del suelo (eso quiere decir no papas, zanahorias, no beterraga, no camote)
- Huevos - en todas formas
- carnes, pollo, pescado (especialmente alta en grasa), camarones, mariscos
- Mantequilla  (mucho, úsala para freir, en la comida - olvida la margarina, es basura - puro grasas artificiales)
- aceite de oliva, de linaza, de girasol (encima de ensaladas, no para freir)
-aceite de coco, de palta tambien buenos para freir
- yogurt de mas de 10% de grasa (natural, sin azucar normalmente denominado yogurt turco o yogurt griego)
- crema (no leche, olvida leche, contiene azucar y poca grasa)
- crema ácida
- mayonesa (no light, todo light contiene normalmente mas carbohydratos y no te llena por mucho tiempo.
- palta
- quesos alta en grasa
- nueces (algunos son mejores que otros, depende de su balance entre proteinas, grasas y carbohydratos): especialmente las nueces pará son buenisimos al momento de sacar las ganas de comer pan.
- semillas (linaza, girasol, sesamo, semillas de calabaza)
- buenos aliños que queman graza: canela y gengibre
-Aliños que purifican: perejil y cilantro (y todos tipos de hojas verdes)

Con esta lista simple comienzas a construir tu lista de shopping de la semana.

Ejemplos de desayuno:
- un omelet hecho de 2-3 huevos mezclado con 2-3 cucharadas de crema, aliñado con canela - frita en abundancia de mantequilla.
- 2 huevos cocidos
- 1-2 palta con camarones y mayonesa
- yogurt 10%grasa, con semillas y nueces, aliñado con canela
- cafe puro (ojo, no leche ni azucar en el cafe, si necesitas algo usa canela o crema)
- Agua (ojo, no jugos - contienen muchos azucares)

Ejemplo de comida:
- bife con pure de coliflor (coliflor hecho a puré, mezclado con un poquito de crema y aliñado con sal)
- salmon con broccoli con queso feta (broccoli cocido, al horno por media hora junto con queso feta, cubierto en crema y encima un par de nueces de cashew, riquisimo!)
- pechuga de pollo con "coleslaw" (coleslaw es esa ensalada gringa hecho de repollo bañado en mayonesa con crema acido, aliñado con limón, puede ser con un poquitito de zanahoria rallada y manzana rallada - pero no es necesario)


Entre medio de las comidas: nueces, un par de pedacitos de chocolate de arriba de 70% de cacao (todo lo demas contiene demasiado azucar, te va a sacar del equilibrio).

Para gozar a frente de la tele despues de un dia duro: chocolate 70%, berries con crema batida mezclado con yogurt 10%grasa (mas crema que berries), quesos tipo brie o queso azul - encima de zapallo italiano/manzana verde, mantequilla de maní encima de manzana verde. Junto con una copa de vino tinto!!!

Come bien de desayuno. Despues escucha tu cuerpo. Come almuerzo/cena antes de estar con demasiado hambre (te va a hacer comer mas de que necesitas si comes cuando estas con demasiado hambre).

Realmente con esta dieta no necesitas comer mas que 2-3 veces por dia.

* No tengas miedo a las grazas - no te engordan, te llenan y te sacan las ganas de comer las cosas que te hacen engordar (pan, dulces, pastas, papas, arroz)
* No comas frutas (!) - contienen azucares, lo que va a impedir que tu metabolismo se estabilice.
* No light, no fat free
* No jugos, ni jugos naturales, por lo mismo de las frutas
* No bebidas
* no cervezas. Cerveza=azucar liquido, no quieres esto en tu sistema cuando estas botando tu dependencia de los carbohidratos.
* no a galletas/chips/popcorn en todos eventos - si lo comes en una fiesta por aqui, una fiesta por allá tu cuerpo no va a tener el tiempo de estabilizarse sin carbos. Cada vez que comes una galleta, esa galleta influye en tu nivel de insulina (o mejor el azucar de sangre) y el nivel de insulina cuando cae es lo que te da ganas de comer mas (dulces). Asi que mantente lejos de todo tipo de galletas, chips, popcorn. Si absolutamente quieres masticar algo mirando una pelicula: maní, cashew, almendras - tostados, sin capa de azucar encima.

Despues de 2-3 semanas las ganas de comer carbohidratos deberian desaparecer.  Los primeros dias te vas a sentir como tratando a terminar con una droga fuerte; dolor de cabeza, mal humor, cansada, hasta migraña - completamente normal, es tu cuerpo que esta detoxicando. Despues si quieres, sigue con la dieta por un par de semanas (meses) mas, para quedar bien libre de la adiccion a pan y todo tipo de carbos rapidos. Los fanaticos de esta dieta dicen que siempre deberiamos comer asi. Yo no creo que es sano seguir con tantas grasas de animales por tiempo extendido - salvo si tienes diabetes o eres adicta a azucar - alli quizas conviene, pero no soy dietista y no voy a ponerme a debatir este tema que es BASTANTE polemico.... Soy creyente de una dieta equilibrada - pero equilibrada de comida sana (no al 80% de los productos del supermercado). Despues de 5 meses con una dieta mas o menos estricta sin carbos pero alta en grasas estoy ahora sustituyendolo con un poco mas de carbos (quinoa, bulgur) y mas grasas vegetales (aceite de coco para freir en vez de mantequilla, crema de soya o crema de avena para mezclar con la comida, leche de coco en salsas de la comida). Pero aun asi, siento que era necesario pasar por un par de meses con la dieta destacada arriba para poder comenzar la nueva dieta equilibrada. No hubiera podido terminar ni con pan, ni con chocolate de leche (en cantidades industriales) sin subir la cantidad de grasas en mi dieta. Ahora he delgazado mas de 5 kilos sin sentir ganas de comer dulce y sin sentir hambre!!! Ademas, despues de haber delgazado, ya no era tan dificil salir a correr un par de kilometros (pero siento que para rendir bien en el ejercicio, necesito un poco de carbos, solo un poco, y los carbos que no afectan tanto el nivel de azucar de sangre).

Al final una nota importante: cada una con su comida. Lo que te hace sentirte bien, por mi parte esta bien. Mi manera de comer es mi eleccion. Tu manera es tuya. Segun el libro "Comida Revolucionaria" de Andreas Eenfeldt no existe estudios que muestran el efecto a largo plazo de dieta alta en graza y baja en carbos, pero tampoco existe estudios confiables que baja grasa y altos cantidades de carbos son buenos para la salud. Entonces, aqui no entro en debate de que es bueno para la salud. Simplemente explico como dejé mi addición a los dulces y al pan...una adicción que reconozco puede volver en cualquier momento, si no me mantengo lejos de gran parte de los carbos en los supermercados... esta chica no va a comer helado este verano - salvo helado, hecho en casa, a base de palta, platano y berries congelados....

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Que pasa en la casa, Peru?

Tenemos un juego acá con los niños. Los dejamos en nuestra cama, enrodados de cojines y les preguntamos "Qué pasa en la casa?" y se tiran para atras en los cojines para que nosotros despues llenarlos con cosquillas. Se rien hasta no poder respirar y lo pasan muy bien. Ahora, este "que pasa en la casa" me suena fuertemente cuando leo sobre las elecciones de hoy en Peru. Pero la reacción no son carcajadas de alegría mas bien llantos de de desesperación...

Alguién me puede explicar porque los nombres de candidatos presidenciales de Peru siempre provocan un cierto grado de malestar? Como puede ser posible que al final de la carrera queda dos candidatos que ambos den la sensación de que "esto no va a terminar bien"?

Reconozco que el populismo está llegando a Finlandia ahora. Pero en Peru, parece que el populismo ya esta institucionalizada y no hay nada que lo saca de alli. Ni el voz del pueblo.

De lo poco que yo he estado en contacto con este lindisimo país solo sé que Ollanta Humala fue considerado un loco de grandes propociones hace seis años atrás... Hay otro lado del candidato, que no he logrado descubrir? Y Keiko Fujimori - pero como??? El padre en exilio, encarcelado, acusado por violaciones de los derechos humanos, corrpucion y no se que... tengo problemas de creer que la hija está completamente clara con la diferencia de lo bueno y lo malo.

Sea lo que sea, le deseo lo mejor para Peru. Es un país lleno de gente amable, paisajes de maravillas, y para no olvidar una tradicion culinaria increíble (no hablando del pollo asado con papas fritas sino mejor el ceviche, etc...)...para que el país pueda salir adelante, lleno de alegría y carcajadas!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Junttilandia - in words and action

While our future government parties are having a party debating, the country stands without a clear vision and without a clear leader for the future. The longer they debate, worse it only gets.

There is a saying in Swedish that goes; the more the chefs, the worse the soup. And this soup is getting very very bitter. Now practically all parties have been negotiating with the lead negotiator. It does not matter if they won or lost the election - the lead negotiator is seaking for a majority coalition and nothing else seems to matter. Today they even speculate that the same parties as before the election would continue. Hello! People voted change! What is this?

Simoultaneously Nokia is dipping big time, specualtions about Microsoft buying our world famous mobile maker and doubts about its survival after 2012. It just seems like the elected politicians do not have a clue how to handle this. It is not business as usual anymore. ...They are promising to help Portugal (and Greece) while the government negotiations strand on how to finance our own debt...Worse it gets if Nokia is out of the picture. So far it has been the forestry sector sacking and closing mills. The lay off at Nokia has been a "temporary dipp". What if it is not temporary, what if Nokia and its all subcontractors are going downhill big time... unemployment, no more corporate tax income from this sector...I do understand that the politicians have problems to get ends meet in their financial calculations. Finland has been too proud for too long of the cell phone wonder from the 90's. From the 90's! Two decades ago! Imagine listening to those europop beats or Nirvana (although the latter would be better) nonstop on the radio for 15 years... talk about being creative after that...

Sadly enough, the only party winning on this (previously unheard of) negotiation rumba is of course the True Finns. They stand by their position on Portugal, which to me even starts to make sense, when the government negotiators cannot agree on how to decrease our own debt. They try to cover up their racist views by political anti-racism statements. Well, the statement did not gain too much credibility in the media, as the second part of the statement showed that they are not willing to stand by their word in action - wanting to abolish affirmative action for all minorities living in Finland. But these days it does not matter what the establishment (printed press, tv news) says about things. The True Finns gain street credibility no matter how much their elected members talk about "neekeriukot" or preach about the unfairness of Swedish speaking university degrees.

True Finns are not only gaining popularity in the post-election polls, they are gaining supporters who are more than willing to show their opinion in both words and action; Immigrant busdrivers get beaten up, immigrant mothers are told to shut up on the bus, Swedish speaking Finns are told they are not worthy to celebrate Finnish hockey gold. And then the latest I read about, a Finn (half Nigerian if I understood it correct) being insulted and almost dragged down a lake while peacefully reading a book on the first real summer day of the year (you can read his note here in Finnish, it is excellent:Sinä olet se miltä Suomi näyttää ).

Its only been a month since I had to explain the meaning of the word "juntti" to my husband (Finnish answer to American rednecks). Yes, we lived in Finland for five fortunate years, before he was confronted with the term. And I never felt the urge to introduce it to him either, did not seem to matter, as we are all living in Finland and I have no necessity to label people by the way they act or dress. Now, these junttis are popping up like mushrooms everywhere. They do not only reside in remote countryside villages or in the Karaoke bars of the cities. Young and old, man or woman; its just trendy to be a juntti.

So all of you who thought that Finland was winning practically every measurement of modern open society: its a fraud - the truth is out there, and it is not what it looks like in international comparative ratings.... we are going down, down the hill - and there is no Nokia (nor government) to the rescue!

But I do not want to end my long posting with a negative connotation. Instead, I confess to be a believer. I believe that the majority of people living in Finland are representatives of these open modern societies, where education is the core, pluralism is the norm and tolerance is a virtue. What we need is a big kick in our ass, to stand up and put an end to all this nonsense!

Message to Nokia

So the Finnish wonder, the savior, the great all mighty is breaking...time to reinvent, and do it fast. Rubber boots as a milking cow?

My message to Elop: make a phone that does not break after 3 months. Make a phone that can be updated with new software but else than that dures for a lifetime. I know, markets will not last forever, the fear of every programmed obsolence defender. But hey, materials are definite, consumers are getting conscious...maybe its time to scrap the crap and return to durability. And don't tell me that it is too hard, Nokia TV:s used to last for decades. I know you can, its only a matter of will...

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Keep on talking Jyrki!

Nämen nu får de väl ändå ge sig! Vilket party Katajainen bjuder på. Alla får vara med - förr eller senare. Nu ska Centern också förhandla. Suck. Men leder det till något resultat?

Det är nog bäst att de fixar biffen snart så det inte blir nyval. För gissa vem som skulle vinna det valet? Vill nog inte ens tänka på det just nu.

Nu kallar soffan på den här potatisen igen...idag i sällskap med env nysshemkommen hubb.

The good housewife...

After four days away, its clear that hubby expects a clean house and a wife that picks him up from work (where he went straight from the airport, talk about corporate citizen). So I obey...only thing is that G makes a mess of everything that I try to tidy up...not my fault, it was the kid. Promise!