Now that I’m in recovery mode, I have to be more careful about what I eat. I do have this tendency to be good for a few weeks and then fall back into old habits, but this time I’ve got some help and support and maybe I’ll do better.

I missed this post at Huffington Post – 33 of the Healthiest Foods on Earth – but found it eventually via Lifehacker.

Did you know that blueberries help prevent urinary tract infection? That red bell peppers can help prevent sunburn as well as reducing the risk of several types of cancer? Kiwis (the fruit, not people from NZ) lowers the risk of blood clots? Papaya reduces the risk of lung cancer and enhances fat burning?

Yeah, you probably all knew it, I’m probably the last one to find out. But right now, sitting in front of the computer, instead of a box of Chips Ahoy sitting within easy reach, I’ve got a plate of blueberries that I’ve just about devoured.

My dad swore by vitamin pills. He had a whole shelf full of books on the subject and took what seemed like dozens of pills every morning. Now scientists are starting to find that if you extract the vitamins from food and serve them in pill form, it may not do all that much good, that it’s not just the vitamins themselves but the natural interaction with other substances in the fruits and vegetables that help bring about the goodness.

And one thing I love about Hong Kong is the wide variety of fruits and vegetables available here and how cheap most of them are. When I was growing up, I never ate a fresh vegetable; everything my mother cooked came out of a can or a freezer bag. When you’re 5 years old and the only meals you eat are cooked by your mom, of course she’s the best cook on earth. In my case, my mother’s cooking was so bad that as soon as my father retired, he kicked her out of the kitchen and took over all the family cooking. And now I know that it takes the same amount of time and effort to prepare a fresh vegetable as it does to open a can and put that washed out shit into a pot and heat it up.

I learned long ago that in Hong Kong, you don’t buy your fresh produce from Park ‘n Slop or Hellcome. Their produce sections are the saddest things on earth. Or what? Go to City Super and buy those imported individually wrapped grapes for a thousand dollars a bunch? No, you go to the local wet market and the family in that little 10 foot stall lives and dies on the quality of the produce they’re selling – and the price is cheaper too. Sai Kung has the added benefit of several independent produce shops – no signs over the doors, a metal gate that rolls down at night, but during the day, boxes of beautiful fresh stuff priced right.

So I’m learning and I’m trying.

Hongkie Town
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