Hi Kathryn,
Something I’ve been thinking about the last couple of days is winter food. I find that I REALLY crave different things in winter, so I’ve been eating lots of potatoes, creamy/cheesy things, thick soups, etc. All in moderation of course! But I am a bit concerned about the heaviness of these foods, as they are generally a lot higher in carbs and fat than the foods I eat in the warmer months. I was wondering whether you’ve got a few ideas about giving the body what it wants in winter without compromising my health (and weight!).
As a side note, do we really NEED heavier/warmer foods in winter? I’m sure it’s a biological thing to some extent, stemming from our long ago ancestors’ need to keep warm and preserve energy… but these days is it necessary?

Good question Lindsey, I’ll definitely include that in this week’s Q & A Thursday.

This is probably too frivolous a question to answer; I won’t be offended if you decide so, anyway :)

In computer science, there is a thought experiment (due to the late Edsger W. Dijkstra, one of the CS intellectual giants) called “the dining philosophers”: there are five philosophers who spend their whole time thinking – except when they’re eating. Their diet consists of spaghetti, I kid you not, all they eat is spaghetti.

My question is, if one were to emulate the philosophers and eat spaghetti only, what would result, health-wise?

(The CS thought experiment is concerned with the arrangement of eating utensils and how the philosophers use them, and for CS, the nature of the diet is immaterial. However, spaghetti is the most common diet ascribed to the philosophers. A common alternative is rice.)

Kathryn

I’m frequently amazed at how long some foods can be kept, at least going by the published ‘best by’ date. A couple of examples recently : roasted kumera in oil (nearly 2 months), haloumi vaccuum packed (3 months unopened). Are you aware of any general concerns about ‘best by’ dates on foods?