29 May, 2007 | Leave a Comment
I’ve been back in London for more than six weeks and the bad news is that I fear many of my internal organs are shutting down. For the past couple weeks I’ve felt consistently unwell and I’ve been quite lethargic. I blame the food.
I feared something like this might happen. My body was used to French food. By French food I don’t mean steak and béarnaise sauce with a side order of cigarettes. I mean fresh whole foods and foods lacking chemicals and preservatives, which are commonplace in France. It’s possible to get food like this in the US and Britain, but it’ll cost you a lot of money. And I’m too poor to eat that way here. So illness it is!
I’m at a real disadvantage because I have a picky tummy. Very picky. And not having my own kitchen really sucks for someone like me. There is a fridge on each floor of the building and a microwave, but the last time I left food in the fridge (mango chunks) someone stole it. Lovely. So I don’t leave much in there and it’s not possible to really cook anyway without a stove, oven, pots, pans, utensils.
There is a dining hall in the place where I’m living that serves breakfast and dinner. I try to eat there as often as I can because the food is cheaper. But there are a few problems with this. Though the food often tastes good, I feel gross after eating it. I’m not sure why. It’s like, instead of having a cup of tea after dinner, I have a cup o’nausea. And if I may be bitchy for a moment, the dining hall is in the basement. It’s orange down there and I don’t like orange that much. Even worse, this place is filled with mostly international students, really young people with braces who laugh way too loud and think they’re interesting. And sometimes being in their company makes me want to shoot myself.
But the main problem is that they serve red meat for dinner down there at least 4 to 5 times a week. Lamb, beef, pork — all things I can’t eat. Apparently, the chef (and I use that title lightly) hasn’t received the memo that it’s no longer 1950 and most people don’t eat meat and potatoes every night for dinner. They do have a veg option every night, but it’s often covered in cheese, like pizza or lasagna. I can’t eat cheese. I’m a high maintenance bitch.
Here is what they serve for breakfast each day:
eggs (poached or hard-boiled)
cheese omelette
sausage
bacon
baked beans
deep-fried hash browns
sliced bread or roll
pastries
cereal
The other day, I saw a newly arrived Japanese guy in the dining hall. His plate was filled with baked beans and a lone sausage that looked like it had just come out of the back end of a dog. He was just staring at his plate, looking almost tearful. And I know what he was thinking. “I’m supposed to eat this? You’re kidding.”
The upshot of all this is that I have to eat out — a lot. I ate out all the time in France, but this didn’t present a problem. But British take-away food — especially the kind a student can afford — comes deep-fried in a gallon of oil. So if you eat out too much here you will eventually die. In Paris it wasn’t easy to find take-away food, actually. Parisians aren’t big on take-away or “to go” foods. So I ate a lot of ethnic cuisine, like sushi and Chinese food. In Paris, Chinese food is mostly steamed, unlike in the US and Britain where much of it is deep-fried. So it’s actually possible to eat Chinese food quite regularly in Paris without risking a coronary. Unlike in Paris, my London ‘hood is filled with take-away shops. But they mostly sell fish and chips, kebabs, pizza and hamburgers. There is also McDonalds, Burger King, KFC and Subway. This is all within mere blocks of where I live. The only supermarkets near me are Sainsburys and Marks and Spencer’s — but they’re located inside a train station. Yes, a giant train station. Without a kitchen, a supermarket isn’t much use to me anyway, unless I want to eat stale sandwiches and greasy samosas every night.
So what am I supposed to eat? I usually eat breakfast or lunch. Trying to line up three meals is too stressful. For dinner, if I can’t eat in the dining hall, which I often can’t, then I’ll go to the train station and buy a baguette sandwich. Or I’ll have a jacket potato (stuffed baked potato). I eat at the Korean place sometimes, but it’s expensive. I’m really starting to feel as if I’m fighting a losing battle. The other night for dinner I ate a jam-filled donut, then curled up on my bed and felt sad. I have dreams about food. I dreamt of a bowl full of steamed carrots (my fave) with vegan butter and black pepper. Seriously, the thought of that makes me want to weep.
So anyway, the point of all this rambling is that I think I’m dying.
Anglofille said @ 5:42 pm | food, student life |
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Ang04 Says:
May 29th, 2007 at 7:15 pmoh, I really feel for you. Having a chronic case of the blahs can break you down.
The start of Spring was the start of the worst allergy season ever in NY. When that turned yucky sinusy (problems breathing, etc) I was wishing I had my plain ol’ allergies back, and, well, I got my wish.
Suggestions:
Maybe you can find a microwave compatable vegetable steamer. And micro rice cooker? If you place a soggy paper towel over fresh veggies, and microwave it they come out steamed. And, Asian markets have single servings of microwave rice packets. It’s really easy to season stuff with just soysauce (dilute with water), sesame seeds and sesame oils to start.
Sorry, wasn’t sure if it was a rhetorical post, but I hope this helps.
Cheers
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Rebecca Says:
May 30th, 2007 at 2:44 amI second the paper towel steaming. Also, you can boil pretty well with a bit of water, plastic wrap on top, and whatever veggie you choose inside. And aside from making your own rice, I’ll bet you could go to a take away and buy just the rice in a box? Then you could store it in the fridge (where it hopefully won’t be eaten) and heat it up along the way. Food stealing people are evil
I once combatted that with putting food that had gone bad in a container with a piece of masking tape on top with a good expiration date. Someone ate it, they got sick, and I knew who did it. They never stole my food again. Also, I’ve tested the “put an already expired expiration date on your food” method, which seemed to work well after the above experiment. Good luck! I fear I’ll be in a similar position when I get there since my stomach is just as bad. -
Thanks for these great tips! I never thought of steaming veggies in the microwave. I also never heard of microwaving rice? That is a great idea. And getting rice from a Chinese restaurant would also work.
I need all the help I can get, so thanks!
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You never knew you could ‘mike’ vegetables? All you had to do was talk to me! You just need a jar of good olive oil and a bowl. And some spices too for seasoning if desired.
BTW: I love Rebecca’s suggestion for battling food thieves!
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Rebecca Says:
May 31st, 2007 at 3:41 amWilliam - You should have seen the look on the guy’s face when I told him that the food he stole was 4 weeks old
I don’t know how he didn’t notice that it smelled off, but apparently he decided that hand-written expiration dates never lie. After that, no one messed with my food because they were afraid I would be messing with the dates again. 
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“The other night for dinner I ate a jam-filled donut, then curled up on m
bed and felt sad”wow, that just made me feel pretty bad myself. Have you tried Boots’ food section? Their selection is pretty healthy, albeit limited. I don’t really have a kitchen at my place and sometimes stop there on my way home to grab some dinner.
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Dinner at Boots? That is so depressing.
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actually it’s even more glamorous than that: dinner from Boots, eaten on the bus while “reading” The London Paper. Sounds enticing, I know
