Back in Aix: Weight Gain Alert

Dinner at Chlopskie Jadlo Restaurant

I waxed enthusiastically about the fruits and vegetables in Krakow in one of my last blog posts.  By the last few days in Krakow I found the food heavy.  The mainstays on Polish restaurant menus are dumplings (Pierogi), breads, potatoes, and sausages.  The portions are large.  Many of the cakes and pastries are big and dense. 

I could see that Jake and I had gained weight after only a few days in Krakow. What to do?   For starters, we stepped up our walking and ate in our apartment more often.  I began thinking twice when we ordered in restaurants and then again when we received our meal.   

After a day at the Oscar Schlinder Factory, we ate at the  Polish Chlopskie Jadlo Restaurant (Peasant style) for our last meal out in Krakow. Maybe we added insult to injury with this dinner? We ordered sautéed forest (Cèpe) mushrooms and chicken broth with dumplings as appetizers, a salad of shredded cabbage and carrots, buckwheat kasha, and shared an entrée of baked pork tenderloin with prunes and topped with cranberry sauce.  We had lots of kasha, potatoes, and bread leftover!  The bread came with a cheese spread with chives and a pot of flavored lard (Wow!). 

Yet, as we looked around, few people in Krakow were overweight.  On the contrary, many people looked thin. Maybe they don’t eat regularly at tourist restaurants?  It also may be a matter of economics.  It seems that people have less money overall based on their clothing.  Many older persons are missing some or all of their teeth (a holdover from the old days of communist rule?).  Yet the people were kind to us and showed an interest in hearing about my husband Jake’s first trip back to Poland since 1945.

The fountain Le Rotonde, Aix-en-Provence, 2011

 

Fresh Fish from the Marché

I’m relieved to be back in Aix as much as I enjoyed the trip to Krakow.  We’re taking a break from the nomadic life of being tourists.  The food is lighter and portions at restaurants smaller.  We're back to shopping at the Marchés.  Now for some belt tightening!  I’ve sworn off French tarts for awhile and we’re walking in the mornings.  We’re eating fresh fish from the Mediterranean at home for dinner tonight (and are in the midst of a heated Scrabble game).  We’ll have fresh strawberries for dessert.

Gooseberries and  Strawberries at the Marché

What tips can you offer from your own personal experience about how to avoid overeating when surrounded by oodles of good food?

Yours in joy and health,

Kay