Working Inside the Box...

…but thinking outside of it. That’s the trick to being successful in my situation. Hell, any endeavor that anybody attempts must follow this kind of logic, but it especially holds sway when one tries to help people, and it is even more relevant when working in India.

It can be applied to trying to cook in India. I’ve had to use local ingredients and a limited amount of exotic additions, like cocoa and peanut butter. They’re available, sure, but nobody here really uses them. It doesn’t matter if they’re delicious or nutritious, because if it’s not something that you’re used to, then there’s no good in shoving it down their throats. I’ve tried to amend recipes to use as many of the ingredients common to Indian kitchens as I possibly can, even if a better alternative exists locally. I just want to make it easier on myself and on others here.

The same is true with any nutritional advice that I give. The girls in the hostel need more protein, good fats and iron, and almonds are a good source of all three, but they won’t eat them. I found that out when I suggested making them available at tea time for the hostel, but it was quickly nixed. Everybody around here avoids dried fruits and nuts (which are also called dried fruits, interestingly enough) like the plague, because they think they make you fat in any amount. Another case of lack of education, but I can’t really change their likes and dislikes. I have to make other suggestions that work with their current diets and lifestyles.

So when Shammi, my cook, asked me at dinner today if he could exercise with me because he wants to get skinny, I was prepared. I’ve been here long enough to know about Himachal lifestyle (specifically his lifestyle) to know what adjustments I can make to it for health reasons. I advised him that since he’s older than 35, he should avoid resistance or weight training and stick to cardio. The best cardio for people his age around here? Walking, of course. The hills are great, there are a lot of places to go, and it’s not too taxing on the body. It’s something everybody could to.

The other part of losing weight is diet, and I don’t want to tell him to start eating salads and fruits exclusively, but there are some ways that I’ve been thinking about to slightly tweak the average Indian diet to make it healthier. The staple food for every meal is some form of roti or rice, which are very high in carbs and low in vitamins. They’re complex carbs that are very good for you, sure, but for many people around here, they make up more than the 55-75% of their diet recommended by the WHO. It’s used to scoop up much smaller amounts of flavorful dals or vegetables. Therefore, a good way to adjust the diet is to recommend people to eat fewer rotis and more vegetables and dals. It’ll result in people eating less calories overall, and it shifts the percentage of their diet devoted to heavy, empty carbs over to richer, denser fats and proteins. It’s a start, and it’ll definitely be a slow change for Shammi, but I don’t think it’ll be one that’s very difficult to do. After all, he’s eating all of the same foods; he’s just eating them differently.

Of course, it’s important to cook the foods in a healthy way. I’ve got to start showing him, and others in India, that you don’t need a tablespoon of oil to cook two eggs. It’s a bit overkill. I don’t care if they come out of the pan all pretty because they don’t stick. They should just taste good and be healthy for you.

The good news is that overall, the Indian diet is so ridiculous healthy to begin with, that big changes are unnecessary. It’s the little things that count, like increasing iron and decreasing portion sizes. People just have to know about their food and make a conscious choice to eat healthier. I’m a firm believer in the saying, “There are no bad foods, only bad eating.”

But I also like this one: “Everything in moderation, including moderation.” Excuse me, but I have to go eat my third pancake.