(08-31-2019, 08:03 PM)Mattias Westlund Wrote: I have to ask: I'm sure it's tasty, but do you guys actually consider that an actual meal that will keep you going for at least part of the day? I don't mind vegetarian or even vegan dishes at all, but mushrooms are basically nutritionally void, and the veggies don't have much in terms of proteins or fat in them either. Rice is almost pure carbs and starch so I guess that will fill you up for at least a short while, but I'd probably be hungry again 30 minutes after eating that
That's an interesting question, and one I have not thought much about! For the most part, the duration of energy provided by a meal is not of much consequence to me, for a variety of reasons-
- Most of the meals I make are dinner, as breakfast is usually very light and lunch is typically whatever is leftover (or a large salad). I do not need much energy in the evening, so a small, 'light' dinner is perfectly fine.
- Instead of eating at allotted times, I generally just wait until I am hungry to eat. Sometimes this means eating only twice in a day, in other cases, four times per day. I eat until I begin to feel full, at which point I stop and save the rest for later.
- The amount of food I prepare is generally twice the amount I will eat in a given meal, both because most stores sell food in quantities designed for 2+ people, and because that way I have leftovers to eat for lunch or dinner the next day.
- Although I walk about 4-5 miles (6-8 km) per day, I do very little strenuous physical activity, so I do not need a lot of protein or calories to last through a day.
- In recent years my metabolism has slowed down a lot, so I eat much less food now than when I was in college.
Although I enjoy meal prep and cooking, I really dislike cleanup and have a very limited setup (single burner, limited oven access, small prep space), so I tend to economize my meal prep to be as simple as possible, both to cook and to clean up.
In the case of my mushroom 'stir-fry', it was only an excuse to use up some mushrooms which were starting to go bad. Again, as most supermarkets here only sell in large portions for 2-4 people, I sometimes have to get creative to use up food before it goes bad. Besides, throughout most of human history, the vast majority of humans survived primarily on carbs and veggies. That being said, I routinely add steak or chicken to such a meal if I am interested in it, just at that time I did not have any in the house, having just used up the last of the steak from earlier in the week.
What do other people think?
Sample library developer, composer, and amateur organologist at Versilian Studios.