Chinese Mandarin - Slow down and enjoy three meals a day

CITYLIFE / Odds & Ends






Slow down and enjoy three meals a day

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-05-30 09:25



For busy people, it can be hard to squeeze in three meals a day. But if
you want to look after your health, you need to find ways to eat three
nutritious meals. Here are some suggestions to maintain a healthy diet.


Breakfast

A healthy breakfast is a good start to the day. And having something to
eat at home is the best way to go. Fruits are good, but avoid eating
bananas or pineapples when the stomach is empty. Bananas contain a lot of
magnesium which is one of the few elements that will affect the heart. If
you eat bananas on an empty stomach, this will lead to a sharp increase
in the amount of magnesium in the blood. And blood with a high content of
magnesium can harm the heart. And pineapples contain a lot of ferment
which can also affect an empty stomach.

If you have leftovers, they're good to eat in the morning. Just heat it
up in the microwave, or even having buttered bread and milk is good.

If you have more time and want to have a freshly-made breakfast, then go
to a caf�� where you can sit down and enjoy your breakfast. Most of these
eateries feature Chinese food including deep fried twisted dough sticks,
soybean milk and dumplings.

But if you have to take long commute in the morning and are short of
time, then you can buy take-away snacks at street stalls. Beijing has
many of them selling breakfast in the mornings. The stall owners get up
quite early and tend to be near bus stops or residential buildings from
7am to 9am. The food can range from western hamburgers and sandwiches, to
traditional Chinese preserved eggs, pancakes, porridge, stuffing buns.
They also sell various drinks including milk, soybean milk, and bubble
tea. And you only need to pay a few yuan for the meal.


Lunch


Compared to breakfast, time is not the issue with lung. The problem is
finding a diversity of lunch options.

Most office people have their lunches at restaurants near their
companies. These placesare always crowded at lunchtime and can be
expensive. The lucky ones can have their lunch in the company canteens.
They cost less than outside restaurants, but just as crowded. One way to
enjoy your lunch in a relatively comfortable dining environment is to
call ahead for a take-out meal and eat it at the recreational center of
your company or in the office if it's allowed. Here's a list of the top
four lunch take-aways picked out by office workers:

1 Malatang.
This is a tingling spicy hot pot that's easy to do take-out. The sellers
precook the vegetables and then put them onto wooden skewers, making them
easy to take away. Malatang is pretty cheap and five yuan is enough to
fill your stomach.

2 Yuxiang Gaifan
Yunxiang Gaifan is a mixture of rice with sour, spicy, and fried dishes.
The fried dishes have several variations, like Yuxiang Eggplant, Yuxiang
Meat Slices, and Yuxiang Fried Eggs. A set of Yuxiang Gaifan costs about
12 yuan.

3 McDonald's or KFC chicken leg hamburger
The lunches from these fast-food restaurants contain sufficient calories
to support all your activities in the afternoon, but are more expensive
than the first two suggestions.

4 Make your own lunch at home and take it to work
If you bring your own meal to work you don't have to worry about finding
a table or the cleanliness of the restaurant. And you can have fun
sharing food with other colleagues who also cook their own lunches.


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