I thought starch had gone out of fashion, so I'm pleased to learn that even in the depths of the Thai jungle, Matt is doing his bit to champion it.
For too long we have suffered from limp, flaccid, lifeless shirts - so I'm with Matt - bring back good old fashioned starch so that once again we can proudly walk about in crisp and uncrumpled ones.
It would also bring a whole new meaning to the phrase "having a stiffy"
Actually starch is a type of carbohydrate as sugar is a type of carbohydrate.
The supermarkets in Pattaya do stock it in the laundry section and, one assumes, it is used to stiffen fabrics.
cdnmatt wrote:
"I'll admit, I think quite a few of the local Thai dishes are quite tasty, but by no measure can you say it's healthy for you".
Agree, if they are the ones doing the cooking (poor hygiene and too much oil and sugar), but what you find at most local markets is about as healthy as it gets. I try to eat one large salad every day for the obvious nutritional benefits and always find what I need at the market, i.e. fresh leafy greens, spring onions, bok choy, carrots,tomatoes, cucumber, bean sprouts,etc., etc. Always fresh (rinse with clean water), loaded with nutrition including fiber and those good carbs we need.
Starch, as you mention, is also healthy as long as you avoid white flour and white rice which of course is a major food supply over here. Brown rice is the only way to go but rarely served at any markets or food stalls...too expensive for them I guess.
We buy enough at the market to make a salad a day for each of us for a week (14 large salads) for somewhere around a whopping 200 baht. I spend more than that for my favorite Japanese Roasted Sesame Salad Dressing...but, oh so good!
Eating Thai food in general is considered one of the healthiest diets on the planet: Low csrb (avoid the sugar and rice) - high in nutrients. Protein is the biggest challenge and most Thais do not get enough in their daily diets. Most farang overcome this by consuming larger portions meat and fish.
I was actually joking you know.Originally Posted by francois
Again though, you're missing the veggies. Just think of the typical Thai dihes -- khao man gai, krapow moo sap, krapow gai, gaen kida wan, tom yam, kai jiao, pad thai, gwaai-tiao, and so on. None of them really have any vegetables in them at all, and those are the dishes you're going to find at every night market and small roadside restaurant across the country.
Sure, I'll grab the occasional "khao man gai" or something, but I'm not going to turn that food into my regular diet, because I'll just get sick again.
But yeah, agrred on the market for raw good ingredients. That 7000/month Central shopping trip is just for things we can't get at the markets like strawberries, peaches, plums, sirloin, salmon, ground beef, sour cream, spices, cereal, etc. Basically all the expensive stuff, so 7000 doesn't buy you much.
Then the other 13,000/month is all at the markets for veggies, chicken, pork, oranges, juice, etc. It's just I cook our meals at home, instead of eating hot places of street food. It works.
Say it ain't so!I was actually joking you know.
Did anyone else go through Matt's list quickly and wonder how he could spend B12000/month on beer in addition to several thousand on other alcoholic beverages?
christianpfc (July 11th, 2017), francois (July 11th, 2017)
heh, either that's a bad joke, or you don't read the board often. Leo is my BF's name.
Again, not really sure how much he gets, but about 12,000/month seems about right. Last time he went back to Laos he had 5000 in his wallet, but the time prior to that had 15,000 in his wallet. Then while here he always buys some small things to bring back to his village. Maybe one of those cheap rice cookers, or some cheap dishes for his father's house, or some of those little toy trinkets for the kids, or whatever. Nothing special though.
What is Frontline and how do you spent 1000 Baht per month on shampoo? Granted, I buy shampoo every few months, but I haven't bought soap for years. When I stay in hotel rooms, I take the soap from there. And haircut? One per month for 60 Baht, including shaving!
You have to split the 86,000/month, well not exactly into two as even without Leo you would have the same expenses for rent and dogs, but let's say 70k for you and 16k for Leo or something like that.
I live on 35k per month, including entertaining various boys, and taking various trips, but without health insurance, visa runs and eating mainly Thai food. I could easily spend more, but it wouldn't increase my happiness.
Details here: http://christianpfc.blogspot.com/201...-jan-2017.html and several other similar posts on my blog.
Apparently, I'm just being blind again. There should be one tab and 5 spaces on the left side of various lines in that list. It's 20,000 total for Leo's and mine food bill, and the lines below that are an itemized list. Then 9000 for the dogs, and lines below again itemized list of where that money goes.
Frontline is a drug / chemical you put on the back of dogs necks to keep dog fleas and ticks away, and not cheap. It's about 900 baht for 3 doses, and you need to apply about every 3 weeks. Then shampoo is for the dogs, because obviously we get the specialized formula to help ward off the fleas and ticks.
But yeah, shampoo for Leo and myself is cheap, and included in the Misc lline. I don't know, but I think it's about 100/month for shampoo.
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