The Lesser of Two Evils...

Today's my weigh in day, and I'm totally dreading it. I know that pavaka, karayapalla, and mini-bananas aren't the only things I picked up in Houston...I also picked up a few pounds. Bleh. It's impossible to eat light portions or healthy meals when staying with aunties. To them, it's a personal insult if you don't eat two heaps of rice with an abundance of curry on the side. One afternoon I opted out of rice for lunch and headed out to Subway for a turkey sandwich. You would think that I had literally walked up to my aunt and pimp-slapped her. She was THAT offended by me skipping out on lunch. She began telling me that her kids aren't picky about what they eat and they love Indian food.

This is one thing that annoys me beyond measure. It's guilt tactic 101 in the book of "The Malayalee Mom's Ways of Guilting Children Into Doing What They Want." Sure, her statement sounds rather simple and harmless, but let's examine what it REALLY means, shall we? "My kids aren't picky..." YOU ARE PICKY. "They love Indian food." YOU DON'T LOVE INDIAN FOOD BECAUSE YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE KIDS WHO ACT AMERICAN AND NEED TO WASH THE SPICES OFF THEIR CURRY.

The problem here isn't that I don't like Indian food. Indeed, I do. The problem is that aunties FRY fish, FRY beef, FRY pappadum, and saute their veggies them in OIL. THAT'S my problem.

The funny thing is...aunties want you to eat their cooking, but they're the FIRST ones to tell you you're fat. Some even have the audacity to say "You so fatty now. Vhy?" Grr...It's a no win situation. If you don't eat their cooking and offend them, you get their comments that leave you feeling guilt ridden while you are labeled as one of those "confused american borns" that can't value the taste of authentic indian food. I guess you just have to pick the lesser of two evils.