"Give me five pieces of meat and chicken thigh...and kalo!" Tame your appetite for food
Bits of ME
A morsel of beef is comparable to the winning piece in a game.
Yes, it is, if it’s what stands out on a plate of food that conventionally my and your parents so often whipped us for.
"Baana bange (my kids) eat your meat last from your plate!"
Those taboos grounded society in healthy eating habits, food discipline and ‘wastage’
Fast forward to ceremonies today, a mountain top plate piled with bits and pieces of everything and nothing left: falling over steak, chicken sticks, fish fillet, oozing soup, ground nut paste all tied to one’s appetite!
The size of appetite (plate) is usually enough to feed dozens of other invitees! Sounds familiar?
It is party after party as graduation week knocks. Invitations pressure is building up on organizers of festivities wary of guests who serve self, the equal of a week’s buffet on a single invitation
As they knock down round after round, some stuff abandoned untouched because there is no space to fill, the disciplined are left with only gravy staring at them!
Bits of YOU
“Emmere tufumbire dala nyingi wakiri enelemela wo” loosely translated to mean ‘we should prepare food in abundance even if it means having pile of leftovers.’
Event organizers have been reduced to preparing more than what would be consumed to address unregulated appetites!
A close friend of mine has been planning her coveted luncheon of 20 guests for her master’s degree graduation.
Her small food budget seemed enough to cover the number but she was still discomforted and watchful to include extra plates in the name of - guests that consume piles for greed’s sake.
She went on to cite that a number of guests do not mind whether other revelers are on an empty stomach, but proceed to even pack and takeaway the left overs.
Is it glutton or greed? At times, the thin line is extremely thin, that culprits confuse us.
In many a Ugandan family during merrymaking, food left untouched is deemed ‘emeere ekolima’ (loosely meaning food abandoned curses). Some have conveniently abused the virtue for own gain.
Does the etiquette of only carrying enough food matter?
In celebration of all upcoming occasions, may you redeem yourself from the poor habit of carrying a spillover plate as bodies push further away from the queue to avoid the stain of your misbehaving delicacies
Guide to a desirable plate of food
- Remind yourself that you can always eat more at home
- Choose only your favourite foods from the buffet
- Consider that other guests in line deserve a share
- If you’re on a diet, be consistent and only apportion what you need
- Additional intake from normal diet at occasions is extra weight gain
