Hey Petal, I know losing that last pound must be hard, but I have confidence in you, you will do it!
I understand the grapes thing, I have to really watch portion creep. When I get worried I go back to weighing and counting more carefully, and writing everything down really helps. I know we are in different places, you came in needing to lose 2 stone, and you are practically there. I came in needing to lose 11+ stone, and though I have lost more pounds than you have I am still a long ways from goal. It helps me to watch you, I am hoping one day to have your struggles, seeing how you manage it is good for me.
I am appreciating your education on Irish food.
The traditional Irish food is nice and full of butter so not great for the waistline. It was fine back when people only ate their 3 meals and were a lot more active . They walked and cycled everywhere. Oh yeah fried cabbage is another favourite.
Interesting, I had not thought about it, but you are right in my experience people used to eat only 3 meals a day. Growing up that was what my family did, snacks outside of meal time were rare. That has changed, probably the result of lifestyle changes combined with the much more available range of snack foods.
I can see that Irish food is rich, like you say a good diet for hard working people. That is kind of like the local cuisine we have here in Utah, but ours is more German/Scandinavian influenced. Like yours lots of potatoes, funeral potatoes is a favorite Utah dish (
10 Funeral Potatoes Recipes to Die For | LDS Living ), not just for funerals. My family were Louisiana rice farmers, I grew up eating lots of rice, not potatoes so much. Potatoes are also called spuds here. I live just 15 miles or so from Idaho, they claim to be the potato state.