Polish football star Robert Lewandowski follows a “backwards eating” plan to keep trim, says Alice Hall in the Telegraph. The Bayern Munich striker will have a chocolate brownie as a starter, followed by rice or buckwheat, then meat or fish, and finally salad or soup. The idea is to separate carbohydrates and proteins so the body does not “become overwhelmed” by a mix of ingredients. While many nutritionists are sceptical about Lewandowski’s “dessert first” regime, they can rest assured that he only eats chocolate made from pure cacao, and doesn’t have lactose or wheat flour.
It’s rude to twirl your spaghetti
Twirling spaghetti with a fork and spoon is bad etiquette, says Kayla Kibbe in Inside Hook. I’d always thought it sophisticated, but the spoon is for “children, amateurs and people with bad table manners in general”, according to a group of Italian food experts. Etiquette coach Candace Smith says you should only use a spoon in times of “extreme distress”.
Ingredient of the week: apples
Apples are incredibly versatile, says Yotam Ottolenghi in The Guardian. There are about 2,000 varieties in the UK, many of which are now in season. “They can be nutty, or have hints of pineapple or aniseed or strawberry; they can be fine or coarse in texture; and they can hold their shape when cooked or collapse into a pulp.” My recipes include miso apple charlottes, sausage sandwiches with apple mustard and apple slaw, and apple hot sauce with potato cakes and soured cream.
Australian TikToker Mon Mack (@MonMakeFood) has racked up 3.9 million likes with recipes such as her apple rose, says the Daily Mail. It uses just five ingredients, apple, puff pastry, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla, bakes for 25 minutes, and tastes “just like apple pie”.