Update on the salt.

I didn't go out for beers in the end, but should have done so becuase beer appears to be low in sodium. So low, in fact, that I decided to check it a couple of times. I googled, and found that beer tends to have around 11 - 18 mg. This website has a 12oz portion of regular beer (about 360ml) containing 18mg sodium. Which translates to 45mg. Which is tiny - 0.045g. I thought I must have got that wrong - that seems like less than evian. I tried a different site - which gives both Bud Light and Bud Regular as containing 11mg sodium.

I think I will switch from water to beer - purely for the impressively low salt content, you understand.

I was going to count my evening meal's salt content as well. I forgot completely, but fish should have hardly any salt, and I had a small amount of cheese, the packet of which said per 100g, 0.7g sodium. I didn't weigh the cheese but we used less than 50g between us (estimated). So - 0.7g sodium becomes 1.75g salt per 100g, and I didn't eat a quarter of that. So call it 0.5g. (conservative)

Therefore I conclude that unless a teaspoon of mustard and a splash of worcestershire sauce (I'm losing the will to live here and it's getting late) together contain more than 2.2g salt then I managed to eat less than 6g salt today.

And that's with no processed food, no bread, no additional salt, no pre-prepared food, no crisps. This is clearly going to be quite a challenge, but has proven how much salt slips under my radar.

I thought I might not count my salt intake tomorrow because I'm having beanz on potatoes (Laura's coming over and I'm going to try to convince her to watch the first hour or two of Fiddler on the Roof which I've never seen) and I bet beans are full of salt. Even Rakusens' Kosher baked beans. But then I decided to investigate to see how salty beans are. I mean, I was shocked with my comparatively salty lunch and am curious about supper. After all, it's not as if I have anything pressing to do like sleep or update my CV.

Oy vey - Rakusens don't even state the salt content on their beans! However, on the ingredients label it's the fifth ingredient - after beans, tomato puree, water and sugar. Forgive me, I got carried away at this point. I went and grabbed the can of emergency beans (they only sell the kosher ones in sainsburys and I shop mostly in waitrose because it's closer) because I was getting a little worried about salt. Not half as worried as any sane observer would have been about the state of my mental health had they seen me poking around in a cupboard with a serving spoon trying to knock a can of beans off the top shelf, but I digress. The emergency beans only contain 1.7g salt per serving. However salt is the sixth ingredient not the fifth (as with Rakusens') so we're not comparing like with like here as much as I had thought. More granny smith with conference pears than royal gala with pink lady, if you get my drift.

Considering a serving is half a full-size tin, beans aren't nearly as salty as I had thought! They aren't as low-salt as a can of beer, but beer doesn't mash as well into a lovely fluffy baked potato as beans do.

Congratulations, you were present at the emergence of yet another obsession.

no more than HOW MUCH salt per day?

We all know that as adults we should not eat more than 6g of salt per day, and that eating in excess of this amount is bad for you. M’kay?

I used the government’s website for some help in working out how much salt I’m eating. Until now I had thought that I didn’t eat much salt, and wanted to see if I was right or not. My father had high blood pressure when I was a child (which later turned out to be white coat syndrome) so my mother stopped cooking with salt, saying we could add it ourselves if we wanted to. I didn't, and grew up without a particular taste for salt. I like to taste my food before salting it at all, but know several people who grind away before even sampling it. I had assumed that not cooking with salt would mean I’d be some super-healthy salt-dodger, especially because I rarely eat pre-prepared meals and take-aways and don’t frequently eat in restaurants (apart from holidays obviously but I’m talking usual habits rather than exceptions). How wrong I was!

A lot of the food I eat doesn’t have readily available salt levels on it (fresh fruit, for example) and some of it only gives sodium levels which is not the same as salt. To convert a sodium reading into salt content, you multiply the sodium level by 2.5. Ergo, my yoghurt which has 0.1g sodium per 100g actually contains 0.25g salt per 100g, and as the pot is 200g, the whole pot contains 0.5g salt. The rest of my lunch contains 1.8g salt (I won’t bore you with the calculations!).

1.25g salt per 100g (0.5g sodium per 100g) is A LOT OF SALT, apparently.

I don't know about you, but I hadn't actually clocked the fact there is salt (or sodium) in water. I see the sodium content on the side of evian bottles (5mg per litre apparently but I'm reading the french bit so that could actually be the amount of nuns per hectare, who knows?). Anyway, tap water should contain no more than 200mg sodium per litre – which is 500mg salt, or 0.5g– and I drink about 2 litres of that a day, which works out at about 1g salt. I sometimes drink mineral water with a lower amount of sodium, but today I'm cheap and on boiled tap water (with my green tea tea bags).

So excluding fruit and tea bags, and including the rest of the water I’ll drink during the day, I’m on about (0.5 + 1.8 + 1 =) 3.3 g salt so far today. That’s a lot, in fact it’s over half of my allowance.

This evening I’m out for a pint, and I hate to think how much salt there’ll be in beer. I’ll update this later/ tomorrow when I will have kept a tally of what I eat after this point, and see if I go over 6g. I tell you what, my notion of finishing off lunch with a packet of salt and vinegar french-fries has now gone out of the window!

Shock yourself! Work out how much salt you eat today! It might mean that you don't eat the packet of salt and vinegar french fries you have been salivating over since 1100am. If you're me that is. I haven't bought them yet, and am probably too lazy to go to the shop just to check out the salt content (ok, and too weak-willed to not buy three packets when I'm there), but it's on my list of things to check out.

New York, New York

Some observations:

Our hotel (W Tuscany) had a serve yourself hot chocolate station by reception in late afternoon and early evening. Complete with baby marshmallows. Try to time your arrival with a pre-briefed companion to collect one also (ostensibly for himself, but you should confiscate it as soon as the ultra-speedy-lift reaches your floor).

Stuart Weitzman is a god. I love his shoes and boots, especially when shoes cost under 80 bucks, and boots under 110. Which means I didn't pay sales tax in NYC. I'd show you photographs, but they were last season's and his website is updated to the new collection now. I know he also designs for Russell & Bromley here in the UK, but it's not quite the same. When you've tracked a pair of shoes through Saks, his store on 5th, and Bloomingdales (all on foot) you know you're a fan...

Smith & Wollenskys serve portions too large for comfort, but I'll happily die trying to fill my face. And if you avoid the potatoes I'm sure it's Atkins/ GI/ weirdo diet friendly (note: sentence not actually verified).

Remember the iconic regard in which we hold Taro (our local Japanese)? Well, there was a restaurant near our hotel (Hane Sushi) which Mr W nearly rated above Taro for sashimi. I didn't - they don't have many tofu dishes - but good attempt there, and I'd recommend it. Even without the awesome dollar - pound exchange rate it's not expensive. From a non-raw-fish perspective, their beef negimaki and beef teriyaki are well worth trying. I went non-kosher for the evening, and didn't regret it! Oh, and they deliver...

In my personal opinion, Banana Republic's spring collection is not as good as their winter collections have been in the past. Their petite range fits me perfectly, and on previous visits I've had no problems picking up trousers. This time they just didn't have the range of trouser cuts in the petite range. The collection was pretty fully stocked for the five foot five and over, which makes me think the petites range just isn't as well catered for this season. Hmph. So my intentions to pick up five or so pairs of trousers and banish the oldest and baggiest pairs from my wardrobe were foiled. Similarly, no good skirts. More selection is available online but I suspect they don't deliver to the UK. Darn.

Whenever you go, ask some v hip and trendy friends for bar recommendations. We met up with said trendsters at a bar that was sooo cool it didn't have a sign outside and appeared to be the side entrance into a public library. The cocktails were lovely. Mr W started ordering off-menu (the "bartender's choice") pretty soon and enjoyed all manner of extremely alcoholic exotic drinks which had been lovingly prepared and presented. Apparently the bar was owned by the same bunch who opened Milk and Honey both in NY and then in London. We arrived about eight pm and got a booth immediately. When we left, the place was getting lively - crowds by the bar and live jazz music. It seems that unlike in SF where everyone is home and in bed early, in NY the night has almost Spanish timekeeping. Nixta said this was because of NY's relative position in the time zones - it's the earliest place in the US so to make contact with the rest of the US it's sensible for them to work as late as possible. Or something - the hot apple cider might have mixed up his words!

Same as last time, once we'd done our obligatory stop at Banana Republic's flagship store, whipped through Saks, and were in need of some less corporate, more individual stuff, we headed to SoHo. Obviously there are some chains (Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Bloomingdales, DKNY, Diesel etc etc) in SoHo, and we did visit the Diesel kids/ babies/ embryos shop to stock up on baby clothes (some good friends are expecting in May) and couldn't resist the little outfits. It's so much easier buying for babies than for people. However, most of the fun in SoHo is not running into every chain store you see.

We've visited the Dos Caminos in SoHo before (right on Houston Street, at Broadway) and that was when I didn't like guacamole. This time, two years later and with an impressively expanded diet, I ate and loved the guacamole. We had it mildly spicy - and it was good. Mr W had a side of chillies (yes, the guy with stomach problems had extra chillies). I loved going here - the size of the bowl in which they serve the salsa is nothing short of remarkable, and then *poof* it's all gone.

Yes, I loved SoHo.

Not one of the best days ever

Things aren't going so well today. First, I'm still feeling a bit tired and not quite 100%, and to top it all off I can't actually do any exercise which means I'm spending the entire evening at home by myself with a load of things to do and an all-consuming desire to sleep. I can't go to bed until I've at least eaten supper (see below), done my hand washing for the week, and had a bit of a stab at working out which of our wedding photographs we want to put in our album.

Second, the seal around the edge of the oven has partially fallen off. This means that my planned evening meal will take longer to cook than the already almighty 40 minutes, as the oven will not get up to 200 degrees, and will take longer to get to whatever temperature it can get to. Still, I guess that means I get to watch one of the three DVDs that arrived in today's post from easycinema.com.

Third, along with the DVDs in the mailbox was a note from citylink (a courier company) advising me that they had attempted to deliver something I had ordered and could SWEAR that I requested to be delivered by normal post. They will try again tomorrow. Or I can pick it up during their opening hours. Like most people I know I have a full-time job, and obviously their opening hours are when I am firmly ensconced at my desk.

Fourth, I just booted up my computer to find the order details and contact the company from whom I ordered the goods, only for it to go all BSOD on me. It has been doing it on and off since the manufacturer (Tiny) went out of business, and is usually salvageable. However, it's a sign that something I've installed recently (my camera? Photoshop?) isn't meshing properly or something and until I sort out the problem the damned thing is going to carry on falling over. So much for sorting out the delivery issue and getting my Ten Minutes of Torah done. My friend the Creator of Robots said that there's not much point buying new computers until Vista is installed from the outset and not as an add-on (or something - we had consumed a large amount of great food and wine by the time the subject came up so my memory is not entirely clear), so I don’t even want think about replacing the thing until summer. By which time it could well be a tangled heap of plastic and metal, embracing the bonnet of the car three stories below my study window.

Fifth, Mr W is working away from home for the rest of the week, which is just the crowning jobbie on the doormat.

Sixth, the company I'm currently temping for are being as slow as possible about making a decision about whether to make me permanent or not. So I've applied for some other jobs, all of which will require driving to work (watch out, world), and not just driving but serious, traffic-blackspot, driving. And, being the eternal optimist that I am, I'm convinced I won't get any form of permanent job and will end up without a job at all. That will do wonders for my self-esteem; I'll be panicking about being a leech on Mr W's salary and all the usual insecurities. I won't even be able to buy toiletries without remembering that it's his hard-earned that I'm spending. I have a complete abhorrence of being in anyone's debt (perceived or otherwise). Never mind the fact that upon leaving my two recent jobs I've found employment within two or three weeks, I'm petrified Mr W might think that he's got an albatross instead of a wife.

*and breathe*

Right, time to pro-actively sort some things out before I end up getting all worked up and going to bed without having achieved anything....

Problem numero uno - I shall just sling the veggies in the oven and have 40/45 minutes to do stuff before they are ready for eating. I will watch the Breakfast Club (which I've never seen) whilst eating; vegging out in front of the big screen will be my reward for having got the washing on, done the washing up, cleaned the sink, done my Ten Minutes of Torah and done the handwashing.

Numero, um, two - undercooked veg never killed anyone (I hope this is true). Veggies are now in the oven. We have a microwave if everything really is still raw after 45 minutes.

Three - will pick up my delivery on Saturday morning before synagogue. Job done. I've "spoken" to the courier (bablefish - gone through their incredibly tortuous and confusing automated system and pressed some random buttons), and have managed to communicate that I'll be picking the package up personally.

Four - using Mr W's machine and slinky new keyboard. It's a better position for my back anyway.

Five - can't be helped. He might call me later. I'll be too busy to notice if he doesn't (yep, believe that one...).

Six – I don’t actually need this job. It was a temporary thing for a month before our wedding, to keep me from turning into a wedding-obsessed freak, and to increase my experience in the sector. I'll get a different one, in the same sector (in which I now have over a year’s experience which is some sort of milestone) and might even earn much more cash.

Now if you'll excuse me I've got to go and read Vayechi.

[written 20:00 10 January 2007]

On dry cleaners

There are many dry cleaners in the world. Some are better than others. The ones that also run an alteration service are better than those that don’t. However, as with hairdressers, I prefer to establish a relationship with the service provider before letting them chop off all of my hair or turn my coveted Nicole Farhis into shorts.

There is a fantastic cleaner near us (Hampstead Express, Finchley Road) which will take your trousers up at the hem (sadly, a service I require sometimes seeing as I’m a shortarse), which is a good place to start your alteration experience - generally shortening a pair of trousers is not the rocket science of altering clothing. I like it that if you’re not sure how much your keks need to be shortened, for example if your boyfriend/ girlfriend/ spouse/ cat gets a bit tired of crouching by your feet with pins, the cleaner has a little changing room so you can get changed and they can work it all out. This cleaner also takes trousers in at the waist, which is something I discovered recently, having become comfortable with the idea of leaving my precious trousers with a stranger. Ok, I tested them out on some invisible mending for Mr W first, but still, I was a it nervous walking out and leaving three pairs of suit trousers in the hands of a scissor-wielding (potential) lunatic.

This cleaner doesn't mind whether you state your required alteration in centimetres or inches. I hadn’t realised this was even an issue, as they appear to be equally comfortable with vague hand gestures as with precise measurements, metric or otherwise. Mr W took some of my trousers to the cleaners near his office today (not my favourite Farhis, obviously), and apparently they don’t deal in centimetres. Surely if I want something altered three centimetres as opposed to one-and-three-sixteenths of an inch, they should have the presence of mind to flip their ruler over and go metric! Bloody hell! So I’m getting my trousers altered one inch, and if they end up too long by, say, four millimetres, then I am going to pay them a visit. With a sharpened ruler.

Despite my love of the cleaners near where we live, I have not used them to clean my wedding dress. A surprising amount of people I know who have got married have not had their dresses cleaned – in one case, it’s been over three years since her Big Day. Having had experience of failing to clean an item of clothing on time, I wasn’t taking any chances. I've realised that stains can damage the fabric over time such that if you leave the cleaning too late, no amount of cleaning will restore the clothing to its original glory. Before we got hitched I checked out some dry cleaners in the area that specialise in cleaning wedding dresses. Hampstead Express didn't, so I called a couple and settled on the one which was closest to me, in Hampstead.

When I took my dress in to the cleaners, two days after our wedding, I was told that my dress was in good condition, which wasn’t surprising given that the entire celebration was indoors. We did go out, briefly, for some photographs on the Aldwych, but only very quickly and it's not as though I was hiking through some country churchyard in a muddy wet English summer or anything. Mind you, the Israeli dancing could have seriously ruined my dress – a couple of times when spinning around I felt someone stand on it, but they obviously lifted their feet before I did mine, and no shredding of dress occurred. I managed to pick up some slight red dots to the bottom of the dress, almost like confetti stains, and I’m assuming that was from Si’s shredded rose petals at the very end of the evening.

The lady in the cleaners said after about six or so weeks later I’d get a call to let me know it was ready. I called yesterday – it’s ready! Complete with veil and bolero jacket thing. Which is great news, because I can't wait to check it's as beautiful as it was before I wore it, then pack it away into a box, bring it home, and sell it.