HW 6- Food Diary

FOOD DIARY:

Wednesday Lunch: Ham Sandwich (incomplete in picture)

Note: This is also Thursday's lunch (the same exact sandwich), I just forgot to take a picture.

This is my usual lunch every day that I have school. I usually use rye bread or whole wheat with ham or turkey depending on which I currently have. I do not know where the buns come from because my aunt gave them to me, so I do not know how many calories there are in the buns. However, the ham packaging claims to have 15 calories per slice, and I use four slices most of the time. 60-100 calories??? Why exactly do I keep eating the same sandwich almost EVERY day? It's pretty consistent and is easy on my stomach. It doesn't take very long to consume and I am a big fan of cold cuts.

Wednesday snack: Three Marshmallows. The sugar on the outside really make my teeth feel gross. But marshmallows are oh so good! When they are toasted they are especially delicious, but for the most part I eat these plain. This is probably because I am not very comfortable with fire in my house and mostly because I am too lazy. But putting them in the microwave is fine with me!

Wednesday Dinner: Pasta with Meat sauce! The sauce is from canned tomatoes and it is flavored with sweet and hot sausage. The sauce is not exactly chunky, but it still has a thickness to it. However, it bothers my stomach. Why? I am not entirely sure. Perhaps it is the spicyness of the hot sausage or the tomatoes. Even though I almost always suffer a stomach ache from a bowl of this, it is very delicious. Because my mom makes it! And she is the best cook in the whole wide world! Or maybe it's just that I am accustomed to her cooking- I HAVE grown up with it all my life! I estimate this bowl to be around 1200 calories based on looking at the labels for each component.

Thursday Breakfast: Cocoa Crispies! Clearly the most healthy cereal around, it has vitamin D! In all seriousness though, it is uncommon for me to have a sugar cereal in the house- in fact on most mornings I eat a bowl of oatmeal. Why did I go for this specific cereal? I suppose because I am a fan of rice crispies, I also like chocolate and chocolate milk. I figure cocoa crispies is what you get when adding the three. I realize that the three main ingredients here are sugar, sugar and sugar, but as it turns out (through careful research) my mom's Post Raisin Bran actually has more calories per serving than this. Go mom! I usually eat a big bowl, so I will guess that my breakfast was about 300 calories given that I use much more than the serving size and I also use whole milk. As always, my stomach is uneasy after consumption, but I question it's significance as that is the result of any meal.

Thursday Lunch: Pizza. I enjoy pizza a little less than everyone else in society, but I eat it nonetheless. In addition to the much eaten sandwich in the picture above, my internship actually brought in a pizza. I had a single slice, and because I have absolutely no clue as to where this pizza came from, there is no way to know for sure how many calories I consumed. One site says that the average pizza slice has 230 calories (http://www.dietbites.com/Calories-In-Pizza.html) , so I will go with that. Same effect on the stomach.

Thursday Lunch Snack: Chips Ahoy cookies. Chips Ahoy does a fine cookie, and I guess the only reason it is such a popular and commercial name is because it IS delicious.

Thursday Snack: Fritos. Fritos are VERY salty. And I am not sure why (I do not have any known food allergies) but every time I eat these my bottom lip gets a little puffy.

Thursday Dinner: Pasta with Meat Sauce. Same dinner. Same stomach reaction. Same deliciousness.

Overall I imagine my normal calorie intake for one day to be slightly over 2,500 calories. This is because on most nights I have a big bowl of ice cream. I am not sure if this is a good thing because it is pretty darn close to what a website told me to eat to maintain what little weight I actually have.

Nutritionally, I think I cover most fronts (Dairy, red meat, etc.) but I realize that what I really lack in is fruits. Normally there are a lot of apples and bananas at home, but recently the produce at the supermarket (Fairway) has been below average and somewhat disappointing. Although I am very wiry in my build, I eat well. It's just that my condition holds me back. If my body were absorbing the nutrition as it should like anybody else- perhaps I would be 'bigger' and more nutritionally successful. However, I realize my disposition and know that I have to do better in order for me to hopefully survive in the Bahamas for 100 days, a sustainable living environment.

I find it curious as to why it seems like my mom's cooking is better than anybody else's. No offense to anybody else's mothers of course, but I wonder why we find the food we grow up with to be the best. For example, if my grandma were to whip up some of her holy matzoh ball soup, and I went to a highly praised deli (the 2nd Avenue Deli to be exact), why is it that I just find my grandma's to be endlessly better? This is actually a true story, and to be honest, I really didn't understand what all the hype was about. It was truly nothing special. Is this why I enjoy my own sandwiches so much for lunch? Is it because I am so confident in myself that nothing I personally made could possibly be bad? Do other people find my mother's cooking to be as fantastic as I think? These are interesting questions to me.

My decisions of what to eat over the 48 hours (or most of them, because I didn't decide my mom was cooking meat sauce) didn't really involve deep thinking or consciousness. I just went for what my mind naturally told me I would enjoy and went on ahead. I realize that for most people (especially those with bigger wallets) this can be very bad and promote buying unhealthy drinks and snacks, but almost all of my meals are confined within what we have in the house. Sure, I go help decide what to get when we go food shopping, but usually there I am more concerned about hurrying up and getting home so I can sit my lazy bum down. THEN sometimes I will regret not convincing mom to buy something I really would've enjoyed. I guess it is just my mind telling me to be more active???

My dinner

My dinner:

Eggplant

Stringbeans

Lettuce

Ribs!!!

HW 5- Dominant Discourses

"The baby-carrot industry tried to reposition its product as junk food..." This is extremely startling to me. People trying to market vegetables as junk food? I understand why they are using this approach but I think it is sending the wrong message. What it is saying is that in order to get kids to eat vegetables, it must be considered by them as junk food. This presents me with a clear dominant discourse in food today- kids don't eat vegetables. They should, but they DON'T. Instead, kids seem to follow the foodways of somebody who eats snacks high in sodium, sugar and trans fat. They drink diet sodas and then the population erupts in diabetes. Has the discourse really stooped down to this level of treating kids like idiots and selling baby carrots in the same way as chex mix? Of course it's a great idea and it may convince some but it is clear that child obesity and general unhealthyness has become a topic of dominant discourse.

The foodways of a well-informed person can be two different things: There is the easily manipulated person who looks at a television advertisement or a billboard and is convinced to make their foodways as big businesses tell them. THEN, there is the well informed critical thinker who sees all of the ads and can see through the lies. This person listens to experts not affiliated with any food corporation and is mindful about how food makes them feel. The easily manipulated person will probably go to Starbucks or wherever a commercial suggests and their foodways will most likely be unhealthy. The well informed person who takes everything with a grain of salt will likely stay away from what they know is obscenely unhealthy, but is not ready to give up ALL comfort foods.

When it comes to the actual talking, nobody affiliated with any big chain should have a voice on their own food. They may defend themselves, but in the news today the credibility of "that McDonalds cashier" is not up to that of a consumer- somebody on nobody's side that has food experience. Professional chefs- those who make $100 meals, will probably know what they're talking about when it comes to food. However, the ones with the most credibility today among those who participate in food discourse are the doctors. The ones who spent two or more decades studying the human body and nutrition probably know a lot more than the chief executive who has spent the same amount of time counting profits and swimming in cash from food they would not likely even touch themselves. These are the highly acclaimed professionals who are not only the most legitimate voice in the dominant discourse, but the most listened to (or if not the most, just second to slimy ad campaigns).

Sources used from: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/health/policy/25vegetables.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

HW 4- My family's foodways

When it comes to generational changes in foodways, I think scientific advancements play a big role in how people approach food. I think one connection that can be made is to smoking. In my grandparent's generation, smoking was considered healthy for the body and mind, and people who did NOT smoke were looked at with mistrust. Today, through scientific discoveries we now know that smoking is actually DETRIMENTAL to the body and mind, and those who smoke today are given an ugly look. My grandparents, when they were young, were all about McDonalds and fast food in general. However, when fast food was found to be unhealthy and generally "unhip" my mom's generation was totally AGAINST fast food. Today, fast food is laughed at by those who are brought up by critics, but still stand tall to the mainstream population because THIS generation is all about saving money, which fast food promotes.

Which leads me to my next point: Cost is a major factor on foodways. This is something that has to do with a family's financial situation. In MY situation, we always look for the best quality product for the cheapest price. However, when my grandfather (who played the stocks quite well) was alive, a trip to grandma's meant a really good meal at grandma's! Some people (like me) have learned to adjust their foodways so they can thrive off of very little. I could definitely imagine a rich person crying when their only choice is a box of macaroni and cheese, when they are used to a multiple course meal.

Perhaps the biggest change in generational foodways though, is lazyness. When big chains weren't around some time ago, people knew how to cook. Or at least someone in a family knew how to cook. Maybe they weren't the next Iron Chef, but they could cook a full meal every night, at a decent cost. Today however, things have radically changed. With the introduction of a McDonalds on every corner, a full affordable meal is just a short walk away. Why bother with pots and pans, or wait for an oven to pre-heat? Who wants to wash dishes afterward? Nobody. Not unless they know they can put other restaurants to shame with their own skills. People are LAZY. Families today know how to make frozen chicken legs, but constant lazyness is what brings outside restaurants so much business. Money doesn't mean a thing as long as you get a good meal. It's not like you can make it yourself! This is why women want a man that can cook! Better start cooking lessons!

HW 3- Fast food insights and green market realizations

Today at the green market venders were quite happy and open to share their insights and information on the product they were selling. They answered each of my questions delightfully and had many things to say. At Wendy's however, I am apparently mentally unwell due to my curiosity of what part of the chicken is the nugget. I understand why people search for a place like Wendy's for food- it tastes good. There is a lot of room for seating, and air conditioners keep patrons comfortable as they eat. Why get all sweaty buying vegetables that came straight out of the dirt?

A. Because it is healthy for you

B. Because it promotes exercise and getting up out of a chair

C. Because the BHT in those fries aren't going to feel so great later

D. All of the above

Answer: D

Fast food is successful because it offers instant gratification, good tasting food and a break from the heat or cold outside for a cheap price. People figure that buying a bunch of separate ingredients outside gives them no place to sit, no "real food" to eat and a hole in their wallet. Sure, fast food places have made moves toward "healthier choices", but honestly, who goes to KFC for a small salad or McDonalds strictly for apple wedges? Nobody. People go to a fast food place for a cheap, full meal. What exactly is in the meal? Ask our resident fat person Albert. "Sugar, sugar and sugar" is all that people are getting.

HW 2 - Food - Initial Thoughts

Some say they eat to live, but others will claim that they live to eat. Food is a necessary component to society and survival, so why not enjoy it? I think food and all of its aspects are extremely important to consider. To me, it is all about how easy it is to make, how much (or little) does costs, and most importantly, how it tastes. Because of a condition that I have, my feeling after a meal is almost always a momentary stomach ache, so the feeling afterward is not as important to me. Unless it is very good, food is almost a necessary evil to me!

One of the first things I consider a priority for food (even if it makes me look like a lazy bum) is how easy or simple it is to prepare. In my house, whoever cooks a meal outside of dinner is responsible for cleaning all pots and dishes involved. I would much rather toss something on a plate and in the microwave (even though it is probably doing long term damage) or prepare Kraft Macaroni and Cheese than make the same thing from scratch myself. This is probably due to the fact that I make frozen meals when I come home from school simply because I am tired. My next move is usually the decision between ham and cheese, chicken melt with bacon or three cheese Hot Pockets. Yum?

The next thing I consider a priority for a meal is the actual COST of it. Because I come from a low income family, it is crucial that what we eat is affordable. Sure, with enough money we could constantly eat out or buy higher quality food products but life can be that way. We will always purchase the least offending food we can find (save the Hot Pockets) within our budget. Besides, I cannot afford to go buy my own lunch every day! We might as well get robbed!

The most important thing, however, is how something tastes. If it is to my liking, and within financial reasoning, it is likely to be a favorite. This rule comes before all others. No matter how cheap or easy it is to make (which are probably bad signs in the first place), if it tastes like crap, I won't be so quick to return. Sometimes things are cheap for a reason (they stink!)! Aside from store-bought foods, I must confess that nobody, not even the finest chefs in all of Vegas, have ANYTHING on my Grandma's Matzoh Ball Soup (yes, it is so good it deserves to be capitalized). Not only do I consider it sacred (not in a religious way, in more of an obsessive way), but I would rather have that than anything else in the world. Unless it is over 100 degrees outside. Then I would like a snowcone.

To sum up my 'ideal meal', here is a reenactment:

*Evan is watching tennis while on an extremely comfortable seat*

Grandma: Hey Evan! You are the best! How about some Matzoh Ball Soup?

Evan: Oh boy! I can tell this is going to be the greatest meal of my life!

Grandma: Hey Evan! I made an entire pot for you. Let me serve it to you while you stay seated in that very comfortable seat!

Evan: Okay!

*Evan eats the soup, and his teeth fall out as a result of the biggest smile ever*

The end.

That is sacred. That is the perfect meal. That, is me living to eat!

Post number one

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Post number one

This is a test. Yipee.