Recently, I spoke with a few young people about food and cultures. Even though living in Chicago, some of them shrugged at the thought of trying ethnic food. They yuck at strange-looking dishes even though they’ve yet to try them once. What is more bizarre is that many people growing up in America only like highly processed food. Chicken needs to be boneless, wrapped in powdered, overly flavored with an artificial mixture before fried up in a pan filled with greasy oil. Many young people consider being health conscious a pretentious act of the rich. It might be. But for many, it is simply the awareness that one is what one eats and the long-term consequences of eating McDonald’s everyday are costly and painful.
Even eating requires us to take a step out of our comfort zone, try new ideas, and be responsible for ourselves.
- Phy
Archive for the ‘Food’ Category
Healthy Eating
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
Eating While Studying
Friday, May 6th, 2011
Many students like having a snack or two around when they’re studying/cramming for their classes either just to keep up or to prepare for an exam. Normally, you would think it’s a better way to stay awake than caffeine but you are probably taking in more empty calories than you should be; especially if you’re eating like chips or cookies or ice cream. Those aren’t filling so it’s hard to know when to stop and each is a calorie bomb with not a lot of nutrients. It is important to make healthy choices in your snacks — which I’ll admit, I haven’t been. But I might start trying — even though those chips and cookies are oh-so-very tempting, they’re not good for my health and probably won’t help much in my studying with the lack of nutrients. Although, a well-portioned amount every once in a while won’t hurt as long as it’s actually well-portioned and your consumption is controlled.
- Vivian
Healthy Eating Habits
Tuesday, November 30th, 2010
During your teenage years, it is important to have a healthy diet because nutrition can have negative effect on your height and your body. Junk food is always tempting but so is healthy food, that is, of course, once you learn how to love them. Don’t get confused though. A healthy diet is the one keeping you fit, and healthy, not the one who tailors your body to fit in a size 0 pair of pants. So it is important to balance your diet with both vegetables and meats. Healthy diets are not hard to make. Salads or sandwiches with fruits as desserts are easier, faster to make and cheaper than fried chickens and chips. So while saving some bucks from being deposited in McDonalds, you can start learning how to balance your diet when going to the grocery stores. Once you get used to those habits, healthy food will taste just as good. And by then, don’t forget to share with National Runaway Switchboard your success story.
–Phy
A Language Everyone Knows
Monday, November 9th, 2009
I was recently in a discussion with some friends, debating the merits of different foods. It occurred to me that there is no gastronomic group superior to that of cereal. First off, there’s the sheer variety. Where else do you find marshmallows, fruity flavorings, chocolate, peanut butter, oats and nuts than in the cereal aisle? Don’t get me started on shapes. You want loops? Spheres? Squares? Rectangular prisms? Seriously, you can even get the alphabet. More than variety, though, I love cereal’s portability. Bag it and go. It works as a surreptitious snack in class, though the crunch may call you out. When I was in Guatemala, I thought it was pretty funny that they had the same kinds there but with Spanish names, like “Zucaritas” for Frosted Flakes. Personally, I’m quite enamored with honey nut cheerios, but I understand that to each his own. I reject claims that cereal is merely a breakfast food. Cereal is pretty much a universal language.
- Will