Food is a huge part of American Culture, and for the most part, our lives revolve around it. Lack of food is not an issue in America. In fact, I believe that we have a problem that is completely opposite. America has almost too much food, too much of the wrong food. I'm not saying that having too much food is bad, for it wouldn't be, if only the food that we are so abundant in were good for us, for our bodies, for our future. But, the majority of it is not.
We have excessive amounts of processed and fast-food, and we eat huge portions of it. The food in America is very convenient, this is a big factor into the problem we have. There are close to 50,000 fast food restaurants in America and they are all loaded with greasy, fatty food. Americans are able to drive by the fast food restaurant, order, and leave with their food in under 5 minutes. They can do this anytime they want, even everyday, if they wanted to. Prices are low and portions are high, and we always want the most for our money, so we will buy the best deal at the fast food places, which typically gives a bigger portion of food than is needed. I wonder about this, and when our portions started to increase? I wonder when it started to be socially accepted? Although America's bad habits have forced my perspective to be mainly negative, there are numerous things that I absolutely love about the food we have. As I said before, fast food restaurants are all over our country and are typically very unhealthy, but there are good things about them. From personal experience, fast food restaurants are very useful when we are on a road-trip and need something quick and easy. You can pick the healthier options from the menu, perhaps a salad would be a healthier choice than a Big Mac, one of McDonald's, a common fast food restaurants, signature items. This would be a better option, yet many American's do not make the healthier choice.
This leads into another problem America faces which is obesity. It is known that obesity is partially due to the unhealthy food and big portions, but not everyone in America is like this. Many people eat healthy and are very fit. I am just talking about what I see, which is the majority of Americans who make unhealthy choices daily. Furthermore, the convenience of American food is has a wide range. Another convenient part of American food and culture is grocery stores. Our grocery stores have endless possibilities of food, and you can buy anything that you want in them. Some people drift towards the processed foods, and others drift towards healthy choices. Many people pick ingredients that they will buy beforehand, so that they can easily find what they are looking for and later on, they can prepare a home-cooked meal.
Home-cooked meals are not always an everyday thing for a lot of Americans, but for my family they are. My mom prepares home-cooked meals regularly and they are my absolute favorite. I wonder about how so many people in America miss out on home-cooked meals and how special they are? I also wonder about when the popularity and frequency of a home-cooked meal started to decrease? They bring my family together and we even sometimes cook them with one another, rather than just my mom preparing them. Home-cooked meals can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but for the most part, dinner is the main meal. I eat a fairly basic diet everyday, and try to eat the healthiest I can. For breakfast, I always have oatmeal, a common breakfast food. For lunch, I have a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich with fruit and pretzels and my dinners fluctuate, depending on the day and what my mom wants to cook. I snack on a regular basis, for when I'm not hungry for a main meal. Sometimes, when my mom doesn't want to cook, we go out to eat in a sit down restaurant, which is healthier than fast food. This is something that we do on special occasions, or as I mentioned previously, when my mom doesn't want to cook.
To conclude, there are many aspects to food in American culture. There are many negative and positive parts to it. I myself love food and the culture of it, despite some of the faults. For the most part, I love America's food, and couldn't expect anymore out of it.
We have excessive amounts of processed and fast-food, and we eat huge portions of it. The food in America is very convenient, this is a big factor into the problem we have. There are close to 50,000 fast food restaurants in America and they are all loaded with greasy, fatty food. Americans are able to drive by the fast food restaurant, order, and leave with their food in under 5 minutes. They can do this anytime they want, even everyday, if they wanted to. Prices are low and portions are high, and we always want the most for our money, so we will buy the best deal at the fast food places, which typically gives a bigger portion of food than is needed. I wonder about this, and when our portions started to increase? I wonder when it started to be socially accepted? Although America's bad habits have forced my perspective to be mainly negative, there are numerous things that I absolutely love about the food we have. As I said before, fast food restaurants are all over our country and are typically very unhealthy, but there are good things about them. From personal experience, fast food restaurants are very useful when we are on a road-trip and need something quick and easy. You can pick the healthier options from the menu, perhaps a salad would be a healthier choice than a Big Mac, one of McDonald's, a common fast food restaurants, signature items. This would be a better option, yet many American's do not make the healthier choice.
This leads into another problem America faces which is obesity. It is known that obesity is partially due to the unhealthy food and big portions, but not everyone in America is like this. Many people eat healthy and are very fit. I am just talking about what I see, which is the majority of Americans who make unhealthy choices daily. Furthermore, the convenience of American food is has a wide range. Another convenient part of American food and culture is grocery stores. Our grocery stores have endless possibilities of food, and you can buy anything that you want in them. Some people drift towards the processed foods, and others drift towards healthy choices. Many people pick ingredients that they will buy beforehand, so that they can easily find what they are looking for and later on, they can prepare a home-cooked meal.
Home-cooked meals are not always an everyday thing for a lot of Americans, but for my family they are. My mom prepares home-cooked meals regularly and they are my absolute favorite. I wonder about how so many people in America miss out on home-cooked meals and how special they are? I also wonder about when the popularity and frequency of a home-cooked meal started to decrease? They bring my family together and we even sometimes cook them with one another, rather than just my mom preparing them. Home-cooked meals can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner, but for the most part, dinner is the main meal. I eat a fairly basic diet everyday, and try to eat the healthiest I can. For breakfast, I always have oatmeal, a common breakfast food. For lunch, I have a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich with fruit and pretzels and my dinners fluctuate, depending on the day and what my mom wants to cook. I snack on a regular basis, for when I'm not hungry for a main meal. Sometimes, when my mom doesn't want to cook, we go out to eat in a sit down restaurant, which is healthier than fast food. This is something that we do on special occasions, or as I mentioned previously, when my mom doesn't want to cook.
To conclude, there are many aspects to food in American culture. There are many negative and positive parts to it. I myself love food and the culture of it, despite some of the faults. For the most part, I love America's food, and couldn't expect anymore out of it.
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