Your eyes are bigger than your stomach

When I get hungry, I usually take more food than I could finish.  With all the food in front of me, I start devouring it like a hungry lion attacking and mauling its prey.  .  Half way done with my food I realize, oh shoot I took way too much and now I can’t finish it….  That’s when I feel guilty for taking way to much food.  I regret taking so much and should have gotten a smaller potion.  When it comes to buffets, I go crazy.  My goal is filling up my plate with as much food as it can handle, and usually I don’t clean off my plate before I get up and grab another plate. 

                It’s true when they say that your eyes are bigger than your stomach.  Your stomach is the size of 2 of your fists.  That’s not big at all, but your stomach can stretch and become wider and wider.  Your eye on the other hand has this illusion of how one pancake is not enough or a 12oz steak is too small. As you start eating you realize that what you have is indeed a lot of food that you can’t eat anymore.  It’s like your eyes are deceiving you and make you feel like what you have is not enough. 

                Sometimes we don’t want to waste food especially with so much food that is left on the plate.  So we begin to stuff ourselves and keep eating so we don’t waste food.  That’s not a good idea because that stretches your stomach making your stomach bigger and makes you have a bigger appetite later on.  Simply just take it home with you and eat it later when you’re hungry, it might not taste as good but at least you’re not wasting food. 

                A tip to prevent you from overeating or over getting food is choosing a smaller plate to put your food on.  I always use a salad plate when I am eating so I know that I am not trying to fill up my plate.  It also gives you an idea of how much you should be eating and to not overeat. 

                Getting smaller portions and knowing your stomach is key to not wasting food and prevent your eyes from deceiving your stomach.  

Controversial foods around the world- Is it ethical?

       Some dishes around the world are considered delicacies to that particular area.  Some are simply traditional dishes that are kept and preserved for the sake of not wanting to lose that tradition.  Usually those delicacies or the traditional dishes are exotic they might seem weird to us and cruel to the animal.  After seeing the different dishes and how they are made around the globe, it really raises the question of is it ethical to eat something or prepare something that you know is wrong?  Or does it surpass morals and ethics and it's just for the delight and taste of that particular food?  Whether it's a tradition or a delicacy, there are so many foods around the world that are controversial or unethical in the way they are prepared.

        Tradition is something to be cherished and preserved, without tradition; we would not know what their culture is in that particular society.  However there is a fine line between tradition and ethics, especially when it comes to food and the animals we eat or even the way it's prepared.  Ikizukiri and Foie Gras are one of the two types of cultural foods that are controversial today and questions if that tradition of eating it should be banned? Or does tradition justify over ethics?  I think that force feeding a duck or a goose for the sake of a fatty liver and eating something that is still alive, not dead but still alive should not be justified.  

        Sometimes we have to grasp our morality as a human being and listen to our conscience.  If we know that something is unethical or just cruel, we shouldn’t be going for it but against it.  However yet again it’s all about that cultural perspective, and cultural differences.  In the U.S we consume more cows than any other countries in the world and some of us may think that eating cows are okay, it’s normal.  In India, where majority of the people there are Hindus, they consider cows to be sacred, to them eating or butchering cows are unethical.  Sure it’s about the cultural perception, however we can all agree that at one point we all agree that some foods are unethical and wrong.  Those foods are just so extreme.  

Why are chain restaurants so popular?

Most of us probably have been to a franchise restaurant; it just seems that they are always busy or packed with people.  That was the case when I went to Olive Garden one time, it was a Friday night and they didn’t take reservations on Fridays so we had to wait 2 hours for a seat.  So why is it that a chain restaurant that serves regular pastas that we could probably make at home is always so busy and always having people come back constantly for just a bowl of pasta?  Olive Garden is not the only chain restaurant that is like that, it seems like most of the chain restaurants are like that.

                What stands out from a chain restaurant and a regular family restaurant is that the chain restaurant has more resources, more people, and more money to have their name out in the public for people to know.  Most of the commercials you see on T.V are mostly advertising for franchise restaurants like Apple Bees, Red Lobsters, and Outback Steakhouse etc.   When they advertise the specials they have, people know about it and choose to eat there.

                Consistency is also a huge factor of why the chain restaurants are popular and successful.  People expect the Olive Garden they had in Minnesota is the same as the one that is in Kansas.  That means the restaurant also has to hire employees that enforce strict franchising conditions. 

                Chain restaurants are also good at projecting there image thoroughly; people know which chain restaurants has this type of food or what this restaurant serves.  For example everyone knows that Red Lobsters is the seafood destination to go for the seafood lovers.  Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant that serves Italian food.  People have a clear image in their mind of what the franchise restaurants serve.

                Convenience especially for the travelers is also important in determining whether or not they choose a family owned restaurant or a franchise restaurant.  Like a traveler going to Japan, there are two choices to choose from a nearby Burger King or a local Japanese burger restaurant.  Because of reliability and what he has experience and knows exactly what burger king serves, he’ll choose Burger King. 

               

                 

Sunday brunches at home

Sundays are an excuse for lazy day where you can sleep in, relax and just kick back before Monday rolls around.  I personally always sleep in till noon on Sundays because I either stay up late the night before or just want to catch up on my sleep.  I often times sleep through the breakfast hours, skipping breakfast altogether.  Unfortunately that’s not a very healthy choice, because breakfast indeed is the most important meal of the day.  But instead of having breakfast, I have brunches on Sundays.  A brunch is a mixture of breakfast and lunch; it’s usually eaten at a later time.   I enjoy making brunches as much as eating the food that I make.  It’s simple to make and very delish!

                I always start off with a cup of orange juice or a glass of milk with my meal.  You get your daily dose of vitamin c and d from the two.  If I really wanted to make the brunch a bit fancier and nutritious, I haul the blender out and make myself a refreshing cup of smoothie.  Just mix it up with your favorite fruits, strawberries, bananas, kiwis, grapes, apples, blueberries etc.  Then just add some yogurt for more flavors and a kick to it.  Usually I get more creative and make my own kind of smoothie.  I add one whole banana into the blender, sliced, then four strawberries also sliced, add half a cup of milk to liquefy it and then I add half a cup of the pina colada flavored yogurt to it, so you get that coconut pineapple flavor to it.  It’s seriously the most delicious thing. 

               Then I move on to my meal, I like a variety of choices to eat from.  Potatoes, tomatoes, eggs, corn, spinach, chicken, and salads are usually what are on my plate most of the time.  It may sound like a lot of food but while you are cooking it and pairing it with other kinds of foods, it doesn’t seem so much on your plate.  I like to make an omelet with the eggs tomatoes spinach and chicken.  The first thing I do is dice and sauté the chicken.  I then move on to making the omelet, I use a flat pan turned to medium high heat, beat the egg then pour it into the pan, turn the pan down to medium low heat and just let the eggs fry.   After about a minute I toss in the tomatoes, spinach and chicken into it.  Let it sit there for a minute or two then begin to slowly roll it up.  And your omelet is set.  Moving onto the potatoes, I would grate them then just pan fry them to make the hash browns.  As for salads, I toss up some romaine lettuce, with some croutons and carrots drizzled in Balsamic vinaigrette.   Voila you have a complete healthy and nutritious meal.

For the sweet tooths

         I am not a big sweet tooth myself, but once in a while I like to have a bowl of desserts with lots of chocolate drizzled fudge.  An ice cream cake is one of my all-time favorite desserts.  You have a layer of your favorite flavored ice cream, with a layer of cake, top it off with more ice cream and cake, then finishing it off with some whip cream and toppings.  It's like heaven in your mouth, who could resist the temptation of sweets? Especially for the sweet tooth’s out there? 

         There comes to a point where a dessert gets too much, whether it's just too rich in flavor or the portion is just too much for you to handle, so you feel bloated and regretful for eating all of it.  It's nice to have a small size dessert after your meal.  It helps us get that salty spice flavored from our meal out of our taste buds.  However sometimes people, people like me could just take one bite just one bite of a cake and are satisfied.  I mean I know it's silly, especially for those of you who are sweet teeth.  One bite? How can you be satisfied with just one bite? You can barely taste the flavor of the cake with just one bite! Well sometimes the richness of the cake is just too much to eat anymore.  The richness makes you really thirsty, it's just too much for your taste buds.  Like a chocolate cheesecake, it's delicious in small portion but when you begin to eat more there's like a heavy richness of chocolate in your mouth that makes you thirsty.  That's probably why some restaurants pair their cakes with ice cream or some kind of fruit to balance out the richness.  

         

         I know that many of you out there are sweets tooth's and crave desserts all the time (I know that's part of me sometimes).  You just can't miss out on an opportunity to eat sweets.  It's like an addiction almost. Especially when you're at a restaurant, you've had your meal and your full but there's just like a whisper in your stomach that says I want dessert, I'm not full yet.  Whenever I feel that way I order a cup of coffee or something sweet that's small so I won't crave for dessert.  It helps me and really fills me up so I don't have to order dessert.  

Does wealth have a corelation of what you eat and how well you eat?

                 We live in a world that is just not quite all the way developed yet.  When you look around the globe, you see countries that are impoverished, people that are malnourished.  But as you move towards the more developed countries you see people that are living lavishly with an abundance of food.  So why is it that the people in less developed countries are starving but those living in more developed countries have access to what seems like an unlimited amount of food? Maybe because in LDCs the land is not fertile for the growth of crops.  But yet America, still imports crops from other less developed countries.  Maybe the MDCs are exploiting the LDC's food supply.  If that was the case then why do we see the really well off individuals living in the less developed countries still have access to food, food that not even regular citizens could have hands on.  Although I think all of those factors play a big role in answering why do we (people living in the MDCs) eat well and are more nourished.    I think that wealth is one of the biggest factors in determining what an individual eats and how well they eat. 

          I'm sure most of you have been to a fancy restaurant in your life time.  I'm not talking about just fancy but fine dining, the place where a 6 oz lobster will cost you anywhere from 30 to 40 dollars.  The same size steak will cost you the same. I know that I wouldn't be able to afford a meal that is around that much and I won't pay that much for a meal.  Most of those restaurants are located in big cities, because simply there are more wealthier people living there that are willing to pay that much for a meal.  More upscale and high quality food tends to cost more and not everyone can afford those types of food.  Those types of food are also healthier and a better choice, but most people can’t afford them.  That’s why sometimes the individuals that cannot afford them chose other types of low cost food that are unhealthy and processed.  That’s a big problem in more developed countries as well as less develop countries.  However in LDCs, people who cannot even afford food, the daily essential for life, are usually malnourished.  That is the main difference between a citizen in an MDC and a citizen in a LDC.

          Whether it’s in a MDC or a LDC, wealthier people tend to eat better and have more varieties to choose from.  More or so they tend to eat better and healthier, impacting diet. 

            

experiencing different types of foods

                It can get a little bit scary when you’re trying foods that seem different or unusual to you.  Foods that you've never had before can be intimidating to try at first.  When it comes to experiencing different kinds of foods that we've never tried before, some people are audacious and daring and eat it without a problem.  Others are more anxious, less comfortable and not willing to try the first bite. 

                For me, the types of food that does not seem appetizing or good, I won’t try it.  I have this mentality that appetizing foods need to smell appetizing and look appetizing or I won’t try it to see whether I like it or not.  I would have to admit I am a picky eater, not just picky but really picky.  However I learned that not all good foods need to look or smell the part.  I grew in love with sushi a while back and let me tell you, the first time I saw sushi it wasn't the case.  Sushi smelled like fish and I don’t like the smell of fish.  If you don’t get the fish sushi then the rolls don’t smell like anything.  I didn't like the texture either and the stickiness of the rice or the smell of the seaweed.  I did not want to try it at that moment.  I knew that I didn't like it so there was no need for me to try it.  Was I wrong, my mom made me try it, like all parents they tell their kids, “Oh honey try it, you will like it, you won’t know if you like it if you haven’t tried it.”  So I gave in and I tried the roll and I did actually like it.  It was delicious and I knew I wanted to eat it for the rest of my life.  With that sushi experience I was more willing to try new foods now even though sometimes it may not look or smell appetizing, but I know that as long as it tasted good I was fine with it.

                I know many of you are like me who are unwilling to try new foods outside of your comfort level.  If you've never tried your favorite food how did you know that it was going to be your favorite food? You had to try it before it became your favorite right?  Be bold and audacious and try foods that are outside of what you usually eat, you never know, you might like what you've tried or you might not.  It’s always good to have that experience of opening up and trying new things.    

Soups and Salads

Most of us might eat soups and salads as a starter meal before moving onto their entrée.  Many restaurants do that because it acts like an appetizer that fills us up but not too full that we don’t have an appetite for the main entree.   Outside of restaurants many people don’t eat in that order, and you don’t have too.  Soup and salad can act as an appetizer or an entree, it doesn't specifically need to go in order of courses.  They are also a great, convenient and comforting way to fill up your stomach when you’re in a rush.  Salad is nutritious and soup always help soothes sore throats and digestible. 

Some soups that I've had are just too thick and salty, I couldn't taste the natural flavor of the soup because there’s just too much salt added to it.  Like canned tomato soup you get from the store, there’s just too much additives added into it that it just makes the soup taste unnatural.  This is a big difference between homemade soup and store bought or restaurant served soups.  My mom makes her own kind of tomato soup which consists of organic tomatoes sliced and boiled with celeries and carrots.  I would have to say, it taste a lot different from the canned ones, and I love the homemade tomato soup. 

Salads on the other hand, is healthy, nutritious and delectable, but make sure you watch out for the salad dressings.  They are high in calories and fat so be cautious of what dressings you buy and make sure to read the label.  Buy dressings that are low in fat and sugar, often times they are healthier.  It’s always nice to try to make your own salad dressings, it’s simple, lighter and healthier.  When I make my salad dressings, I put olive oil, a tablespoon of vinegar, a teaspoon of salt and pepper, and a teaspoon of lemon juice.  It’s just like a vinaigrette sauce that you buy from the store. Sometimes I use fruits for the dressing.  I get some red raspberries, blueberries and strawberries, blend them in a blender and put it on my salad.  Top the salad off with cubed apples, pears, and strawberries, and you have a fruit salad with fruit dressing. 

Soups and salads are not hard to make, and you don’t have to feel obligated to go out and buy soups or salads.  You can make your own with the things you like to put in it.