The film "A World of Food" gave me new insight on food preferences of people in cultures outside of my own. I found it interesting that other cultures don't understand the huge proportions at American Restaurants. It's hard for me to understand why someone wouldn't want leftovers of a delicious restaurant meal. Personally, I eat them consecutively for every single meal until they're gone. There's not much better than reheated Thai leftovers for breakfast! In fact, that's what I ate this morning.
I was raised in a pretty typical American household. We are regular American-style foods, everything from lasagna to meatloaf. There was nothing out of the ordinary about our diet except for my mom's insistence upon cutting fat from out meals. Everything we ate was labeled "98% fat free" or "nonfat," simply "low fat" wasn't an option. I can actually remember the first time I had real cream cheese, the taste was unbelievable! We never had butter, and for a few years my mom wouldn't even buy margarine. Trying to choke down a piece of toast with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Lite Spray just didn't cut it for me; to be honest, it was disgusting. My friends didn't like eating at my house either, and frankly, I preferred eating at their houses because I could eat what I pleased. If you were to scan through my parents' fridge when I was growing up, there wasn't a single item that wasn't at least reduced fat.
My lack of fat consumption as a child had quite an impact on my food choices, once I was allowed to make them for myself. As soon as I began buying my own foods, I instantly went for fat, fat, fat! This probably explains my unquenchable craving for desserts of all kinds. Today, while I try to eat somewhat healthier, there are some things that I still refuse to buy the lite version of, like mayonnaise, for example. While I know it's unhealthy to eat the regular version of everything, sometimes it's so worth the calories...
Here are my recommendations for books found in the library, neither of which I can truly recommend, having not read them myself.
Gremillion, Joseph. "Food/Energy and the Major Faiths." Mayrknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1978.
Subject: food supply.
Lanner, Ronald M. "The Pinon Pine: A Natural and Cultural History." Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press, 1981.
Subject: Indians of North America
When I was in high school, my parents split up, and my father and his new partner lived together. She had very different eating habits than I was accustomed to; it sounds like she had similar values to your mom. Low fat everything, and diet drinks. Even low-sugar juices and diet tonic water for their cocktails. I had to drink diet soda while staying with them. I couldn't stand the idea of eating these fake foods; even as a teenager, I knew that these products were unhealthy, non-food items, and I avoided them also.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting and somewhat predictable that you would swing toward the experience of craving real fats; humans have evolved alongside our animal companions who give us cream, eggs, cheese, and milk for hundreds (thousands?) of years. I realize that there are health concerns involved, and a range of opinions regarding what is a healthy relationship with these products, but in my experience, when I cut out animal fats and dairy products completely, I have cravings for them also. There is evidence that a vegan diet is the healthiest diet, but there is also an argument that we need these animal products and cholesterol for optimal health. It's hard to know which model to follow, but I'm with you regarding the lite mayo. It can stay on the shelf. I'd rather have the real deal.
The only thing in my parents fridge that was "fat free" was our 1% milk, and if my dad has his way it would have been whole. Although we never really used real butter except for baking, so I still can't really tell the difference between butter, and i can't believe it's not butter...which I guess is the point.
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