Food: Invigorating Body, Mind, and Spirit

The expression “You are what you eat” is an expression that seems to have been around as long as time. What does it truly mean? For most it ranges from meanings such as you are eating the actual spirit of that particular food item, to just a washed up expression, meaningless expression.
For myself I believe what you eat effects your body and mind. Not in the sense of eating the spirit of the food, but I definitely notice a difference when I eat certain food items. For example, when I eat breakfast in the morning I am able to focus more in class and have a more productive day; especially when I get a cup of coffee in me! On the other end of the spectrum when I eat a fast-food cheeseburger after a night of drinking I become infused with any couch my body hits and accomplish nothing that day.
Another way to look at eating certain food is from a moral standpoint. In society, controversy and debate have arisen over the ethics of eating animals. I always felt choosing to not eat meat, for many, was a choice based on psychological reasoning. Doing a little research I found a number of reasons for this lifestyle choice. These include promoting a healthier life, maintaining a healthy weight, helping the environment, being humane, as well as being ethical. So this is decision ties into health, political, and cultural reasoning along with psychological.
I feel whatever your reasoning for eating certain foods should be a choice people make for themselves and not for anyone else, it is your life to live. Just remember that you are what you eat.

Recommended Book
*McKeith, Gillian. You Are What You Eat: The Plan That Will Change Your Life. New York, New York: Penguin Group, 2005. Print.

Healthy Food, Healthy Mind

Considering my Grandmother grew up on a farm, and once owned a health food store, she has been the main influence in the foods I eat. Always careful of what food is stocked in our house, she makes sure we know what we are consuming, and is constantly changing the specific types of food. From low fat, to no sugar, she’s tried it all. And my family has rejected a good amount of it. Our family always has vanilla ice cream in our freezer, and with that, there is always a bottle of chocolate sauce in the fridge. She once switched the usual Hershey’s chocolate sauce to the low sugar type; it didn’t go over so well. None of us would eat it, and within three days, there was the usual bottle of chocolate sauce in the fridge next to the low sugar one which only my Grandmother ate. In this society, we enjoy things that taste good; a little too much, even. But the point of it all is to make sure we are in tune with what we are consuming, making sure we have the daily dosage of what we need, and at least attempting to keep unneeded foods and sugars especially, out of our diet.
I assumed this was simply my Grandmother’s “thing.” She grew up on a farm, and owned a health food store; it was pretty much expected she would be like this. However, my freshman year of High School is when her attitudes about food consumption really kicked in for me. My Grandfather ended up in the hospital due to various small things that eventually built up. Within about six months after that, he was declared a diabetic. In response, my Grandmother reacted in a way that was expected. She cut down and even eliminated a lot of the foods my Grandfather shouldn’t eat as a diabetic, while my mother and I were still in our usual habits of fast food, heavily processed foods and sugar.
It was a hit for me. None of my family had ever had any serious health issues until then, and seeing my Grandfather in the hospital, and afterward having to prick his finger every day startled me. For the longest time, I ignored this, thinking, “I’m young, have a fast metabolism, and shouldn’t worry about this yet.” However, after watching my mother go through menopause and seeing her body and energy change, and continuing to see my Grandfather’s health decline, I couldn’t ignore it for much longer. My Grandfather has been my Spiritual Mentor, while my Grandmother is more of a life counselor. My Grandfather’s mind may be keen and spirit pure, but my Grandmother is the one who has kept my Grandfather’s health from failing drastically. If it wasn’t for her, he would be in ten times worse condition than he is now. Between the two of them, and seeing how they have coincided I’ve begun to see how important it is to really consider what you eat and how you choose to live on this earth.
Most of what we eat is psychological and social; the taste, the look, how easy it is to get it, what others are eating around us. We are so preoccupied with everything else in our lives we don’t consider how much better off we would be if we would take the time to consider something as simple as “you are what you eat.” As my Grandfather says, “A mind is a terrible thing to lose,” but your body is what allows your mind to experience so much more. Keep your body healthy, and your mind has an even better chance to rise to its full potential.

McWilliams, James. A revolution in eating : how the quest for food shaped America. New York: Colombia University Press, 2005. Print.

Garden Variety Satisfaction

My Grandparents, up until we moved when I was 11, tended a large garden full of various vegetables and other garden foods, along with rows of raspberry and blackberry bushes, an apple and cherry tree, and a patch of strawberries. My Grandpa also often went out on fishing trips around Ocean Shores, WA, and brought back his catch for our family. It was always a source of pride to tell visitors that at least part of the food they were eating was home grown in our own back yard garden, or was caught by my Grandpa. I always enjoyed going through our yard during the summer and picking a spinach leaf, washing it off under the hose outside our house and munching on it and berries I picked while playing in the forest behind our house. Harvesting your own food gives you that pride that I and my Grandparents experienced; the ability to provide for your family food that is pure, food that was produced by your own hard work and time.
Just as discussed from the first video viewed in class, my family is mostly from the level where we eat fish and sometimes cow, but mostly garden foods. For me, it’s uncomfortable to think of myself killing other animals above that level. If I needed too, I’m sure I could desensitize myself, or figure out some spiritual way to justify my actions enough to stomach it. Thinking about it, I agree with hunting your own food. It gives someone a source of pride, as well as if you only hunt for what you need, there is no waste. Steve Rinella’s plan to kill a hefty number of animals for the sake of a feast in honor of Escoffier is honorable enough. It’s a way to experience life in a… much richer way. Having to hunt down and kill the food you prepare, then prepare it allows someone a much more personal connection to what they are putting in their bodies. Plus, as stated above, the satisfaction of having the time and effort put into the preparation of what you eat pay off, just makes it all the more meaningful.

Crowe, Ivan. The Quest for Food: Its Role in Human Evolution and Migration. Tempus: Stroud, 2000. Print.
National Research Council. Dynamic changes in marine ecosystems : fishing, food webs and future options. Washington D.C.: National Academies Press, 2006. Print.

To Sustane or Not to Sustane? That is the question

By harvesting your own food I feel you would get a strong sense of pride by providing for yourself. In everything you work hard at you feel accomplished, in this case feeding yourself. Buying your own food, though convenient, is not the same as providing for yourself. For example, going shopping at Fred Meyer does not make me feel accomplished; it just feels like I spent too much money. I myself have not grown my own food, but it is something I plan to do in the future.
As far as hunting is concerned, I personally have never been hunting nor do I ever plan to. Many of my friends have hunted for the thrill of it, but I have yet to encounter someone who hunted for pure survival. Hunting for sport in my opinion isn’t in the best interest of our world. The fact of the matter is the more we hunt, the less and less animals, or food supply, we have for our future. This includes land and sea animals alike.
Sustainability is becoming a big issue for our generation. An example of this would be the blue fin tuna. It is one of the most valuable fish in the world and is a big hit in the sushi industry. This species is also in great danger of slipping into extinction. Because of over-fishing, some may consider this to be hunting; the current population is a mere 3% from what it was in 1960!

Sources
· Griffith, Chris. Food Sustainability: Diverging Implications. Bradford, England: Emerald Group, 2004. E-Book.

· Seymour, John. The Self-Sufficient Gardener: A Complete Guide to Growing and Preserving All Your Own Food. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1979. Print.

Unadventurous Eater

I've alawys known I'm not an adventurous eater. As a child my menu was small, and I was often scolded by my Grandfather for not finishing everything on my plate. My Grandmother would always have to be careful about what she cooked for dinners because of my limited menu, but she always made sure there was something offered that she knew I liked. The strangest food I know I've tried, albeit really not that strange at all, would be asian food, mostly sushi. I didn't try sushi until about three years ago beacuse of a friend of mine who's mother is from Taiwan, and is half Chinese half Japanese. Sushi always seemed disguting to me. Raw fish? I could eat cooked fish, but the word "raw" made me think of them squirming around, gasping for air on land and someone hitting them against a rock to kill them, and then just tearing through the scales to get to the meat. After much convincing, I did try some sushi, but my taste for it is limited to a few specific kinds. The only reason I tried other kinds of asian food was because I was eating dinner at my friend's house and I didn't want to be rude by not at least trying everything that was offered, because I knew it would offend his mother.
I know that most of my opinions on "strange" food is psychological. Raw fish isn't necessarily bad for your body, and neither are foods such as pickled herring or pig tongue, but the names alone make me think of things that would be just disgusting! Most of my food fears stem from the images produced by the names of the food, or what it is made out of. Others from the image of the food on my plate, or the smell. Every food we like or dislike stems from these, in conjunction with the culture and family we grew up in. I eat hot dogs all the time, and hamburgers even, and even with the knowledge of what goes into these food items, I continue to enjoy them. Other foods such as haggis have some of the same animal parts used, but the presentation and inexposure to it from a young age has made me weary of even trying it. Because of these culinary ideas that have been engrained in humans, I know it takes a lot of coaxing for most people to try something that seems "strange" to them. I know for a fact it would take a lot of coaxing to get me to try chicken assholes!

Hodgman, John. "Extreme Eating." New York Magazine. New York magazine, n.d. Web. 19 Apr 2010. .

Man's Best Friend.....Sounds Tasty!

In 21 years I have heard of some, as well as tried, several strange dishes. However the article shocked me when within the first sentence it was talking about eating asshole! Who would want to eat that? It's is outrageous, to me at least, to think someone would actually want to consume the rear-hole of a chicken. After doing a little research though, I discovered there are stranger dishes out there, but what our culture considers different others consider a delicacy.
To begin however, I would like to talk about the strangest dish I have ever consumer, a Chamorro dish called Chelaguin. Chelaguin is cold, uncooked meat, tenderized and soaked in array of spices, At first glance, I told myself there was no way I would try this uncooked meat. After conflicting with myself for several minutes I gave it a shot and was shocked how good it actually was! Mix it with a little rice and you have yourself a delicious meal. Would I recommend trying it? Absolutely!
Every culture has their own views of what is a “do” and “do not” on what to eat. For example, consider dogs. We see dogs as pets and consider them to be “man’s best friend.” However, when you go to countries such as Taiwan and Ghana, where dog is considered a delicacy, they eat it as an everyday meal. This to me seems disgusting, especially since my favorite animal happens to be dogs. In comparison, Americans eat cow on a day to day basis. You can go to McDonalds and get a burger within minutes. If you were to go to India, cows are considered sacred. As a matter of fact, cows are venerated within the Hindu religion of India, making them holy.
In my opinion, every culture should be allowed to eat, or not eat anything they chose, but I refuse to eat an animal I have called my pet my entire life.

*Clothy, Fred. Religion in India: A Historical Introduction. New York: Routeledge, 2006.

Home Away From Home

Growing up with my family was an adventure. I am predominantly Irish with a little bit of French and my culture has always been very important to my entire family. It is something we take great pride in. Other than potatoes however, food had never been a big deal to my family. So telling my story about my own family would be a bit plain. I was however blessed to be an “adopted son” to by my best friend’s family, who happened to be Filipino.
The Philippines is a country located in Southeast Asia. Their population, which ranks 12th in the world, has over 92 million people. The earliest known human remains found in the Philippines are carbon dated to around 24,000 years ago. Filipino Dishes range from the very simple, like a meal of fried salted fish and rice, to the elaborate, such as the paellas and cocidos.
The Filipino culture I have found to be very generous, but quite different from my own. The food I experienced was much different from that of what I was use to eating. I would normally eat items such as turkey, salmon, and spaghetti. They’re foods of choice were lumpia and chicken adobo. Not to mention rice with every meal. My favorite of all these dishes would have to be pancit. Pancit is the term for noodles in Filipino cuisine, cooked in a variety of ways.
It is not surprising that Filipino food is often labeled as somewhat strange, but in its own way it’s a unique mixture of eastern and western cuisine. For almost 400 years the Pilipino cuisine has been influenced by several different cultures; including Malay, Spanish, and Chinese cultures. If you are interested in a new taste, I recommend you make the effort in experiencing Filipino cuisine and take in its rich culture.

Recommend Books:

*Gelle, Gerry G. Filipino Cuisine: Recipes from the Islands. New Mexico: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1997.

*Roces, Alfredo. Culture Shock! A Survival Guide to Customs & Etiquette. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish International, 2004.

Raised on American Meals

Having lived in Washington my entire life, my culture has remained the typical American, middle-class lifestyle. I grew up with my Mother and Grandparents on the plateau of Redmond, WA, in a suburban-rural area until I was 11 when I moved to Lacey, WA. The area I lived in as a child was partially suburb housing developments in which lived mostly carpoolers who worked in Seattle. The rest was small plots of land dedicated to some livestock and family gardens. I lived on a street where chickens were often found wandering around and across the street from my house a herd of cows would stare at me as I stood at my bus stop. Due to these farm animals, and many others I was accustomed to getting fresh eggs when my neighbors would send some over, as well as my obsession with drinking milk; whole milk.

My mother has never been a cook, but my Grandmother grew up on a farm, and at one point owned a health food store so therefore was the main cook of the house. Often times she experimented with meals, and then afterward didn’t remember what she had done. Her and my Grandfather tended a garden in our backyard that grew a variety of vegetables such as broccoli, cucumber, carrots, and spinach as well as other garden foods such as beans and even a small patch of pumpkins. Also in our yard were two long strips each of raspberry and blackberry bushes. Every spring and summer I recall running around outside, picking berries at my leisure, coming inside from playing with stained fingers from the juices and pricks from blackberry thorns. Because of this typical American-rural living style, I was raised on the “classic” American meals; spaghetti, pizza from the local store, corn, PB&J’s with my Grandmother’s home-made strawberry-rhubarb jelly, and broccoli or asparagus with cheese. Most of the foods we ate were health-conscientious foods due to my Grandmother’s upbringing. The only meats we ate, that she allowed, were chicken and fish. The only reason we had even those were because my Grandfather loves eating meat. I didn’t even like hamburgers, let alone have a real chance to eat them until I was 12!

When the four of us moved to Lacey, my eating habits changed, but are still considered in the category of “American” culture. At 11-years-old, I moved from a family oriented household, with people from all over visiting regularly for potlucks due to my Grandparent’s business, to a split-level-type family home, where my Grandparents have their living space upstairs, and my Mother and I have our own downstairs. For a while we continued at least family dinners upstairs in my Grandparents dining room, but once I hit high school, everything changed. Since my Mother and I aren’t the most avid cooks, we resorted to foods such as Campbell’s soups, easy spaghetti, Grilled Cheese, still the typical American meals, but not as home-made as before. Then, we found restaurants and fast foods. In High school I probably ate out at a restaurant at least five to seven meals a week. This is probably why I have no problem with what most people consider “disgusting college food.” My Mother and I talked about changing our eating habits, but it never really happened.

Since I started College, I’ve become more conscientious about the foods I eat, and my Mother and I have attempted to change our eating habits instead of just talk about it. Due to the variety of cultures I’ve come in contact with because of my college education, we have tried to be more flexible in the foods we eat. Although, our initial culture is still the Grilled Cheese, Tomato soup, Asparagus with cheese, American food.


Recommended Books

On Nutrition - Gebhardt, Susan, and Robin Thomas. Nutritive Value of Foods. Rev. Oct 2002. Beltsville, Md: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2002. Print. (Subject Heading: Food)

On Fast Food - Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: the Dark Side of the All-American Meal. 1st Perennial ed. New York, NY: Perennial, 2002. Print. (Subject Heading: Fast Food)

Thai and Its Ties!

Thai and Its Ties!

Growing up in a household where both of my parents value their own culture forced me to adapt equally to both cultures. My mother was born in the heart of Bangkok, Thailand; and my father from Georgia brought not only two different cultures together but two diverse types of foods during the holidays. Both sides of my parents’ family are very close and respect one another culture and are both excepted at family dinners. I find myself exploring and enjoying my mother’s culture but not excluding my fathers. Being half Thai and half black taught me to be open minded about different foods, ranging from the normal mainstream of American culture to exotic culture such as Japanese.

Thailand is located south of Asian connected to the Indian Ocean. With its unique combination of sweet, spicy, sour or salty taste, it is something I yearn for and a daily. I believe that if it wasn’t for my mother who introduced new and extravagant food to me I would not be open minded as I am now to new foods. In the film (A World of Foods) that we recently watch I remember them talking about the smell of foods may turn people away. I agree that certain cultures do compose of intense or mild food smells. the Thai culture is one that some may have to get use to, it may not be the overall finally creation of the food but just the ingredients that are added into the lovely meal. I always will love southern food but will always prefer Thai food over anything food in the world! What is culture? We’ll culture to me consist of a person’s belief, religion, but the most visual characteristic that stands out would be "food". Every culture can be depicted by their food for the most part. When someone asks me what exactly culture is, the first thing that would come to mind would be food.

The normal breakfast foods consist of pancakes, eggs, bacon or sausage, grits, etc. My mother and father are completely opposite and it put me in a situation where I had to choose which route to follow while growing up. My Mother would make my father the normal Americanized breakfast which he craved and which he was raised upon as a child. When relating breakfast with me, I tend to eat Full course Thai meals for breakfast. A typical breakfast for my mother and I would consist of rice, fried eggs; portraying an omelet, spicy stir fry with an abundance of red and green peppers. The funny thing was that this meal was common among my mother’s cultural and side of her family, and I just happen to pick it up as well. Till this day I find myself neglecting the classic American food and craving more towards Thai food.

I remember as a young boy I would follow and want to do everything that my mom would do; maybe you can say I was a mama’s boy. I love food so much that I learned how to cook, I wouldn’t call myself a chef or anything but I do believe that I have skills. Ever time my mom would cook something I would be right there all up in the pan. I can truly say that my mother ways and her cultural rubbed off on me. I love Thai food so much that I have to make a home cook meal or dine out at a Thai restaurant here in Bellingham.

I eat, sleep, and find myself thinking of Thai food now that my mother is thousands of miles away. Breakfast is not the same without my mother’s home cook breakfast which would wake me up every morning, with the smell of cooked rice and hot peppers. I was very happy when I found an Asian market right here in Bellingham which I go to weekly. Now that I found a place where it reminds me my mother’s cooking, I can follow in here footsteps of cooking.

　

　

Recommended Books to read about Thai Culture:

 Benedict, Paul K. Austro-Thai Language and Culture: with a Glossary of Roots. New Haven, Conn.: HRAF, 1975. Print.

 Southeast Asian American Food Habits. Washington]: Dept. of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, 1980. Print.

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