Food, Self, and Society

For spring break I traveled to Belgium with my family. My cousin Joey is studying in Brussels for the semester and his family was going to visit, so a whole bunch of us jumped on the bandwagon. All together there were 10 people roaming around Belgium trying to become as cultured as possible while still having a great time. The flight there was around 7 hours long, which wasn’t that bad seeing as I had my Sudoku to keep me occupied and my brilliant neck pillow for cat naps. It was a night flight and we got served dinner. We had the option of chicken or pasta, or something vegetarian. I always go with the pasta, I never trust individually packaged airplane meats. The meal came with a salad, cheese and crackers, and a water cup. I felt a little like Ed Norton in Fight Club, with all the individualized items. The meal looked something like this:

It actually wasn’t that bad, but of course it was nothing compared to my homemade manicotti

We got a little breakfast on the plane, some juice and a muffin, not quite a meal, but enough to tide us over. When we landed we had to take the metro into the center of the city. As soon as we got off the metro into the central station, up the escalator to go outside, we smelt the most delicious scent. Waffles! They were beckoning us to them. The Belgians have two kinds of waffles, one is covered in a sweet glaze and the dough is a little thick – it is often eat at dessert or as a treat during the day. There are street vendors everywhere selling waffles as we sell hot dogs in NYC. You can put almost any topping you like on them – ice cream, whipped cream, fruit of all varieties, chocolate sauce, nuts, and the list goes on. They are absolutely delicious. I had one almost every day, and went for the chocolate sauce because the Belgians are well known for their chocolate, and I could eat the sauce out of a bowl by itself, it was that good. Here are some waffles my father and I got our last night there:

The other type of waffle was more of what we think of when we hear Belgian Waffle. It is crispy on the outside with a fluffy inside. Usually they are in a rectangular form and can be eaten for breakfast or dessert. I ate mine for lunch because I was just dying to try it. I am a pancake and waffle lover, so I was in heaven.

Belgian food has been majorly influenced by French food, so they eat a lot of croissants and baguettes for bread. Our lunches were frequently on baguettes, with a wide range of sandwich fillers from grilled ham and cheese, to omelets, and sea food. Most of the food was very familiar and I didn’t encounter anything I haven’t seen before. I was surprised at how many Italian restaurants there are. My cousin said that since it’s so easy to travel between countries in the EU, many people relocate to different places and that most of these restaurants are run by real Italians. We ate at an Italian restaurant once and the food was excellent. The only thing that threw me was the presence of mushrooms in lasagna. It wasn’t labeled mushroom lasagna, it just said lasagna and it had a ton of mushrooms in it and in the sauce it was covered in. I wound up trading with someone else because I’m not the biggest fan of mushrooms – I don’t like the texture.

The Belgians are famous for chocolate, and there’s no question as to why. All types of chocolate were much better than American chocolate, most likely due to the fresh ingredients and lack of preservatives. One of the fancier chocolate stores told its customers to eat the chocolate within 8 days otherwise it would go bad. That chocolate was expensive and exquisite.  — The people of Brussels had a strange obsession with this statue called the Mannequin Pis. It is a little boy who is peeing into a fountain. He can be found on magnets, t-shirts, bottle openers, and made out of chocolate, as seen here:

This cracked me up, although I don’t know why it’s such a big deal there. A national symbol in a national delicacy. Yummmm.

There were also some more artistic chocolate sculptures, like this dragon, that reminded me of the food network challenge to make fashion out of chocolate. I’m sure the Belgians could do it!

That’s it for part one, wait for more deliciousness in Part 2!

 Every year for lent I try to give up something that would be a challenge for me. Then I find that after the 40 days are over, I don’t really crave that item any more. One year I gave up peanut butter and haven’t eaten it by itself in a long time. I do, however, have a major soft spot for all things Reese’s. This year, like last year, I decided to give up soda. Unfortunately my experience with soda last year was not like the previous Lenten experiences; after the 40 days I still craved it. This year I decided to really take a stand against it, not only because it would be a challenge but because of the health benefits I would receive. After reading article after article about the dangers of high-fructose corn syrup I knew I had to cut down on my Coke intake. I decided to start my “diet” during lent because then if I cheated I wouldn’t just be breaking a promise to myself, I would be breaking a promise with God. Then I would be forever riddled with guilt (as goes the Catholic tradition).

While embarking on this no-soda journey, I decided to make some other lifestyle changes. I cut back on sweets, since the amount of sugar I intake will eventually lead to diabetes (a genetic predisposition of mine), stopped eating after 9pm (I’ve heard it’s better for digestion if you don’t eat three hours before going to bed. In addition to that I was usually eating after that time because I was bored and needed something to do), started an exercise regimen 3 days a week at the free (!) gym at school, and started eating breakfast with a glass of V-8 Fusion (thanks Ivan) to get my metabolism going . While I disguise this under the muse of self-sacrificing for Lent, it is really me trying to get my act together, take care of myself, and get a body I won’t be ashamed of on the beach.

As I struggle with my new lifestyle I look for alternative ways to quench my thirst. Ulimately water is the best choice and I even bought a reusable plastic thermos (BPA free) so I could be more eco-friendly. The only problem with that is, as I’m running around throughout the day I can’t seem to find places to fill it back up, so I’m stuck carrying an empty water bottle and forced to buy something else to keep me going. I just can’t bring myself to fill the bottle with sink water from a bathroom, I just can’t do it.

Aside from the water dilemma, I’m finding this new lifestyle relatively easy to deal with.  Once I got into the routine of going to the gym, I actually wanted to go – It felt good to release some tension and I can already feel a difference in my energy level and every day little things (such as not panting when I walk up the stairs). I read an article*  about how people are going about healthy lifestyles the wrong way. Most people just go on a diet to lose weight but then don’t keep up with their eating habits, therefore causing them to yo-yo. Exercising and eating healthy is also presented as something we “have” to do. It feels like a chore to most people, when it should actually be something they want to do. If people had the right attitude when approaching lifestyle changes they would be more willing to change. Diets don’t work, the way people eat and think about food has to change.

Trying to eat healthier requires effort, advanced planning, and know-how, the frankly most people don’t have the time to put in. One would think that since we eat so often and everything we put into our mouths has an effect on our overall well being we would be more interested in tkaing the time out to make smart choices, as opposed to spending that extra half hour watching television. But we can’t prioritize for everyone and ultimately it is up to the individual to make the decision for themselves.

*I searched for the article but could not find it again I will keep looking.

As I was doing some research for one of my other classes I stumbled upon this NY Times article and thought I would share it with you. It’s all about the children of this generation and their constant snacking. At the bottom of the article there are also some very interesting articles on similar topics:  obesity, teenage weight loss surgery, the affect of tv on eating, and a shift in kid’s eating trends. I didn’t want to link all of them and seem a little overzealous but I thought you guys would enjoy it and it will give us some interesting things to talk about in class if we choose to.

So here it is!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/u-s-children-generation-snack/

As I braced myself for the “blizzard” that was coming on Friday I couldn’t help myself but to wish that schools would be closed. When I went to bed on Thursday they were open, and then, at 6:30 Friday morning my mom came into my room and just whispered, “Schools are closed!” I turned to her and went “Yessssssssssssssss!!!” This meant that I wouldn’t have to go to student teaching that morning and it was probably too bad to make it into work. I slept until around 11:30 and looked out at the mess on our street. I called work and said I wouldn’t be able to make it in (I wasn’t trudging through that to sit around for a couple of hours!), and they understood. It was wonderful I had the whole day open.

So, what to do first? I was hungry, since I’m trying not to eat after 9pm I woke up with a rumbly tummy. I had plenty of time to actually cook some breakfast and didn’t have to rely on my usual on-the-go bag of mini-muffins. I decided to make pancakes (one of my favorites) and they came out delicious! I forgot to put my usual cinnamon on them, but they were still great. I didn’t use all the batter because I couldn’t possibly eat all those pancakes by myself! After some lounging I was still a little hungry so I thought about making a sandwich. Then I remembered it was a Friday in Lent, and therefore could not have a ham and cheese, or even a grilled cheese with bacon because I couldn’t have meat. So I decided to make some more pancakes. While I was making them my mom was making homemade Rice Krispie treats, so I decided to be somewhat inventive and put some marshmallows in my pancakes. It has promise, but it will take some more development. Pancakes like that are more of a treat, like a dessert than breakfast. Sort of like dessert crepes.

I like to play around with my food, but I tend to focus more on desserts. I have a hugee sweet tooth so when I feel like cooking I usually make cookies, cakes, brownies, cupcakes, etc. Then I put things I like in them, like peanut butter, chocolate, marshmallows – nothing even relatively healthy like fruit. It’s pure sweetness. So this time I substituted marshmallows in place of chocolate chips in my pancakes. I think maybe having both would have made them extra delcious. Maybe for the next snow day

Today is Valentine’s day, the “hallmark holiday.” I personally like Valentine’s Day. Everyone is much nicer and more considerate to one another. Some people do need a holiday to tell their loved ones how they feel. Since all the restaurants are ridiculously crowded on this day, its much easier and sometimes nicer to enjoy a meal at home with your loved ones.

This year, that is what my boyfriend and I decided to do. We both spent a lot of money on Christmas presents so we decided not to get each other anything big for Valentine’s day and we would have a nice day together just hanging out. I told him I had an idea for a little present for him and he could just do something nice like cook dinner. So he was going to cook dinner and I said I would make dessert.

Last week we were talking about what to make. I asked him he wanted and we decided on an Oreo cheesecake. yumm. So since I told him what I was going to make he decided to run his dinner idea by me. And this wonderful idea was………………………… Potato Skins. I was stunned. That was it. I went off – what was he thinking? Just potato skins? That’s not a meal! The discussion then ensued. He felt it was acceptable because they have a somewhat sentimental meaning for us and the last time we ate them we filled up on them and other appetizers and didn’t eat our meal. I understood, but just potato skins is not enough. When I thought dinner, I thought a meal, and to me a meal consists of a meat, and at least one side dish. There could be a meal consisting of just appetizers, but this was just one piece of bar food.

We then discussed why I didn’t think the meal of potato skins was appropriate for Valentine’s day. I wanted something romantic, something special. I could have bar food any other night of the week. I didn’t want just potato skins. I wanted a thought out meal. He thought it was stupid that I wanted all these things just because it’s Valentine’s Day. “Girls would rather have okay food that is romantic than delicious food.” I made the point that “romantic” food could also be delicious.

This argument just wasn’t worth it, so we wound up going out for breakfast, and I made dinner. That’s what I get for trying to make him do something he didn’t want to do.

I love watching football – American football that is. I think it’s an awesome sport. What makes it even better is our family ritual of going over to my aunt’s house on Sunday afternoons to watch our beloved Jets try to make a better name for themselves (and they succeeded this year! ) on her big screen tv. Inevitably there is tons of food. A typical Sunday involves chips, pretzels, some form of chocolate, either pizza, pasta, or sandwiches, and of course lots of beer.

This Sunday however, was the Sunday of all Sundays in the football world, and therefore it must be in our own football world (even though our Jets weren’t playing). Usually on Sundays friends and family come in and out. Some do a “pop-in,” others stay all day, but this Sunday, everyone stayed. In addition to the usual appetizers of chips, pretzels, and chocolate, there were mini pizzas, prosciutto balls, and chicken wings. The “main course” was a 6 foot hero, half with chicken cutlet, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers, tomato, lettuce and balsamic vinegar, and the other half with various cold cuts. I did not eat the other half, therefore do not know the specifics. Along with the sandwich came multiple salads – macaroni, potato and pasta.

All the food was out all day and as we watched the game, caught up with one another, and relaxed, we pigged out. Everything was delicious and I remember eating more than my body wanted, but I couldn’t stop because it tasted so good. I definitely felt my “hoarding” gene taking over. While in some circles such over eating would not be accepted, it seems to be allowed on SuperBowl Sunday. It’s always allowed in my family but even this was a bit much.

The night ended with the football shaped cake from Carvel – which was delicious and covered with my favorite topping – chocolate crunchies. Everyone was happy with the outcome of the game. We were all rooting for New Orleans after we watched all the specials on their team and their personal struggles all day on CBS. They now have a soft spot in all of our hearts. Congratulations Saints! Who DAT?!

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