Food Awareness

I am currently in a Food and Nutrition class (because I have to, not because I want to) and have learned about calories, carbohydrates, and other things that “make up” food. Healthy eating has never really been part of my lifestyle, but neither has unhealthy eating. I think of my food awareness to be more of a balanced thing, and I am more of a working out believer than cutting on meats and eating more leaves than you should.

I personally don’t think I will ever be a person who focuses on calories and things that are organic and extra healthy and such. I do agree with the Italian “Live to eat” instead of an “Eat to live” mentality because there is so much good food out there and really life is too short to be worrying about those things. Don’t get me wrong, I do not eat extra fatty foods on a daily basis and eat as much as fits my stomach everyday, what I mean is that I don’t really have guilt if I eat something delicious but fattening. My first semester in college I did slack and gained more weight than I expected, so I have found better ways to maintain my weight.

I am the type of person with the mentality that watching what you eat should not be in your mind during the weekends. Now again, this does not mean “go all out”, but I do think desserts are a must over the weekend. During the week, I try to eat healthier and be more active. A great part of my diet is oatmeal, which is healthy and easy to make for breakfast. Another healthy thing I like for breakfast is special-K, in its many forms, and I have found that the Special-k diet actually works.

As I said on my Chocolate blog, I like having options and variety. And Special-k cereals definitely have variety! Among my favorites are Red Berries, Vanilla Almond and Fruit and Yogurt. I just tried the Fruit and Yogurt last week and I loved it!!

I have learned the hard way that breakfast is key to healthy eating and a good lifestyle. Sometimes I don’t make time for it, because sleep comes down to be more important at that point in time. But I do try to make time for it as frequently as possible.

Other areas in which I can see my food awareness is because I don’t really drink soda as frequently, and try to drink a lot more water. I do love orange juice, but the one at the dining court tastes not like orange juice at all.

Food and Transgression

The assignment was food and transgression, as in breaking the rules or going beyond bounds. I gave this a lot of thought, and did not know what to say seeing as I don’t really “transgress” in the little cooking that I do. I stick to recipes, and after I have made them well I begin to take liberties and find other ways to make them if not make them better. This has happened very few times so I would not say that that is my transgression.

I thought about something, which would be something italians would definitely frown upon, and it is that I don’t mind using cheaper ingredients. I mean, I know there are some things you can’t be cheap on, but for the most part, I do not mind buying the Great Value sugar and flour, baking powder, confectioners sugar, and basically most of the things I use in the kitchen. I do stick to better brands when it comes to other things, but for the most part being a college student with low income and great cooking ambitions I decide to stick to cheap so I can try more things.

I guess that it is good that I don’t know a lot about food because everything I make tastes good for me (and I’ve gotten friend’s and boyfriend’s approval, so I’ve decided that for now it is okay)! 🙂

Food and Sickness

I am a believer in fruits and vegetables and that they make you healthier. As soon as I would be feeling unhealthy, my mom would not only make us gulp down a couple tablets of vitamin-c, but she would also have us eat as many oranges and other fruits she could get her hands on. I never complained, I have always been a fan of grapes, mandarins, cantaloupe, watermelon, and papaya. When I was a little kid, my mom would put pieces of papaya in my lunchbox, and my teachers would find it humorous when I would celebrate the fact that I had papaya in my lunchbox.

Anyway, whenever I am sick now, being away from home, I have two different approaches: Eating bad foods, because they just make me feel better, or eating healthy foods, like fruits and veggies, because they make me feel healthy. I also resort to the gatorade if I am feeling dehydrated, or if I have a stomach ache, I will drink coca-cola, because my mom swears by it. It might be like the dad in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” who sprayed windex on everything, but my mom’s thing is coca-cola.

The only thing I actually think helps is water 🙂 Which I frequently do lots of anyways 🙂

PS- Sorry I hadn’t blogged in so long, I was busy studying and not eating 😦

Food and Lovin’

I waited a little to write my food and love blog post because Valentines day is coming up and I was waiting to have a couple of food experiences with my boyfriend. Its been a couple of days and since we are all about food (and movies), I have plenty to share.

This is a very special time for us seeing as it is his birthday today, and Valentines day is in a couple days. We have enjoyed our time together and to do that we have needed good food, of course. One of the first meals we had together was Chicken Cordon Bleu. The plan had originally been that I was going to cook it for him, but things worked out so that he cooked with me doing the simpler things like washing dishes and peeling potatoes. I had never cooked an entire meal like that on my own (for the most part, but everything was basically on me) and just having him there was an outstanding experience. We made the chicken, mashed potatoes, a salad, and we baked a cake.

I was a little bit sad that he decided he didn’t want the cake I’ve mentioned before, the three milk cake, because he said he liked it so much that he didn’t want to have it all the time so it would remain special. I kind of get it, but what is a specialer occasion than this? But we made a different kind of cake, one that we both love, that is vanilla with sprinkles and reminds us both about our childhood. We cut it the day after we made the Cordon Bleu since we were so full after our meal!!

I find that the more things I learn to cook the better I feel about being in the kitchen. Sometimes I get nervous, like when I was going to make the Cordon Bleu, but I had trained myself visually through videos and many recipes online. My best friend even tried it and told me tips, and she told me the recipe we’d found was a good one.

My boyfriend can be the typical man when it comes to loving food, and knowing this, I enjoy making things for him or making things together. The best part though, is when we sit down and enjoy what we have prepared with such patience. Food can be so many things, but when it comes to this scenario, it is definitely a demonstration of appreciation and love itself.

Food and Family/Friends Associations

I can almost declare myself a food lover. I cannot automatically and wholeheartedly say that I am a food lover because there are some foods that not only do I not like but there are others that I refuse to eat. But when it comes to the other foods, the ones I like, I am most definitely a food lover.

Some of these meals I don’t only love because of their taste, but because they remind me of someone and bring me memories.

One of these people is my friend Sarah. Sarah and I have been friends for about 10 years now and met in an exchange program when we were fifth graders. We got paired because we were both tall and played basketball, but we had so many more things in common that allowed for such a great friendship to grow. The food that reminds me of her is a good, meaty cheeseburger. We are both burger fans, and every summer we saw each other, whether in El Salvador, Washington D.C., or the other places we’ve been to (like Boston or Bar Harbor in Maine) we would always order a cheeseburger and enjoy it as best we could.

My mom is also someone that reminds me of a different kind of food. I think that with her, it is a tie between sushi and a kind of chicken with mushrooms she makes for me. The sushi because we just enjoy going to two different sushi places and when we order we order different things and then share, so that is always fun. I also taught her how to use chopsticks, which is one of the few things I can say I taught her. The chicken is just a fabulous chicken she makes for me every other time, whenever we are both in the mood. She has always loved mushrooms and I started eating them because of her, and now I love them just as much.

Another family member I can associate with food is my brother. He and I are great fans of pasta, and for a greater part of our lives we always would get Fettucini Alfredo. At home, we would like to try different alfredo recipes and explore making out own. Now, he enjoys trying new things and brings different seasonings and other sauces and compliments to make pasta with. When I am home, we have our “date nights” where we go out to dinner, preferably a place that reminds us of our childhood, and we often reminisce.

My boyfriend and I are in a long distance relationship, so whenever he comes to visit we try to have a couple of nice dinners and such. Right now, our craze is all about this fabulous Spinach and Artichoke dip, so that is what automatically reminds me of him now. But we are also fans of sweets, like cake or cupcakes, which we’ve baked together, and he is actually the reason why I asked my mom to teach me how to make the Three Milk Cake I mentioned in “The Many Meanings of Food”. He had tried it before but he says my mom’s is the best one he has ever tried 🙂 I find great pleasure in baking my mom’s cake for him.

Ever since I can remember, my mom has had Wednesday morning breakfast with her sisters and parents. It is a weekly tradition that all us grandchildren were eager to have school vacation so we could go to breakfast. I think my family has easily dined at least twice at every different breakfast-serving restaurant. It brings me many memories and I can link certain people with certain foods; My grandma was a fan of french toast, my aunt and her daughters: Eggs Benedict, my other aunt: “Divorced” Eggs (Maybe thats just what they call them at home) and we each tend to order our predictable things at different places. No matter what, the conversation and company is always good.

I notice now that I have talked about all the members of my family, except my father. I tried pinpointing a specific kind of food that reminds me of me, but this is a rather difficult task. My father is for sure a food lover. Sometimes, it would give the impression that he was “aspirating” the food rather than eating it. Frequently, we would bake pastries or buy something nice to snack on, and as soon as he’d discover it he would devour it. You can imagine how frustrating it was for all us others in the family. And it would make no difference if more was made or more was bought, he had to finish it all. When he was out of town on occasion, our goodies would last until he came back. So really, anything and everything (and the lack of it) reminds me of him 🙂

The Many Meanings of Food

Food, off the top of anyone’s head, is probably whatever we eat; in the morning, afternoon, and nighttime, including snacks. This is what I immediately think, but once I think about it for a while longer I realize that food is so much in so many other levels. Food and anything that has to do with it, (the people and places where it is made and eaten, for example) can have so many more meanings. Anytime I want to see someone I want to catch up with, we usually do it over food, and the time of day depends on the person. Over breakfast, I like meeting with close friends and family, lunch, old friends I want to catch up with, and dinner I enjoy with larger groups of people but family as well. Many of my childhood memories involve cooking or baking with my mother, family and friends, always different recipes but always pulling up a classic every now and then.

Food can also be used to convey a sentiment and consequently to show affection. Many times I have received or made something for someone I want to appreciate. It has a special meaning over any other kind of present because it takes effort and thought from the person giving the gift. In my family and close friends, my mom is known for a specific kind of cake she makes on special occasions, a cake called “Three Milk Cake” or “Tres Leches” in spanish.  To say thank you to her sister and her family, she made one especially for them. Here, food represents some of the many levels it can be: it is a personalized gift, it is a time to share with loved ones, it consequently shows affection, my mom had fun baking and the list continues on. In this setting, it can be very intimate, but food is basically present in any kind of setting.

This is actually the picture my aunt sent my mom a few hours after we dropped off the cake!