We need food to charge our organism with useful substances and elements which then will be produced in energy – the motive basis of our life. The attitude to food is very important; the correct diet will help people to keep healthy during all lifetime, because it is better to live life being healthy, no matter how long it will be, than to suffer from illnesses connected with digestive system and caused by unhealthy food.
Today, the choice of food is really huge: from different greasy spoons to luxurious restaurants and shops with organic food. Having such wide range of accessible products, we begin to interpret food as entertainment. Though how can people understand what should they believe in? Many people can’t know much about matters concerning food. Some of them begin to consume only healthy prods and prove their point of view with own results to others.
Perhaps, our attitude to food is changing. Doctors affirm that the first step we need to do to control our health and life is to realize what we eat and start the smooth transition for more ‘clear’ nourishment. For example, we can choose organic products instead of ordinary ones and buy a less amount of foodstuffs with chemical additives and preservatives. Many people, who changed their diet for healthier one, say that the necessity in sugar and less healthy food start to disappear when much pure food substitutes chemical one.
There also exist some steps to adjust your food intake. First step is to begin to keep a diary. We need to understand our diet and give ourselves the motivation to leave all our problems with food behind us. We should to write everything: how much, what and why we eat.
The second step is to understand the signal which gives our body. Very often people mix up the feeling of hunger with the feeling of thirst; instead of drinking they eat. Food shouldn’t become a cult; it should be the ‘fuel’ for our organism.
Nowadays, the United States of America is the country where is presented the large amount of national minorities and, accordingly, every minority has its own cuisine peculiarities and own culture of meals. Certainly, it is clear that all these peculiarities of every national minority’s cuisine are assimilated by the American cuisine and Americans. For example, American people eat such dishes as tacos, fajitas, jambalaya, cioppino (fish stew with an Italian flair), enchiladas and many other dishes which earlier were not the part of American cuisine.
When people of one country borrow some dishes from the other national cuisine, that is the good experience, but we always should remember that we need to stick to well-balanced diet, despite all dishes which are very tasty for us, but not so tasty for our stomach.
The American cuisine has the leading principles, that is the simplicity in cooking and hygiene. Hear they pay big attention to the eutrophy, though, last time, most of Americans prefer fast food because of the lack of time to prepare healthy food.
Nevertheless, most of Americans think that prods and dishes should be healthy. That’s useful to drink a glass of orange juice every day, because it contains a vitamin C, and also to eat cheese and milk, as it is rich with calcium. Other than, Americans like porridges with protein and iron for breakfast.
Normal and correct attitude to food has to be exclusively our own aim. We need to realize the need of this attitude and for what we need that. The clear and personal answer for this question will help to easily keep to the fundamentals of correct nourishment.
Our health, immunity and that is why our mood, appearance and capacity for work directly depend on what we eat, how much we eat and how we do it. These three conditions guarantee the right attitude to food.
All my above-mentioned thoughts about food is also the reflection of my own food experience. From my early childhood my parents learnt me to consume healthy food; my family even had the kitchen garden where were cultivated a lot of vegetables and fruits, such as potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, beetroots, haricot beans, green peas, tomatoes, apples, pears, strawberries We preferred to buy meat and dairy products directly at the farms. We followed the rule that food had to be ecologically healthy and useful.
Owing to such habits, I had the definite formed idea what I had to eat, how much and how often. Then I entered the university and all my previous regime of meals crashed down; the quality of my food also changed a lot and not to better side.
Earlier, during my childhood, I never thought how to prepare dishes; that was entirely the sphere of my mom: she cooked a lot and she cooked really well. Speaking about me, for me to cook was something from the sphere of fantasy. After entering the university I started to live separately and my meal changed a lot. Now the preparation of food, purchase of foodstuffs and its choice was completely my task. Classes and out-of-class activities were taking a lot of time and it was very difficult for me to hold to the previous diet. To save time I started to eat fast food which in time negatively affected my health; often I ate when I was tired after classes. Later I learnt that it is often harmful for the organism to eat in the condition of tiredness. That’s better, at first, to have some rest and then have a meal which is good advice.
My training finished and my food habits were also changed again, though now I had to give a course of treatment to problems which were caused by my unhealthy diet during university years. After such trouble I consciously revised my attitude to the culture of food.
My new life began with my new system of thinking, preparing and consuming food. From that time, my food world changed, it become easier in many aspects. I think about food when it comes to eat something, not for all the time; the second is the preparation. It is the whole art, it can be simple and difficult at the same time, but when a person is really interested in it, it always ‘captures’.
While cooking I am trying to follow simple rules: cleanness of workplace, ‘correct’ foodstuffs, good cookbook and right food storage. My favourite book lives in my kitchen, the pages are flecked with ingredients.
Storing food correctly and preparing food in a hygienic way is important to ensure that food remains as nutritious and flavorful as possible, and to reduce the risk of food poisoning. When I am preparing food, I follow simple rules: I wash my hands thoroughly before handling food and again between handling different types of food; I also keep raw and cooked foods separate, especially meat, fish and poultry.
One of the important things, which concerns food, is shopping. Most of us need to limit the time spent food shopping. It makes sense to do a weekly supermarket shop, choosing a time to suit your schedule. I just keep a checklist, jotting down items as I run out of the prods. Also it is very handy to pick up fresh ingredients during the week.
Now, my diet is healthy and varied, interesting and tasty. A basic understanding of food values help me towards a healthy diet. It is important to eat as wide variety of foods as possible, taking care not to overeat.
Actually, one more problem which is connected with food is overeating. A huge amount of people around the world suffer it and I was not the exception. There can be a lot of reasons to this occurrence; in my case it was the constant stress in the university. I knew the reason of this overeating and all the same I continued this harmful habit. Why then? I think that happened with me and happens with a lot of people now on the level of instinct. To combat overeating we need to revise our life completely. I did it and I am fully satisfied with results.
Cooking can open new horizons for everyone, even for those who think it is not worth of their attention. Every person defines their own rules and limitations in this sphere, though there are principles that should be observed by every person while cooking.
Without food the mankind won’t survive. To live long we need to be strong; to be strong we need to be healthy; one of the conditions to be healthy to ‘use pure fuel; for your body.
People have to understand the necessity of regular and correct food intakes. Preparation and consumption of food may become pleasant for you and for the whole your family. When the whole family participates in the process of cooking it always changes the attitude of this all to a separate person. Who knows who this person is or can become in future. Maybe, it will be you or your relatives.
Works Cited
Good Housekeeping. Cookery Book. Collins & Brown Limited. 2004.
