A cheeseburger and sweet tea is a
pretty typical meal in my household, whether it’s my own home or my parent’s
home. Being born and raised in the
South, sweet tea is an everyday necessity to me. Looking at my plate, it may appear empty to
most but I’ve never been one for a large meal.
Some people are accustomed to eating three large meals at day while I
usually tend to eat small meals probably five times a day. I’ve never understood this habit of mine but
at some point in my life I stopped making myself eat only three meals a
day. This is probably because I get full
easily and thus waste a large serving of food.
It’s also because after about forty minutes I’m hungry and ready to eat
some more. Whatever the reason, it’s an unusual habit that I have no desire to
get rid of. I honestly believe that I am
one of the slowest if not the slowest eaters in the world. I’ve always been the last one to finish my
meal, which is most likely a factor in why I eat small servings at a time. If you ever see me eat, you will notice right
off the bat that I take small bites.
I have no
doubt that my food preferences are influenced socially, culturally, economically
and politically. As stated by Melissa
Salazar in her piece Salad Days: A Visual
Study of Children’s Food Culture, a meal can be viewed as “a visual depiction of a series of
conscious actions and decisions made by […] children […] reflect the cultural
meaning behind their food choices” (Salazar 425).
As I have already stated, just being from the South has made
drinking sweet tea a preference. Hamburgers,
cheeseburgers and hotdogs are typical products associated with being “American”
and commercials support this. When having
a cookout or when you’re at a sporting event these foods are almost always
present. Living in America instead of somewhere else has also influences my actions and decisions. Unlike in the Japanese
lifestyle that is described by Anne Allison in Permitted and Prohibited Desired Mothers, Comics and Censorship in
Japan, I have never been scorned for not fully eating a meal within a
specific amount of time or for not finishing every item on my plate (Allison
81).
Cheeseburgers are one of my favorite foods! Think about how the American schedule is typically built around three meals a day and how you make the five smaller ones work into your schedule (agency vs. structure).
ReplyDeleteEating three meals is pretty typical in our culture but I've also heard that eating more small meals throughout the day are suppose to be more health beneficial. But I don't remember where I heard that from.
DeleteYeah I've heard that too. Perhaps in a day and time when getting/cooking food isn't as laborious that trend will catch on more?
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