HW 4 - Your Families' Foodways

I had a discussion with my mother about her food habits and how they're much different than when she was growing up. She said that her mother cooked balanced meals at least 4 times a week. But my grandmother is from the South and she cooked a lot of fried food which my mother said was the only unhealthy aspect of her diet back then. She also didn't snack very often because her mother didn't keep a lot of snack-y food in the house. Now my mom eats out a lot, but when she looks for food her main priorities are taste and how healthy the meal is. "I love food" says my mother, " I like to eat food that's flavorful but I also want to make sure I eat food that's good for my body."

Below is a picture of our refrigerator at home:

My food priorities are very similar to hers when it comes to finding food. Taste and health is also very important to me. My grandmother was a stay-at-home mom which is why I think it was easier for her to prepare meals so frequently. My mother on the other hand has a job where she works very late so by the time she comes home she doesn't have a lot of time to make us dinner. We usually eat leftovers form weekend meals, organic pre-packaged meals or food from restaurants.

I love going to different restaurants and experiencing many different types of food and flavors. Although I grew up on my grandmother's soul food, as did my mother, we both love trying new things. My love for a variety of foods definitely came from my parents because as a child I was exposed to foods from many different cultures including Korean, Ethiopian, Jamaican and West African.

When I was younger, I used to hate any type of food that wasn't fast food, but as a grew older my taste buds developed. My father is strictly against fast food and he is also a vegetarian, so whenever I was with him I had to eat like him. He exposed me to a lot of different types of foods that were delicious and also showed me that a meal can be just as good without meat. I tried being a vegetarian like my father, but it only lasted a month and a half. This was partially because I love meat and because most of the meals my mother and stepfather serve have meat included.