Cultural eating habits - tell us about yours
Options
amusedmonkey
Posts: 10,330 Member
It's interesting to see how people in different places eat differently. When I first visited the US I had to search very hard for a brand of bread I liked because most varieties tasted "too sweet" to me, which where I come from is almost unheard of, unless it's some kind of sweet roll or fluffy braid. I also remember the American family raising their eyebrows when I made a sandwich that only had some cheese with a whole tomato on the side. This was an eye opener for me.
Where I live, lunch is usually the biggest meal where most of the cooking takes place and it's usually around 4 or 5 pm. Dinner is usually pretty light, since you're already overstuffed after a late lunch.
Sandwiches are rarely more than 2 ingredients plus bread, often just some kind of spread on a piece of bread. Mostly cheese, deli meat with cheese or greek yogurt, greek yogurt with some mint, hummus, hummus and falafel.. etc
Speaking of yogurt and greek yogurt. Even though sweetened and flavored yogurt exists, it's treated like candy. I have yet to see sweetened or flavored greek yogurt, not even vanilla! Yogurt in all its forms is considered a savory food here, usually eaten with certain dishes. Greek yogurt is more of a sandwich spread or a breakfast dip (with olive oil). Always plain, always full fat and always savory.
The traditional breakfast has fried eggs, diced tomatoes and cucumber sticks, deli meat or luncheon, cheese, several dips (all eaten with pita and some dipped in olive oil), and a small cup of black tea (most often loose leaf tea boiled in water, but teabags are becoming more common)
Traditional lunch has some kind of protein, most often from an animal source (lamb, beef or chicken), rice (steamed, plain or with fried vermicelli), and some cooked vegetables in some kind of broth/tomato sauce. This meal is usually the most fatty and filling.
Dinner is either like breakfast or each makes their own sandwich.
When people visit, it's customary to serve tea or turkish coffee and fruits.
Tell us about the eating habits in your country / house.
Where I live, lunch is usually the biggest meal where most of the cooking takes place and it's usually around 4 or 5 pm. Dinner is usually pretty light, since you're already overstuffed after a late lunch.
Sandwiches are rarely more than 2 ingredients plus bread, often just some kind of spread on a piece of bread. Mostly cheese, deli meat with cheese or greek yogurt, greek yogurt with some mint, hummus, hummus and falafel.. etc
Speaking of yogurt and greek yogurt. Even though sweetened and flavored yogurt exists, it's treated like candy. I have yet to see sweetened or flavored greek yogurt, not even vanilla! Yogurt in all its forms is considered a savory food here, usually eaten with certain dishes. Greek yogurt is more of a sandwich spread or a breakfast dip (with olive oil). Always plain, always full fat and always savory.
The traditional breakfast has fried eggs, diced tomatoes and cucumber sticks, deli meat or luncheon, cheese, several dips (all eaten with pita and some dipped in olive oil), and a small cup of black tea (most often loose leaf tea boiled in water, but teabags are becoming more common)
Traditional lunch has some kind of protein, most often from an animal source (lamb, beef or chicken), rice (steamed, plain or with fried vermicelli), and some cooked vegetables in some kind of broth/tomato sauce. This meal is usually the most fatty and filling.
Dinner is either like breakfast or each makes their own sandwich.
When people visit, it's customary to serve tea or turkish coffee and fruits.
Tell us about the eating habits in your country / house.
0
Replies
-
Crabs.
We eat crabs (with lemon-peppered salt). And drink beer.0 -
Thanks for sharing it, I really enjoyed reading it. I'm from Australia .. we don't have any real culture here lol :laugh: I'm from European parents anyway so it's a bit all over the place.0
-
I have heard that about our bread before. A lot of people say it's more like cake than bread. I would have to agree now that I'm "off" store bread and make my own. All my bread recipes have 1-2 tbls of sugar in them to feed the yeast and that feels like a lot, but my bread is nowhere near as sweet as the store bought.
Coffee was a big "cultural" thing that I noticed when I moved from Rhode Island to south Florida. Rhode Island is entirely populated with coffee addicts. Dunkin' Donuts was Mother's Milk to a Rhode Islander when I was growing up there. Coffee was still an "adult drink" in the pre-Starbucks days, but most kids in my neck of the woods started drinking morning coffee by the time they started high school. Before that, they were drinking coffee milk - exactly like chocolate milk but with Eclipse or Autocrat coffee syrup {the cola wars of coffee syrup}. And then there was iced coffee and coffee ice cream with all their variations. You couldn't escape coffee and you consumed mass quantities of it from the moment you get up until dessert.
When I moved to S. Florida in the mid-90s the lack of coffee was a really big culture shock. I was used to a Dunkin's on every block in populated areas {down here it was all 7-11's}. I went into a diner and ordered an iced coffee and the waitress looked at me like I was speaking Klingon before asking if I meant iced water and a coffee. I ended up with a hot coffee that was so weak that I thought it was tea and a glass of ice. They'd never heard of coffee milk or coffee ice cream either. Thankfully I didn't have to wait too long for Starbucks to take over the world and provide me with the level of coffee I was used to, heh. The day I first saw Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream in the freezer section was like coming home.0 -
Thanks for sharing it, I really enjoyed reading it. I'm from Australia .. we don't have any real culture here lol :laugh: I'm from European parents anyway so it's a bit all over the place.
Are you kidding? We have heaps of cultural eating habits! Koala smoothies for breakfast with emu-bacon, kangaroo burgers at lunch and hearty Kookaburra casseroles at dinner. Washed down with at least 12 beers and a box of our finest wine.
Oh and meat pies. We have a lot of meat pies over here.0 -
Meat and Potatos0
-
Oh okay, I'd forgotten about the koala pies
Actually I personally grab from any culture whatever I like most. I guess our Aussie culture (that I grew up with) was the standard meat and 3 veg for dinner and not much else.
I make whatever sounds good. I make pancakes (actually they're probably more appropriately called crepes) for breakfast on the weekends. Or waffles, I have bacon and eggs with them, and maple syrup. And if possible, strawberries that I've sauteed. It's a mish mash of several different cultures right there!
I have found that the food I tend to enjoy the most is simpler than you might think to prepare. I love long slow cooked meat that takes about 5 minutes to throw together and then leave it for hours and hours.
My husband and I are both Australian born from Australian families (although my father is English), and we have different food that we grew up with, and that is quite different to what I tend to make for our family. We'll have the meat and veg dinner once a week or so because I know he likes it, but I usually find other ways to incorporate vegies so that they get eaten.
I'm really just a recipe thief though. I find good recipes, save them into Evernote and then look for inspiration.0 -
We have fried rice or fried noodles for breakfast. That's normal. Or 'lighter' food like banana or shrimp fritters (which are still fried). We're malay Asians so we eat like there's no tomorrow. Nasi Lemak is a common breakfast food in Malaysia - that's rice cooked with coconut oil. We don't just eat the fat-laden rice, we have chicken or beef as side dish, some peanuts, spicy sambal and few slices of cucumber.
For lunch, we have rice. A plate full of rice. With AT LEAST one meat side dish and cooked vegetables. We fry our vegetables too. Basically it's oil frenzy over here.
For dinner, same like lunch. Rice and side dishes. All heavy food.
Sigh.
I'm not Malaysian but I live close to the country. I'm Malay.0 -
I'm in Ireland. I can't speak for the rest of the country but in my family:
- fairly bland food. I don't think I had spicy food other than pepperoni pizza until I was in my late teens
- cereal for breakfast, sandwiches and soup for lunch, and standard dinners such as meat & veg, lasagne, stir fry, spag bol, cottage pie
- on Sundays we have dinner at lunch time and it's usually a large, filling roast dinner consisting of beef/lamb/chicken with roast potatoes and roast veg
- desserts are for special occasions only. If we do have dessert on a normal day it's usually something like rice pudding. Desserts for special days are things like pavlova, cheesecake, chocolate fudge cake
- we do eat a lot of potatoes to be fair... my family would have potatoes in some form with most every meal- chips, mash, boiled, baked, roasted, frried, potatoe waffles, hash browns etc0 -
Well I'm in England, and I can honestly say in my opinion...there is no solid culture here! It's such a muli-cultural country that there's a little bit of everything.
However, when I was growing up I lived off meals such as Sunday roasts (meat, potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, vegetables and gravy) sometimes we had cauliflower cheese etc... Also things like shepherds pie, cottage pie, fish and chips...proper home made meals.
Nowadays, I think everyone eats a mixture of 'English' food, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, European (Polish for example), South African, Caribbean...sooo many different types of food from all over the world even just in the city I live...and I LOVE it! I have to admit, English food is so bland and boring compared to the other cultures here. Apart from fish and chips, Sunday roasts and comfort meals in the winter. Apart from that...I love me some Italian and Indian food! 0 -
I am from Eastern Europe living in the UK now.
For breakfast, we have omlette (egg+onion or egg+sausage or egg+bacon), sometimes with cheese, or sandwich with bread (savory), butter/margarine/cheese spread/pure fat, luncheon/deli, and vegetables, cucumber,tomato,pepper.
Lunch is between 12-2 and that is the biggest event of the day and its hot meal, cooked food. Usually 3 courses, soup is compulsory, then something heavier like pasta with roast chicken, and cake/ice cream.
Dinner is either lighter/heavier depending so there is no pattern here. if you had cold lunch then you have hot dinner and vice versa.
Here in the UK I have hard time finding things i like and polish, romanian shops are my friend if i want home flavours. even though in polish shops i can't read the ingredients or title i buy it anyways
frequent foods (Hungary): beef/pork/chicken, fish rarely. pasta/potato, vegetables (cabbage, lettuce, carrot, broccoli, peas) are common, rice is rare, but improving thanks to chinese and thai who come open restaurants and you get used to it.
Also, no spicy food. even pepperoni is considered spicy there. some people put a piece of spicy pepper in their food but only in theirs so not in the whole pan. you season the food when its on your plate.0 -
I am in Australia but my daughter is currently in America for 6 months.
She did notice that about bread in America, that it is much sweeter than here.
I'm not sure what else is different - I did go on an overseas tour of UK last year, cooked breakfast was included every day, and there were people from USA who thought cooked tomatoes were really strange. Not sure if this was just those individuals or cooked tomatoes are not done there at all.
In New Zealand, I ordered a salad sandwich and, as well as other things, asked for beetroot in it. They thought this was so weird.
Maybe it is just a normal thing in Australia?0 -
I'm Irish, and our eating habits can be a bit stereotypical. We are very big on potatoes (which I am not a massive lover of), and alcohol is a big part of our culture, however I think we're not as bad as we're portrayed on TV. Generally we're very big on meat, vegetables and spuds (potatoes. I'm not sure if they're called that outside of here). Also stews and shepherd's pie.0
-
I'm American. Our culture is taking food other people make, adding fat and sugar and shoveling it in by the pound.
Slightly more seriously I'm in the glorious Pacific Northwest, we have...microbrews...and...um...yeah I think that's pretty much it.Well I'm in England, and I can honestly say in my opinion...there is no solid culture here! It's such a muli-cultural country that there's a little bit of everything.
I have a co-worker who lived in England for a bit, he mentioned the crappy English food to one of his friends there and she objected, then took him to a bunch of food places and had him try the great food they had. He didn't tell her that she hadn't taken him to a single place that serves actual ENGLISH food.
I've heard the joke made that England HAD to found an empire just so they could get decent food.0 -
It's interesting to see how people in different places eat differently. When I first visited the US I had to search very hard for a brand of bread I liked because most varieties tasted "too sweet" to me, which where I come from is almost unheard of, unless it's some kind of sweet roll or fluffy braid. I also remember the American family raising their eyebrows when I made a sandwich that only had some cheese with a whole tomato on the side. This was an eye opener for me.
Where I live, lunch is usually the biggest meal where most of the cooking takes place and it's usually around 4 or 5 pm. Dinner is usually pretty light, since you're already overstuffed after a late lunch.
Sandwiches are rarely more than 2 ingredients plus bread, often just some kind of spread on a piece of bread. Mostly cheese, deli meat with cheese or greek yogurt, greek yogurt with some mint, hummus, hummus and falafel.. etc
Speaking of yogurt and greek yogurt. Even though sweetened and flavored yogurt exists, it's treated like candy. I have yet to see sweetened or flavored greek yogurt, not even vanilla! Yogurt in all its forms is considered a savory food here, usually eaten with certain dishes. Greek yogurt is more of a sandwich spread or a breakfast dip (with olive oil). Always plain, always full fat and always savory.
The traditional breakfast has fried eggs, diced tomatoes and cucumber sticks, deli meat or luncheon, cheese, several dips (all eaten with pita and some dipped in olive oil), and a small cup of black tea (most often loose leaf tea boiled in water, but teabags are becoming more common)
Traditional lunch has some kind of protein, most often from an animal source (lamb, beef or chicken), rice (steamed, plain or with fried vermicelli), and some cooked vegetables in some kind of broth/tomato sauce. This meal is usually the most fatty and filling.
Dinner is either like breakfast or each makes their own sandwich.
When people visit, it's customary to serve tea or turkish coffee and fruits.
Tell us about the eating habits in your country / house.
I guess we come from the same or near countries I am Lebanese 0 -
I'm not sure what else is different - I did go on an overseas tour of UK last year, cooked breakfast was included every day, and there were people from USA who thought cooked tomatoes were really strange. Not sure if this was just those individuals or cooked tomatoes are not done there at all.
Speaking from personal experience I can say it's heard of here, but not terribly common, at least in my area.0 -
Speaking for vegetarian north western India! We are loaded with carbs. Wheat is staple. All meals, which are usually 3. Green veggies but they are cooked so much that they lose nutrition. Legumes and beans too. Fruits are always there to be enjoyed as snacks, but lot of starchy fried stuff too. Tea is a habit. And dairy is must.
Btw I'm really enjoying this thread!0 -
hmm, well I'm in rural Ireland and in my 24 years things have really really changed.
Growing up in the 90's, and with parents who came from farming familys, and surrounded by farms, we were pretty self sufficent. We did, and still do, grown all our own vegetables. Dad would fish during the summer, so we usually had a freezer full of salmon which was kept for special occasions or Sunday lunch.
With both parents working full time we'd usually have one pot dishes for dinners during the week, hot pot, Irish stew, cottage pie etc. With a lot of potatoes. My dad grows mean potatoes.
My mother loved to cook so I guess we were more adventours than some families and I rememeber helping to make curry when I was about 5.
Breakfast for me was Wheetabix and a banana. Dad would have porridge and Mam toast. Lunch was a sandwich or soup. Dad woudl have a second breakfast of a mini Full IRish breakfast.
On the weekends, usually Sunday's we'd have a family fry - tomatoes, field picked mushrooms, beans, black and white pudding, rashers (thick bacon, not like American bacon) and sausages.
TEA - tea everyday, all day, for any reason. I'm a teacher now, and if the staff room doesn't have tea, things get nasty. Coffee was definately not a big thing when I was growing up, it only REALLY took off during the Celtic Tiger boom.
Sunday lunch was a big deal, ususally a roast chicken or lamb roast in our house (mam was allergic to beef) with boiled carrots, potaotes, bread stuffing, homemade gravy (not packet) and some green, depending what was in season.
Things would defo be seasonal, with salads and bbq'd meat being the summer staples (but I do think we were a bit unusual in this..wouldn't be unheard of us to bbq our meat ever day for weeks during the summer)
Again, like was said, desserts were for special occasions - probably why I don't have a huge sweet tooth. From my Granny's generation is was something like a sherry triffle (And she was a pioneer)
When I was younger it was pretty unusual for families in rural Ireland to go abroad for holidays - I have cousins who didn't go abroad until they were well into their late teens..people tended to staycate. We'd always go camping in France so I think we picked up some of their cultural habits - rare steak, foie gras, light breakfasts, long dinners, a penchant for wine
I love hearing about others eating habits, I have friends form Hong Kong, Sundan, Iceland, Russia and America and we always are amazing at what is common for one cultural is surprising to another.0 -
I'm Italian, so I'd generally say we like to eat (a lot) but most of the time it's more about quantity rather than quality. Our choices are not extremely unhealthy, even at celebrations or family gatherings.
Veggies are common, and it's not hard to find them on the table everyday, but carbs are much more common. We have lots of pasta, focaccia bread, and other farinaceous products we consume daily, without actually realizing how high in calories they can be. A smaller portion would be enough (80 gr of pasta or a single piece of bread once a day would already be enough).
Italian people don't really rely on fast foods so much. Unless one's actually unable to cook, we will prefer to cook a simple meal rather than buying pre-cooked meals. There are obviously exceptions, but even then people are most likely going to cook frozen meals instead of buying them from fast foods.
It's very common to eat some snacks at fast foods when you're not home anyway, even though we mostly have pastries or desserts rather than fries and burgers.
Most of the time seasonings, oil and butter are not overused, so out biggest problem comes from farinaceous products and using lots of salt.0 -
I'm from the Netherlands, and eventhough I don't eat your typical dutch food (boiled potatoes, meat and veggies), a lot of foreigners seem to find it really weird that we eat pancakes for dinner? They are somewhat different from the pancakes most of you are used to, somewhere in between the french crepes and american pancakes.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 391.9K Introduce Yourself
- 43.5K Getting Started
- 259.8K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.7K Food and Nutrition
- 47.3K Recipes
- 232.3K Fitness and Exercise
- 399 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.4K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.5K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 152.8K Motivation and Support
- 7.9K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.4K MyFitnessPal Information
- 23 News and Announcements
- 978 Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.4K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions