What is a "normal" eating and metabolism?

[Georgiana]

Originally Posted by not2late

I think this generation of children have another thing working against them. I don't know how it is in Europe, but here in the US, if you walk down the baby aisle in the grocery store, you see the usual jars of strained/pureed baby food. But in the last several years, there are also "toddler food" choices---chicken nuggets, pizza-like things, etc. I remember when my younger sister was a toddler: she was eating the same stuff I was eating, which was the same food mom prepared for herself, dad and my elder sister. Only her food was cut into smaller pieces.

It was the same in my family. When my brother was little, he always ate whatever my parents and I were eating.

I was looking at some baby food a few weeks ago (just curious ). Let's say we ignore the fact that many brands contain ingredients that no one should eat regardless of their age.... but why is that stuff so pricey? I mean, armed with a blender (even a mashing fork would do), I could feed triplets for that money using local, fresh produce. Is there something I miss? Does this food have some magic ingredients/properties I fail to see?

I haven't seen chicken nuggets or pizza for toddlers around here. But, , a toddler doesn't really cry, "Mommy, I want chicken nuggets with ketchup for dinner tonight!" This reminds me of the "Kids Camp Song" that starts the movie "Super Size Me". I think more of these are needed: .

The song is here (YouTube link): "Kids Camp Song".

And I have young relatives who " have" to eat processed foods, like chicken nuggets, because they don't like real food. Every year at Thanksgiving, while the extended family is gobbling down turkey and all the trimmings, these children are eating their chicken nuggets or heat and eat pizza snacks, etc. Same thing during the summer at family picnics---they won't eat "real" food. Even the hamburgers---won't eat the ones cooked on the grill. So they bring their bag of McDonald's or Burger King.

When my brother and I were little, we ate whatever my mom cooked. Sure, both of us had things we didn't like, like celery and parsley (me) or garlic and kohlrabi (my brother), but there were enough vegetables and meats (plus different ways to prepare them!) that both of us liked. And eating out was never something my brother and I were asking for --- we were fine with whatever mom was giving us to eat, as long as it didn't have those foods we didn't like (I am here with mom now and she is telling me to add that, "You still ate those foods you thought you didn't like, you just didn't know they were there!" WHAAAAT?!?!?! ). I am feeling like an old lady saying this, but I believe that if a parent really wants to give his/her child healthy food, he/she can and will do it even if the child insists he doesn't like any "real" food.

[not2late]

Originally Posted by sallyseachange

Megs... how very sad that cooking is seen as something menial in the USA. I think it will change though.

With the economy being the way it is, it's forced some people to ......(the horror!) eat meals at home!

Here in Italy, cooking has always been seen as something creative and enjoyable... an activity everyone can get involved in. Men cook here, and cook very well (though they always like to have women clear up!!). If Italians have a dinner party, more often than not, half the cooking goes on when the guests are already present and everyone chats about the dos and don'ts of the various dishes.

That happens at dinner parties---if and only if the guests are family or really close friends. Otherwise, the tendency is to spend time as little time in the kitchen during dinner parties and all the time with the guests. So you eat alot of prepared "take out" food in those instances. Most of the supermarkets in my area will let you order a platter of something (sandwiches, veggies, fruits, cheese, etc.) that you can pick up at the store, bring it home, unwrap it and put it on the serving table. And some of the little mom-and-pop restaurants here will even cater a party or you can order an amount enough for your guest and just unwrap and serve.

In the UK, cooking was pretty much the realm of the housewife... now, it seems to me that it's picked up and become very fashionable.... for men too, which is good. If nothing else, we have Jamie Oliver to thank for making cookery an activity that men can indulge in with no shame!

I like the UK cooking shows we sometimes get here in the US. I loved the Fat Ladies...eventhough when I watched them I was such a low-fat zombie it made me cringe to see them advocating and using "unhealthy" things like real butter, real cream and real food.

[not2late]

Ziggy, you are correct that we don't eat seasonally anymore and that some foods have been modified to be higher carb than the heirloom varieties. And that's a shame.

[sallyseachange]

Originally Posted by not2late

...I like the UK cooking shows we sometimes get here in the US. I loved the Fat Ladies...eventhough when I watched them I was such a low-fat zombie it made me cringe to see them advocating and using "unhealthy" things like real butter, real cream and real food.

Oh those Two Fat Ladies were a scream! I adored them. One of them died sadly, so the show ended.

The other UK one I like is Rick Stein... particularly the "Food Heroes" one, where he travels around the UK discovering all the smaller producers of local produce.

[not2late]

They used to show a Rick Stein series about seafood. He had a little dog named Chalky, I think. It was a cute show too. and when I was a kid, they used to show something called "Floyd on Food".

[sallyseachange]

Originally Posted by not2late

They used to show a Rick Stein series about seafood. He had a little dog named Chalky, I think. It was a cute show too. and when I was a kid, they used to show something called "Floyd on Food".

Yes, that's right, Chalky!
Floyd was one of the forerunners of these cookery shows, along with Graham Kerr (The Galloping Gourmet) even before him.

(sorry for the mini-hijack)

[not2late]

Here's an interesting article. It goes back to the original question of what is a normal metabolism and normal eating.

Ezra Klein - Is Technology a Friend or Foe to Food?

If "normal" eating includes higher calories and higher processed foods, then a "normal" metabolism should be able to handle it no problem. But if that's true, why the current problem of obesity?

[Georgiana]

The major differences in caloric intake aren't due to larger meals. (In fact, there's some evidence that we're eating less at dinner than we used to.) The problem is we're taking in more calories between meals, a direct consequence of technological innovation spurring the production of calorie-dense, long-lasting, shelf-stable foods. In 1977, Americans reported eating about 186 calories between meals. By 1994, that had rocketed to 346 calories. That difference alone is enough to explain the changes in our national waistline.

Not only are the snacks more calorie-dense, but many of us eat in front of the TV or the computer, and then healthy snacking transforms in mindless eating even when the foods we are snacking on are essentially healthy.

You can easily imagine a diet that takes place entirely in the kitchen, de-emphasizes snacking and doesn't involve much more time: Things are reheated, vegetables are precut, sauces are premade, cans of chicken broth are frequently opened and Uncle Ben's rice is a constant companion.

It's not the most delicious future imaginable, but it is one in which people are back in the kitchen, playing a direct role in the construction of their meals and getting comfortable with cookware. Making Hamburger Helper is a lot closer to cooking than going to McDonald's. And the more demand there is for technologies that make cooking more accessible and less time-consuming, the more technologies there will be to do just that.

I think technology is great --- blenders allow us to make a soup in 5 minutes, things can be cooked in the microwave, etc. --- when used the right way. But, I've said this before, spending some time in the kitchen and cooking things actually helps me eat healthier and eat less. On average, people spend 3 hours per day watching TV. Even cooking during the commercial breaks would be enough to prepare the meals for the day; as you (Megs) said a while ago, it's not like one has to stay near the stove while the food is cooking.

I'm not sure what Uncle Ben's rice is, but I'm not too happy about canned chicken broth (in Germany it has a bunch of crap added to it) or premade sauces (the store-bought kind). After all, it takes 2 minutes to make a sauce, and making a chicken broth does not take a lot of time either (excluding the "waiting time" for things to cook).

Megs, you were talking not long ago about poor self-image and why many people fail on Atkins. I believe spending some time to cook healthy, nutritious meals is just part of showing yourself you are worthy of that meal, and not of some empty, processed and/or easy-to-get calories. Too many of us eat to make our brain happy, but don't give a damn about our bodies.

Off topic: I really want to see that movie ("Julia and Julie") at the cinema. I hope they'll screen it in English.

[not2late]

I think technology is great too. I can't imagine building a fire and keeping it going just to boil water or make dinner---every single day. And I try to minimize the time spent baby-sitting something on the stove. I think I posted it here a few months ago that I read a recipe for "no-knead" bread on line. Basically, you mix the flour, water and yeast together in a bowl, cover it and allow to sit overnight, then bake it in the morning. One of the blog comments was something like "this recipe takes 12 to 18 hours to make. Who has that time?" Another blogger responded that it isn't like you have to sit there next to the bread for 12-18 hours and watch it rise.

Uncle Ben's is a par-boiled rice. So you don't have to cook it as long as regular rice and it's not sticky.

I think the added benefit to cooking your own food is that you get filled up with the aroma of the cooking. There are times when after I cook something, I don't feel very hungry for it. Not because it isn't any good, but because I'm filled up with the aroma.

[liv]

I think many working families with small children have a very short window to prepare foods. Between work, school, activities there is not much time. I have been there done that. I think one of the things I have since learned is that cooking real food need not be such a time consuming effort. There are things one can do that is wholesome yet fast. The manufactured food industry is really trying to and has been successful exploiting the time crunch for modern families. What is needed is for people to rediscover how easy real foods CAN be