Respose to Pollan

I agree with Pollan's argument about our food culture. We are a counntry made of many different cultures and you can see this through the different variety of foods present. Many people don't even know what to eat anymore because they are being told what is good or bad for them. We seem to care so much about appearances, and always trying to follow and abide by this on going idea of perfection and what one has to do to become it. People are so concerend with what others will think of them that they listen to people's advice to tell them how, what, and when they should eat, such people as nutritionists. My family hasn't really paid attention to eating healthy at all. It's not a concern to people in Poland (and those who grew up there) Polish people tend to choose taste over healthiness. All the meals are pretty heavy and as long as they taste good that's all there is to talk about. These days my mom has been trying to lose weight for a while now because for some reason everyone in my family is on a diet now so she feels like she had to go on one as well to fit in. But I have noticed she doesn't really change her style of eating or what she eats. She still eats the traditonal Polish meals..maybe smaller portions of them but still the same food. It's hard to give up since it's what she had grown up eating her whole life. I would say it's pretty hard changing eating patterns.
I don't think experts are always right about what they're opinion of what's healthy and what's not is. I feel like everyone is different, everyone's bodies are different they're metabolizms are different etc. I think people themselves know whats good for them and whats not, it's just up to them whether they want to eat it or not. Not everyone thinks about how it will effect they're bodies and some peope think about it too much. I think people who are athletic can eat whatever they feel will satisfy them. They need the engery to be able to move. I know that at lunch I would prefer eating a larger meal one that will fill me up because in the afternoon I'll need that food to keep me going through a 90 min soccer game.

Food

Typically my mother is the one who does the grocery shopping in the family. I am usually the one that goes with her because when she goes she gets too much for her to carry on her own. the foods that we eat require many different ingredients so we must always have everything at the house even if we dont plan on useing it at the time. When we first come into the grocery store we always go straight to the vegatables/ fruit section because thats whats always in front of us as soon as we walk in. My mother will get 6 out of lets say 10 of the vegtables present. Everyone in my family enjoys eating fruits on a daily basis so we tend to run out alot. Vegatables are a nessesity in the soups that my mom makes. She will take several different vegatbles and combine them together to produce a final flavor. I would say mostly all of the foods that I eat at home are healthy..but they aren't really made healthy. Polish food consists of large heavy filling meals. Usually there is always soup before the actual dinner. So when your done eating everything your pretty full and don't really want to eat anything after that. The meal itself is usually a certain type of meat, whether its chicken, beef, pork, etc. Then with that there's ALWAYS pototoes..usually mashed or baked with either cabbage or a side salad or sautyed vegatables. So your getting alot of protein and vitamins...but in a not so healthy way because they calories add up. It's not really just how my family eats its how all polish people eat. All mothers were raised to pretty much cook the same meals so then after time when the daughters get old enough the mothers or grandmothers teach them to cook and the recipes are just passed on through generations. I've been taught to eat all kinds of foods. I didn't really experiment eating other foods until I was about 13 years old. There was always the take out chinese or pizza...but as to going out to dinner to get real spanish food or ethnic food..it was never really an option. My parents fed me everything when I was little thats why i think I have gotten used to the foods and I don't really fuss about not liking something because I have developed to liking many things as I got older.

May Day

May Day occurs on May 1 and refers to several public holidays. In many countries, May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labour Day, a day of political demonstrations and celebrations organised by the unions and socialist groups.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day
I think may day should be acknowelded as a holiday in the United States. If it was and is a holiday celebrated by people in different parts of the world it must be signifiant to people. People work they're whole lives so I think it would be nice to celebrate it. May Day is a holiday celebrating the struggles and achievements of the working class. May Day has become an international celebration of the social and economic achievements of the labour movement. Although May Day received its inspiration from the United States,(which is why it should be celebrating here) the U.S. Congress designated May 1 as "Loyalty Day" in 1958 due to the day's perceived appropriation by the Soviet Union. Alternatively Labor Day takes place on the first Monday in September in the United States.MayDay has kind of been neglected and forgotten by our country, and celebrated around us as a day for those whom work hard to keep a country working. May Day is a historic day and it should be aknowledged rather than been replaced by labor day.

Food Diary

Within the 24 hrs i have eaten a sandwitch with cheese, ham lettuce, tomato, on a roll. I made it myself when I got home from my soccer game. I had water with my sandwitch, and 3 cookies. I sat in the kitchen at the table and watched tv at the same time. I felt satisfied because I was exhausted after the game and it gave me the energy back. The next day I had nothing for breakfast, and for lunch I had spanish food (dominican chicken with black beans and yellow rice) I went to lunch with my close friends so iI enjoyed the company, and since there was no available seats we took the food back to school and ate upstairs. I had iced tea with the meal and everyone was conversating the whole time. Later that night, for dinner my father had make grilled chicken with mixed spices and salad so it was pretty good. I felt healthy eating it as well so i didn't feel as gulity eating it as usual. I ate dinner with my brother and sister at the table watching tv and conversating at the same time.