Food culture: How do you do food?

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

Lenardzw

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2015
425
22
18
#1
As I was having breakfast this morning,(Saturday) I was listening to a program on radio about the smoothie health craze where one blends certain fruit or vegetable items and drinks that as a meal. I remember an ex boss of mine stopped having lunch with us and would drink a blended concoction of celery and a couple of other veggies I cannot remember. It appeared that from the tone of the radio program - I had missed the first 10-15 mins - while most people promoted this "drink your meal concentrate," form of nutrition, some scientists said that they were not convinced that it was not without its issues. For one thing they said that sugars and allergens in certain fruit would be consumed in a more concentrated form.

This discussion got me thinking about our own food culture in my country. Generally most people here prefer a simple meal of a starch food item, some simply prepared vegetables and a meat (For many Africans, "no meat no eat" is a widely held mindset). A healthy balanced diet is not really on the minds of the vast majority of people and smoothies would certainly not catch on as healthy and fast alternative. I suppose that in poor communities having a regular meal is the top priority.

Culturally the evening mealtime is one where the entire family can get together and eat, but in most families the children eat separately from the parents. The father and any other men of the household get to be served first - a cultural practice that I strongly detest. Then the women serve themselves and the children. This is not exactly how I was raised. My parents made sure we ate together and we were served first. However when visiting some of our more tradition relatives this was not the case. My brother and I would find ourselves herded like sheep into a kitchen with other children and two bowls of food were set before us. One had a maize (corn) meal based staple called "sadza" and the other had a mixture of green leafy vegetables, like cabbage or something else with some bits of beef in there....somewhere.:( We all ate from the same two bowls. We would have to wash hands thoroughly and sit down to a meal with these other kids (we were about 7 and 8 at the time) and soon realized that we had to be quick or we'll end up hungry. With a limited among of meat in the other bowl it became a race.

This practice is not as common now as it was back then, but its still the way food is done in rural areas which still hold more than half the population. Breakfast is not regarded as the most important meal in these households. So many people just get up, have some tea and head off to work,taking the time to find something to snack on at 10am on their short tea break.

I suppose what I can observe from our own food practices (the ones generally held by most of our population) are:


  • Children ate separately from Adults and men were always served first. This usually meant that men usually had the best portions of meat etc... because "they were the ones who were working."
  • Young children ate together from the same dish (usually away for the adults - and definitely away from the man/men) so the dinnertime interaction was lost.
  • Young children eating together was supposed to be a lesson in sharing, mutual respect and consideration. Quite often this was not the case. The older children pulled rank once mom walked away. Yet as siblings they tended to remain close as they grew up.
  • "There is no hurry in Africa" is a maxim that can easily be applied to mealtimes. So the convenience of quick meals like minute noodles and microwave dinners (which are available) are not really sought after. Perhaps this is because life is not as frantically paced as many other countries in the West.
  • A slightly overweight person is considered "healthy" - This actually means "well fed" which is seen as an indicator of a life where ones needs are being met and they are not overly stressed. This of course, is a myth.
  • "Healthy eating" and a more holistic approach to the place of food in our lives has simply not caught on.
So I'm wondering: How do you do food? It would be interesting to hear about your own cultural peculiarities around food, where you live.

Do you have a staple?

How important are mealtimes?

Would the liquid food craze work for you?

Any cultural practices/ traditions that you follow.

It doesn't have to be detailed. I think I kind of got carried away, because now I'm thinking of lunch.:rolleyes:
 

Demi777

Senior Member
Oct 13, 2014
6,877
1,949
113
Germany
#2
well the schnitzel.. breaded pork or turkey meat sometimes comes with different gravies..with that french fried, butter potatoes or any other form of potatoe lol.
here in germany steaks come with something we would call ''herb butter" which is exacly what it says it is..butter wih bunches of herbs.. and of course onions come too.
I did some smoothie diet and it helped a lot and did a lot all in all. I can only advise it to anyone.

:p me and cultural stuff..bbq...potatoes..tea.. too much to write lol
 

WineRose

Senior Member
Jan 3, 2017
3,631
265
83
Row A, Column 9
#3
Me?

Well, I am a Singaporean. That's all I have to say. I eat TONS of my local food, like chicken rice, fishball soup and fish cake. Man, I love the fish cake here.

I'm also very fond of Japanese food, especially inari sushi and pork broth ramen. Mmm...

Oh and I juice sometimes for dinner. It's a great way to lose weight!
 

JosephsDreams

Senior Member
Dec 31, 2015
4,313
467
83
#4
"So I'm wondering: How do you do food? It would be interesting to hear about your own cultural peculiarities around food, where you live."

"Do you have a staple?"

I am the opposite of the No meat No eat maxim. Serve meat, won't eat is me. I would say a staple for me is fruits and veggies.

"How important are mealtimes?"

The mealtime is important. Due to the social and spiritual, and physical significance. Truth be told, on a daily basis, food is the most intimate relationship you have wit your body. There is a symbolic connection from the inner earth, the soil and finally what you put into your body. God designed the earth to sustain us, allow us to multiply, in his image. Therefore when you eat of the soil, you are honoring Gods original plan for us. You absorb food. You assimilate it. Food becomes you. From dust to dust.
Praying over your food is more then just a ritual.


"Would the liquid food craze work for you?"

Yes. I have done it.

"Any cultural practices/ traditions that you follow."

Not really. I do the obvious things most people do from most areas of the world.
 
G

GODisLOVE7

Guest
#5
Food? Did someone say food? I'll share some of my favourites!

Pannenkoeken:




Stamppot:



Stroopwafel:



Burger:



Meat, cheese, and octopus:



And of course, latte with bunny on it!



No idea why my pics are so BIG! Sorry!
 
M

Miri

Guest
#6
Cheese and octopus, that's quite a combination. Lol
 
G

GODisLOVE7

Guest
#7
Cheese and octopus, that's quite a combination. Lol
That was in Spain... Yeah, the Spanish do it a bit differently!
 

Lenardzw

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2015
425
22
18
#8
Food? Did someone say food? I'll share some of my favourites!

Pannenkoeken:


Stamppot:


Stroopwafel:


Burger:


Meat, cheese, and octopus:


And of course, latte with bunny on it!

They look really tasty! I have a cousin who has lived in the Netherlands since he was seven. Today he is a chef somewhere in Amsterdam. I should have made him cook when he came down on holiday with his family last year! I knew I had forgotten to ask him something when they were here![Lenardzw slaps himself in frustration]

No idea why my pics are so BIG! Sorry!
Could it be because the servings were pretty large?:rolleyes:
 
G

GODisLOVE7

Guest
#9
They look really tasty! I have a cousin who has lived in the Netherlands since he was seven. Today he is a chef somewhere in Amsterdam. I should have made him cook when he came down on holiday with his family last year! I knew I had forgotten to ask him something when they were here![Lenardzw slaps himself in frustration]



Could it be because the servings were pretty large?:rolleyes:
Oh sooo cool!

Do you know which restaurant?

And yes, Im little but eat lots!
 
M

Miri

Guest
#11
I'm enjoying various herbal and fruit teas at the moment.

Ive just found a new brand and my favourites are orange/chocolate and
Vanilla/Pineapple

Charbrew


Meat wise I don't eat much red meat, mostly my protein is from fish, chicken,
nuts, love peanut butter, the occasional burger.


Im addicted to green olives! I could eat them forever!

Absolutely love smoked salmon but my bank account doesn't. Lol
 

Lenardzw

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2015
425
22
18
#12
I'm enjoying various herbal and fruit teas at the moment.

Ive just found a new brand and my favourites are orange/chocolate and
Vanilla/Pineapple

Charbrew


Meat wise I don't eat much red meat, mostly my protein is from fish, chicken,
nuts, love peanut butter, the occasional burger.


Im addicted to green olives! I could eat them forever!

Absolutely love smoked salmon but my bank account doesn't. Lol
I've cut down on meat. I love olives - green or black. Whenever I buy some for a salad its an achievement for them if they all make it to the salad bowl.
 

88

Senior Member
Nov 14, 2016
3,517
77
48
#13
Just throw some bacon on it---what---I'm at the wrong salad bar...?
 
Dec 28, 2016
9,171
2,718
113
#14
Man I wish they had a place around here that made and served dim sum!!!!! :)
 

Desertsrose

Senior Member
Oct 24, 2016
2,824
207
63
#15
Hi Lenardzw,

For health reasons I do the green smoothie every day. In one serving there's a small banana, about not even 1/4 cup of strawberries, blueberries and pomegranate arils. About 1/2-1 Tablespoon of flax or chia seeds. 1/3 cup soy milk and water and a little stevia powder. For the greens in it I usually add quite a bit of collards or kale. Sometimes spinach or romaine.

Culturally we eat mostly Mexican food. We love our cultural foods.......yummy! There's a question always asked as a kind of joke. Red or green?

Growing up we baked everything. My husbands culture growing up was to fry everything. I cook so I don't fry that much. If we want fried, we can go out to eat. I try not to for health reasons, because I love fried foods just as much as anyone else. Sometimes I have fried some things like egg rolls from scratch. Yummy!

According to your definition my husband is very healthy - I am not. :) And I'm not, that's why I do eat more healthfully.

Mealtimes are very important to us.......it's a matter of life or death! :)
 
G

GODisLOVE7

Guest
#16
Just throw some bacon on it---what---I'm at the wrong salad bar...?
Sounds like you are actually at the right salad bar! Lol
 
Feb 28, 2016
11,311
2,972
113
#17
healthy eating is as healthy eating/live/DOES - oh, how the world loves to TALK about eating 'HABITS'...
it seems to go on and on, like a steam-engine, - everyone desiring to 'out-do' their compatriots...it's yet
another sadness..and let us not forget, 'weight-watchers', and get even more Entertainment/self-satisfaction...

our Best Friend has given us all that we will ever need to live a life of Health and Well-being.
if only we could have been instilled with the 'Biblical-God-given-Ways' in our youth, for many of our parents
were taught/shown how to 'self-help-and-use-natural-healing-ways from their fore-fathers Bible-given-ways'...

hubby and I are on the tail-end of a generation that were taught to eat and heal themselves -
with God's Nature Remedies...it's funny in a way that when we both do need to find a remedy for an ailment
that we just naturally go back to what we were taught/comfortable with as children, plus, more importantly,
we trust in the Old Biblical Ways that have been used for Thousands of Years...
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
55,247
25,717
113
#18
Burger:



No idea why my pics are so BIG! Sorry!
How did your head get put on backwards in that photo? :eek: j/k! Your image files are not sized for posting on message boards. You can always use an editing program to shrink them; even paint will do, though I prefer the free online editor called pixlr :) I like images to be between 500 and six hundred pixels wide for this forum. If they are larger than that they will simply take up the maximum amount of space allowed by the board, according to each person's monitor size, until the image reaches its maximum width parameter.
 
G

GODisLOVE7

Guest
#20
How did your head get put on backwards in that photo? :eek: j/k! Your image files are not sized for posting on message boards. You can always use an editing program to shrink them; even paint will do, though I prefer the free online editor called pixlr :) I like images to be between 500 and six hundred pixels wide for this forum. If they are larger than that they will simply take up the maximum amount of space allowed by the board, according to each person's monitor size, until the image reaches its maximum width parameter.
My head on backwards? Lol. I don't get it. I'm looking at something... It was at the Noite Branca (White Night) Festival in Braga.

Must be another blonde moment. I seem to be accumulating those... Lol.