Journal

It has been a while since I've last written anything, and this is for several reasons. Aside from life being exceptionally busy this time of year, I've been doing mostly lots of reading on the sources, and feel as thought I might take this book in a different direction. Maybe instead of subjecting people to a recipe, I can provide tips and pieces of advice that would help and enourage people to each healthier. Nobody likes being told what to do, and cooking is much more fun for everybody if there's room to tweak it yourself. Perhaps substitutions and ways of living that would be easier, rather than a protocol. That said, where do I begin?! this might be more difficult than my original plan.
 * 4/22/12**

Just popping in to write a quick observation that was written down but I forgot to type. As some may know, I am a waitress at a restaurant, and aside from noticing the food others order constantly, it has made me more aware of what I chose to ingest. I've become very health-conscious since the beginning of this project, which I'm hoping will last, especially through next year when I'll be cooking for myself. I was getting some ice-tea, unsweetened and realized that it definitely needed some sugar. Sugar added. A few sips later, I think "holy- this could use even more sugar" and then added some more. Is this the iced-tea, me, or society? Was it really extremely bitter, or has my need for sweeter things gone up? A higher tolerance, perhaps. I'm not much of a sweet-tooth to begin with, but I keep thinking that people did not always have the option of adding sugar (as is, I'm incapable of eating modern candy, I feel like i'm suffocating under a mountain of sugar). When did this begin? My sources will hopefully provide an answer.
 * 4/10/12**

Officially out of school, and now the field work begins! I'm kind of nervous about my time management throughout this, I don't want not being in school to get to my head. Opening the fridge though, I spotted broccoli that will soon go bad and a defrosting fish, so let the games begin!
 * 4/2/12**

Went out to grab some coffee with friends today, and in the restaurant we witnessed a mother taking a group of children out to Starbucks. Several thoughts went through my head: a) Why are children drinking coffee, are you crazy? (b) How can you afford this? You're paying for 8 huge drinks... and (c) How can you support children drinking 30 oz. of sugar and coffee? Starting kids on this sort of diet at a young age gives them the idea that portions like these are normal and healthy, and that they should not be conscious of what is in them. If you let your child drink it, tell them that with these pleasures come responsibilities, such as working out. Get the idea in their head at a young age; keep balance. It is also this sort of development that has caused for the evolution of the junkfood industry, where candy is made of increasingly more and more artificial ingredients to make them sweeter. I can't even enjoy candy anymore, since all of the lolipops and Starbursts are too sweet for my taste, and I can hardly imagine what my grandfather must think! This also jarringly quickly reminded me of the Pixar animation "Walle" where people became obese without even noticing any change. I feel this is where America is headed, especially after having worked that evening, and served a 13 year-old boy a four scoop dish of ice cream, with fudge, caramel, whipped cream and chocolate bits (I know it sounds delicious) for him to finish alone. His mother said nothing. We must be more aware of the direction we're headed.
 * 3/30/12**

This is the last night of our trip, and despite hour hopes, the meals have not changed so much. Not to be misunderstood, many of the dishes are delicious. Despite the little variation the family allows itself because of finances, they find a way to make each dish unique, between playing with the spices with the rice, in changing the texture of the beans completely. They also serve chicken more frequently than we experienced (which I feel better eating than that served in the US). One of our housemates is a vegetarian, which is amusingly (to us, obviously) a foreign concept to them. Here, what you're served is what you eat. There is no being picky. Furthermore, each meal is eaten in the kitchen, and the plates are prepared seperate from the serving plate. Although there were times where I was craving "just a few more beans" I definitely understood their need for portion control. This is definitely an aspect of their dining which can be transferred to city homes, reducing temptation and eating what you have (see if you're not full after a few minutes, and then get more food). I have to say today was our before-last breakfast, where we were hoping for something a tad better than fruit. We have once been served pancakes. I don't think I've appreciated anything down here more than that, except for maybe running water. One of the housemates dared raise our hopes for getting something filling and sweet for breakfast. Alas, our hopes were crushed when we were served not fruit, not pancakes, but a plate of beans. Not even rice and beans, simply beans. Crushing. What I can take away from this to use in my cookbook is definitely the inclusion of more rice and/or beans in more of my dishes, since they do allow room for variation, and they are just delicious (is spiced correctly)! On a side note, while down here, I picked up a spice that is highly recommended: a salty, limey, peppery combination which is good on potatoes and eggs. Let's try it out! We have now been in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua for about a week, and the dietary changes that come from being in America to a poor country are immediately noticeable. On our three hour drive down we took a pit stop to grab a snack, and aside from the price difference (so cheap!) their junkfood selection is pretty basic, since many of the American brands are imported. What they do have, however, is a lot of variations of plantains. Like potato chips are incredibly cheap here since the potato agriculture is so cheap, so is the plantain market down in central America. Needless to say, their junkfood is also addictingly delicious. All the warnings for our diet were well received, since there really hasn't been much variation between the regular plate of rice, bean, and plantain combination. Occasionally we'll get some strange form of zucchini, and it's really a big day when there's meat. Also, the breakfast plate is disappointingly under-nutritious with a regular selection of fruit; them being watermelon, bananas, and pineapple (which I'm mildly allergic to). There is hardly anything filling about this "most important meal" rather than a hint of potassium and sugar. The three other girls and I are keeping hope alive.
 * 3/19/12**
 * 3/12/12**

As the religious routine of making dinner each night for my family continues (lucky them) I've made an interesting note on sauce-making. I'm sure we all know that a normally simple dish can be embellished with a delicious marinade or sauce to make it unusual. last night I was making a regular batch of tortellini when I decided a creamy pesto sauce sounded just like the right thing! Figuring out how to make a tasty sauce that goes with the rest of the meal is a challenge in itself, but can be made simpler if you know how to start! The base for a creamy sauce can be made from flour, water and butter. //**However,**// if you want to cut down the amount of product you use by half, you might want to use some corn starch. Nutritiously, it is just as good as flour, but requires have the portion.
 * 2/16/12**

And so it begins! Today was my first meeting with Mr. Anderson, and I am very excited to have him as my reader. Both of us being new to the SYP process, I think it will truly be a learning process. He seems as excited about my project as I am, which is very reassuring, and spared not a moment, as we quickly jumped into brainstorming. We've established that since this is such a broad topic, it is virtually impossibly to focus solely on one idea, nonetheless have it be a traditional research process that we've learned in school, like notecards. Not only does the project itself require a lot of field work, but so does the research. I will have to interview students and families as to their ideal food costs and time per meal, and possibly sit in a fast-food restaurant and record the average of how much I see people spending on their meal. Him being a physics teacher, he might also be able to contribute some ideas as to the science of food combinations and why certain variations taste better than others, so neat-o!
 * 1/2/12**

Questions I have:


 * How much money to families spend on fastfood?
 * How many meals a day are consumed in fast food restaurants?
 * How much time do people want to spend on cooking?
 * What do people consider healthy food?
 * How much money do people save by making lunch instead of buying it?
 * How do we choose to buy healthy food by not getting convinced by the appealing price tag?