This summer I was very busy with work and many other things, therefore what I ate each day varied. I have always been the type of person who does not keep up with what I have eaten or if I even ate at all.
For breakfast, I would usually just grab a banana, apple, or granola bar and head out. Lunch was the same for June, and different through July and August. I also had days where I got a chance to get a snack such as watermelon, ice cream, snow cones, and pastries from the bakery. For dinner, I never had a set routine due to the fact that home cooked dinners with my family are rare.
From June to July, I spent my summer working as a tutor/mentor at summer school and at the Boys and Girls Club in another town close by. During June, I spent most of my time at the school and I was given the option to have the free school lunch provided to the students. I took advantage of most of the lunches considering they were free and I did not have to go out my way to go pick up food elsewhere.
School lunches consisted of the main entrée (popcorn chicken, hamburger, soft tacos, etc.) a side (corn, green beans, carrots, etc.), fruit and/or salad, and milk. The portioning of the lunches were pretty small for myself, but perfect for the kindergarten children I was tutoring. There were days when they would have enough to offer us a little more, but that was not often. The children were often given a snack during the afternoon such as animal crackers, Rice Krispy, cookies, and a juice. When there were leftovers, I would have a snack in the afternoon as well.
When I would I eat the food at the school, I could only remember some of the food I was served as a child in elementary and remember getting many more choices and slightly bigger portions. It seems to me that portions have gone down and considering it was just summer school, they were not given many options.
During July when summer school was over, I was required to go to the Boys and Girls club, where the school also provided lunch. I would usually pick up food from town instead though. It was definitely not a healthier option but most of my lunches consisted of Whataburger, Kountry Bakery, Subway, McDonald’s, and sandwiches from a local café.
During the month of July and August, I also worked at the Dairy Queen in my town. I worked nothing but afternoon shifts, therefore I also ate something different daily. During most of my breaks, my aunt would invite me over for dinner to have some of her Mexican dishes, which are very hard to say no to. If I did not go to her house, I would usually skip dinner and eat something small at home when I got back or sometimes get something to eat from Dairy Queen. When I got home I would typically just make a sandwich or eat cereal. I tried to not order food from Dairy Queen often but when I did I would usually get some steak fingers, chicken strips, or a chicken salad.
My aunt makes some bomb Mexican food, such as tacos, enchiladas, tamales, caldo de res (beef soup), pozole, and much more. Although it may seem impossible to eat somewhat healthy when eating Mexican food, she usually tries to throw in a salad with the meal. At all of her meals, you will be able to find some type of salsa, which I sadly cannot handle, and corn tortillas if they are not already included in the dish.
To drink, she usually has some type of flavored water or coke, of course. When I would go, I would pass on the coke because I am not a big fan of it and would drink whatever water she had.
Family dinners are not very big in my family, considering we all have very different schedules, therefore the only time my mother really cooks for everyone is on the weekends and maybe once or twice during the week. My mother cooks different types of food such as pastas, tacos, pork chops, and much more. There is always some type of side as well such as mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, or whatever goes with the main dish. My family loves to have bar-b-ques on the weekends in which we make fajitas, ribs, burgers, corn, potatoes, and much more.
Living in an extremely small town, means we have very little food options compared to living in bigger cities. For example, in order for us to get to the nearest H-E-B, we have to drive at least 30 minutes just for groceries. Other than that, we have a Dollar General and a small supermarket, which is over-priced and often has poor food quality. Therefore, we go grocery shopping maybe once every two weeks stock up, and make it last till we are able to go again.
Aside from my weekday eating habits, when I was not with family on the weekends I would usually hang out with friends and we would go to either Austin or Katy. When I go out with friends, we usually eat out at a restaurant such as Chili’s, Texas Roadhouse, I-HOP or Pluckers. Sometimes when we are in a hurry or have late night cravings, we go to Whataburger to pick up a honey butter chicken biscuit. Eating out is very rare on the weekdays back home because we have very few options which include McDonalds, Dairy Queen, Subway, and small local restaurants.
Coming to Angers, I have noticed many differences in different things such as: markets on Saturdays, fresh bread, fruit, and vegetables in the stores, not many fast food places, and lots and lots of boulangeries.
At grocery stores, such as Monoprix or Carrefour, I have noticed that everything you buy is in smaller portions. I feel like it is impossible to stack up on food like we would back home at Sam’s or Costco. I have also noticed that the meat sections in grocery stores here are also very small and more expensive than back home. Fruit and vegetables are about the same price, but you can get better deals at the market on Saturday!
The restaurant atmosphere in France is very different than back home. If you sit down to eat somewhere, you can choose to start off with an appetizer, main dish (usually with salad), and dessert. Meal portioning is much smaller here and they also take slightly longer, because the French tend to take make meals a time to socialize. Living in a residence hall, I try to make more food than eating out. I am not the best cook so I try to stick with what I know best such as chicken, fish, sandwiches, tuna, and pasta. So far when I have eaten out during the week, I pick up something quick such as a sandwhich, quiche, or Panini. I also fall into temptation with the different pastries at times so I grab a pan au chocolat or macaroons.
While I am in France and traveling to nearby countries, I would like to see what types of different foods are most marketed and sold and how it affects the diet of people. Aside from noticing the popular foods, I would also like to see how they are incorporated into meals at restaurants and the advantages and disadvantages to eating the food.