Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's wrong with spaghetti and meatballs? We cook a lot of Indian, but spaghetti and meatballs are much healthier.

And this is why Americans are obese...

The problem with America js portion sjze and sugar.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He was saying how growing up his mom fed them dinners or lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, Olive Garden, Applebee’s etc

After after school he’d grab lunch at MCDs drive through.

I’m Indian...we had whole foods type meals 3 times a day. Our mom would make food from
Scratch every day. Chicken curries, spinach curries, whole wheat bread, fresh fruit, salads etc

Is his experience with food the American norm?

How did people actually live till old age in America with a diet like that?

We are a nation of 400million people from various backgrounds...even the white people. Yes, shocking.

I can only speak from my perspective. My parents were, and still are old hippies. I grew up vegetarian. Everything was home cooked. Lots of tofu, nutritional yeast, oat bran, lentils, granola, nuts, and loads of vegetables.

I now eat fish, chicken, and some pork.

Pp here...boring white family of German and English descent. Lasagna wasn't in our vocabulary, and we cooked everything (lean meats, veggies, etc) by boiling or baking which is boring but actually healthy. And eating our regularly or daily fast food was a no no (were too thrifty and practical).

Food that is served in restaurants or for special occasions are not the healthiest - regardless of the cuisine. The best food is nutritiously balanced, fresh, local, seasonal and cooked at home - regardless of the cuisine.

OP, expand your repertoire and make healthy meals based on what your family wants to eat.

I'm from small town/small suburb USA.
Since my town was mostly descended from Germans, English, and Irish ( as are many Americans in the heartland) pastas with red sauce like lasagna were really uncommon foods. And most people would definitely be wayyyyy too thrifty to feed their kids restaurant food regularly!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs and anything Italian > Indian cuisine.

It's like you get your ideas of Italian food from the Olive Garden. But your idea of Indian food is also probably limited to something like chicken tikka masala.

OK, since lasagna and meatballs are not good enough for you, how’s this: sfincione, brasciolone, cucciadati, sfingi, maccu, panelle, torrone, cassata, spiedini, pasta con le sarde, sfogliatelle, vitello tonnato. I don’t need to “get my ideas of Italian food” from anywhere. I’m Italian and I have eaten this food my whole life and I also know how to cook all of these things. It is the greatest cuisine in the world and most would agree with me. I bet you, o poseur foodie, wouldn’t even know what any of this is without Google, so step off and stick to what you know.

Aren't Italians some of the fattest MFers on the planet?

Italian Americans? Yes. Italians in Italy? No. That's because they eat like Americans (few fruits and vegetables, empty carbs, lots of meat and cheese, etc), and "Italian American Food" is not how Italians in Italy eat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs and anything Italian > Indian cuisine.

It's like you get your ideas of Italian food from the Olive Garden. But your idea of Indian food is also probably limited to something like chicken tikka masala.

OK, since lasagna and meatballs are not good enough for you, how’s this: sfincione, brasciolone, cucciadati, sfingi, maccu, panelle, torrone, cassata, spiedini, pasta con le sarde, sfogliatelle, vitello tonnato. I don’t need to “get my ideas of Italian food” from anywhere. I’m Italian and I have eaten this food my whole life and I also know how to cook all of these things. It is the greatest cuisine in the world and most would agree with me. I bet you, o poseur foodie, wouldn’t even know what any of this is without Google, so step off and stick to what you know.

Well that really offended you! I'm also Italian, so I'm quite familiar with your "great(est) cuisine." But we disagree - there are a lot of wonderful, amazing, healthy Italian dishes. There are also a lot of wonderful, amazing, healthy Indian (or Malaysian, or Central American, or Caribbean, or West African) dishes. You might want to get off your nationalist high horse and branch out some. There's no "greatest" - there's just great food!

Have to agree with PP. I also think of most of the word's cuisines, Italian is far and away the easiest to learn to cook, and to cook well. It's one of the reasons why it's so popular. Why list mostly deserts here, btw? Hardly an example of what you'd cook for dinner that is healthy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not be using a stereotypical Indian meal as a superior example to the stereotypical American meal. Indian curries can be loaded with fat and oily. And high carbohydrate with all the refined white rice and naan bread. And all the deep fried samosas and pakoras. Obesity is a growing problem in India along with diabetes (Indian sweets are insanely sweet, as you know). It can be a healthy cuisine but it can just as easily be an unhealthy cuisine. Just like "American" cuisine.

I grew up eating what you'd probably consider "American" cuisine. Dinners were simple roast chicken or grilled meat, all served with steamed vegetables and salads on the side and lots of fruit. You'd probably find it bland and boring but we were healthy and fit and it's an American diet too!

I would not approach your husband's diet from an American = bad and Indian = good perspective because that is, to put it politely, a pile of crock. But I would talk about the importance of healthier eating overall and seek out both western and Indian recipes that are healthy. From the American / Western side this can be simple grilled meats or fish served with steamed vegetables and a salad.

No Indian families eat naan, pakoras, or samosas daily. It looks like you’ve gotten your perception from Indian restaurants, which serve only a sliver of the wide variety of foods eaten by Indian and Indian American families.

And no American families eat lasagna, meatballs, and Olive Garden type food daily unless you get your perception from the Sopranos.

My thoughts too. A bit of reality mixed with some good old stereotypes.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's wrong with spaghetti and meatballs? We cook a lot of Indian, but spaghetti and meatballs are much healthier.

And this is why Americans are obese...

Yeah, it’s the spaghetti and meatballs. You unlocked the mystery.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs and anything Italian > Indian cuisine.

It's like you get your ideas of Italian food from the Olive Garden. But your idea of Indian food is also probably limited to something like chicken tikka masala.

OK, since lasagna and meatballs are not good enough for you, how’s this: sfincione, brasciolone, cucciadati, sfingi, maccu, panelle, torrone, cassata, spiedini, pasta con le sarde, sfogliatelle, vitello tonnato. I don’t need to “get my ideas of Italian food” from anywhere. I’m Italian and I have eaten this food my whole life and I also know how to cook all of these things. It is the greatest cuisine in the world and most would agree with me. I bet you, o poseur foodie, wouldn’t even know what any of this is without Google, so step off and stick to what you know.

Well that really offended you! I'm also Italian, so I'm quite familiar with your "great(est) cuisine." But we disagree - there are a lot of wonderful, amazing, healthy Italian dishes. There are also a lot of wonderful, amazing, healthy Indian (or Malaysian, or Central American, or Caribbean, or West African) dishes. You might want to get off your nationalist high horse and branch out some. There's no "greatest" - there's just great food!

Anonymous wrote:What's wrong with spaghetti and meatballs? We cook a lot of Indian, but spaghetti and meatballs are much healthier.

And this is why Americans are obese...

Anonymous wrote:He was saying how growing up his mom fed them dinners or lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, Olive Garden, Applebee’s etc

After after school he’d grab lunch at MCDs drive through.

I’m Indian...we had whole foods type meals 3 times a day. Our mom would make food from
Scratch every day. Chicken curries, spinach curries, whole wheat bread, fresh fruit, salads etc

Is his experience with food the American norm?

How did people actually live till old age in America with a diet like that?

No, it is not the American norm to eat pasta, Applebee's, and McDonald's daily. This is not an "american" diet. We are American, and we eat three home cooked meals per day, with at least two servings of vegetables in the lunches and dinners.

I think some people posting are defensive as they might see truth in your post. If you are younger adult in US, white bread American, diet you describe is more typical than not. However, in my ILS family eating out and eating such foods started in early 90s. Prior to that I was told they rarely ate out, and DH's mom cooked home made food and soups, stews, meats, roasts, typical Western diet, but home made and still better for you than restaurant food. I am from Europe, so my food was similar if with more variety, due to Mediterranean cuisine as well. Both my SILs don't know how to cook, they were not thought it, one opens cans for more foods than you would think. But, my DH eats a huge variety of foods and my cooking is his preferred, I also cook my own interpretations of Indian, Chinese, Mexican, European, all foods that we like. My kids love Indian food (as in Indian food available here), Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Mexican, etc.. I try to make it all from scratch with good results now, not so much in the past when I first tried. However, I never had any negative opinion about American food, DH is from the West, and steak and potato and ribs are common fare. And I love, love American steak and potatoes and ribs, and mac and cheese, and all the fruit pies, and well, I love all food, US included. I am not overweight at all, in fact my DH and kids and I are very slim. There are steaks I cook, ribs I make, there is a way to make all that food at home, and nobody eats steak day in and day out. Lasagna and pasta was not a normal fare for my DH, maybe home made spaghetti. My SIL does wish her mom thought her to cook, MIL passed away, and it is the effort that makes the difference. My SIL' kids are very overweight, and I do wonder if her not cooking contributed to that. She fed her kids fast food and restaurant food and opened up a lot of premade things, chicken was just shoved in the oven from a bag, burgers were fast food.. my other SIL does much more cooking, so I wouldn't lump all into one category. You will see that in this area and in some parts West people are very conscious about their diet and make a huge effort to cook healthy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs and anything Italian > Indian cuisine.

It's like you get your ideas of Italian food from the Olive Garden. But your idea of Indian food is also probably limited to something like chicken tikka masala.

OK, since lasagna and meatballs are not good enough for you, how’s this: sfincione, brasciolone, cucciadati, sfingi, maccu, panelle, torrone, cassata, spiedini, pasta con le sarde, sfogliatelle, vitello tonnato. I don’t need to “get my ideas of Italian food” from anywhere. I’m Italian and I have eaten this food my whole life and I also know how to cook all of these things. It is the greatest cuisine in the world and most would agree with me. I bet you, o poseur foodie, wouldn’t even know what any of this is without Google, so step off and stick to what you know.

Anonymous wrote:Lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs and anything Italian > Indian cuisine.

It's like you get your ideas of Italian food from the Olive Garden. But your idea of Indian food is also probably limited to something like chicken tikka masala.

Anonymous wrote:Lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs and anything Italian > Indian cuisine.

You sound as childish as OP.