Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even at the grocery store,why is there sugar in deli meat? Why is it so hard to find an unsweetened cereal? Even Cheerios have sugar in them. The idea that the best way to have healthy bread is to make it yourself or buy Ezekiel bread for six bucks a loaf. It is not that hard in other countries.

Don’t buy deli meat then. I roast my own chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, pork or whatever for a meal. Then slice meat leftovers for sandwiches or wraps for lunch. I bake my own bread and pitas and pizza doughs. I don’t spend a lot of time doing this either. From experience, I’m pretty efficient at cooking around my work schedule.

FFS people!! I can only assume you all are being wilfully obtuse. I'm not PP, but I'm 90% certain she wasn't looking for recommendations on deli meat alternatives but rather pointing out the ubiquity of bad food options. It shouldn't be as hard as it is. But I guess some of you are so bent on demonstrating your superiority you can't entertain the notion that there could be a better way...and that most people in other countries have access to it.

I’m not disputing that there are a lot of bad food options. I’m just saying that are plenty of inexpensive healthy options too if you learn how to cook.

And I'm saying it's a non-sequitor in the context of this thread.

Also, everything you described would be impossible if you don't have a reasonable kitchen with a stove, oven, and fridge...which many lower income people don't. It would also be significantly harder if you worked an hourly job that was scheduled just in time...as many Americans do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even at the grocery store,why is there sugar in deli meat? Why is it so hard to find an unsweetened cereal? Even Cheerios have sugar in them. The idea that the best way to have healthy bread is to make it yourself or buy Ezekiel bread for six bucks a loaf. It is not that hard in other countries.

Don’t buy deli meat then. I roast my own chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, pork or whatever for a meal. Then slice meat leftovers for sandwiches or wraps for lunch. I bake my own bread and pitas and pizza doughs. I don’t spend a lot of time doing this either. From experience, I’m pretty efficient at cooking around my work schedule.

FFS people!! I can only assume you all are being wilfully obtuse. I'm not PP, but I'm 90% certain she wasn't looking for recommendations on deli meat alternatives but rather pointing out the ubiquity of bad food options. It shouldn't be as hard as it is. But I guess some of you are so bent on demonstrating your superiority you can't entertain the notion that there could be a better way...and that most people in other countries have access to it.

I’m not disputing that there are a lot of bad food options. I’m just saying that are plenty of inexpensive healthy options too if you learn how to cook.

I remember reading somewhere that Americans spend a much higher lercentage of income on housing and health care and Europeans spend it on food. I’m American born and raised but I’m always a little surprised about how people grouse about food prices. Like farm fresh eggs — yeah they are more expensive but still only about 40 cents an egg (that’s five cents per gram of protein). It’s one of the big policy reasons why legislators and regulators won’t mandate more food safety or quality (like banning antibiotic use in food animals)—it will raise the cost of food. So instead our healthcare costs go through the roof. My preference would be to regulate food more heavily, incentivize fresh/local/natural food and be more generous about food stamps for people that need them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Even at the grocery store,why is there sugar in deli meat? Why is it so hard to find an unsweetened cereal? Even Cheerios have sugar in them. The idea that the best way to have healthy bread is to make it yourself or buy Ezekiel bread for six bucks a loaf. It is not that hard in other countries.

Don’t buy deli meat then. I roast my own chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, pork or whatever for a meal. Then slice meat leftovers for sandwiches or wraps for lunch. I bake my own bread and pitas and pizza doughs. I don’t spend a lot of time doing this either. From experience, I’m pretty efficient at cooking around my work schedule.

FFS people!! I can only assume you all are being wilfully obtuse. I'm not PP, but I'm 90% certain she wasn't looking for recommendations on deli meat alternatives but rather pointing out the ubiquity of bad food options. It shouldn't be as hard as it is. But I guess some of you are so bent on demonstrating your superiority you can't entertain the notion that there could be a better way...and that most people in other countries have access to it.

Anonymous wrote:Even at the grocery store,why is there sugar in deli meat? Why is it so hard to find an unsweetened cereal? Even Cheerios have sugar in them. The idea that the best way to have healthy bread is to make it yourself or buy Ezekiel bread for six bucks a loaf. It is not that hard in other countries.

Don’t buy deli meat then. I roast my own chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, pork or whatever for a meal. Then slice meat leftovers for sandwiches or wraps for lunch. I bake my own bread and pitas and pizza doughs. I don’t spend a lot of time doing this either. From experience, I’m pretty efficient at cooking around my work schedule.

Even at the grocery store,why is there sugar in deli meat? Why is it so hard to find an unsweetened cereal? Even Cheerios have sugar in them. The idea that the best way to have healthy bread is to make it yourself or buy Ezekiel bread for six bucks a loaf. It is not that hard in other countries.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still waiting for that one PP to come back with her list of high quality, healthy European food options that are not able to be cooked in the US, somehow.

Cooking at home i think is fine and easy here in the US. But when not at home, it is so much harder to get heathy and good tasting meals. In Mexico they sell tons of fresh fruits and juices on the streets, in the US our vendors sell deep fried Oreos. Same with restaurants, you can’t get a good quality salad in the US or even well cooked simple roasted vegetables at ordinary restaurants. The “good” heathy options are pretty much exclusively at nicer restaurants. Not always...but there are plenty of small mom and pop cafes in other counties where you can pop in for a quick bite of something tasty and fresh without needing to go to a upscale dining joint

Sorry, this is complete bullshit. You can’t get a salad or roasted vegetables at restaurants in America? All the vendors are selling deep-fried Oreos? I’m done pretending you’re not a troll.

No you can get a salad anywhere- but the quality is pretty crappy at most places except the upscale restaurants. Every order a salad at a mom and pop joint? You will be getting wilted iceberg lettuce and some Kraft ranch. But they make killer homemade biscuits and gravy. The kind of foods most people want to buy here are unhealthy foods so few restaurants do heathy food well- they don’t make their money on the heathy stuff

Once again, you are generalizing based on your very limited experience. Maybe try to expand your horizons rather than continuing to foolishly double down on your prejudices.

Look, I’m not OP and I’m not overweight, nor am I European. But have you never taken a road trip with kids? The options to eat are pretty terrible, unless heavily researched and planned ahead. It shouldn’t be like that. The only rationale is because that isn’t what people want. They like to eat crap and that is what pays to serve.

Pretty much the only time I ever eat fast food is on a road trip. My kids too. I do bring healthy snacks like fruit, nuts, seltzer water, or pack sandwiches too. But chicken McNuggets twice a year is not going to kill anybody. I cook from scratch over 95% of the time. We’re all thin and active in sports.

Agree. But still, you *should be able to stop anywhere along the highway or at any destination without pre-checking menus on-line and researching what city to stop in and such and be able to grab something freshly made from real whole food ingredients—but that just isn’t the case in the US

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still waiting for that one PP to come back with her list of high quality, healthy European food options that are not able to be cooked in the US, somehow.

Cooking at home i think is fine and easy here in the US. But when not at home, it is so much harder to get heathy and good tasting meals. In Mexico they sell tons of fresh fruits and juices on the streets, in the US our vendors sell deep fried Oreos. Same with restaurants, you can’t get a good quality salad in the US or even well cooked simple roasted vegetables at ordinary restaurants. The “good” heathy options are pretty much exclusively at nicer restaurants. Not always...but there are plenty of small mom and pop cafes in other counties where you can pop in for a quick bite of something tasty and fresh without needing to go to a upscale dining joint

Sorry, this is complete bullshit. You can’t get a salad or roasted vegetables at restaurants in America? All the vendors are selling deep-fried Oreos? I’m done pretending you’re not a troll.

No you can get a salad anywhere- but the quality is pretty crappy at most places except the upscale restaurants. Every order a salad at a mom and pop joint? You will be getting wilted iceberg lettuce and some Kraft ranch. But they make killer homemade biscuits and gravy. The kind of foods most people want to buy here are unhealthy foods so few restaurants do heathy food well- they don’t make their money on the heathy stuff

Once again, you are generalizing based on your very limited experience. Maybe try to expand your horizons rather than continuing to foolishly double down on your prejudices.

Look, I’m not OP and I’m not overweight, nor am I European. But have you never taken a road trip with kids? The options to eat are pretty terrible, unless heavily researched and planned ahead. It shouldn’t be like that. The only rationale is because that isn’t what people want. They like to eat crap and that is what pays to serve.

Pretty much the only time I ever eat fast food is on a road trip. My kids too. I do bring healthy snacks like fruit, nuts, seltzer water, or pack sandwiches too. But chicken McNuggets twice a year is not going to kill anybody. I cook from scratch over 95% of the time. We’re all thin and active in sports.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still waiting for that one PP to come back with her list of high quality, healthy European food options that are not able to be cooked in the US, somehow.

Cooking at home i think is fine and easy here in the US. But when not at home, it is so much harder to get heathy and good tasting meals. In Mexico they sell tons of fresh fruits and juices on the streets, in the US our vendors sell deep fried Oreos. Same with restaurants, you can’t get a good quality salad in the US or even well cooked simple roasted vegetables at ordinary restaurants. The “good” heathy options are pretty much exclusively at nicer restaurants. Not always...but there are plenty of small mom and pop cafes in other counties where you can pop in for a quick bite of something tasty and fresh without needing to go to a upscale dining joint

Sorry, this is complete bullshit. You can’t get a salad or roasted vegetables at restaurants in America? All the vendors are selling deep-fried Oreos? I’m done pretending you’re not a troll.

No you can get a salad anywhere- but the quality is pretty crappy at most places except the upscale restaurants. Every order a salad at a mom and pop joint? You will be getting wilted iceberg lettuce and some Kraft ranch. But they make killer homemade biscuits and gravy. The kind of foods most people want to buy here are unhealthy foods so few restaurants do heathy food well- they don’t make their money on the heathy stuff

Once again, you are generalizing based on your very limited experience. Maybe try to expand your horizons rather than continuing to foolishly double down on your prejudices.

Look, I’m not OP and I’m not overweight, nor am I European. But have you never taken a road trip with kids? The options to eat are pretty terrible, unless heavily researched and planned ahead. It shouldn’t be like that. The only rationale is because that isn’t what people want. They like to eat crap and that is what pays to serve.

Yep, it's all about money.

-- works with immigrant families; there is NO desire to "become American"

Anonymous wrote:It’s interesting to see many Europeans dressing and eating like U.S. people to look cool. It bothers me to hear them criticize everything from the US while they chose to come here.

The US is the global equivalent of a big casino. People from all over the world come here to gamble on a better life. It doesn’t mean they respect the United States any more than you “respect” the blackjack dealer from your Vegas bachelor party.

Anonymous wrote:
You have chosen to structure your life so that cooking and eating healthy food isn’t a priority. I guess that answers the subject title question, at least.

NP here, and this thread is truly fascinating. I'm actually shocked at the number of presumably well-educated Americans on DCUM really and truly can't wrap their head around a couple of things:
- There has been tons written about Big Food and how it has avoided regulation to promote and serve up an unhealthy diet, there are actual food deserts, tons of Americans don't have time to prepare meals because they are working long hours (and a subset of those people also don't have access to a proper kitchen or fridge), and we add sugar to everything for no rhyme or reason. Why on Earth does sliced sprouted grain bread need added cane sugar?!
- If a very high percentage of Americans have diet-related illnesses, maybe the solution isn't just to bleat about "personal responsibility"...and instead look at systemic change.

Now for my anecdote. I've traveled in many parts of Europe, and while they certainly eat their share of pastas and pastries...the food quality is significantly higher. Among other things, high quality food with less sugar and additives can make you feel fuller and less likely to have cravings. For me, the eye opener was being stuck waiting in the airport in Geneva for a friend I was meeting for a hiking trip. I was hungry, and there was only a small coffee stand there. The options were limited, and I chose a small baguette cheese sandwich packaged in plastic. I expected it to be terrible, as it would be in the US with soggy bread, simultaneously waxy and greasy cheese...but I just needed to eat something. Instead, though, the bread and cheese were great. That just doesn't happen in a setting like an airport here.

I cook most meals at home. I've stopped using any pre-prepared sauces or even spice mixes from the regular grocery store, because they all have added sugar. [Notably, sauces and spice mixes from the ethnic groceries never seem to have added sugar...unless it's obviously for something sweet.] It's "not hard" to do this in a sense, but it takes time that a lot of people don't have. And everyone wants convenience foods once in a while, but outside of big metropolitan areas it can be hard to find anything remotely healthy...especially if you have any other dietary restrictions such as food allergies or intolerances. It's simply bizarre to argue otherwise.

It’s interesting to see many Europeans dressing and eating like U.S. people to look cool. It bothers me to hear them criticize everything from the US while they chose to come here.

And we work much longer hours than most European countries. And in most South American countries, household help is the norm for even middle class families. So they do rely less on convenience foods. Convenience foods are ubiquitous here because they are cheap and fast and our work/life balance is out of alignment.

American food has always been low quality. People have greater access to fresh foods than they ever did.

Americans are fat because they eat too much. Large portions and a sedentary lifestyle. A lot of snacking.