American way of eating...

[Jacek]

HEY!

I was wondering what kind of food you can pick up at big stores like Walmart. I know you can find there just about everything, but is it health food? From what I know of food habits in the States you guys very often nuke everything in the microwave ovens or eat out or order a take away. What if I wanted to pick up a nutritious , lean piece of meat and prepare (stew) it myself? And I am not talking here meat in some kinds of little containers wrapped up in aluminum foil...... I am asking, cause when I told my American friend that I stew the meat instead of fry it to get rid of the unwanted saturated fats he was more than surprised.
By the way is meat in the US expensive in comparision with other foods?

[KenWalsh]

Most Walmarts only have boxed snack foods and colas. However, the Super Walmarts include full grocery stores so that families may be lost for hours.

If I wanted a very lean piece of meat, I would avoid the Super Walmarts. They do not sell premium foods but aim to sell in bulk. Each week the news follows stories about the increasing obesity in Americans, and not everyone considers the fat content of the meat. I prefer fish and other seafood and even vegetarian meals over beef as a weekly staple. I've been to the world's largest cattle feedlot, and it's an overwhelming site.

It's difficult to know if meat is expensive compared to other foods since the serving sizes will vary and cannot be compared directly. The prices for very lean meats may be double or triple that for similar meats. Grocery stores in the U.S. specially package meat cuts for stews, for kabobs, and for stir fry. I imagine these small cuts generally come from leftover pieces when slicing steaks. Your friend should look once in a while.

[Jacek]

Well that doesn't sound too good to me. No wonder obesity is so widespread in the US. I am afraid that once I come to America I won't be able to get a lean piece of meat. A meat that is available just about in every store here in Poland.

Well I am not much of a beef lover either. I prefer chicken, chicken breasts (with brown rice, my personal favorite dish) and turkey. As for fish, sure very good. I eat trouts, cause it is one of the cheapest (as far as fish goes) and still nutritious source of white meat.

[veggie]

how about vegetarians or health-conscious people in the US? where do they do the shopping?
and do you know any people in raleigh who are vegetarian?

[veggie]

ken,
a FEEDLOT is a place where they fatten animals in order to sell them later, right?
you write "prefer sth OVER sth else" - is that informal or something? i've been taught to use TO here
thx

[KenWalsh]

Many questions to answer:

I did not want to give anyone a negative opinion of the American grocery stores. They very much cater to their local clientele. Since Super Walmart does not aim to serve the discriminating shopper, lean cuts of meat are harder to find. The grocery stores in Raleigh like Whole Foods and Fresh Market go to the other extreme. They sell organic and vegetarian foods and cater to the finer cuts of meat. Even in a city as small as Raleigh, there is much diversity in the diet. If you come to America and want many choices for foods in the grocery stores, stick to the cities.

I confess that I eat a lot of chicken and turkey and sometimes pork. Chicken is less expensive than beef. The beef, chicken, and pork industries are all responsible for considerable air and water pollution in North Carolina and across the United States, so I have tried to cut back on my consumption over the last few years.

I have known many people who are vegetarians, but I expect that is because I tend to hang out with folks who are happy to be different than the masses.

Correct on the feedlot definition. In the San Joaquin Valley of California, the largest feedlot extends as far as one can see.

'Prefer...to..." is a polite phrase. "Prefer...over..." adds more emphasis but may be considered slang.

[Andrzej]

...and now everybody knows why Ken doesn't hang out with me

[KenWalsh]

We all know that Andrzej is one who toes the line and never tries anything untested.

One who 'toes the line' is an idiom that denotes one who falls in with the ranks and is not singled out for behaving differently.

[Jennifer Malloy]

One thing I would like to add to this conversation about American eating habits: As I am just back from a whirlwind trip in Spain and Italy, I am reminded that U.S. portions tend to be huge in comparison to European ones. As a single person, I frequently eat out because it is difficult to buy and cook food in quantities small enough for just one person (though I suppose this might be true everywhere) and I end up eating these huge restaurant meals, whereas I would prefer to eat a much smaller portion. For instance, American sandwiches tend to be packed with meat, whereas European "baguette"-type sandwiches feature far less meat (and are way yummier, in my opinion).
When I do cook meat at home, on the grill, for example, I often go to Fresh Market to get the leanest and freshest meat possible. Yes, it costs more, but I can get exactly what and how much I want, as someone weighs it out and wraps it up for you, as opposed to being pre-packaged as it is at a grocery store. Growing up, my mother went to a butcher shop for our meat, so I'm still not satisfied with typical supermarket meat.
Hope that helps!

[Jacek]

Growing up, my mother went to a butcher shop for our meat

so you are telling me that there are no butcher shops in the US anymore?

How much is the meat at fresh market? is it a whole lot more expensive than at a grocery store?
Can you give me some figures?

[KenWalsh]

The movie is quite unflattering of American diets, but I recommend that everyone should see the current documentary film "Super Size Me." It is a very well-done documentary about fast food in America. Poles should only view it as a cautionary tale because you all eat much more healthy foods and exercise more than most Americans.

Just remember: don't stereotype all Americans. The film shows the biggest of the big. At the same time, it's a cautionary tale about the effects of blitz advertising on younger generations.