Blog 1: Culture & Food

When thinking back on my life, there are many reasons why my culture has shaped my eating habits today. My parents have always placed importance on trying lots of different foods. Not only that but they also valued traveling with me and my sister as to give us cultural experiences. This in turn led to me tasting all sorts of foods. One of my first big trips as a kid was going to Costa Rica. The food there was not only different but delicious. This included typical South American cuisine, such as lots of white fish, black beans, rice, ceviche, and some of the best fruit I have ever tasted. Something I thought was strange was how they served bamboo shoots with lunch and dinner.

I believe living in the Pacific Northwest has had a huge impact on my eating habits. Something that I have grown up on is seafood and is one of my favorite foods today. When I was little I lived on the water and had the chance to eat seafood fresh from the bay. We would go crabbing, clam digging, and even grew our own oyster farm. We also liked to go to the local farmer's market to get fresh fish for dinner. My parents are extremely health conscious as well. Meals almost always consisted of lean meats, and a salad or some type of fruit. Something I never really experienced until later was eating red meat, which is interesting because now I love steak. I would say now I am open to most any food and there isn't a whole lot I won't try. I am appreciative of my parent's for forcing me to be adventurous with my food choices as a child. I look forward to more traveling in my life so I can try all sorts of amazing foods!

Parasecoli, Fabio. Bite Me: food in popular culture. Oxford; New York: Berg, 2008. Print.

Swislocki, Mark. Culinary Nostalgia: regional food culture and the urban experience in Shanghai. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 2009. Print.