Do you want a snack?

Already 2 months spent in the kingdom of junk food and nothing written about it yet! Maybe it's because we are still astonished by what we see...

Here are some examples of funny situations that are unfortunately pointing out USA's bad habits when talking about food :
- one of our first unbelievable experiences with american cooking was during our trip, last october. We were looking for healthy food after several days of highly caloric food and were happy to go to one of the Red Lobsters, fish and seafood restaurants. Catherine and I chose what could seem like a WeigthWatcher meal : broccoli and calamari. But we have quickly understood that in the USA, you can also be full after eating a plate of broccoli. In fact, the broccoli were stuffed with a kind of rich breading mixture and each of the calamari had its 1/2 inch, fried breadcrumbs!

- here are other amazing examples. Guess what kids can choose as a side dish for their pasta in many restaurants ? French fries of course! Even at the middle school cafeteria, students can have french fries with their... pizza.

One the major problems, according to me, about american's way of eating is the lack of a specific lunch break. People in the USA don't stop at noon to have their lunch. And I'm not speaking about the french 2 hour-long lunch break! Americans don't stop working at noon and they eat their lunch at their desk. The only good thing about it is that all stores and public administrations are therefore opened all day long.
Even kids have a very short period of time to eat their lunch : Florent's lunch time is at 10:30 and only lasts 30 min, including the time wasted while queuing at the cafeteria. Agathe only has 20 min, starting at 11:00. It's very short for a 5 year-old kid and the first days she was complaining, not being able to finish her meal... Alexis eats at 12:00 and also has a 20 min break.

Therefore, because of this quick, poorly nourishing lunch, many Americans eat snacks (sugary or salty) at any time of the day. When we were in the waiting room at the ophtalmologist's with Agathe, one of the assistants proposed us a snack at 10 am (whether Oreo cookies or pretzels). Then, when leaving at 12:00, a secretary proposed us to have a snack again which I have politely declined, arguing we were going to have meal right afterward. Of course, she answered : "Take it for later."

Even Agathe's teacher explained to me, during our first meeting, that kids could bring a snack that they eat at 10:00 am. Knowing her lunch was at 11:00 am, I must have made a weird face because her teacher quickly added : "But it's not mandatory." And just a short moment after, she added "but don't worry, we give them another snack at 2 pm"...

Last example, but not least! During our appointment at the pediatrician's, she told me after having weighed and measured the kids : "You Europeans have a much better way of life than we have and please keep these good habits." When I explained to her my point of view about Americans' numerous snacks and the lack of real meals, she answered "Oh, interesting! I've never thought of this aspect of the problem." Even pediatricians seem not to be aware of bad eating habits over here...