What's in my tummy?

List of things I ate from dinner time on 4/28 to dinner on 4/29 include...
A Flatbread Sandwich ( Turkey cheddar bacon) from Dunkin Donuts for "dinner." I had decided i was hungry at work and decided thats what I was craving. My boss who sends on of his employees to dunkin donuts at least twice a day wanted a coffee and a bagel so this was the perfect opportunity. I ate it sitting in the front desk att my job, while listening to music and asnwering phones. it was delicious, and the last thing I ate that night being that I fell asleep as soon as I got home and work up the next morning.
For breakfast on 4/29 I had two oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that I ate on the bus to school and then some apple juice I drank throughout my first two classes that morning. For lunch I had cavatapi aurora from Lamarca, which was the first real meal of the day. I sat down at a table with my best friend/cousin Ashley, her prom date Charlie Morro and my boyrfriend Aidin. It was a rather pleasant lunch and it was very nice to actually sit down in a calm enviorment and have some lunch. With my pasta I drank some water and after had half a stick of gum( a whole stick of gum after food makes me nausious). After school I walked to Union square and got a vanilla ice cream cone with Ashley which I ate on the steps of union square. At work i drank a bottle of water and later on when i got home I ate dinner which was baked chicken with stuffing. My mother prepared it before I was home and I ate in my room alone while watching X-Men, talking on aim and browsing twitter and facebook. I drank green tea with my dinner and by the end of the night I drank at least 2 cups of green tea and some poland spring water. various pieces of chocolate were consumed as well, along with an omega 3 pill and fish oil supplement which i try to take daily. From keeping track of everything I ate, I realized that I dont eat as many meals as I thought I did and I've actually managed to cut soda out of my diet without even realizing till now.

Food Culture @ Home

*Since I come from a puerto rican family a lot of people would assume that I eat like a typical puerto rican. On the contrary my mother was born here in the U.S and my grandparents were the last people in my immediate family to come to america from puerto rico. So when I go to my grandmothers house of course there's rice and beans and some kind of meat that is carefully seasoned with sazon or adobo and the perfect amount of sofrito. At home I can actually say that I have adapted some of the typical american food habits. Usually for dinner my mother makes some kind of meat with rice or some kind of side dish like salad or fries or mashed potatoes, etc. I'm the picky eater in my family so I don't eat certain things that my mother or grandmother would cook, such as beans or things like liver. I like white rice and chicken, soups, and the occasional frozen pizza for dinner. A lot of my meals are home cooked and only 1 or 2 days out of the week would a meal be something that I can microwave or just place in the over to cook.
*One thing that I think is so typical american is the scenario that happens when I come home. I work every day and my mother gets home before I do, so as soon as I walk in she screams dinners ready. I of course go and get food and return to my room to eat my meal in front of the televison which I think is one of the most american things to do. When I go to visit my godmother and her kids in minnesota there is actually a TV in the kitchen! In my house I don't have a tv in the kitchen BUT my family never eats on the actual kitchen table. If we ever do eat at a table together its for a special occasion in which we would all sit down at the other table in my living room (both tables hold more mail and magazines and bullshit than it serves its purpose as a table) with the tv off to enjoy a "family dinner."

Internet Research: If we are what we eat... What is America?

I have heard a quote before that says " you are what you eat" and this got me thinking... If we are what we eat then what is America? How do people view us through the way we eat, what we eat and how we advertise our foods. Some statistics on the way Americans eat are as follows:
*"Less than a third of Americans are cooking their evening dinners from scratch, according to a new survey by the Institute of Food Technologists, The data shows a seven percent percent reduction over the past two years. Although 75% of Americans are eating their dinners at home, nearly half those meals are fast food, delivery, or takeout from restaurants or grocery delis. In fact, Americans spent more on fast food last year than on education." (http://www.gather.com)
* "Females and males in the age group of 2-9 eat more than three times the daily recommendation allowed for sugar. (http://www.associatedcontent.com)
*"The U.S. Surgeon General report declared that obesity is responsible for 300,000 deaths every year (http://www.americansportsdata.com/obesityresearch)
*"With the average adult woman weighing in at a staggering 163 pounds" (http://www.americansportsdata.com/obesityresearch)
*"Perhaps the most shocking statistics underscoring obesity in the United States is that 400,000 Americans (mostly men) fall into a super-massive 400+ pound category"(http://www.americansportsdata.com/obesityresearch)
*"Americans eat the most fast food... Burgers dominate the US fast food industry, with burger fast food taking more than half of total fast food expenditure." (http://www.euromonitor.com/Who_eats_the_most_fast_food)

Whats in my FRIDGE?

FRIDGE: Yogurt, chocolate syrup, low fat milk, strawberries, 7 grain bread, 2 cartons of large eggs, fruit punch, green tea, bottled water (Poland spring), carrots, peanut butter, more chocolate syrup, jelly, watermelon martini mix, salad dressing, Cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, salami, ham, bacon,butter, mayonnaise (EW), mustard, wine, chocolate, baking soda, Mandarin oranges, leftover Chinese food, slim fast, salsa, taco sauce, olives, Parmesan cheese, more salad dressing, FREEZER # 1 Reese's, lean pockets, frozen dinners, frozen vegetables, York chocolate peppermint patties, frozen waffles, toaster strudels, sofrito, ice cube FREEZER #2 BACON ( turkey and pork), SHITLOAD OF ICE CREAM AND SORBET, a lot of frozen pizzas, meat ( chicken, beef, turkey) burgers, hot dogs, frozen french fries, melting chocolates ( for fondue) more bacon, smuckers uncrustables (strawberry jam and grape jam, YUM) THE END.

One thing I know about Americans is that we're lazy and want to find the easy way to do anything... including eating. I have a lot of easy things to make in my fridge and freezer like, microwavable lean pockets, those frozen dinners, frozen pizzas and even frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! whats easier to make than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!? I also have a lot of junk food, and by junk food I mean CHOCOLATE and ICE CREAM. America is known for eating a shitload of sweets and to no surprise I think theres more chocolate and chips and sweets in my house than there is healthy snacks. I do have some healthy things such as yogurt, fruit, water strawberries, etc which make good snacks also. I can bet that a lot of things I have in my refrigerator is also in other people fridges so I think there is a lot of overlapping in certain foods and drinks.

MY Healthcare & personal experiences

*From what I can recall I have not had any problems with doctors and insurance recently. For a couple of months in 2008 I had actually been without any insurance due to something that was going on with my mothers insurance. I hadn't asked any questions about it- all I knew was that I couldn't get sick during that time or it would have caused some difficulties. Unluckily for me, I of course caught a HORRIBLE case of strep throat, which caused me to not be able to eat, sleep, talk or go to school. I was out of school and work for a week and the worst part was I had no insurance. I did however have a friend who was an EMT ( he helped out during 9/11 actually and is now suffering from a brain tumor, but that's a different story) whom I called up and told my symptoms to. Along with my parents he took us to a hospital that he had frequently went to and helped get me treatment absolutely free. I was signed up right away and saw the doctor in a matter of minutes, got all the testing that I needed and the anti-biotic that would help cure me.
*Thinking back to this experience I now realize how having connections can be helpful in getting things that are needed, and its sad because when people NEED treatment they should be able to get it connections or not. I can thankfully say I've never had any problem with hospital bills or being treated. I have however had issues with being denied treatment because of my age and the fact that I was without a parent, but otherwise than that I can say I have been fine. Seeing the documentary SICKO helps me better appreciate my experiences but it also scares me. I may have been lucky in the past but in the future it could only take ONE time for something to go wrong and my life to end up like someone in that movie. Touching upon this subject, I cant help think about religion. When I go to church one of the things that is always preached about is health. Since us Americans aren't getting the help we need physically I guess it helps people to believe that there is someone other than a health insurance company, and doctors that can help.

Musical Poverty Chairs

This Friday, April 3rd the class did an activity that was very similar to musical chairs. A row of chairs was set and and a number of students greater than the amount of chairs lined up around it. As the music started everyone circled the chairs as the music played in the background. Andy went around and placed different names on chairs and then stopped the music. Everyone scrambled to find a chair and sit in it. After all the seats were filled he went around and looked to see if there was a name on the chair, if there wasn't a name then the person could stay. If someone Else's name was already on the chair and the corresponding person wasn't sitting in it then it would have to be vacated and the person whose name was on it would sit there. Some people had more than one chair, so even if they would get their own chair someone who sat in their chair would have to get up anyway. As the game progressed more of the same names were added and there were less and less available chairs as well as less and less people who didn't have a chair with their name on it. At the end of the simulation all of those who had their names on chairs were leisurely sitting while other who had no chairs competed to get the last chair.


This was actually a very good way of understanding this concept of poverty. Those who are rich in society don't have to put any effort into it because they are already well off. They have their own " seat" in society and no one can take that away from them. The more money the have the higher up they are, and the less other will have. The chairs with the names were symbolic for the amount of riches that one person had, the more seats the better off they were. They could just sit down and relax while other ran to get chairs, the game was easy for them the same way life is easier for those whom have a large percent of money. The people who didn't have any chairs continued to search for chairs, and in society today that is what poor people are forced to do. they have to compete for jobs, benefits, whatever they can to make ends meet. its sad though because at the end of the day more and more rich people are getting more money than those who need it.

Questions About Poverty

1. How many poor families in the United States cant afford to eat?
*About 15 million children -- one out of every four -- live below the official poverty line.(www.heartsandminds.org)
*Among the 21 most affluent nations, the United States has the highest percentage of poor children.
2. How many poor people live in homeless shelters vs. the streets?
3. What is the leading cause of poverty?
*In addition, developing nation governments are required to open their economies to compete with each other and with more powerful and established industrialized nations. To attract investment, poor countries enter a spiraling race to the bottom to see who can provide lower standards, reduced wages and cheaper resources. This has increased poverty and inequality for most people. It also forms a backbone to what we today call globalization. (www.globalissues.org)
4. What countries are the poorest?
*World Top 10 - Poorest Countries
Country - GDP
Democratic Republic of Congo- 300
Zimbabwe - 500
Liberia - 500
Guinea-Bissau - 600
Somalia - 600
Comoros - 600
Solomon Islands - 600
Niger - 700
Ethiopia - 700
Central African Republic - 700

5. What continent is the poorest?
*Regardless of political or geographic designation, however, Africa suffers from the overall highest rate of poverty in the world. Of the continent's fifty-four countries, thirty-four—all typically considered to be part of sub-Saharan Africa—are on the UN's list of least developed countries. (www.libraryindex.com)
6. What ethnicity makes up the most poor population in the United States?
7. Out of men, women and children who makes up the poor population?
Children and families are the fastest growing group in the homeless population, representing 40%.(www.heartsandminds.org)