Industrial Food Diary
Friday Log
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Saturday Log
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10:15 - Readymade Pancake Mix w/ Chocolate Chips
3:30 - Buffalo Wings (Frozen) 5:00 - Kettle Cooked Chips 7:00 - Soup with Grilled Chicken, Corn and Jalapeños 12:00 - Oreos |
9:00 - Eggs with Avocado and Toast
1:30 - Shrimp Scampi with Angel Hair Pasta 5:45 - Kale Chips 10:00 - Finish Shrimp Scampi |
This project really made me open my eyes to the way I eat. Since moving to campus all my food is either packaged and frozen food. For me and my busy schedule with filled classes, 2 jobs, and extra clubs, I don't like to spend the free time I do have thinking about or making food. By having packaged or frozen food that won't expire for a long time is very convenient for when I've had a long day and I just want to eat and sleep. Shapiro argues, "[W]omen didn't shun packaged foods, but when they made use of Jell-O, Bisquick, ad other shortcut products, it was often for very specific reasons that had to do with the needs of the day and the dish" (51). Although through this food diary, I realized that I still eat my frozen food on days when I don't need a shortcut. On Fridays, for example, I only have one online morning class and the rest of my day if free but I still relied highly processed food. I felt like I didn't get as much free time to relax during the week so I didn't want to waste my free day making food so I had a readymade pancake mix for breakfast and frozen buffalo wings for lunch that I threw in the freezer for lunch. Around 5pm, I wanted a snack so I had a couple kettle cooked chips. At 7pm, I wanted something light before going out for the night so I made a soup with chicken broth, grilled chicken, corn and jalapeños. This soup took me less that 15 minutes to make as the ingredient's were prepackaged or frozen. Lastly before bed I like having something sweet so I ate a couple Oreos.
The next day was a lot more planned out. I had planned what I wanted to eat for the day the night before and went out Saturday morning to get groceries. Driving to get groceries is something I would have to do pretty often I really wanted to remove highly processed food from my diet. When I got home I made myself eggs with avacados and toast. I will say while this gave me energy in the morning, I did get hungry again not too much later. For lunch, I planned on making this shrimp scampi with angel hair pasta recipe for a while. It took a while for me to convert what was a family size meal into a portion for one. Overall it took me about 35 minutes to prep and cook. It tasted amazing and eating something I cooked felt really rewarding. This meal left me pretty full for a while and I had a little leftover. At around 6pm, I wanted a snack so I made some kale chips. I loved making kale because not only do they taste great and are super quick to make but I don't feel guilty for snacking on them. The finally at the end of the night I really wanted something sweet but all the sugary treats in my apartment are highly processed. I decided to finish my shrimp scampi and it felt me feeling quite dissatisfied. In Moss's article he writes about "mouth feel", which "is the way a product interacts with the mouth, as defined more specifically by a host of related sensations, from dryness to gumminess to moisture releases" (7). "Mouth feel" may the reason I feel urged to eat a sweet before bed and the reason why without the powerful sensory force I felt dissatisfied.
Eating whole food requires you to eat with intention. I eat frozen and packaged foods because I do find it convenient to buy my groceries in bulk and not have to worry that it will expire right away. With whole foods, I would have to spend more time and money driving to the stores to buy food and have to plan my meals ahead of time. However, I did have more energy eating whole foods and I wasn't getting hungry as often as I normally would. Overall I will definitely consider not relying on high processed foods and incorporating more whole foods in my diet.
The next day was a lot more planned out. I had planned what I wanted to eat for the day the night before and went out Saturday morning to get groceries. Driving to get groceries is something I would have to do pretty often I really wanted to remove highly processed food from my diet. When I got home I made myself eggs with avacados and toast. I will say while this gave me energy in the morning, I did get hungry again not too much later. For lunch, I planned on making this shrimp scampi with angel hair pasta recipe for a while. It took a while for me to convert what was a family size meal into a portion for one. Overall it took me about 35 minutes to prep and cook. It tasted amazing and eating something I cooked felt really rewarding. This meal left me pretty full for a while and I had a little leftover. At around 6pm, I wanted a snack so I made some kale chips. I loved making kale because not only do they taste great and are super quick to make but I don't feel guilty for snacking on them. The finally at the end of the night I really wanted something sweet but all the sugary treats in my apartment are highly processed. I decided to finish my shrimp scampi and it felt me feeling quite dissatisfied. In Moss's article he writes about "mouth feel", which "is the way a product interacts with the mouth, as defined more specifically by a host of related sensations, from dryness to gumminess to moisture releases" (7). "Mouth feel" may the reason I feel urged to eat a sweet before bed and the reason why without the powerful sensory force I felt dissatisfied.
Eating whole food requires you to eat with intention. I eat frozen and packaged foods because I do find it convenient to buy my groceries in bulk and not have to worry that it will expire right away. With whole foods, I would have to spend more time and money driving to the stores to buy food and have to plan my meals ahead of time. However, I did have more energy eating whole foods and I wasn't getting hungry as often as I normally would. Overall I will definitely consider not relying on high processed foods and incorporating more whole foods in my diet.
Refrigerator Photo Analysis
On some weekday mornings, I work for a family in Okemos getting their kids ready and driving them to school. Occasionally I drive the neighbors' kids to school as well as their mother works in a hospital and at times is not able to make it home to take her kids to school. I know very little about the neighbors family other than that they have 2 elementary age children and the mothers occupation so I thought they could be perfect subjects. When I texted the mother if she could help me for a school project she eagerly agreed. The families refrigerator can be pictured on the left.
One of the first things I noticed about their refrigerator was how large their freezer section is. In most households I would say the freezer takes up about a third of the refrigerator. I assume having this extra freezer space is for the convenience of making one trip to the supermarket and buying packed and frozen food in bulk and that won't expire quickly. This also may come in handy with two young children who get super hungry after they come back home from a long day at school. As written in "An Economic History of Leftover", "Refrigeration made it possible to keep highly perishable foods edible for days simply by keeping them cool, and that prompted an enormous shift in American cuisine" (1). This shift in cuisine can be seen as most of the families food is storied in the freezer section. Breakfast items such as waffles, french toast sticks, and bagels can be seen in the second section of freezer and well as dinner items such as chicken meat, steak strips, wings, and garlic bread in the bottom half. A couple generation ago many of these foods, especially the meats, would have been seen as luxury items for a middle-class American family but refrigeration and advancement in preservation has helped make this foods significantly more affordable.
The other side of the fridge was filled with mostly drinks, condiments, and grab-and-go items such as Lunchables, yogurt and jerky. This to me indicates that the family is very busy. Especially the fact that there are so many plastic bottles of water show that the family prioritizes the time saved using the plastic water rather than filling up water bottles. Although this is not to say the family is not eco-friendly as they may still recycle the plastic water bottles after use.
The lack of produce in the fridge also surprised me as there is only one bin with fresh fruit in it. To make up for this lack of fruit, the mother may buy yogurt as a healthier snack option for her kids. I would like to note that most of the items in the fridge are popular brands such as Kelloggs, Simply Lemonade and Go-gurt. From this I would assume the family shops at larger supermarket chains like Kroger or Walmart to save money instead of purchasing an expensive Costco membership or buying organic and health conscious groceries at Whole Food or Trader Joe's.
Another thing I noticed was an absence of leftovers in the fridge. Families will typically store away excess food from meals in Tupperware to put away in the fridge but I couldn't make out any from the picture. This could be because since the family does consume mostly packaged and frozen foods and don't cook often they are able to make serving sizes that they know they can finish and not go wasted. This is another huge shift we see in American life style since the 1920s. Shapiro notes that, "Women spent about twenty-three hours a week preparing food and cleaning up in 1926, and about seventeen to eighteen hours a week on those tasks in the late 50's" (Something from the Oven, 46). In present times this number has shifted way lower to the point where I would assume the mother in this family spends about ten hours or less on those same tasks. Especially since the heating up of the frozen food requires little effort from the mother, this time could be spend doing other household tasks or playing with her kids. Overall I believe this family focuses their meals around convenience, time, and money saving products rather than buying raw ingredients and cooking from scratch.
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One of the first things I noticed about their refrigerator was how large their freezer section is. In most households I would say the freezer takes up about a third of the refrigerator. I assume having this extra freezer space is for the convenience of making one trip to the supermarket and buying packed and frozen food in bulk and that won't expire quickly. This also may come in handy with two young children who get super hungry after they come back home from a long day at school. As written in "An Economic History of Leftover", "Refrigeration made it possible to keep highly perishable foods edible for days simply by keeping them cool, and that prompted an enormous shift in American cuisine" (1). This shift in cuisine can be seen as most of the families food is storied in the freezer section. Breakfast items such as waffles, french toast sticks, and bagels can be seen in the second section of freezer and well as dinner items such as chicken meat, steak strips, wings, and garlic bread in the bottom half. A couple generation ago many of these foods, especially the meats, would have been seen as luxury items for a middle-class American family but refrigeration and advancement in preservation has helped make this foods significantly more affordable.
The other side of the fridge was filled with mostly drinks, condiments, and grab-and-go items such as Lunchables, yogurt and jerky. This to me indicates that the family is very busy. Especially the fact that there are so many plastic bottles of water show that the family prioritizes the time saved using the plastic water rather than filling up water bottles. Although this is not to say the family is not eco-friendly as they may still recycle the plastic water bottles after use.
The lack of produce in the fridge also surprised me as there is only one bin with fresh fruit in it. To make up for this lack of fruit, the mother may buy yogurt as a healthier snack option for her kids. I would like to note that most of the items in the fridge are popular brands such as Kelloggs, Simply Lemonade and Go-gurt. From this I would assume the family shops at larger supermarket chains like Kroger or Walmart to save money instead of purchasing an expensive Costco membership or buying organic and health conscious groceries at Whole Food or Trader Joe's.
Another thing I noticed was an absence of leftovers in the fridge. Families will typically store away excess food from meals in Tupperware to put away in the fridge but I couldn't make out any from the picture. This could be because since the family does consume mostly packaged and frozen foods and don't cook often they are able to make serving sizes that they know they can finish and not go wasted. This is another huge shift we see in American life style since the 1920s. Shapiro notes that, "Women spent about twenty-three hours a week preparing food and cleaning up in 1926, and about seventeen to eighteen hours a week on those tasks in the late 50's" (Something from the Oven, 46). In present times this number has shifted way lower to the point where I would assume the mother in this family spends about ten hours or less on those same tasks. Especially since the heating up of the frozen food requires little effort from the mother, this time could be spend doing other household tasks or playing with her kids. Overall I believe this family focuses their meals around convenience, time, and money saving products rather than buying raw ingredients and cooking from scratch.
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