Grocery Store and Habitual Food

My family doesn’t use the grocery store as wisely as I’d like them to. Every time we go food shopping, usually we buy a lot of fatty, oily, and greasy foods. Refreshments usually consist of sugary substances such as different types of Soda. We buy a lot of different types of meat (steak, pork chops, hamburgers, etc) and we’re always using oil to cook them in. We buy regular milk instead of the fat free of less fat milks. We buy a lot of canned easy-to-make- foods because it’s not that common for us to cook. We rarely buy vegetables except for the occasional tomatoes. When we buy fruits (mainly apples) we only buy very little (usually enough for one or two people—lasting about a day). My family, I’d say, doesn’t eat healthy. Our diet can be most compared to the common American who eats fast food or what ever they’re craving that day, not necessarily thinking about what would be better for our bodies. I think this is because of the foods we were fed as young children. We (me and my sisters) weren’t raised on your typical ‘healthy’ food. Mainly it was Spanish, take out, or restaurant food. In a typical week, I probably consume less than the amount of fruit/vegetables that you’re supposed to eat in one day.

On our trip to the grocery store, I noticed that the things they present (eye-level) are a ‘healthier’ variety of foods. Usually more expensive foods are the ones that are to your convenience. On the sides of the isles (the shorter way where you can walk by many isles as you continue walking), you notice usually he foods that are there are on sale and most of the time not so healthy. When you first walk in to the grocery store, you notice fruits and vegetables and like lots of greens, yellows, reds, whites, etc. As you pass by the isles, most of the foods are packaged and are made with preservatives, artificial products, etc. Another thing I noticed that they have in supermarkets are mirrors on the side isles (when you’re walking past many isles). My guess is that as you pass by and look at yourself you’re constantly judging yourself up to societies standards. The mirror is like a reminder, if you’re ‘fat’, to go for the more expensive ‘healthy’ foods so that you too can become skinny, and “fit in”.

I didn’t really learn much about eating a variety of foods. I’ve always known its healthier to do so but I never really cared that much. Because I was raised on ‘non-healthy’ foods, I guess it never mattered that much to me knowing my family didn’t care much either. My dietary habitual pattern is usually lots of oily foods. Meats, fries, (sometimes) pasta, platanos, Rice and beans, and stuff a long those lines. If I’m not eating those, I’m usually eating out. The foods I consume are usually not very colored (mostly brown, white, and yellow). My favorite meals are pasta, and steak. Not together, separately (on different days). I like a lot of dairy products and meats. Those foods are the kinds I eat most of the time.