My parents grew up in different countries both in the middle east. When they came to America my parents naturally started to eat american food.  They both however still eat middle eastern food and since my mother is a cook she cooks middle eastern food for my family every night. The reason that i enjoy eating middle eastern food is because i grew up eating it, even though i grew up in the U.S. i didnt eat alot of american food as a child. However as i got older my parents allowed me to explore different types of cuisine such as, Italian, Chinese, and American. Since these cuisines are popular in the U.S. they are easier to access, so me and my family started to eat them more and more.

 I haven't seen my grandparents because they live in countries outside the U.S. so i am not directly influenced by what they eat but since my parents grew up with my grandparents they were directly influenced. My parents told me that my Grandparents love middle eastern food. My grandmother was a great cook and would grow her own vegetables on the roof of the building they lived in back home in egypt. She also raised her own chickens which means most of her food was homemade so my parents were not used to eating burgers,fries, and hot dogs. When they came here everything was strange and almost unnatural so it took time before they got used to the food.

The way i eat and what i eat is mostly influenced by what is cheapest, what i know is good, or what my parents usually eat. My dad really enjoys italian food so i really enjoy italian food. My mother always cooks middle eastern food like falafal, sharwirma, and hummus which are also foods i enjoy but nobody makes it the way my mother makes it so i do not buy it that often. I approach food with the same state of mind that my dad does which is what food is good but also what food is cheap. if i can buy  something that is good but also not expensive then ill buy it.

Fast Food Insights and Green Market Realizations

 Both the Green Market and Fast Food promote health or "Freshness" but they both have different ways of doing so. While Fast Food promotes its cheap prices the green market uses its own name as a promotion. When you think of somethign green, you think healthy or environmentally friendly because of the way the media presents it but when you think of fast food, you think of greasy burgers and fries which isnt all that true. Wendy's had a number of healthy salads and their burgers are grilled instead of frozen and then microwaved. The Green Market also had a number of healthy foods like Mushrooms grown by Mulach farms the last mushroom farm in NY state. Michelle Mulach says that her mushrooms are all organic and grown in a mixture of horse manure and reak moss.

Food from my fridge

Fast food chains sell convenience and taste which is why they are so succesful. People choose from the menu, servers immediately place them on a tray, and off the customer goes. This, pairing with the very fast pace of life in the modern world makes fast food a regular dining choices for more and more people. Majority of fast food chains also offer drive-through services. Driving to school or work in a hurry? Getting food is just as easy as driving down the street. Fast food chains recognize that some nice crispy fries taste better than a salad, and capitalize on their this. Burgers, fries and other selections from fast foods are cooked in fat. This makes their food tastier and more attractive.

Food is beauty. The way you prepare it, the way it tastes everything about it is beautiful. It can say alot about a person. Someone who eats caviar might have more money than someone who eats a sloppy joe. Food is the basis of our life. Most people are always concerned about things such as, "When am i going to get my next meal", "What do you want for dinner tonight honey", etc... Food and eating are just a natural process for us, it is considered "normal" you don't question it because its not new or something you think about because not a lot of people put thought into it.

My favorite foods are foods that have a fulling and pleasing taste something that isn't plain. However i do not prioritize the food i like the most because it is difficult to obtain them and not to forget, expensive. The ideal meal would be eating fresh made pasta in italy, however my everyday meals fail to meet the desires because i don't live in italy and eating pasta everyday would be unhealthy. Food isnt as sacred as it is necessary. Without food we would not get the nutrients that we need to survive so in some sense it is sacred but only because without it we would die. In Brazilian Candomble by example, fishes are sacred for their connection to Yemaja (A Deity.)This takes place in other religions too. Some examples:

• coconut: Ganeshin Hinduism
• Bread: representing the body of christ in Catholicism
• Wine: representing the blood of christ in Catholicism
• The challah in Judaism is symbol of divine presence in shabat
• Chestnut: Befana
• Coca leaf: for the Andean cultures