How-to-Eat-Well

HowtoEatWellA)WhydosomanyAmericanseattonsofprocessedgood,thestuffthatiscorrectlycalledjunk(垃圾)andshouldreallycarrywarninglabels?B)It’snotbecausefreshingredientsarehardtocomeby.Supermarketsoffermorevarietythanever,andthereareoverfourtimesasmanyfarmers’marketsintheU.S.astherewere20yearsago.Norisitforlackofavailableinformation.Thereareplentyofrecipes(食谱),how-tovideosandcookingclassesavailabletoanyonewhohasacomputer,smartphoneortelevision.Ifanything,theinformationisoverwhelming.C)Andyetwearen’tcooking.IfyoueatthreemealsadayandbehavelikemostAmericans,youprobablygetatleastathirdofyourdailycalories(卡路里)outsidethehome.Nearlytwo-thirdsofusgrabfastfoodonceaweek,andwegetalmost25%ofourdailycaloriesfromsnacks.Sowe’reeatingoutortakingin,andwedon’tsitdown—orwedo,butwehurry.D)Shouldn’tpreparing—andconsuming—foodbeasourceofcomfort,pride,health,well-being,relaxation,sociability?Somethingthatconnectsustootherhumans?Whywouldwewanttooutsource(外包)thisbasictask,especiallywhenoutsourcingitissoharmful?E)WhenItalkaboutcooking,I’mnottalkingaboutcreatingelaboratedinnerpartiesorthree-dayscienceprojects.I’mtalkingaboutsimple,easy,everydaymeals.Mymissionistoencouragegreenhandsandthoselackingtimeormoneytofeedthemselves.Thatmeansweneedmodest,realisticexpectations,andweneedtoteachpeopletocookfoodthat’sgoodenoughtosharewithfamilyandfriends.F)Perhapsareturntorealcookingneedn’tbefaroff.ArecentHarrispollrevealedthat79%ofAmericanssaytheyenjoycookingand30%“loveit”;14%admittonotenjoyingkitchenworkandjust7%won’tgonearthestoveatall.Butthisdoesn’tnecessarilytranslatetorealcooking,andtheresultofthissurveyshouldn’tsurpriseanyone:52%ofthose65oroldercookathomefiveormoretimesperweek;onlyathirdofyoungpeopledo.G)Backinthe1950smostofusgrewupinhouseholdswhereMomcookedvirtuallyeverynight.Theintentiontoputahome-cookedmealonthetablewasprettymuchuniversal.Mostpeoplecouldn’taffordtodootherwise.H)Althoughfrozendinnerswereinventedinthe’40s,theirpopularitydidn’tboomuntiltelevisionsbecamepopularadecadeorsolater.Sincethen,packaged,pre-preparedmealshavebeenwhat’sfordinner.Themicrowaveandfast-foodchainswerethebiggestcatalysts(催化剂),butthebigfoodcompanies—whichwanttosellanythingexcepttherawingredientsthatgointocooking—madethehomecookanendangeredspecies.I)Still,Ifinditstrangethatonlyathirdofyoungpeoplereportpreparingmealsathomeregularly.Isn’tthisthesamecrowdthatrailsagainstprocessedjunkandchampionscraftcooking?Andisn’tthisthegenerationwhosaythey’reconcernedabouttheirhealthandthewell-beingoftheplanet?Ifthesearetrulythevaluesofmanyyoungpeople,thentheirbehaviordoesn’tmatchtheirbeliefs.J)Therehavebeenhalf-heartedbutwell-publicizedeffortsbysomefoodcompaniestoreducecaloriesintheirprocessedfoods,buttheStandardAmericanDietisstillthepolaroppositeofthehealthy,mostlyplant-baseddietthatjustabouteveryexpertsaysweshouldbeeating.Consideringthatthegovernment’sstandardsarenotnearlyambitiousenough,thepictureisclear:bynotcookingathome,we’renoteatingtherightthings,andtheconsequencesarehardtooverstate.K)Tohelpquantify(量化)thecostsofapoordiet,Irecentlytriedtoestimatethisimpactintermsofamostfamousfood,theburger(汉堡包).Iconcludedthattheprofitfromburgersismorethanoffset(抵消)bythedamagetheycauseinhealthproblemsandenvironmentalharm.L)Cookingrealfoodisthebestdefense—nottomentionthatanymealyou’relikelytoeatathomecontainsabout200fewercaloriesthanoneyouwouldeatinarestaurant.M)TothoseAmericansforwhommoneyisaconcern,myadviceissimple:Buywhatyoucanafford,andcookityourself.Thecommonprescriptionistoprimarilyshopthegrocerystore,sincethat’swherefreshproduce,meatandseafood,anddairyare.Andtosavemoneyandstilleatwellyoudon’tneedlocal,organicingredients;allyouneedisrealfood.I’mnotsayinglocalfoodisn’tbetter;itis.Butthereisplentyofdecentfoodinthegrocerystores.N)Theothersectionsyoushouldgettoknowarethefrozenfoodsandthecannedgoods.Frozenproduceisstillproduce;cannedtomatoesarestilltomatoes.Justmakesureyou’regettingrealfoodwithouttonsofaddedsaltorsugar.Askyourself:WouldGrandmaconsiderthisfood?Doesitlooklikesomethingthatmightoccurinnature?It’sprettymuchcommonsense:youwanttobuyfood,notunidentifiablefoodlikeobjects.O)Youdon’thavetohitthegrocerystoredaily,nordoyouneedanabundanceofskill.SincefewerthanhalfofAmericanssaytheycookatanintermediatelevelandonly20%describetheircookingskillsasadvanced,thecrisisisoneofconfidence.Andtheonlyremedyforthatispractice.There’snothingmysteriousaboutcookingtheeveningmeal.Youjusthavetodoalittlethinkingaheadandredefinewhatqualifiesasdinner.Likeanyskill,cookinggetseasierasyoudoitmore;everytimeyoucook,youadvanceyourlevelofskills.Somedayyouwon’tevenneedrecipes.Myadviceisthatyounotpayattentiontothenumberofstepsandingredients,becausetheycanbedeceiving.P)Time,Irealize,isthebiggestobstacletocookingformostpeople.Youmustadjustyourprioritiestofindtimetocook.Forinstance,youcanmoveaTVtothekitchenandwatchyourfavoriteshowswhileyou’restandingatthesink.Nooneisaskingyoutogiveupactivitiesyoulike,butifyou’rewatchingfoodshowsonTV,trycookinginstead.36.Cookingbenefitspeopleinmanywaysandenablesthemtoconnectwithoneanother.D答案