Food and health

In Britain the government regularly gives advice about healthy eating. The main aim is reduce the amount of fatty foods and sugar people eat and to encourage them to eat more fruit and vegetables. Many people still enjoy a fry-up (fried bacon, sausage and egg with fried bread) but there has been a gradual move towards eating healthier low-fat foods. The media discusses health risks connected with, for example beef or eggs. People are also concerned about chemicals sprayed onto crops. Supermarkets sell organic produce (= cereals and vegetables grown without the use of chemicals), but few people are prepared to pay the higher prices for this. Americans believe food has an important effect on their health but they do not always eat in a healthy way. Many eat junk food, including fast food, snacks like potato chips (BrE crisps) and cookies (BrE biscuits), fizzy drinks and ice cream. Some people eat mainly health foods. They take vitamin and mineral supplements and rush to eat the latest foods said to be healthy, like olive oil, oats And garlic. Americans always seem to be fighting a battle between what they want to eat and what is good for them. Most Americans weigh too much; so it seems that still mostly eat what they want.

Meals

Americans and British people generally eat three meals a day thought the names vary according to people’s lifestyles and where they live. The first meal of the day is breakfast. The traditional full English breakfast served in many British hotels may include fruit juice, cereal, bacon and eggs, often with sausages and tomatoes, toast and marmalade, and most have only cereal or muesli (AmE granola) and/or toast with tea or coffee. Others buy coffee and pastry on their way to work. The traditional American breakfast includes eggs, some kind of meat and toast. Eggs may be fried ”over easy”, “over hard” or “sunny side up” or boiled, poached or in omelette (= beaten together and fried). The meat may be bacon or sausage. People who do not have time for a large meal have toast or cereal and coffee. It is common for Americans to eat breakfast in restaurant. On Saturday and Sunday many people eat brunch late in the dishes including pancakes and waffles (= types of cooked batter) that are eaten with butter and maple syrup. Lunch, which is eaten any time after midday, is the main meal of the day for some British people, though people out at work may have only sandwiches. Some people also refer to the midday meal as dinner. Most workers are allowed about an hour off for it called the lunch hour and many also go shopping. Many school offer a cooked lunch (school lunch or school dinner) though some students take a packed lunch of sandwiches, fruit, etc. Sunday lunch is special and is, for many families, the biggest meal of the week, consisting typically of roast meat and vegetables and a sweet course. In the US lunch is usually a quick meal, eaten around midday. Many workers have a half-hour break for lunch and buy a sandwich near their place of work. Business people may something eat a larger lunch and use time to discuss business. The main meal of the day for most people is the evening meal, called supper, tea or dinner. It is usually a cooked meal with meat or fish or salad, followed by a sweet course. Some people have a TV supper, eaten on their knee while watching television. In Britain younger children may have tea when they get home from school. Tea, meaning a main meal for adults, is used especially in Scotland and Ireland; supper and dinner are more widely used in England and Wales. Dinner sounds more formal than supper and gusts generally receive invitations to “dinner” rather than to “supper”. In the US the evening meal is called dinner. It is usually eaten around 6 or 6.30 pm and often consist of dishes bought ready prepared that need only to be heated. In many families, both in Britain and the US, family members eat at the table together. Unless it is a special occasion, few people drink wine with dinner. Many people also eat snacks between meals. Most have tea or coffee at mid-morning, often called coffee time or coffee break. In Britain this is something also called elevenses. In the afternoon most British people have a tea break. Some hotels serve afternoon tea, which consist tea or coffee and a choice of sandwiches and cakes. When on holiday/vocation people sometimes have a cream tea of scones, jam and cream. In addition many people eat chocolate bars, biscuits (AmE cookies) or crisps (AmE chips). Some British people have a snack, sometimes called supper, consisting of a milk drink and a biscuit before they go to bed. In the US children often have milk and cookies after school adults are especially likely to snack (=eat snack) while watching TV.