7 ms·

Trying to eat something different everyday is an American obsession that I'll never understand. It's just so stressful and inconvenient. I grew up in a small to

Trying to eat something different everyday is an American obsession that I'll never understand. It's just so stressful and inconvenient. I grew up in a small town where eating the same for dinner everyday was extremely common. Tea or coffee and bread. The only variable would be what you put in your bread. Some days it would be butter, some days it would jam. Some days it would be honey, some days it would be avocado.

aniforprez 5y ago
Eating something different every day is not "an American obsession". Heck most people I know would want change and something different in their routine of food. I personally have 10-12 breakfast recipes that I cycle through and regularly try stuff I find online
- geocrasher 5y ago
  I'm American, and I have to disagree. I have the same thing for breakfast every day, and I love it. I usually have the same thing for lunch, too. It's convenient and I change it up just a little now and then. For dinner, my daughter and I do different things. I think that embracing this is a good thing. It's comfortable. It's safe, and I am content. On the weekends I do change it up too, but during the week, I find my favorite foods to be part of my daily routine. I like it.
  - thaumasiotes 5y ago
    I tried eating a particular dish every day for a while. (To the exclusion of other foods.) I didn't get tired of it -- I loved it and still do. But I had to stop because, after a while of this, I would still be hungry after eating a large meal. My stomach would be physically full, but I'd be hungry anyway. I'm still not sure what the problem was. It was a dish basically consisting of lentils, onions, and shredded chicken, spiced heavily; I'd eat it spread over bread.
    - slim 5y ago
      Your body was probably carving some nutrient not found in your dish
      - thaumasiotes 5y ago
        Yes, I agree, but I'd like to know what it was. Best guess so far is fat.
        afterburner 5y ago
        Or some mineral or vitamin?
        aappleby 5y ago
        "If there are enough rabbits, the people eat till their stomachs are distended; but no matter how much they eat they feel unsatisfied."
        jrochkind1 5y ago
        Easy enough to add a little fat into that meal with a bit of full-fat yogurt! Although there's already some fat from the chicken, no? I admit, that sounds like a great meal to me!
    - loopz 5y ago
      Try milk, cheese, grains, egg, muesli, stew, varied foods, get recepees known to work like ayurvedic ones or good veg recipes. Avoid too much bread, good rice (basmati) can be filling. Organic ecological foods also. If you only eat one dish, it better have everything needed and even then it can be lacking. No need to torment oneself.
- nottorp 5y ago
  I could eat the same thing every day, as in I don’t really care what I eat. However it doesnt feel like a good idea for nutrition reasons. So I try to eat as different as possible with minimal effort instead. Like getting the dishes I’ve never heard of when eating out.
- granshaw 5y ago
  Yeah I grew up in Southeast Asia and it’s no different.
wombatmobile 5y ago
> The only variable would be what you put in your bread. Would it be less stressful and inconvenient if you could put the same thing in your bread every day? Do you imagine that would make you more happy or less happy?
brokencode 5y ago
I think eating the same thing every day is fine, though you need to make sure to have a balanced diet with good nutrition. The author mentioned his uncle who just ate bread, butter, and cheese for every meal, and I’m not sure how you can even survive off of that. Surely it’s lacking something important with no fruit or vegetables. I’ve heard that humans had a long period of time after we became sedentary and started relying on agriculture that the average height decreased significantly, and it was only in recent centuries that it has gotten back to normal due to more varied nutrition. So even if you can technically survive on a very limited diet, it can still have negative effects.
- dopidopHN 5y ago
  My thought exactly. I’m fine with a repetitive diet but some fiber would be welcome.
- thaumasiotes 5y ago
  > The author mentioned his uncle who just ate bread, butter, and cheese for every meal, and I’m not sure how you can even survive off of that. Surely it’s lacking something important with no fruit or vegetables. The only thing you're really missing there is dietary fiber, which -- being indigestible -- doesn't have nutritional value. However, it does interact with your intestines as it passes through them in a manner which tends to promote their health. So no, survival is not even a question that should come up.
  - brokencode 5y ago
    “Not even a question that should come up” is a pretty sour attitude to take in general, and I don’t even think you’re right. Fiber does have a health impact as you say, and having good health is one of the main ways known to delay death. And what is survival but the delay of death? My point is that by eating a larger variety of nutritious food, you are less likely to suffer from poor health due to a lack of something you need.
  - WA 5y ago
    You sound like this was a certain thing, whereas nutritional science is very complex.
lotsofpulp 5y ago
My parents come from a place that is the polar opposite of America, and eating the same thing repeatedly would get you sent to a mental asylum, based on how my family life revolves around food. The idea of not using an innumerable number of fruits, vegetables, meats, and spices available is crazy to me. We’re even excited to go back to the city try at various times of the year because different seasons bring different foods.
jamesblonde 5y ago
As an irishman, i can so relate to the comment on the jam :) "My uncle, a bachelor and farmer like me, had the same food for every meal. He had bread, butter, cheese and tea for breakfast, lunch and dinner (although he would bring out the jam for visitors)."
jldugger 5y ago
> Trying to eat something different everyday is an American obsession that I'll never understand. It's just so stressful and inconvenient. It's not like we do this to because variety is intrinsically good and we have to force ourselves. It's more like we're addicted to variety; the more often you have the same meal the less appetizing it becomes.
throwagrayson 5y ago
Coincidentally, anorexia started in the US. Maybe we're just really hungry
guerrilla 5y ago
I feel you. I eat the same thing for weeks or months at time until I get tired of it. Unfortunately it's not just an American thing though. I've experienced the same in Spain, Denmark, Sweden and to a lot lesser degree in Portugal...
slothtrop 5y ago
> It's just so stressful and inconvenient. So is tending to a farm. We need some amount of stressors in our lives to keep from feeling bored and stagnant. Exercise is literally an imposition of stress, but increases our well-being. Really a matter of picking your poison. Farming might be samey, but if something is hard work it's also stressful.
jonnycomputer 5y ago
An American obsession? I think that is a gross over-generalization. I am American, by birth, and am happy eating mostly the same thing day after day. My spouse is from Poland, and she is not satisfied by that approach to food. Not by a long shot.
- diehunde 5y ago
  I haven't yet met an American that won't give me a weird look when I say I eat the same for dinner every day, tea and bread.
  - jonnycomputer 5y ago
    But tea and bread would be considered unusual dinner food. Maybe that's it.

aniforprez 5y ago

Eating something different every day is not "an American obsession". Heck most people I know would want change and something different in their routine of food. I personally have 10-12 breakfast recipes that I cycle through and regularly try stuff I find online

geocrasher 5y ago
I'm American, and I have to disagree. I have the same thing for breakfast every day, and I love it. I usually have the same thing for lunch, too. It's convenient and I change it up just a little now and then. For dinner, my daughter and I do different things. I think that embracing this is a good thing. It's comfortable. It's safe, and I am content. On the weekends I do change it up too, but during the week, I find my favorite foods to be part of my daily routine. I like it.
- thaumasiotes 5y ago
  I tried eating a particular dish every day for a while. (To the exclusion of other foods.) I didn't get tired of it -- I loved it and still do. But I had to stop because, after a while of this, I would still be hungry after eating a large meal. My stomach would be physically full, but I'd be hungry anyway. I'm still not sure what the problem was. It was a dish basically consisting of lentils, onions, and shredded chicken, spiced heavily; I'd eat it spread over bread.
  - slim 5y ago
    Your body was probably carving some nutrient not found in your dish
    - thaumasiotes 5y ago
      Yes, I agree, but I'd like to know what it was. Best guess so far is fat.
      - afterburner 5y ago
        Or some mineral or vitamin?
      - aappleby 5y ago
        "If there are enough rabbits, the people eat till their stomachs are distended; but no matter how much they eat they feel unsatisfied."
      - jrochkind1 5y ago
        Easy enough to add a little fat into that meal with a bit of full-fat yogurt! Although there's already some fat from the chicken, no? I admit, that sounds like a great meal to me!
  - loopz 5y ago
    Try milk, cheese, grains, egg, muesli, stew, varied foods, get recepees known to work like ayurvedic ones or good veg recipes. Avoid too much bread, good rice (basmati) can be filling. Organic ecological foods also. If you only eat one dish, it better have everything needed and even then it can be lacking. No need to torment oneself.
nottorp 5y ago
I could eat the same thing every day, as in I don’t really care what I eat. However it doesnt feel like a good idea for nutrition reasons. So I try to eat as different as possible with minimal effort instead. Like getting the dishes I’ve never heard of when eating out.
granshaw 5y ago
Yeah I grew up in Southeast Asia and it’s no different.

wombatmobile 5y ago

> The only variable would be what you put in your bread. Would it be less stressful and inconvenient if you could put the same thing in your bread every day? Do you imagine that would make you more happy or less happy?

brokencode 5y ago

I think eating the same thing every day is fine, though you need to make sure to have a balanced diet with good nutrition. The author mentioned his uncle who just ate bread, butter, and cheese for every meal, and I’m not sure how you can even survive off of that. Surely it’s lacking something important with no fruit or vegetables. I’ve heard that humans had a long period of time after we became sedentary and started relying on agriculture that the average height decreased significantly, and it was only in recent centuries that it has gotten back to normal due to more varied nutrition. So even if you can technically survive on a very limited diet, it can still have negative effects.

dopidopHN 5y ago
My thought exactly. I’m fine with a repetitive diet but some fiber would be welcome.
thaumasiotes 5y ago
> The author mentioned his uncle who just ate bread, butter, and cheese for every meal, and I’m not sure how you can even survive off of that. Surely it’s lacking something important with no fruit or vegetables. The only thing you're really missing there is dietary fiber, which -- being indigestible -- doesn't have nutritional value. However, it does interact with your intestines as it passes through them in a manner which tends to promote their health. So no, survival is not even a question that should come up.
- brokencode 5y ago
  “Not even a question that should come up” is a pretty sour attitude to take in general, and I don’t even think you’re right. Fiber does have a health impact as you say, and having good health is one of the main ways known to delay death. And what is survival but the delay of death? My point is that by eating a larger variety of nutritious food, you are less likely to suffer from poor health due to a lack of something you need.
- WA 5y ago
  You sound like this was a certain thing, whereas nutritional science is very complex.

lotsofpulp 5y ago

My parents come from a place that is the polar opposite of America, and eating the same thing repeatedly would get you sent to a mental asylum, based on how my family life revolves around food. The idea of not using an innumerable number of fruits, vegetables, meats, and spices available is crazy to me. We’re even excited to go back to the city try at various times of the year because different seasons bring different foods.

jamesblonde 5y ago

As an irishman, i can so relate to the comment on the jam :) "My uncle, a bachelor and farmer like me, had the same food for every meal. He had bread, butter, cheese and tea for breakfast, lunch and dinner (although he would bring out the jam for visitors)."

jldugger 5y ago

> Trying to eat something different everyday is an American obsession that I'll never understand. It's just so stressful and inconvenient. It's not like we do this to because variety is intrinsically good and we have to force ourselves. It's more like we're addicted to variety; the more often you have the same meal the less appetizing it becomes.

throwagrayson 5y ago

Coincidentally, anorexia started in the US. Maybe we're just really hungry

guerrilla 5y ago

I feel you. I eat the same thing for weeks or months at time until I get tired of it. Unfortunately it's not just an American thing though. I've experienced the same in Spain, Denmark, Sweden and to a lot lesser degree in Portugal...

slothtrop 5y ago

> It's just so stressful and inconvenient. So is tending to a farm. We need some amount of stressors in our lives to keep from feeling bored and stagnant. Exercise is literally an imposition of stress, but increases our well-being. Really a matter of picking your poison. Farming might be samey, but if something is hard work it's also stressful.

jonnycomputer 5y ago

An American obsession? I think that is a gross over-generalization. I am American, by birth, and am happy eating mostly the same thing day after day. My spouse is from Poland, and she is not satisfied by that approach to food. Not by a long shot.

diehunde 5y ago
I haven't yet met an American that won't give me a weird look when I say I eat the same for dinner every day, tea and bread.
- jonnycomputer 5y ago
  But tea and bread would be considered unusual dinner food. Maybe that's it.