Eatinghabits

　　Asanationwearebecomingmoreawareofthefoodweandourchildrenareeating.TherecentcampaigntoimproveschooldinnersbycelebritychefJamieOliverhashelpedraiseawarenessofourfastfoodlifestyles.

　　Healthyeatersorjusttrendy?

　　Aretherecertainthingsthatyoudoanddon’teatandwhy?Withsomanyfoodprogrammesandbookstellingyouwhatyoushouldandshouldn’teattobehealthyit’shardtokeeptrack.Somepeoplearevegetariansformoralreasons,somedon’tlikethetasteofmeatandthereareoneortwopeoplewhodoitbecauseit’strendy.Likewise,itcanbetrendytofollowthelatestcelebritydietbecauseit’swhatthefamousaredoing.

　　Eatingout

　　Peopleareeatingoutmorefrequentlynow,notjustonspecialoccasionsasinthepast.Thechoiceofrestaurantshasalsodiversifiedoverthelastfewdecades.Italian,ChineseandIndianrestaurantshavebeenaroundforyearsbuthavenowbeenjoinedbyMongolian,Japanese,MexicanandTurkishamongstothers.BarsandpubsarestillpopularforfoodandoftenpromoteEnglishcuisinemadewithlocalproduce.FortheQueen’srecent80thbirthdaycelebrations,topUKchefsbattleditouttocreatetheGreatBritishMenutoserveatabirthdaybanquet.

　　‘Weenjoyeatingoutacoupletimesandmonthwhetherwithfriendsorjustasacouple.Weliketryingnewthingssogotodifferentrestaurants.’Craig,25,CountyDurham.

　　Eatingonthego

　　Fromchocolatebarstosandwichesandwrapsmorepeopleareeatingonthego-onthestreet,incarsoronbusesandtrains.Whileourparentsandgrandparentsmayfrownatthisbehaviour,consideringittobebadmanners,peopleeatonthegobecausetheyarerushingfromoneplacetoanother.Andinthehomethenumberofpeoplesittingdownatadiningtablefortheireveningmealisonthedecreaseasmealtimesbecomemoreinformal.

　　‘IfI’mrunninglateforworkIdon’tthinktwiceabouteatingtoastinthecaroronthebusbutIknowmymumwouldn’tapprove.’Stacey,24,Leeds.

　　Whilstwemaybetryingtoeatmorehealthilyitseemswestillhavesomebadhabits.