Grocery Store and Habitual Food

The grocery stores that I have visited this week, the Trader Joes and the one near the school, are different than the ones my parents go to buy the groceries. Sometimes when I go with my mom to buy the groceries, typically, the common fruits (sometimes the popular fruits of the season) and some vegetables would be out in front of the stores. I think it is because the fruits and vegetables cost less than meat. In my view, I think the fruits and vegetables looks more nicer as a display than the meat because for meat, I can see the blood, and for the fishes, the eyes and their constant moving in the water are rather scary and the customers would back off. The grocery stores tries to "push" the particular types of products that are cheap and the customers that do not need to think that much about how much one costs (the 19 cents per banana (Maggie)). I thought it was also confusing to see how my mom pick out her fruits and vegetables, to see if its fresh, or big, or which one has the bigger amount. As for picking out the meat, it is hard to use our own hands because it is the butcher who would get the meat for the customers and sometimes that causes problems because the butcher sometimes gets whichever one to finish the job and then the customers would argue. Then there are times when my mom would bargain with the sellers for a cheaper price but not necessary in a grocery store but the tiny stores that sells meat or vegetables.

My mother would usually buy chicken, fish, pork and/or beef but in most of the meals, it is fish and chicken since my sister and I are a picky eater, giving a hard time for my mother to choose. Vegetables she would buy are broccoli, green beans, celery, chinese lettuce, bak choy, fu gua (bitter melon), and tofu. Fruits that I eat in a typical week depends on what my mother buys such as oranges, kiwis, bananas, mangoes, apples and pears. Whenever my mom would cook meat, depending on way she cooks it, steam, or fried, I would choose it base on how it looks than how it taste. If I can see the blood vessels, or sometimes when the chicken is steam, or when the fish is steams, the skins are one of the parts that I do not like to eat. And the main dish that my family always have is a bowl of rice and it is a cultural food that chinese people have. Also, thinking about the food and the feeling towards how the dishes look like at first can affect people in eating. For me, I would eat the food if I am hungry but not necessary eating all on the dishes if some of the food do not suit my taste. And then by putting that thought of not wanting to eat that food because it does not look good to me affects and pushes the disgust higher. Then I would refuse it as much as I can. Because my family does not have much fancy feasts or too much of a variety unless its a holiday feast, I think I like simple dishes rather than having too much food in a dish. In a way, I think it waste food unless I could finish it all but if I can't, it feels as if all the food that I bought is going to be leftovers, which I do not like especially leftover meat. I think it is good to have not the same dishes everyday but having so different variety of food frequently is rather troublesome even though I would inspect the food that my mom made. I would have to pick this ingredient and that ingredient but if the prices are high, then I would feel a bit down for not able to make it. I think it depends on the feelings of what we are eating and if we have the effort to make them. If we have the effort to make the food by ourselves and buy the ingredients by ourselves, I think we would feel a sense of accomplishment for making the dish. Then we can eat it more comfortably, slowly, enjoying the food and able to think about the cooking process, and the taste.