Food - Food as a topic, Drinking

Food as a topic is very frequent in over the world, especially among women who often cook, give recipes and advices to their friends how to cook delicious meals. People need to eat to stay alive. Experts say we should eat four or five times a day in small portions. People in the world in general eat three meals a day: a light breakfast, dinner or lunch (the main meal) and supper.
 
In the morning people usually eat a slice of bread with butter and cheese or ham, or toast with jam. It is very frequent type of breakfast. Some people drink on breakfast one or two couples of coffee to wake themselves up (na prebudenie), or one or two couples tea with lemon. Breakfast is base (základ) of all day. Breakfast is very important for people. Breakfast is served around 6.00 a.m. to 8.00 a.m.

The main meal of the day – lunch – is served around 12.00 p.m. to 2.00 p.m. People usually eat for lunch hot soup, for example vegetable soup, tomato soup... and a piece of meat or cheese with chips, rice, potatoes with vegetable garnish. Sometimes people eat also desert.

Supper consists of piece of pizza, pasta with sauce, vegetable salad…
 
Food is also frequent topic of conversation. Though the chefs in restaurants are usually men, meals are generally prepared by women. Women with some modern exceptions like to cook and bake, to exchange recipes and buy cookery books. But everything is changing. There is a more scientific approach to cooking, eating and drinking now than there was in old times. Women's magazines discuss the principles of nutrition, various diets and low caloric food. Physicians say people eat too much flour and sugar and not enough vegetables and fruit. They point out many people are overweighed and obesity shortens a person's life.

As for drinking it is very healthy to drink mineral water, fresh fruit and vegetables juices and herbal tea. Young children and teenagers should drink milk in order to have good teeth and strong skeleton. Women are said to prefer coffee while men would prefer beer. If you are going to have a heavy dinner, a glass of some kind of strong alcohol could be drunk before. After meals a glass or two of good wine may help your stomach to work. In general we should drink at least 2-3 litres of liquids a day.
 
Each nation has one or two national dishes and different eating habits. All foreign visitors would do well by trying a native food. For example the traditional English breakfast consists of fried bacon with eggs, fried bread, buttered toast, bread and butter and marmalade, fried tomatoes, sausages, baked beans (pečené fazuľky) and they drink tea of coffee. In Scotland breakfast consists of porridge (ovsené vločky) with hot milk. British people usually eat for lunch light meal, or packed lunch (sandwiches). They usually eat a fast food. On Sunday they have a special lunch, when is served roast meat and vegetables and sweet course. Old habit was teatime.
The traditional American breakfast consists of fruit juice, eggs, some kind of meat (bacon or sausage) and toast. On Saturday and Sunday they eat brunch – breakfast and lunch together. American people have a short time to eat lunch. They usually eat quick meal in fast food restaurant such as MC Donalds, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell or KFC. For dinner some ready prepared meal and heated in microwave oven. They usually eat together. The most typically American food is hamburger. The first hamburger was sold in 1948 in San Bernadino in California by Michael Donald.

Slovak people used to eat many floury (múčnaté), sweet and fatty meals such as dumplings (halušky), pastry (pečivo), pork (bravčové mäso) and sausages. Our food consists of more vegetable, fruit, light meat, poultry (hydina) and fish. People in Slovak usually eat for breakfast muesli, bread with butter, ham, cheese, or jam and  drink a hot milk, cocoa, tea or coffee. The main meal of all day is lunch, when we eat soup, piece of meat with side dish, pasta... For dinner we eat something light such as pasta or salad. Our national dish is bryndzové halušky (flour & potato dumplings mixed with a sheep cheese – bryndza).
 
A lot of people have problem with their figure and want or must lose on their weight. They want to look better and they want to feel fit. They go to the doctor, who prescribes (predpíše) some type of diet. People say: „Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper“ (žobrák, bedár). Scientists recommend to avoid (vyhnúť sa) eating after 6. p. m. If you want to loss on your weight, you should change your eating plans, you should exercise more, you should avoid eating some crisps, crackers and chocolate while watching TV.