Topic Eating out (Топик Едим вне дома)

Topic «Eating out» (Топик на английском языке «Едим вне дома»)

In today’s rapid society, people can afford to spend less time for eating, let alone cooking. That is why eating out has become so popular, and there is no doubt that it’s here to stay. In fact, it seems that you simply can’t get away from it. People are too busy to cook and eat proper meals. Young people pick up the idea that speed means excitement, whereas anything traditional is slow and boring. As a result, they turn down traditional food and go for eating out instead. While eating out we can choose from a wide range of eating places. The busiest tend to be fast food restaurants which are popular with young people and families. Many people eat out in Italian restaurants, takeaway from Chi¬nese and Indian restaurants are also popular. We often order in (or have a meal delivered to our home by a restaurant). Fewer people go to smarter, more expensive restaurant where the food is served on the one hand more slowly, but on the other hand deliberately for you.
In different countries people have their own traditions while eating out. Brazilians nev¬er eat lunch at the office, they always use a knife and a fork to eat, even for pizza or sand¬wiches. Many Filipinos like eating soup, meat, vegetables and a lot of different sauces. Rice is a part of their every meal — they even make desserts with rice and coconut milk. It is polite with them to leave a little food on the plate at the end of a meal. In Finland there are a lot of national dishes such as smoked fish and hot soups. In the streets there are stalls which sell sausages, Finland’s favorite food.
One of Britain’s best known meals which represents British cuisine is fish and chips. It can be served both in luxurious restaurants and pubs. The fish is covered in batter (made from eggs, milk and flour) then fried in hot oil. When cooked, the batter is crispy and the piece of fresh fish inside is soft. This is served with chips, pieces of deep-fried potato, which are then sprinkled with salt and vinegar.
Belarusian cuisine comes from the same sources as Lithuanian, Ukrainian, Polish and in later times Russian. The history of gastronomy in Belarus reveals a highly exotic rather than a poor cuisine. Geographical location and weather conditions in Belarus resulted in a wide use of such products as forest mushrooms and berries, herbs, apples, pears, river fish, dairy products. Belarusian cuisine is known for a big choice of potato dishes. Rich soups are dressed with sour cream, as well as cold soups refreshing for the hot summer periods. It is traditional for Belarusian families to make marinated mushrooms and vegetables, based on home recipes. Pork is widely used in home — made sausages. Low fat pork and beef are mostly roasted not fried. Most of Belarusian desserts are made from forest berries or garden fruits from which kisel (thick sweet drink) and puddings are made. However nowadays you can enjoy a big variety of delicious very creative cakes, pies, cookies, pastries, pud¬dings. Various kinds of cereal such as wheat, rye, barley, buckwheat, oatmeal are common for cooking desserts, porridge and breads.

As a rule Belarusian people have breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. The most sub¬stantial is dinner which consists of a starter, the main course and dessert. For certain reasons most Belarusians prefer to have a meal at home. For those who are not afraid to experience eating out I will recommend the restaurant «Korchma». There is a varied menu at the restau¬rant, which includes a fantastic salad bar, a wide choice of vegetarian dishes and superb Belarusian cuisine. The staff are very friendly, helpful and polite. They look smart in their uniform. The service is fast and efficient. Splendid decor, good music, an exclusive wine list add to healthy appetite and good emotions.
Unfortunately many people today have unhealthy eating habits. Teenagers eat more processed food than ever before. When eating out, they choose fast food restaurants for the obvious reasons. They are cheap, and filled with people their own age. However, fast food restaurants are not the only source of unhealthy food. The modern day families have both parents working outside the home and this means parents don’t often have the time to pre¬pare healthy nutritious meals for their family. Supermarkets are filled with prepackaged, instant foods, tinned soups, frozen ready-made dishes, fizzy drinks, crunchy crisps. All of them can affect our health in a different way — get calcium out of bones and teeth, cause behavior problems, clog up arteries, because they are full of fat, sugar, chemical additives, colorings, phosphates.
The most obvious health problem of eating fast and junk food is putting on weight. Teenagers are at risk of developing diabetes which is connected with obesity. Fast and junk food can influence a person’s body in many ways. The food we eat affects our brain work, emotions we have, our energy, strength and weight. One more important thing to watch out is a serving size. The portion sizes have increased a lot. The average size of a hamburger in the 1950s was 42g, compared to our supersize version weighing in at 230g today.
Another contributing factor to unhealthy eating habits is irregular meal times. Most people skip breakfast because they don’t have time. Lunch is also a problem. A lot of people use lunch time to socialize or run errands and they don’t want to spend a lot of time eating. As a result the most popular foods at lunch time are snacks. These come in the form of burgers, fries, hot dogs or sandwiches which are on white bread with plenty of mayonnaise. After school most young people fill up on biscuits, crisps. Combined with sugary soft drinks the average young person’s diet is unhealthier now than it has ever been.
Our bodies need variety. To stay healthy, we should follow simple rules such as to go for meals that have a balance of low-fat meat, fruit, vegetables and breads. It’s important to watch our serving sizes. When in a restaurant ask for half servings, share a meal with a friend, or take half of your dish home. You can ask for a doggy bag in some places. Order baked or grilled (not fried) meat, including turkey, chicken or seafood. Salads and vegeta-bles make healthier side dishes than French fries. Choose fresh fruit instead of sugary, high-fat desserts. If you start making healthy choices now, your body will thank you later. It’s OK to go on junkies every once in a while as long as your diet is generally good.