Modern Taiwanese Recipe: Avocado Milk (This is AWESOME!)

Posted on by Isis Hung
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I know, it sounds pretty gross. It’s totally understandable cuz, as far I as know,  Americans only put avocados in sushi rolls, stir fry or other “real meals”. Well, to a Taiwanese, it is totally the opposite. When I hear the word “avocado,” I can only associate it with “the dessert.” Only “the”dessert, that is, the avocado milk (NOTHING ELSE.) 

I always say that I wanna make avocado milk, but nobody seems to welcome this fresh green idea. Finally, last Friday, I snagged some avocados in the kitchen and made avocado milk for my boyfriend and my roommate, and got surprisingly positive comments. THEY LOVE IT! Quoting from my boyfriend, “The shit is awesome!” My roommate even wanna bring the recipe to his sister. So, here’s the modern Taiwanese recipe (it’s not ancient Chinese secret!)

  • Ingredients:
    1) A regular avocado (we don’t need anything flashy here)
    2) Enough milk (I have no idea about cup, spoon or table spoon…)
    3) Raw honey (I think regular honey works fine as well) 
     
  • Steps:
    1) Cut the avocado, and remove its seed 
    2) Use a spoon to take the avocado out of its shell
    3) Put the avocado in a blender, and add milk until the avocado is totally covered by milk
     4) Add some raw honey (I add 1.5 spoon) 
    5) Add some ice cube if you like it to be really cold 
    6) Blend it! 
     

 
There you go! Avocado milk with toasted bread is definitely one of the best combinations for breakfast. As you may know, avocado is the most nutritious fruit. A 2013 report shows that American avocado consumers have better overall diet quality, nutrient levels, and reduced risk of metabolic syndrome. So, why not try the Taiwanese way? It’s so healthy, so tasty, and sooooooo easy! 

Posted in Surprising Taiwanese Recipe | 2 Replies

All Americans Are Fat? An observation of obesity in America

Posted on by Isis Hung
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Unsurprisingly,”American is fat” is probably the top one stereotype of Americans. If you google “American stereotype,” you will see key words like “fat,” “fatty,” “obese,” “obesity,” or “overweight” everywhere on forums and blogs. When you “American person” on Google Image, “Fat American Person” is the number one related key words recommend by Google.

I won’t argue that being fat is not only a stereotype of American, but also a fact. According to Institute of Medicine of The National Academies, two-thirds of adults and one-third of children are overweight or obese. Obesity is actually now an urgent public health issue that seriously affect America’s economic costs and its health care system. However, are all Americans either fat or obese? Are there actually only few slim or healthy Americans? Maybe not, according to my observation. 

I have to say that, in fact, I seldom see obese people here in Lansing, Michigan. Actually, there are a lot of runners and slender people here (probably because I live in a college town). As far as I know, there are still a lot of American people who pay great attention to their body figure/ health and work out a lot. I feel that some of my American friends are even on a way healthier diet than I am. Take one of my female American friends, Alissa, for example. She is a vegetarian, and she goes rock climbing every weekends (I can never do such a hardcore sport…). My male American roommate, Scott, eats dips and salad for pretty much every meal, and he can always say NO to desserts (omg…who says No to desserts?). My American boyfriend, Ryan, doesn’t eat fatty meat or chicken skin because it contains too much fat and oil (um…one of my favorite Taiwanese snack is fried chicken skin…) 

What surprises me is not the fact that these people are not fat (some people just don’t gain weight so easily); it’s the fact that there are still Americans who “don’t think fatly.” The American stereotype of “being fat” tightly links to the stereotype of eating junk food all the time and always being lazy. It is a little bit shocking, at least to me, that some of the Americans actually lead a way healthier life than I do. They care about how much oil/ fat they eat daily, they exercise routinely, and they think/ live healthily. 

Posted in Cultural Observation | Tagged American, diet, fat, health care, obese, obesity, Stereotype | 6 Replies

All Americans are Eating Burgers All the Time?

Posted on by Isis Hung
Reply

No joke. This is definitely a stereotype of Americans. Couple months after I came to Michigan, one of the most frequent questions asked by my friends/ family back in my home country, Taiwan, was “Are you eating burgers all the time, like the Americans?” It is totally reasonable for them to have the doubt because I gained couple pounds within those months; however, it it not the burgers’ fault. I was just getting fat for no reason. They might find something even more surprising, I have never been to any burger restaurants with my American friends just for “getting something to eat”, and we’ve never even made burgers at home.

Wait a minute, no burgers for eight months? No way! (I’ve been in the USA for 8 months)

Well…we do have burgers sometimes… but not “those burgers” which pop up in my Taiwanese family/ friends’ minds when they hear the word, AMERICAN BURGER. If you google “美式漢堡,” which means “American Burgers” in English, you can easily figure why my family/friends blame burgers on those weights I gained.

This is an American burger…in Taiwan…

This is another American burger in Taiwan.

This one too! (In Taiwan of course)

But actually this is certainly not that kind of burger we eat when “we are hungry” in Michigan. I exclude those burgers from fancy burger restaurants; nearly nobody goes there just for “getting something to eat for lunch.”

My first burger in Michigan looks like this. I went hanging out with some Americans at Crunchy’s. It’s famous for its burger.

So…do you still have the stereotype that all Americans eat “American Burgers” for meal three times a day?

Posted in Cultural Observation | Tagged Burger, Culture, Stereotype | Leave a reply