Nourish

 I never really thought about where my food came from and the work that was put into the food until I watched this documentary. I was surprised to find out how much they put into our food now and that most of the food is not natural anymore. I didn't like that we have so many pesticides and chemicals in our food now. I don't think that is a healthy option and should be taking over all of our food now. The movie kind of confused me on whether or not the pesticides actually make it unhealthy or not. I've heard that this does make it unhealthy but I've also heard otherwise. I like the idea that there's things like the Farmers Market that gives people the chance to get pesticide free, fresh fruit on the spot. My biggest issue with the idea of growing mass amounts of vegetables and fruit like they are now with the chemicals is that is what I’ve always known. I wouldn’t know if they tasted much better grown fresh unless they came straight out of my mom’s garden. I think this is a very important phenomenon that needs to be discussed. 

Organic food on a College Campus?

Definitely not. After talking today in class about Organic food and how healthy it is for you, it made me realize that they should really provide this more for the student body. We are estimated to pay a little over 9 dollars per meal in the student dining center. This is a ridiculous amount to pay for a meal that is not that good but is also not very good quality of food. I feel that if we are paying so much for our meals here at school then we should have more choices on the different types of food available.  I think organic food should be available in at least one dining center as long as students are aware of it.

            I think since so many people are trying to stay in shape and be healthier this would make it easier for people to do that. There aren’t exactly many healthy choices at the dining centers here so this would give them the opportunity to let the students who prefer to eat healthier do that. This is especially a problem for vegetarians, the meals don’t switch up very often for them and this would help them also. 

Into The Wild

This week we watched the movie Into The Wild. We saw a lot of different ways that food and nutrition affected Chris McCandless. Towards the beginning of his adventure you weren’t able to see how much he struggled with getting food. It didn’t seem like he did, but I wouldn’t really know since it wasn’t really shown. Once Chris reaches Alaska, you see this change very drastically. You see right from the beginning that there really isn’t an abundance of food. He didn’t bring a lot of food their expecting to be able to get everything from the wild which did not help him in the end. He is slowly running out of his load of rice and the food he is actually able to get from the wild is a small amount and didn’t have much meat on it. He is starting to go hungry and is getting desperate with his options. His biggest source of food that he thought would be like a feast for him but ended in disaster was the moose killing. He killed the moose and was so excited to have his first big kill. He was not fast enough at the carving of the moose though. He learned from an acquaintance that you can never ever let the flies get to the meat or you need to throw it away because then the maggots and such come to it. When Chris was doing this the flies came as he was cutting and when he tried to store the meat he realized there were already maggots covering it. This was Chris’ biggest down fall. He was already starving and lost his only source of nutrition and food. From what we saw, it seems that food and nutrition were some of the biggest issues while he was in Alaska so it played a huge part in his big journey.

The biggest issue he had which actually determined his fate was also dealing with food and nutrition. He was completely trapped in the wild and wasn’t able to get out so he had to make way with what he had. He discovered plants and berries and had not looked closely enough, only to eat a poisonous plant. This was Chris McCandless’ reason for death. He survived living on Alaska on his own but died because of his need for food and his starvation. So truly in the end, food and nutrition determined his fate. 

Food Tradition

                                                                                                                      

            My family has a lot of food traditions that we do each year for all different occasions. We have traditions for things ranging from Christmas dinners to yearly camping meals.  In my family we have a lot of traditions that have continuously spread from generation to generation but are very common in most families. For example, some traditions we have are making Christmas cookies for Santa, eating turkey on Thanksgiving Day, etc. These traditions are ones that I will always cherish, but the food traditions I remember most are from our yearly family vacation. Every year, my family goes camping in Nevis, Minnesota. We have been going there since I was little, and ever since I’ve been going there we do the same activities, go to the same places, and eat mostly the same meals.

 The most important meal of the week that everyone cannot wait to have is the Hobo dinners. We start the day out the same every year.  Starting with, a couple of hours relaxing on the beach until a little after lunch time. Then, the kids all go rollerblading or biking on the biking trail to our favorite ice cream shop in town. On our way home we have to make a stop to go bridge jumping. Everyone that didn’t go with us to the ice cream shop meets us at the bridge. Mostly everyone jumps or takes pictures and videos of the bridge jumping. Not only is this entire day one of my favorite memories but the meal of the night makes it so much better.  Ever since I was little, I can remember always being so excited for this meal and helping out in the making of it.  We had hobo dinners only once a year and that was during camping. If you’re unsure of what a Hobo dinner is, its meat, potatoes, and veggies cooked in aluminum foil over the campfire. This meal has always been the most popular meal of the week.  We all have a job to do in the process of making dinner. One person needs to take the orders of what kind of meat everyone would like. Someone cuts up the veggies, another cuts the potatoes, dad takes care of the meat, and lastly someone wraps them all up in aluminum foil ready for the fire. I personally, always help out with whatever is needed. Things like, helping with the veggies, washing the dishes after the meal, or just helping bring the food to everyone.

I find this meal so special because all of our family and friends are with us in the process. It’s not only just the food that I enjoy so much it’s the time we have to be together. We all eat our dinner around the fire talking and gazing at the lake. The entire process is so memorable for me along with the experience I have when I’m there. I get excited to go back every year for just this feeling. 

Cereal Box Analysis Paper

Morning Burst of Honey Bunches of Oats

            Honey Bunches of Oats is one of the most popular brands in the United States.  People find it a healthy but sweet, crispy option.  Not only is the taste delightful, the box is appealing to the eye.  The Honey Bunches of Oats box has warm, pleasant colors that grab the attention of the customers.  Throughout the entire box of Honey Bunches of Oats the theme of a morning full of sunshine is displayed. Attracting middle aged individuals, Honey Bunches of Oats has a mature and well developed appearance.

            Colors play a large effect on the appearance of the box.  Orange, yellow, gold, brown, and white are used throughout the front of the box with some of the same shades on the back giving it a glowing appearance.  The lower half of the box fades from orange to yellow to white.  Inside of the yellow portion there’s rays representing a sun. This sun image attracts people because when you think of morning you think of the sun coming up and time for breakfast.   In the white portion, there’s a circular sun shaped image with triangles representing the rays of a sun, once again.  The theme of the sun is reoccurring throughout the box. They do this because they want the box to be consistent and so they made a theme of a sun so that the box doesn’t have too much going on.  Inside the sun, there’s shading and highlights to make the brand pop out more.  It also has a white outline around the letters to make it more apparent to the eye. Towards the bottom, the color is a darker orange and the writing of “honey roasted’ is in white so it pops and grabs the attention.  The picture of the spoon and cereal is more apparent with the darker colors behind it. All of the colors on the box are colors that normally represent morning. This is attractive to the eye because people are looking for a cereal that will start them out with a good day right from the morning with a bright colorful box, rather than a dark and gloomy box.  Another object that stands out is the nutritional benefits text box.  The box is a brighter blue, which is different from the entire color scheme.  The goal of the bold color is to show the customer how beneficial it is to them and make their target audience larger. 

            The target audience for this type of cereal is middle aged individuals.  Honey Bunches of Oats isn’t popular for younger children because the box is not appealing to their eye.  Children normally like boxes with cartoons, a lot of colors, and designs to keep them entertained.  This box is bright but has only one color range.  Also, on the back of the box there’s a story about the history of Honey Bunches of Oats.  This tells you that it’s not meant for children because they can’t read nor would be interested in the topic. Unlike children, the topics are more aimed towards the adults as something interesting to read while eating.  Most cereal targeted for younger children have games and other entertainment for them to look at.  Middle age is a more appropriate target audience because the box is more mature and is more focused on the cereal than anything.  Because there are a variety of different personalities of teenagers, the brand could be appealing by some.  An example of a teenager that could possibly be interested in this cereal would be teens that are  more worried about being healthy.  This is because they are looking for a healthier brand that will benefit them.  Unlike the healthy teenagers, the unhealthy will prefer the more sugary brands that have less healthy benefits. The box is located on higher shelves of the grocery store where adults would be looking eye level with rather than down below. Not just is the box aimed for adults the benefits are aimed for adults too.

 Older people are the more popular target audience due to the fact that it is a heart healthy brand.  Older people are looking for healthier benefits because getting healthy is more popular as you get older.  Adults are looking for something that will help their process of getting in shape by having vitamins and minerals, which are provided in the cereal.  All of the nutritional benefits provided on the box are useful to adults and are what they look for.

            The nutritional benefits are very obvious on the front of the box with the bold text. They state the nutrition benefits including the trans-fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, whole grain, vitamins, and minerals. Having these facts stated helps sell their product because you can see the healthy facts right on the front.  Also, they have in depth descriptions on the side of the box.  Not only is the nutrition box noticeable on the box, the picture placements are also just as visible. This makes it easy for the customer to see when just looking at the box in the store.

Front of Honey Bunches of Oats

            Over half of the box is filled with the logo of Honey Bunches of Oats in a circular format. The honey in the middle of the logo is a focal point on the box which draws your attention to the logo. About 1/5 of the box is the image of the cereal. The picture is larger than the original size of a spoon making it seem like it’s going to scoop into your mouth. It also makes it easier to see the actual contents of the cereal. All of the images are revolved around the logo making a circular motion. This is important because it draws your attention to the logo of the cereal. The back of the box has a different lay out that varies from the front of the box.

Back of Honey Bunches of Oats

            On the back of the box, there’s a bowl of cereal in the upper left corner with the spoon pointing diagonally towards the words of a story. This image grabs the attention of the audience with the spoon leading towards the personal story. The paper clip also has the same effect as the spoon does. It is leading your eyes from the writing on the top of the box to the story. The story on the back of the box is very personable and makes the customer learn more about the brand and history of the cereal. The story is separated into different groups to make it look like it’s not as long and to catch your attention with the bold red topics. The story is on a regular piece of notebook paper to make it seem more relaxed and in your own home. Towards the bottom of the story, they have the website highlighted in a bright, random color to make it stand out right away. People’s eyes are attracted to things that stand out and make the customer remember. There are paper clips scattered on the table. This makes it seem like an ordinary table in anybody’s house. Another feature that makes it seem like home is the red-checkered table cloth. Because the background of the box is a darker color it makes the story stand out since it’s a bright white. These objects are all things that you would often see in a household. With objects that are so common around the home, it gives the box a more relaxed and home like feel. The tape that is shown on the box to keep the pictures in place gives you the at home feel also. There are little messages on each of the tape pieces. They all say things that people would be envious to have or feel. This can attract people to the image of having close connections with your family. One of the pictures is of a family eating breakfast together in the morning enjoying each other’s company. When people see this image it reminds them of family and being together happily. In the picture, you first see the cereal box as a focal point then in the background you notice the family sitting around the table. This shows the audience that they’re happy because of the cereal. The other picture is of an adult and child eating Honey Bunches of Oats. Not only do they look happy, they also look like they’re spending quality time together whether they are mother daughter, family members or just acquaintances.

            Honey Bunches of Oats has a repeating theme of a morning appearance with warm colors, family orientated and home characteristics. The box has everything from maturity to family based images. The images on the front of the box represent the sun and joyful mornings. The box has nutritional values yet everything still looks appealing. This cereal is a great way to start off the morning!

Works Cited

http://hubpages.com/hub/10-Most-Popular-Breakfast-Cereals

We scanned the front and back images of the cereal box.

Food at home versus Food at Iowa State

You don't think that the food is really all that different in the dining centers than at home, but you realize this is not at all true once you're actually home eating the different food choices. When I had first came to college I had thought that the food was so great and there was so many options. Well the options slowly dwindled and it turned from SO many options to none, at least none that I wasn't sick of. Having the entire week off for Thanksgiving I was finally able to have some real home cooked meals again. You don't realize how much you miss them until you're eating the same meals over and over. The meals were Quesadillas, Pizza, French fries, Ice cream, and attempted salads every now and then. And they changed to, Apples, Raspberries, Strawberries, Chicken, Steak, and many more home cooked meals. Including the Thanksgiving feast. The change is very drastic when compared to each other. I eat much more healthy when i'm at home because I don't have the choice of all the unhealthy meals. I think another reason why I enjoy meals so much more at home is because I am able to be with my family again. It's a big change from seeing them everyday to once every couple of months. I love eating lunch and dinner with my friends everyday but it's nice to go home and have a quiet dinner catching up with my family. Because my family is the most important part of a dinner for me, i think that has a large affect on how I perceive the different meals between Iowa State and home. 

Work out Classes at ISU

I wanted to make myself work out more often and I knew the only way I would do it if there was some one telling me to go work out. So i looked into the classes that you can go to at the Lied Recreation Center. I actually found that they had a wide variety of classes things like yoga, abs, and dance classes. I have found myself trying to make more of an effort to go to these classes because I feel like I could actually benefit from them. When I went to a class called "Extreme Abs", I found myself working harder than I probably would have if I worked out on my own. I also have found it more motivating to go work out after. Since I'm already at the gym, I can just stay for an extra 30 minutes and get some cardio in. Thank goodness for those classes as my new motivation for working out!

Other than Student Dining Food

The first thing that you begin to get sick of in college is the dining food. Even though there are different choices of food doesn't make the selection much better. You eventually get sick of eating the same 5-7 meals over and over after the first couple of months. You  begin to venture out of the dining  center and look into restaurants around. I have found a lot of restaurants that I have found as a nice break every once in a while. There are a lot of the normal fast food restaurants that you see in most towns. The problem with this though is that most people that are attending college currently can't afford to get fast food all the time. That's when I run into my problem with getting very sick of eating at the dining centers.

Working out

When I came to college I had the idea in my head that I would have a strict workout schedule. I thought that I would find a time at least 3 or 4 times a week where I would work out specifically at that time. I had purposely picked a dorm close to the Lied Recreation Center so that I would have the motivation to go to the gym. I have now found that since I've been here that is not the case. I have barely gone to the gym at all since I've been at Iowa State. I find this so interesting that I was so concerned about it before I came and now it has yet to happen. I have gone to the gym a total of three times which slightly disappoints me but this could be because I had such high expectations before I came. I have yet to find the time to work out, which sounds very pathetic, but whenever I finally get a break from homework I feel the need to relax for a bit. I am going to try and improve my fitness level because I know i should make it more of a priority.

http://www.myonlinecamp.com/billfennellycamps/images/liedbuilding11.jpg

Norman Borlaug Lecture--"Life's a marathon not a sprint"--Jo luck

On Monday, David Beckmann and Jo Luck came to Iowa State University and spoke to make people more aware on the fight against Global Hunger. I thought this presentation was very interesting and I actually enjoyed watching it. David Beckmann is the president for Bread for the World which is an organization that influences political leaders to end hunger here and also other countries. Beckmann said that it's VERY possible to achieve large impacts on global hunger if we just got the funds from the government and people to help.  They have already convinced the government to increase funding for global hunger and develop more policies and long-term solutions. Since they've started, the membership has almost doubled and the government has almost tripled their assistance. Now 30 million more African children are in schools. I think that this is insane all that one man has accomplished. Some of the things he said were really sad, it made you realize how much people really are in need of food. He said a statistic that really surprised me, "1 in 4 children live in households that run out of food." I think this is really sad and I never realized it before he said it.

Jo Luck was another very inspiring person to listen to. Luck is the president for Heifer International. This organization helps people who are struggling to become self sufficient. They provide families with food and animals to develop their income. Jo Luck said "Passing on a gift to another in need." I think this idea is very cool because there entire organization is based off helping people and doing things for others. Luck told us a lot of her different adventures and crazy things she has had to deal with during her years working for Heifer International and it shows you that she really must have a heart for what she does because most people would just end it after so much. One of the things she shared with us that was interesting was when she asked the people she's helping their top 10 most important things people living like us would probably say material things but the people she was with said things like family, love, peace, spirituality and heath, etc. This shows you how much they are in need because we already are fortunate to have a lot of those things. One of the questions asked in the lecture was what do they do about all the different cultures and environments with the animals because certain animals cannot survive in certain environments. How do they decide who gets what kind of animal. Luck's response was that they have 30 different kind of species so they will put whatever kind works best for that society. 

Overall, I am really glad that I went to this because I learned a lot. 

Blog Critiques

http://blog.ifoodufood.com/

This is the blog that I critiqued. I thought that over all it was very good. I thought that the blog was very organized and her descriptions of the food made it seem like it was in your mouth. One thing I really liked about it was that she took pictures and had them all up on each blog of the food she was critiquing. I thought this just made it very visual and more interesting to read. Another thing I liked was that she had a rating system key on the side. So you knew exactly what she meant by 8-9 or so on because it said exactly what that meant later. The one thing i would have liked to see change is that almost all the reviews were in one city and it might have been kind of cool if she branched out a little.

Waging a Living

Last week we watched the movie, waging a living. I thought this movie was really interesting and I learned a lot about people that are not as lucky as we are with our living situation. It was sad watching the families with kids that had to deal with the poverty because no child should have to live like that. It made me feel really bad for the families and it wasn't always their fault for getting into poverty. I thought the situation of Barbara Brooks was really sad because she was trying so hard to do everything she could for her kids but she couldn't find a better paying job without more education. She gave up all the time she had to go to school and work so that she could give more to her kids. I think that is very inspiring because you don't always see the parent working that hard for their kids in that kind of situation. 

It was really hard to watch the movie because it's hard to believe people actually live like that. I actually thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie because it fascinated me and I never got bored of it.  

Beauty Perception

I found these videos to be very inspirational. I thought this because I found it really cool how a business so involved in the popular media made it apparent that there's a problem with how the media influences individuals. They pointed out how it wasn't alright to fake beauty like that because it can have a very negative affect on the people that look up to media. I think the influence the media has over the public is crazy. People are always comparing themselves to how a person in a magazine looks, a celebrity, or movies.

I think that these videos are a really good thing for the public to see. They show a whole different aspect of the media that I think is really important for people to see. It makes you realize how big of an affect it has on people. It's starting out younger that people are starting to feel the pressure of the media. They make it look like you have to be the perfect size, have the perfect face and hair and that's not a true reality, people can't just be like that. This pressure that it puts on people can change their whole world especially if they obsess on getting that "perfect" body. Some people would do anything to get that, even put themselves at risk. When you reach that point of obsession it can be close to impossible to get yourself to see your body the same again.

As most people know that having an eating disorder is a very serious disease. I find that a lot of the people with this disorder could have been highly prevented without the media's pressures. I think that it's sick how much it can affect people. Not only are eating disorders hard for the person who has one they're hard for every one around them to deal with too. It's hard to watch some one so close do that to themselves and have no control over it. So this is why i think the concept of Dove making videos like this is so cool because it makes people realize that no one actually looks like that and you shouldn't let those fake images affect you.

10 Pieces of advice for the Freshman about the food at ISU

1. Try the salad bar in Seasons its a lot better for you than all the other food and there's a lot of topping choices (meats, dressings, and veggies) to make it the way you like it.

2. Don't get all unhealthy food everyday try to get atleast one piece of fruit or something healthy once a day. It makes you feel a lot better about yourself.

3.Try the Ice cream at seasons they have both ice cream and frozen yogurt. It's really good and there's a lot of topping choices. For example, hot fudge, sprinkles, granola (my favorite), m & m, oreos, cherries, caramel, and many more.

4. Try to actually make your meal plan the amount of meals you will eat per week. You waste a lot of money if you dont use all the meals you have payed for.

5.Switch up the dining centers you eat at a couple times a week. You'll get a lot more sick of the food if you eat at the same place everyday.

6. Buy smaller snacks for inbetween your classes because you wont always be able to get breakfast, lunch and dinner. You'll get hungry between meals also so it's nice to have a little snack with you.

7. Try the fruit containers at the Memorial Union's cafeteria. It usually tastes really fresh and you can eat it with your meal bundle.

8. Don't always drink pop all the time try something healthier especially if you're trying not to gain the freshman 15.

9. Even though the ice cream and deserts are really good try not to eat it at every meal it will only contribute to gaining weight.

10.Try Jeff's pizza atleast once it's a really good midnight snack but it's not good to get in the habit of eating it everynight.

Seasons

Picture from: http://www.iastate.edu/

I live in the Linden residence hall so therefore i eat at Seasons most of the time. My first week I thought that I was in heaven with all the food. There was everything you could think of from sandwiches, salads, pizza, tacos, chicken and of course the immense amount of deserts. I could never decide which to get because they all looked good. Now that i've been here for four weeks I already feel like i need to branch out. I've slowly started to get sick of having close to the same meal every couple of days and now I feel like I have the same or close to the same thing everyday. I get excited to go anywhere but Seasons because i've gotten so sick of it. I have found that if I expand my dining centers I will not be so sick of Seasons all the time and actually want to eat there.

Humorous Essay

One day, Timmy was feeling a little extra mischievous. He decided that it would be funny to play a little prank on the teacher, Mrs. Dopple. He knew the teacher wouldn't like but he wanted a little extra attention from the ladies. He thought he had the most fabulous plan, he would bring his whoopie cushion he had just won at the school carnival. Before class had started he set the whoopie cushion under the cushion of her seat. Everyone in the class stopped giggling when they saw that the teacher was about to enter the classroom. Every one except for little Dotty in the back. Dotty could not stop giggling so the teacher knew that something was up. She instantly turned towards Timmy and said, "What did you do this time Timmy?" Timmy responded, "I didn't do anything". Mrs. Dopple knew not to believe him so she told the class, "I'm going to sit down and we'll sit in silence until someone tells me what's going on". So Mrs. Dopple sat on her seat and all everyone hear was a huge, loud, fart. Everyone laughed including Mrs. Dopple until Timmy was immediately sent to the principals office.

The Minnesota State Fair

Picture from: http://www.duetsblog.com/

For Labor Day weekend I went back to Minnesota, and of course... I HAD to go to Minnesota State Fair. It's like a completely different atmosphere at the state fair. You don't know how many weird people are out there until you go to the state fair and see it for yourself. There is a very broad spectrum of people there. Not only are there a lot of crazy people there's a lot of crazy food. The entire fairground smells like greasy food. There is everything from corn on the cob, to bacon on a stick, to fried candy bars. I didn't go too much out of my comfort zone when I was there; I just stuck with the cheese curds. I don't think I would have like a lot of the things they had for food because I'm a pretty picky eater. I'm already looking forward to next and seeing all the new food!

Modest Proposal reaction

I felt disgusted by The Modest Proposal and Swifts proposal because all of his ideas were very honest. He used ideas that we aren't used to hearing about so they seemed more appalling. The idea of eating children and the in depth description of the cooking of the children was what disgusted me the most. It was very disturbing to read.