Topic 42: food

(What is a healthy diet?)

Food is fuel. Our minds and bodies depend on them for the energy to be healthy and strong. What is a healthy diet? What do our minds and bodies need? The answer is - carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and fibre. Different foods contain different amounts and combinations of these six components.

Fibre helps the digestive system to work properly. It protects it against diseases like cancer. Adults need 30 gm of fibre per day. The foods which have a high fibre content are fruit, vegetables, nuts, cereals, beans and pasta.

There are two kinds of fat - saturated and unsaturated. The healthy kind is unsaturated. You can find it in fish, nuts, soya oil and in some kinds of margarine. Saturated fat is found in meat, dairy products, crisps, cakes, biscuits and chocolate. Too much saturated fat may cause your body serious problems. To reduce the amount of saturated fat in one’s diet, it is necessary to grill food rather than fry it.

Sugar contains energy in the form of calories. Very sweet foods don’t give you any vitamins, minerals, fibre, fat or protein. Although sweets, cola drinks and chocolate are delicious, they are not very healthy. To reduce the amount of sugar in one’s diet, it is necessary to eat more fruit and reduce the amount of sugar one takes in tea and coffee.

It is estimated that we need one gramme of salt per day. Too much salt causes high blood pressure. It increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Consequently, the less salt you consume the better.

In summary, to be healthy we should eat less salt, sugar and saturated fat. We should eat more raw fruit and veggies and other foods rich in fibre. It is also necessary to eat regularly, because our bodies need a steady flow of energy. Doctors recommend drinking five or six glasses of water per day. One should also get plenty of variety in one’s diet and enjoy one’s food.

Topic 43: MEALS IN RUSSIA

(What are the most common eating habits in Russia?)

Russians generally eat three meals a day. Breakfast typically includes porridge, scrambled eggs or pasta. However, some Russians have only tea and a couple of sandwiches for breakfast. Dinner is served in the afternoon. It is the main meal of the day. It often begins with soup, such as borsch served with sour cream. Other popular kinds of soup include shchi, rassolnik and noodle soup. Okroshka is typically served on hot summer days. The main course is typicallly made with beef, pork, or chicken. Popular dishes include pelmeni (meat- or vegetable-filled pasta) accompanied by sour cream, and bifstroganov (cubed or sliced beef in a sour cream sauce) over noodles or mashed potatoes. Supper is the evening meal, which usually consists of mashed potatoes or pasta and sausage or fish. The most popular beverages in Russia are tea, coffee and compote and kvas.

Topic 43 my meals

I usually eat three meals a day. I always have breakfast at home. My mum usually fixes it for me. My breakfast typically includes porridge or scrambled eggs or pasta and sausage. Sometimes I have only tea and a couple of sandwiches. I usually have dinner at the school canteen. My dinner usually includes three courses - some soup (borshch, fish soup or noodle soup), pasta with meat and tea. In the evening my family and I have supper. It usually includes mashed potatoes or cereals, fish, meat or some salad and coffee. My mum is a terrific cook. All things she cooks are just yummy.

I enjoy our family dinners at weekends. Our weekend dinner usually starts with a salad- a cucumber salad, a tomato salad or a mixed salad. For the first course we usually have some soup - noodle, mushroom, cabbage or fish soup. For the main course we have meat, chicken or fish dishes with spaghetti or mashed or fried potatoes. For dessert we have some fruit, juice or a cup of coffee with cookies.

I try to make my diet healthy. I try to eat regularly so that my body could get a steady flow of energy. My diet includes a lot of raw fruit and vegetables. Raw fruit and vegetables contain a lot of vitamins and fibre. Fibre helps the digestive system to work properly. Fibre also protects us from such diseases as cancer. Other foods which have a high fibre content are nuts, cereals, beans and pasta.

I know that food which contains sugar is not healthy. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I dislike sweets, cola drinks or chocolate. However, I don’t take any sugar in my tea or coffee.

I also try to consume less salt. It is estimated that we need one gm of salt per day. Too much salt causes high blood pressure. It increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. So, the less salt you consume the better.

I also try to follow health experts’ recommendations to drink five or six glasses of water a day. I usually drink Lipetsk mineral water which is very wholesome.