Social issues/ project : Eating Habits
Sponsored by :students of grade 10 from Ibn Khaldoun high school l,MOROCCO.
Supervised by:MIFDAL Bouchaib
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Dear learning circle partners,
I am Mifdal Bouchaib from Morocco.I and my students would like to sponsor a project about eating habits.we would like you to share with us your eating habits in an attempt to understand and explore each other culture better.
We would like you to answer the questions in the following survey
1-what time do you eat? Breakfast, lunch, dinner.
2-when do you have the main meal of the day? at lunch time / in the evening
3-How many courses do you have in your meal?
(appetizer ,main course, dessert, other)
4-How often do you eat....? Please choose a number for every item
(4=every day 3=once a week 2=once a month 1=never )
*sandwiches
*potatoes
*green vegetables
*pasta
*meat
*fish
*salad
*frozen food
*fresh food
*food from other countries
5-How often do you eat out? Usually, sometimes , rarely , never
6-Do you on a diet? regularly, hardly ever , never
7-Do you take vitamin supplements? usually, sometimes , never
8-Do you eat between meals? always, often, rarely , never
9-Do you spend a lot on food? Yes / No. If yes, how much?
We are looking forward to your responses, which we will gather and come up with important information. We would appreciate very much if you would include a note on how to make your favorite snack (local recipe) and the name of your community. We will write a report about your eating habits and send it to every school in this learning circle.
We hope our project would be interesting and a great fun. Thank you.
MIFDAL Bouchaib and His Students.
Ibn Khaldoun High School, El Jadida, Morocco
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RESPONSES FROM OTHER SCHOOLS
From Nesreen to Eating Habits ( Mifdal)……
This is some of our eating habits …I and my student did a discussion then we decided to write this answers to your questions.
Our breakfast is at 9am, lunch between 2 and 3 pm, dinner half past 8.
We have the main meal of the day at lunch time
Meat and vegetables are our courses.
We often eat....?
(4=every day 3=once a week 2=once a month 1=never )
· sandwiches 3 *potatoes 3
*green vegetables 4
*pasta 2
*meat 4
*fish 2
*salad 4
*frozen food 2
*fresh food 4
*food from other countries 2
We often eat out sometimes.
I hardly ever on a diet.
We take vitamin supplements sometimes.
We rarely eat between meals.
We do not spend a lot on food.
We prefer to eat from all kinds to keep our bodies healthy, because every kind has it’s benefits. Although to gather all kinds of vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, mineral salts and water.
Iman,Manaf,Waell and Mohanad from Syria.
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This is the first time we share the Eating habits project.
We will tell u about what u have to do when u want to eat.
1. Before eating, we should wash our hands.
2. Say in the name of Allah at the very beginning.
3.Eat with the right hand.
4. Have a good seat.
5. Eat only if you are hungry.
6. Eat slowly and chew well.
7. We shouldn't say I don't like this and that.
8. We should show that we have enjoyed the meal.
9. Try not to add too much salt and pepper.
10. Don't eat too much or u will get fat.
11. Put in your dish what u can finish eating.
12. Don't speak with ur mouth full of food.
13. Don't look at the others eating on the table.
14. Don't have a drink an hour after the end of the meal.
15. Thank Allah at the end of the meal.
16. Don't forget to thank ur mother for the delicious meal.
17. Take ur plate to the kitchen and wash it when you have done.
18. Don't eat dessert before bedtime.
19. But the most important thing is not to eat junk food.
I wish u interest our culture habits.
We will send the answers of the questions u write at the other response.
Good luck for everyone.
Nesreen, Syria
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From :PS173 ,queens New YorkHello we are the fifth-graders of PS173 of Queens New York and we also eat in a certain way. Maybe we don't have rules but in a way we have our own customs. Some habits we have are very different or very similar to yours.
1-We set the table for everyone to enjoy and serve themselves.
2- Then prior to the meal we pray to Our Lord, The Father and thank him for this delicious food
3- We enjoy our meal and eat until we cant eat any more!
4- We hydrate our meal with some juice or cola cola.
5-We clean our area then leave the table and enjoy the rest of the day.
Thank You for considering to read my message and it was nice talking to you Bye!!
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To the attention of Fran Dryer's students ,
Dear friends in New York,
Hello.I am Mifdal From Morocco.This is just to clarify some points in the instructions given by Nesreen from Syria.You asked about the identity of ALLAH.ALLAH is the name of the god in Islam,and mentioning the name of Allah before and after eating has the objective to thank God for providing us with food.Eating with the right hand is just a convention ,I am not sure if it is a religious regulation .As for the seat,I think she meant to sit comfortably.To make a comment on food should be positive even not true in order not to offend the cook(mother).
I hope you find my answers satisfying and I am sure our collegue Nesreen who wrote those instructions will give better responses.
Have a good day.
Mifdal from Morocco
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Dear Mifdal,
We appreciate your prompt answers to our questions. We find that the customs of others are interesting. They do not reflect things that we are familiar with as our daily process. We have very lax culture. I like the fact that you are kind and considerated to the cook in the house and have good manners.
Your answers helped to clarify our curiousity and we will continue to research about your daily customs.
Queens New York
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To Mifdal & Students for your eating habits project
1. I eat breakfast at 6:45 am, lunch around 12:00, and dinner around 7:00 pm . Breakfast I eat alone, lunch with friends if I am at school and dinner I usually eat with my family.
2. I eat the main meal of the day at dinner. We usually eat something like salad, some kind of meat or fish and 2 or three vegetables (my parents like us to eat healthy), sometimes we have dessert and coffee or tea after dinner, especially if we have my grandparents or friends over for dinner.
3. We usually eat a salad course and a main meal. Because we eat a little late we often have an appetizer as we prepare dinner and talk about our day. In my family, everyone that is at home usually helps prepare some part of the evening meal.
4. Sandwiches 4
Potatoes 3
Green vegetables 4
Pasta 3
Meat 3
Fish 2
Salad 4
Frozen food 2
Fresh food 4
Food from other countries 3
5. Our family usually eats out about once a week and it ranges from pizza to a nicer restaurant. Pizza will cost about $US 25 for a family of 5 and a nicer meal can cost $US 50 – 100 for a family of 5.
6. I never diet, but try to eat healthy foods with some candy or fast food every once in a while.
7. I usually take a multi-vitamin.
8. I often eat between meals.
9. Yes, I spend a lot on food about $US 15 for snacks at school. Other food is purchased and paid for by my parents.
Community: Fall River
Favorite snack: microwave popcorn, Swedish fish (candy), ice cream, and cookies
A recipe for my favorite cookies that I like to bring to my friend’s house for parties is:
Cinnamon-Sugar Cookies
(Quantity = About 80 cookies)
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons buttermilk
2 ½ cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
· * 1 teaspoon cinnamon **
Part I
1I. Cream the butter, then gradually add the sugar, beating until light.
2I. Add the egg, vanilla, and buttermilk, and beat thoroughly.
3I. Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder and cinnamon together, add to the first mixture, and blend well.
4I. Refrigerate at least two hours.
Part II
1II. Preheat oven to 350°F(180°C)
2II. Roll 1/8 inch thick on floured board.
3II.Cut into shapes.
4II.Arrange on baking sheet 1 inch apart.
5II. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
6II. Let cool slightly on cookie sheet.
7II. Transfer to cooling rack and sprinkle with powdered sugar while still warm.
I hope you like the cookies & good luck with your project.
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To Mifdal & Students for Eating Habits Project:
One final response and recipe for your project.
1. I eat breakfast at about 7 AM, Lunch at about 12 (noon) and supper at 6pm
2. My main meal of the day is in the evening, except on the weekend when we have a really big lunch meal on Sunday and a really big breakfast on Saturday.
3. Every day we have just a main course, but on the weekends or special meals we have appetizer, soup, salad, main meal,& dessert. We do not usually eat this many courses because it would be alot of food to prepare and so much food to eat that we would all get very fat.
4. sandwiches 4;
potatoes, 3 (actually about 3 times week)
green vegetables 4
pasta 3 (about 3 times per week)
meat 4
fish 3
salad 4
frozen food 2
fresh food 4
food from other countries 4
5. We eat out about 2 or three time per week - it is still a special treat to get to go out to eat.
6. I diet so I don't get too fat. Usually this just means no junk food, candy, soda or dessert.
7. Yes I take vitamins because my doctor tells me to take them to keep healthy.
8. I do not usually eat between meals. Once in a while a piece of fruit or some crackers if I am really starving.
9. My family spends about $100 per week buying food at the grocery store.
One favorite snack at my house is S'mores. You need graham crackers, marshmallows and some chocolate candy bar. These are best if you toast the marshmallow over a camp fire and smush it between two crackers with a piece of chocolate (kind of like a marshmallow and chocolate sandwich). If you don;t have a camp fire handy, you can place a graham cracker on a plate with a marshmallow on top, put into the microwave for about 15 seconds, top with chocolate piece of candy and second cracker and eat. Very yummy, but be careful not to burn your tongue on the hot marshmallow .
I am sending you this message from Fall River which is in the USA in Massachusetts.
Good luck with your project.
Jennifer, grade 7
Kathryn age 13, Grade 8
From
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Linda , St Michael school
Dear Mifdal:
I am sorry not to have replied sooner to your post .
The information you have provided is very helpful and we appreciate your help with our project.
One question about the cost of the bread. Is that in your currency or converted to American dollars?
We are continuing to work on additional responses to your project and will send them in the next week.
We are switching our school computer lab over to new computers. This is very exciting, but waiting for the networking to be completed is causing our computer lab to be shut down.
Hope all is well in Morocco. We are starting to plant our spring flowers and early spring vegetables in our garden. The students are beginning to wear sandals and shorts and we are able to play our favorite sports like soccer and baseball. It is much more fun to play these sports outside.
We like to cook outside in the warm weather and many families have gas grills for having cookouts.Do you use gas grills to cook on in Morocco?
We also have alot of picnics when the weather is nice where we pack a cooler full of food and visit a local park and eat outside. We usually have sandwiches or salads, sometimes hamburgers or hotdogs and potato chips. For dessert we like to have cookies and cupcakes because they are easy to eat outside. We like to drink water, soda, iced tea or lemonade. We also like to eat watermelon for dessert.
WBS (write back soon )
Your friends at St. Michael's School
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Our responses to our project
According to the data collected by my students concerning the questionnaire about eating habits, we have come up with the following conclusions:
1-Generally speaking , on school or work days people in Morocco have breakfast at 7: 00; lunch at 12:45,dinner at 20:30.On weekends,there is a one or two hours change.
2-Our main meal is certainly lunch. Dinner is not given a big importance .
3-We usually have a salad as an appetizer,then the main course and often fruit for the dessert.
4-Sandwiches are almost a daily habit especially in the evening.Vegetables and potatoes are included in our meals. Fish,
chicken and meat are alternatively consumed.We eat a lot of food from other countries .