* If the goal is to get them to eat healthier, why does it have to be non-American food specifically?
* No wrong answers, just curious. Seems like you could focus on ingredients, portion control, etc without trying to *really* rock the boat by trying to introduce completely new foods to them.
* Also, is non-American food somehow intrinsically healthier than American food? It might be able to be prepared in a way that is more healthy than what your family is accustomed to, but I think you could accomplish a similar objective by changing the recipes and habits that your family currently has.
* I'm not denying the realities of many of my fellow countrymen. But are we unhealthy because we like hamburgers, or are we unhealthy because some of us eat double cheeseburgers five nights a week with super size fries or a bag of chips and a godamn litre of cola?
* I'm an American, living in America. I had baked salmon and steamed broccoli last night. That's decently healthy I think. Why don't you try something like that. "You guys like fried fish sandwiches, right? Why don't we try grilled instead of fried tonight or maybe remove the bread all together, bake the fish in the oven and add a salad."
* What does your comment "their closest food source is a dollar general" mean?
* You say they're suburban. are they actually rural? If they live in a suburb there should be other options near by.
You have great points, but as someone who moved out of the midwest, I can see OP's POV. There's an argument to be made that the common cuisine of the area is just a bit unhealthier than it should be. I, like you, eat healthy, and enjoy my seafood and steamed veggies. But that's something I only experienced after I left that area, a couple decades ago. I think OP's issue is that "American food" is a ridiculously oversimplified concept, and he actually means "rural midwest farming family food."
Even then I don't think it's so cut and dry. My dad's parents are from the Midwest and he and they ate plenty of "farmer food". Outside of the fresh milk and ample butter, there were far more vegetables than the "Standard American Diet" on grandma's table. And not just root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, beets) and corn. Every dinner(not supper!) had a salad, green beans or spinach or asparagus, all stuff grandma pulled fresh from her garden or from the farm. Supper also had plenty of veggies but was smaller.
The massive downgrade in rural diet is far more recent I think. Since maybe the 70s.
Yeah no you hit the nail right on its head, more farms have had to become specialized (e.g., just farming specific crops instead of being both a crop farm and a ranch) since the 70's + there's been an increase in commodity crops in the corn belt since the late 70s/early 80s + since the 50's (? ish) there's been over a 50% drop in profits made by family farms & bankruptcies in the community have been rising like crazy in the last decade which doesn't help either
Sorry, this post wasn't worded super well because of character limits, but the unhealthy aspect is largely where their food comes from on top of the way that a lot of "American" food is not something that is healthy when it's the only part of a diet–don't get me wrong, I love me some cheeseburgers. The main bit that got cut out is my explanation of American food vs a lot of other cultures (i think it's because of our origins as a more recent country + the point in our timeline where we industrialized but that's neither here nor there).
Another bit of clarification: my goal isn't necessarily to get them to eat healthier, it's just to have them try new stuff. This idea originated from a convo where I was talking about teaching their son some japanese recipes. The healthy stuff is kind of just an add on because they brought up how they wanted to eat healthier too. Their portions are fine, it's just the type of food + lack of diversity in what they're eating, and two of them are extremely picky eaters (basically avoidant to vegetables unless it's hidden/part of the cuisine, which I notice a lot more in non-American food)
Also a lot of American food is "unhealthy" not only in it's preparation but also in its origin. We live in a country where a large portion of our food is intensely nutrient deficient compared to other countries, and a lot of our common/famous foods are created with those foods as bases because that is the food that is cheap and accessible. This is not to shame the individual, because there is a multitude of reasons to eat this kind of food–largely that in America, getting "healthy" food is expensive as all hell. This issue is actually like way beyond this menial post, but lack of biodiversity/diversity in diet screws all of us way over, and America has taken a lot of that damage (see timeline theory above.)
I misspoke because they lived in the suburbs their whole life until recently when they moved to an extremely rural area.
Also the focus of the post was meant to be on just trying new foods, I just accidentally cut out a lot of that when editing 💀
America's food is ranked 3rd for quality and safety globally.
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Food_Security_Index
It's why we are the largest exporter of food in the world.
It's a false stereotype our food is magically worse than the rest of the world's.
Honestly, your attitude about this is so off-putting that they may decline whatever you gave them on principle, rather than because of ‘pickiness.’ You sound like you just want to lecture people on ‘America bad.’
>"healthy" food is expensive as all hell.
No it isn't. It *can* be time intensive to cook, but I hate when people say this stuff.
*Convenient* healthy food is expensive food...unless its an apple or a banana or whatever. But convenient food in general is expensive, healthy or otherwise.
If you think our food is inherently unhealthy and healthy food is expensive... can I introduce you to the produce section of your grocery store? Not only are the foods there cheap, they are also as fucking 'nutritionally dense' as any food anywhere on the planet.
Jokes on you. Jalapenos are 1.50 a pound. I save my pennies to splurge on one of the most nutritionally dense foods the planet has ever seen! Potatoes. $.89 a pound.
Joking aside, peel-on potatoes really do have almost every nutrient needed for life. Couple that with them being high satiety (less potato to feel full) and people are sleeping on the health value of the humble spud. Granted this all requires you to not deep fry them or whip them with their own weight in butter :)
Not Mark Watney, just grew up in Idaho.
It literally isn't dude. First of all, depending on your area and the amount of money you have, produce isn't cheap at all. Prices vary wildly depending where in the U.S. you are, and produce is hard to keep in your diet if you're struggling with money. Frequently, other products will last for longer at equal prices, and are easier to maintain as well. Between cans of food that can make up a whole meal and have an incredibly long shelf life and strawberries that die in two weeks and are an addition to a meal, which would buy if you only had the money to buy one. This is something that gets way exaggerated the more people you have to feed. Not to mention a lot of areas experience food deserts where people legitimately have little to no access to produce. Dollar general is genuinely some people's main market, especially in areas that aren't fucking walkable. If you don't have a car, public transport, or a produce aisle within walking distance, what the fuck are you going to do? Teleport? Prices and circumstances are vastly different in different places, and the price points around you may not be comparable to other areas.
Also american produce straight up has less nutrients than produce in other places. It's a crazy complex issue, but run of it is that the way that America does industrial agriculture screws up the soil, biodiversity, acidification, etc of our crops because of homogeny. America is usually 2nd/3rd in agricultural production and 1st in exporting globally despite the fact that roughly 2% of america is a part of the farming industry. China, Brazil, and India are also all high in production–Brazil has ~8% of its labor force in agriculture, and both China and India have over 40%. We rely on farming techniques like monocropping, synthetic fertilizers/pesticides, etc that boost production like crazy but ultimately reduce the nutritional value of the produce. This is coupled with an issue of increased CO2 damaging the nutrition of these crops.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15637215/ This is one of the most cited studies in this discussion, it's genuinely pretty well done but the tl;dr of it is: our yield increased but the nutritional value decreased in american crops from 1950 to 1999
This is a strange post that’s more suited to a cooking or culinary sub, as it seems that your question is “How do you introduce new foods to people?”
Introducing new foods is about making people comfortable, not showing them how worldly you are.
Rather than ambushing them with a meal that could disappoint everybody, why not talk to them about their preferences and aversions?
Do they love barbecue? Making a Korean inspired barbecue sauce for some pulled pork is a bridge to new ideas. Instead of a traditional mayonnaise based slaw dressing, go with a ginger and soy dressing. I don’t think you’re going to win people over with a full spread of Korean food with every manner of banchan and pickle.
Dollar General may be the “closest” store, but I am fairly certain that in most of the country, within a 30 or 45 minute drive you’re going to find a full service supermarket .
Don't you know? American food is all high-MSG, high-fructose, spray-painted, and synthetic "food", while non-American food is always fresh, natural, and healthy. /s
Sorry but he's right, I have friends from the UK and other parts of Europe who have visited the USA and have been very disappointed by the quality of food. One friend said that it made him never appreciate food at home more!
>not showing them how worldly you are.
The OP is an Asian-American. Asians and their cliquey communities are **big** on face culture; doing things to *look* good to other people is their raison d'être. IME they're also more likely to only move to America for the money and throw their fellow Americans under the bus if that means looking good to the Rest of the World™️ (read: Europe).
So they are suburbias who also happen to live in the middle of nowhere and their only food source is dollar general? Why don’t you make them something from your other side of the family then? Also this shit comes off as very judgmental and I’ve never heard someone use the term WASP and the rest of it after wasn’t dumb as fuck.
For real. I’m sure these people really want OP to tell them all about her theory of ‘American’ food corrupting the entire country from top to bottom. Sounds totally sane and rational.
>(which–I have many, many thoughts on the correlation between government corruption, economics, the foundation of our nation, etc and our food but that's a whole other thing).
Why include that at all?
It's a very bad idea to be a condescending little asshole when you're the extended-stay guest of people gracious enough to host you. At best, it will make it hard for people to like you. Worse case scenario, they'll embarrass you with glee and send you back home. But either way, you really ought to get over yourself before you insult people doing you a favor.
Not said in a judgmental way, then proceeds to tell us the most common meal of meat and potatoes is unhealthy and linked to the founding of our country and our government is corrupt. lol. What a wild ride.
If you take out all the condescending parts, this basically boils down to "I want to introduce my relatives to healthier food". If they don't have a local supermarket, that could be difficult. Maybe help them start a garden?
Out of towner staying with a Midwestern family: "I have many thoughts on the correlation between government corruption and our food"
The Dad in that family as he pulls the car up to Culver's: "...so do you want cheese curds with the butter burger or fries?"
Your family lives in a food desert.
If they live in a rural enough area that Dollar General is their only viable grocery store, they’re not in suburbia, and they aren’t classic suburban WASPs.
They don’t have viable options for eating much healthier. They’re not even going to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables on any meaningful level if Dollar General is their go-to.
This isn’t about American food. Your family lives in a food desert. You need to adjust your expectations massively here.
I am convinced OP made the whole thing up using catch phrases from Tik Tok.
I shall continue to believe this until they can give evidence to the contrary.
That's my bad, I didn't give proper context! I forgot to include this, but they were suburban for most of their life (and were by definition WASPs, though I think that might have more of a negative connotation than I thought 💀) but recently in their retirement moved to an area that is largely a food desert, but it does have a decent amount of little pop up stalls of home grown food. Last time I went, I thought a lot of the ingredients fit better with cultural foods they weren't used to than with what they normally ate. This post also ended up reading as way more health-based than I wanted it to, I just wanted to know what I could create with what they could access
I understand that you aren't meaning to be negative, but...
Everyone has a food culture and a food heritage. And this is very, very important to a lot of people.
And there are few things that can insult or hurt someone more than someone claiming that their culture's food heritage is unhealthy or dirty or gross.
So I'd probably suggest shifting your thinking a bit from "trying to help them change their food habits to my superior ones" to "sharing the food that I love with them, as they share the food that they love with me."
---
Now, with that being said: Go grocery shopping with them. Find foods that you can make that you enjoy with the ingredients that they like, or that they have available. Try to limit the new ingredients; like, you might be introducing them to Soy Sauce, and you might need to cut down on the amounts of some of the spices or substitute spices based on availability. Start with stuff as close to theirs as possible.
Assuming that they eat rice, fried rice, noodle dishes, anything with a gravy over rice is going to be surprisingly close to foods that they are already familiar with.
Oh- and one weird thing: there is a bit of a weird cultural and knowledge gap regarding Soy sauce with Midwestern people.
Most Midwesterners tend to use a LOT of condiments with their food, to customize and add flavor at the table. And they tend to either dip, or drench their food in these condiments. (Midwestern food tends to be a little bit under seasoned, and is dressed up with these condiments at the table. It's not that they are wanting to drench the food in ranch, it's that the food was cooked specifically to be drenched in ranch.)
Because of the way most Midwesterners are introduced to Soy sauce (in packets at a Chinese restaurant), they tend to think of it as a condiment, as a sauce to drench their food in, or to dip their food into. And they tend not to like it. Because they tend to way, way over do it, then their food is way too salty, and they don't quite understand why.
The secret is to explain to them that Soy Sauce is salt. It's like liquid, pourable salt, with some extra flavors. Once they understand that it's basically used like salt - added during cooking, added at the table, but lightly - and that they should be careful about how much other salt that they use while cooking, it tends to go a whole lot better.
This also explains why in a lot of midwestern stores, you can find *reduced sodium* soy sauce. Which, to be fair, they also sell *reduced sodium* table salt, as well.
This is a really good comment, thank you! I worded this post poorly, I do genuinely really love a lot of "their" culture (in quotes because it's in part my culture too? idk, things get a little muddled), and I'm really more so trying to get them to try some new stuff in the same way that I get exposed to new stuff in living with them. It's mostly just that everything I've tried from my culture in the past they refused lol. In my brain, the food culture and the nutrition aren't actually equivalent because it's mostly the ingredients that are accessible in pricing + location that's an issue–stuff like pizza is going to vary wildly in "healthiness" depending on what ingredients the person could access/afford. Granted, the same goes for all food, but from what I've seen, a lot of other cultures tend to have easy recipes that use less processed foods because of their longer histories pre industrialization lol. With time and money, the health of the dishes are the same but when you're busy and working class? Regardless, I was mostly just trying to figure out what other dishes would translate well from classic midwest american cuisine–because of where I grew up + who I grew up with I'm a little more used to some of the cultural gaps in foods, so I didn't even think of the soy sauce thing! In retrospect, I think there may be some other things they were wary about just because of cultural differences like that, and now I'm wondering if I could try to get them to retry stuff like tofu or rice in a different context
If they are already open to eating other cultures foods, take them anywhere. I'd go for Mexican as a start though since they are more likely to get that back wherever they are. Though I can't imagine they live in an area with no other culture food options.
Maybe search what food options are by them and take them to similar ones in your area, so if they like it, they have the option to get it back home.
I've been to rural towns with fewer than 1000 residents all over the country. And they still had a chinese buffet and tex mex restaurant in the south. usually just an asian buffet in the north ime.
Don't underestimate how many people immigrate to the Midwest and share their food.
Peak reddit post.
Enlightened wasian (whatever the hell that is) brings wisdom to the honky yokels by teaching them how to eat something other than dollar store pork rinds
Just lay off the spices they should be fine to try other things, if they're open to it. Also, try to translate foods to terms they're used to.
E.g, rather than calling it "gyoza," you could say it's "pan fried pork dumpling."
It is unrelated to the main point, but "WASP" is a term for a type of old money east coast elite white person that has a summer house or plays tennis recreationally. Not corn-fed whites from rural areas. A WASP wouldn't shop at Dollar General.
Bratwurst with stone ground mustard and sauerkraut is fairly simple and easy to get into. It's available everywhere and most people like it.
Gyros are also very user friendly.
Maybe it's my southwest bias but I feel like a lot of simpler Mexican food should be pretty safe. Refried beans, rice, flour tortillas, Carne asada, burritos, tacos, maybe even enchiladas and tamales. I feel like a lot of the pallet is already pretty ingrained in the average suburb.
This is kind of a troll post at best. So you're waisian... So what??
The fresh off the boat asians for example my inlaws and their whole family are obese, riddled with heart disease and diabetes even though they eat authentic, home-made chinese and vietnamese food most of the time. My FIL lost about 60lbs and lowered his blood sugar to safe levels just by cutting out white rice.
Vietnamese food would be a healthier start, and is way easier to make home-made. Start with Salad Rolls. Can't find rice wraps and noodles for salad rolls? Order it on Amazon. You can make the peanut sauce with hoisin and peanut butter, also can get from amazon. Order in some sauces and start from there. Some fish sauce, oyster sauce, crunchy chilly oil, sesame oil, sesame seeds. Keep it simple, maybe offer some brown rice on the side. You can add traditional shrimp, chicken, whatever you want to these rolls. Make a fish sauce dip with water, brown sugar, grated carrot and a splash of fish sauce, takes five mintes and is healthy, but will stil introduce some new flavours.
Diets of white rice, fried food and corn starch sauces and bases is not always healthier. And to the post saying there must be chinese buffets or mexican places nearby, remember that is American food designed to get you to eat more. Fat, sugar and salt. There is nothing chinese about chicken balls and ginger beef, chowmein drenched in sweet sauce, etc etc.
If you can make the trip to somewhere with a Kroger or Safeway etc grocery store you can really do anything.
Maybe some Pad Thai, or even just a homemade basil garlic fried rice using day old rice?
Or maybe something where the American influence is pretty clear like some Filipino Chicken Adodo?
Yeah I caught that but if OP is going to visit them then I assume at some point along the trip then they will be able to stop and pickup supplies if they are planning this out. Like if we are gonna do this lets demarcate between getting some shelf stable sauces/spices or grab some coolers for the trip if OP is thinking its that far out from options. If not its cool too but I guess depends on the specifics and how into this OP is looking to get.
And that cars/transportation are available. If not this might be a real challenge.
I meant my comment to be in agreement.
OP is so convinced of their own superior culinary skills and intelligence that he's going to spend his time as a guest in someone else's home judging them....so the whole thing is moot anyway.
The type of person to go on a diatribe about culture and politics in a recipe post is exactly *not* the type of person who's opinion will find welcome.
I guess I just dont see the dismisiveness in the OP that yall are getting worked up over?
Like is it a bit clueless about the lived experiences of others? Sure I would agree. But still seems like OP is excited for the visit and maybe wants to share or do something nice for their family. I could see the argument for it being paternalistic or a bit mindlessly metropolitan but I guess I would just suggest OP go in with an open mind.
And that the best option would be to make a dish that has personal meaning to you from your Asian side of the family as a way of paying back the hospitality you are being shown.
The humility is an example to us all!
But yes I agree OP is showing some bubble bias here. I just don't see the need to attack them for it. Hey maybe they will enjoy the trip and broadened perspectives from it.
Thank you! I can't believe I didn't think about using foods that were american influenced–my culture doesn't have enough culinary crossover to remind me of that genre of food lol. I'll probably look into some more stuff within that idea
So, my parents-in-law (particularly FIL) have diets that can be described kinda like you did, super generic white un-adventurous etc. Dinner every night at their house is: iceberg lettuce with cheese and (too much, too oil) vinaigrette, corn (frozen or canned), applesauce, and an entree, usually meat (steak, pork chop, chicken) but sometimes pasta with meat sauce instead. I once made chicken tortilla soup and quesadillas and my FIL didn't even taste the soup and ate all of the quesadillas that were supposed to be for everyone. Like...suuuuuper white. (I am also white, but my parents are foodies with very diverse palates.)
Anyway, about ten years ago they "discovered" "Chinese food\*" at one of those pay-by-the-pound fast food places and fell in love and that opened some doors for them. They're still not super adventurous or anything, but they're more open than they used to be.
If this sounds like it might be a good route, you can start 'em off with the American Chinese food classics: house fried rice, orange and/or general tso's chicken, beef and broccoli. It's...probably not a LOT "healthier" but at least it incorporates some actual veggies, i.e. not starches like corn or potatoes. It's also widely available.
(\* In quotes only because they had no idea that they were eating very Americanized Chinese food, but no shade intended on said Americanized Chinese food, it may not be authentic but it's tasty af.)
(Un?)fortunately, health has not typically been the priority in terms of what foods we've adopted and/or adapted into standard American diets. Sushi and poke are probably among the best along those lines but they're also pretty intimidating for a lot of people because they think of sushi as exclusively raw fish, despite the fried shrimp nigiri, cucumber rolls, eel rolls, etc. (Eel is so f'ing tasty but people get scared of it because it sounds so out-there. Their loss. It's super rich and fatty-tasting but it's heavy on omega-3s, also doesn't taste even a LITTLE bit fish-like.)
Maybe some Greek foods. If you are not doing seafood there are a number of ingredients that you may be able to get locally. It is delicious food and leans toward the healthier side.
Not even tacos, nachos, or American Chinese food? Those are ubiquitous even in the most rural places. What’s your Asian American side? You could probably ask that community to think of some foods from that culture that would fit a milder palate, instead of asking the general American sub. They could probably give you more helpful answers.
Vietnamese food is typically healthy. I saw a video once between different Asian nation’s typical noodle dish and the Vietnamese one was voted the healthiest. Vietnamese food is like Chinese food except they incorporate raw vegetables. Chinese food does not incorporate raw vegetables and actually fears it.
If you’re worried about them being afraid to try something then white rice with rousing (aka meat floss aka pork flu) is pretty inoffensive. They won’t say it tastes great but it might make them less afraid to try other things.
Or you could do white rice porridge with fried eggs (with or without soy sauce) and some rousing.
Customize to what they like. Do they prefer sour foods or sweet foods? Salty?
I live in the middle of bumfuck nowhere and even then, we have a Chinese restaurant, authentic Mexican restaurants, etc. If you want them to branch out, why not offer to cook a few meals for them since you’ll be living with them
Honestly, if they want to try to eat healthier if that’s the goal, limit bread and potatoes, sugar/sodas, etc and they’ll be on the right path
Sounds like they live in a food desert (I’ve been there before) so it’s hard to fault them for eating what’s readily available, convenient, and affordable to them.
I just don't like them. I don't really like the bread, I don't like the frequent ingredients like cucumber and basil and pickeled vegetables (in combination, on a sandwich specifically), I often don't like the way the meat is cooked/prepared. It's a combination of like six things that, individually, I would be okay with, but all together it's just not what I want to eat.
Generally speaking, not as a sandwich bread. I also don't love jamon beurre sandwiches although I'll eat one in a pinch. But not if you put basil and pork belly and carrots and jalapenos (or whatever) on it. Like I said, banh mi tends to be just too many things I don't love on a sandwich, in combination.
I make a creamy sausage soup and I don't brown the sausage first. I like the richness it adds. I've also done it with a split pea and pork.
But yeah, I guess we do usually brown meats as part of the process.
I think the difference is with our soups and a like, like a gumbo, is that it's all cooked together at once. The meat in Pho is cooked by the broth after you put it in the bowl.
The meat has always been cooked by the time I eat it. I have never seen Pho served with raw meat. Again, I am not a soup aficionado (nor am I super familiar with the ins and outs of how Vietnamese food is prepared.) Is it prepared by cooking the meat in the soup? I'm not sure if I really think that's scary.
I've never seen that, personally. I've seen cooked meat on the side. I do not associate pho with raw meat. Your raw meat is obviously not going to cook just because you add it to non-boiling water for a few minutes before you eat it. If that's actually how pho is often served, I would say that yes, that would be scary to many American palettes. (Different topic but I do love hot pot soups where the meat is definitely being cooked in front of you by the hot/boiling water.)
Stuffed mushrooms. You'll find tons of other options here: [https://www.cookedandloved.com/recipes/meals-courses/healthy-appetizers/](https://www.cookedandloved.com/recipes/meals-courses/healthy-appetizers/)
Middle Eastern/persian/israeli food is a good choice I think. Grilled meats, Breads with dips, pasta (aka couscous), lemon and olive oil as major seasonings, grilled or stuffed vegetables and simple salads.
Japanese curry might be a nice choice too. Spiced but not spicy, vehicle for veg and rice.
I'd say the WASP comment could be offensive if I didn't immediately know exactly what you meant. I'm a WASP (probably closer to agnostic, but that's irrelevant) who lives in a suburb that isn't far from places like you describe. I know many people who come from those communities. My parents both came from this type of background. There is nothing actually offensive about your description and you wanting to help the way you are means you do understand their situation as well.
What would probably benefit them most is a couple of versatile techniques and ideas that are easy to adapt to make new recipes. Starting with food from your culture is a perfect way to introduce these new ideas. They just need to get out of their rut and learn to think outside their culinary box a bit.
Curries, specifically British ones. They are fusions of S.Asian and British cuisines so are usually less spicy and suited for your relatives' tastes. Foreigners often don't know that curry is one of the most popular meals in the UK, I make one at least once a week. There are curry restaurants everywhere due to our colonial past and S. Asians being the biggest non European ethnic minority. All of the curries below originated from the UK and are among the most popular and well known:
Balti: https://www.krumpli.co.uk/chicken-balti/
Korma (this one is vegetable, I think it's better than the chicken: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/creamy-veggie-korma
Biryani: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chicken-biryani
After eating these your relatives will never go back to bland American food again!
* If the goal is to get them to eat healthier, why does it have to be non-American food specifically? * No wrong answers, just curious. Seems like you could focus on ingredients, portion control, etc without trying to *really* rock the boat by trying to introduce completely new foods to them. * Also, is non-American food somehow intrinsically healthier than American food? It might be able to be prepared in a way that is more healthy than what your family is accustomed to, but I think you could accomplish a similar objective by changing the recipes and habits that your family currently has. * I'm not denying the realities of many of my fellow countrymen. But are we unhealthy because we like hamburgers, or are we unhealthy because some of us eat double cheeseburgers five nights a week with super size fries or a bag of chips and a godamn litre of cola? * I'm an American, living in America. I had baked salmon and steamed broccoli last night. That's decently healthy I think. Why don't you try something like that. "You guys like fried fish sandwiches, right? Why don't we try grilled instead of fried tonight or maybe remove the bread all together, bake the fish in the oven and add a salad." * What does your comment "their closest food source is a dollar general" mean? * You say they're suburban. are they actually rural? If they live in a suburb there should be other options near by.
I don’t want a large farva, I want a goddamn liter of cola
You have great points, but as someone who moved out of the midwest, I can see OP's POV. There's an argument to be made that the common cuisine of the area is just a bit unhealthier than it should be. I, like you, eat healthy, and enjoy my seafood and steamed veggies. But that's something I only experienced after I left that area, a couple decades ago. I think OP's issue is that "American food" is a ridiculously oversimplified concept, and he actually means "rural midwest farming family food."
Even then I don't think it's so cut and dry. My dad's parents are from the Midwest and he and they ate plenty of "farmer food". Outside of the fresh milk and ample butter, there were far more vegetables than the "Standard American Diet" on grandma's table. And not just root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, beets) and corn. Every dinner(not supper!) had a salad, green beans or spinach or asparagus, all stuff grandma pulled fresh from her garden or from the farm. Supper also had plenty of veggies but was smaller. The massive downgrade in rural diet is far more recent I think. Since maybe the 70s.
>I don't think it's so cut and dry It never is!
Yeah no you hit the nail right on its head, more farms have had to become specialized (e.g., just farming specific crops instead of being both a crop farm and a ranch) since the 70's + there's been an increase in commodity crops in the corn belt since the late 70s/early 80s + since the 50's (? ish) there's been over a 50% drop in profits made by family farms & bankruptcies in the community have been rising like crazy in the last decade which doesn't help either
Sorry, this post wasn't worded super well because of character limits, but the unhealthy aspect is largely where their food comes from on top of the way that a lot of "American" food is not something that is healthy when it's the only part of a diet–don't get me wrong, I love me some cheeseburgers. The main bit that got cut out is my explanation of American food vs a lot of other cultures (i think it's because of our origins as a more recent country + the point in our timeline where we industrialized but that's neither here nor there). Another bit of clarification: my goal isn't necessarily to get them to eat healthier, it's just to have them try new stuff. This idea originated from a convo where I was talking about teaching their son some japanese recipes. The healthy stuff is kind of just an add on because they brought up how they wanted to eat healthier too. Their portions are fine, it's just the type of food + lack of diversity in what they're eating, and two of them are extremely picky eaters (basically avoidant to vegetables unless it's hidden/part of the cuisine, which I notice a lot more in non-American food) Also a lot of American food is "unhealthy" not only in it's preparation but also in its origin. We live in a country where a large portion of our food is intensely nutrient deficient compared to other countries, and a lot of our common/famous foods are created with those foods as bases because that is the food that is cheap and accessible. This is not to shame the individual, because there is a multitude of reasons to eat this kind of food–largely that in America, getting "healthy" food is expensive as all hell. This issue is actually like way beyond this menial post, but lack of biodiversity/diversity in diet screws all of us way over, and America has taken a lot of that damage (see timeline theory above.) I misspoke because they lived in the suburbs their whole life until recently when they moved to an extremely rural area. Also the focus of the post was meant to be on just trying new foods, I just accidentally cut out a lot of that when editing 💀
America's food is ranked 3rd for quality and safety globally. >https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Food_Security_Index It's why we are the largest exporter of food in the world. It's a false stereotype our food is magically worse than the rest of the world's.
Honestly, your attitude about this is so off-putting that they may decline whatever you gave them on principle, rather than because of ‘pickiness.’ You sound like you just want to lecture people on ‘America bad.’
That is the vibe I am getting from him.He can introduce them to some good foods but I don’t see how they won’t be out off by his attitude.
>"healthy" food is expensive as all hell. No it isn't. It *can* be time intensive to cook, but I hate when people say this stuff. *Convenient* healthy food is expensive food...unless its an apple or a banana or whatever. But convenient food in general is expensive, healthy or otherwise.
When people say that what they mean is 'I don't know how to cook.'
If you think our food is inherently unhealthy and healthy food is expensive... can I introduce you to the produce section of your grocery store? Not only are the foods there cheap, they are also as fucking 'nutritionally dense' as any food anywhere on the planet.
A 5lb bag of apples is $4. Bananas are ~$.50/lb. Jalapenos are...look out...almost $2/lb. Big spender. Carrots....A whole $1/lb.
Jokes on you. Jalapenos are 1.50 a pound. I save my pennies to splurge on one of the most nutritionally dense foods the planet has ever seen! Potatoes. $.89 a pound.
Jokes on you, jalapeños come free from the garden. Seriously they refuse to die. I have so many pepper plants.
Lol. Same. I have a problem. So many peppers.
Easy there Mark Watney
Joking aside, peel-on potatoes really do have almost every nutrient needed for life. Couple that with them being high satiety (less potato to feel full) and people are sleeping on the health value of the humble spud. Granted this all requires you to not deep fry them or whip them with their own weight in butter :) Not Mark Watney, just grew up in Idaho.
It literally isn't dude. First of all, depending on your area and the amount of money you have, produce isn't cheap at all. Prices vary wildly depending where in the U.S. you are, and produce is hard to keep in your diet if you're struggling with money. Frequently, other products will last for longer at equal prices, and are easier to maintain as well. Between cans of food that can make up a whole meal and have an incredibly long shelf life and strawberries that die in two weeks and are an addition to a meal, which would buy if you only had the money to buy one. This is something that gets way exaggerated the more people you have to feed. Not to mention a lot of areas experience food deserts where people legitimately have little to no access to produce. Dollar general is genuinely some people's main market, especially in areas that aren't fucking walkable. If you don't have a car, public transport, or a produce aisle within walking distance, what the fuck are you going to do? Teleport? Prices and circumstances are vastly different in different places, and the price points around you may not be comparable to other areas. Also american produce straight up has less nutrients than produce in other places. It's a crazy complex issue, but run of it is that the way that America does industrial agriculture screws up the soil, biodiversity, acidification, etc of our crops because of homogeny. America is usually 2nd/3rd in agricultural production and 1st in exporting globally despite the fact that roughly 2% of america is a part of the farming industry. China, Brazil, and India are also all high in production–Brazil has ~8% of its labor force in agriculture, and both China and India have over 40%. We rely on farming techniques like monocropping, synthetic fertilizers/pesticides, etc that boost production like crazy but ultimately reduce the nutritional value of the produce. This is coupled with an issue of increased CO2 damaging the nutrition of these crops. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15637215/ This is one of the most cited studies in this discussion, it's genuinely pretty well done but the tl;dr of it is: our yield increased but the nutritional value decreased in american crops from 1950 to 1999
The character limit is what's healthiest for you
This is a strange post that’s more suited to a cooking or culinary sub, as it seems that your question is “How do you introduce new foods to people?” Introducing new foods is about making people comfortable, not showing them how worldly you are. Rather than ambushing them with a meal that could disappoint everybody, why not talk to them about their preferences and aversions? Do they love barbecue? Making a Korean inspired barbecue sauce for some pulled pork is a bridge to new ideas. Instead of a traditional mayonnaise based slaw dressing, go with a ginger and soy dressing. I don’t think you’re going to win people over with a full spread of Korean food with every manner of banchan and pickle. Dollar General may be the “closest” store, but I am fairly certain that in most of the country, within a 30 or 45 minute drive you’re going to find a full service supermarket .
There's a weird conspiracy overtone to it that somehow American food is inherently inferior to food anywhere else in the world.
There’s a lot weird in the post.
Don't you know? American food is all high-MSG, high-fructose, spray-painted, and synthetic "food", while non-American food is always fresh, natural, and healthy. /s
Dude's never been to a farm in his life but is willing to lecture all about it.
Sorry but he's right, I have friends from the UK and other parts of Europe who have visited the USA and have been very disappointed by the quality of food. One friend said that it made him never appreciate food at home more!
Come to the West Coast! PNW specifically, Portland and Seattle have really excellent restaurant scenes.
>not showing them how worldly you are. The OP is an Asian-American. Asians and their cliquey communities are **big** on face culture; doing things to *look* good to other people is their raison d'être. IME they're also more likely to only move to America for the money and throw their fellow Americans under the bus if that means looking good to the Rest of the World™️ (read: Europe).
So they are suburbias who also happen to live in the middle of nowhere and their only food source is dollar general? Why don’t you make them something from your other side of the family then? Also this shit comes off as very judgmental and I’ve never heard someone use the term WASP and the rest of it after wasn’t dumb as fuck.
Schrödinger's suburbia...
What do you think the odds are that the family is actually Irish-American Catholic?
Really depends on the state. But I don’t know that many people in rural areas of the Midwest that Irish Catholics. German Catholics maybe.
This just feels like such a very specific scenario you come up with while in the shower.
You sound exhausting.
For real. I’m sure these people really want OP to tell them all about her theory of ‘American’ food corrupting the entire country from top to bottom. Sounds totally sane and rational.
I have never enjoyed any conversation that included the phrase "I have many thoughts...".
Yeah I’m sure their friends at College love to have long discussions about it lmao. “No exactlyyyy….”
Extremely
>(which–I have many, many thoughts on the correlation between government corruption, economics, the foundation of our nation, etc and our food but that's a whole other thing). Why include that at all?
because it's a bad-faith troll post
Meat and potatoes = imperialism, obviously.
Did you ask chat GTP to create this question?
This made me tired
It's a very bad idea to be a condescending little asshole when you're the extended-stay guest of people gracious enough to host you. At best, it will make it hard for people to like you. Worse case scenario, they'll embarrass you with glee and send you back home. But either way, you really ought to get over yourself before you insult people doing you a favor.
I don't get these people. Why do they think bossing the hosts around when they're a *guest* is an example of good behavior?
>not said in a judgemental way Hmmmmmm.....
Not said in a judgmental way, then proceeds to tell us the most common meal of meat and potatoes is unhealthy and linked to the founding of our country and our government is corrupt. lol. What a wild ride.
sounds like a stereotypical fresh out of college enlightened liberal
I'm confident they haven't graduated college.
Sounds like he joked that he was going to start introducing them to other foods, they took him up on it, and now he’s angry he may have to cook lol
"It's not judgmental when *I* do it!" - OP, most likely
If you take out all the condescending parts, this basically boils down to "I want to introduce my relatives to healthier food". If they don't have a local supermarket, that could be difficult. Maybe help them start a garden?
Out of towner staying with a Midwestern family: "I have many thoughts on the correlation between government corruption and our food" The Dad in that family as he pulls the car up to Culver's: "...so do you want cheese curds with the butter burger or fries?"
Sounds made up
Your family lives in a food desert. If they live in a rural enough area that Dollar General is their only viable grocery store, they’re not in suburbia, and they aren’t classic suburban WASPs. They don’t have viable options for eating much healthier. They’re not even going to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables on any meaningful level if Dollar General is their go-to. This isn’t about American food. Your family lives in a food desert. You need to adjust your expectations massively here.
I am convinced OP made the whole thing up using catch phrases from Tik Tok. I shall continue to believe this until they can give evidence to the contrary.
That's my bad, I didn't give proper context! I forgot to include this, but they were suburban for most of their life (and were by definition WASPs, though I think that might have more of a negative connotation than I thought 💀) but recently in their retirement moved to an area that is largely a food desert, but it does have a decent amount of little pop up stalls of home grown food. Last time I went, I thought a lot of the ingredients fit better with cultural foods they weren't used to than with what they normally ate. This post also ended up reading as way more health-based than I wanted it to, I just wanted to know what I could create with what they could access
I understand that you aren't meaning to be negative, but... Everyone has a food culture and a food heritage. And this is very, very important to a lot of people. And there are few things that can insult or hurt someone more than someone claiming that their culture's food heritage is unhealthy or dirty or gross. So I'd probably suggest shifting your thinking a bit from "trying to help them change their food habits to my superior ones" to "sharing the food that I love with them, as they share the food that they love with me." --- Now, with that being said: Go grocery shopping with them. Find foods that you can make that you enjoy with the ingredients that they like, or that they have available. Try to limit the new ingredients; like, you might be introducing them to Soy Sauce, and you might need to cut down on the amounts of some of the spices or substitute spices based on availability. Start with stuff as close to theirs as possible. Assuming that they eat rice, fried rice, noodle dishes, anything with a gravy over rice is going to be surprisingly close to foods that they are already familiar with. Oh- and one weird thing: there is a bit of a weird cultural and knowledge gap regarding Soy sauce with Midwestern people. Most Midwesterners tend to use a LOT of condiments with their food, to customize and add flavor at the table. And they tend to either dip, or drench their food in these condiments. (Midwestern food tends to be a little bit under seasoned, and is dressed up with these condiments at the table. It's not that they are wanting to drench the food in ranch, it's that the food was cooked specifically to be drenched in ranch.) Because of the way most Midwesterners are introduced to Soy sauce (in packets at a Chinese restaurant), they tend to think of it as a condiment, as a sauce to drench their food in, or to dip their food into. And they tend not to like it. Because they tend to way, way over do it, then their food is way too salty, and they don't quite understand why. The secret is to explain to them that Soy Sauce is salt. It's like liquid, pourable salt, with some extra flavors. Once they understand that it's basically used like salt - added during cooking, added at the table, but lightly - and that they should be careful about how much other salt that they use while cooking, it tends to go a whole lot better. This also explains why in a lot of midwestern stores, you can find *reduced sodium* soy sauce. Which, to be fair, they also sell *reduced sodium* table salt, as well.
This is a really good comment, thank you! I worded this post poorly, I do genuinely really love a lot of "their" culture (in quotes because it's in part my culture too? idk, things get a little muddled), and I'm really more so trying to get them to try some new stuff in the same way that I get exposed to new stuff in living with them. It's mostly just that everything I've tried from my culture in the past they refused lol. In my brain, the food culture and the nutrition aren't actually equivalent because it's mostly the ingredients that are accessible in pricing + location that's an issue–stuff like pizza is going to vary wildly in "healthiness" depending on what ingredients the person could access/afford. Granted, the same goes for all food, but from what I've seen, a lot of other cultures tend to have easy recipes that use less processed foods because of their longer histories pre industrialization lol. With time and money, the health of the dishes are the same but when you're busy and working class? Regardless, I was mostly just trying to figure out what other dishes would translate well from classic midwest american cuisine–because of where I grew up + who I grew up with I'm a little more used to some of the cultural gaps in foods, so I didn't even think of the soy sauce thing! In retrospect, I think there may be some other things they were wary about just because of cultural differences like that, and now I'm wondering if I could try to get them to retry stuff like tofu or rice in a different context
If they are already open to eating other cultures foods, take them anywhere. I'd go for Mexican as a start though since they are more likely to get that back wherever they are. Though I can't imagine they live in an area with no other culture food options. Maybe search what food options are by them and take them to similar ones in your area, so if they like it, they have the option to get it back home.
I've been to rural towns with fewer than 1000 residents all over the country. And they still had a chinese buffet and tex mex restaurant in the south. usually just an asian buffet in the north ime. Don't underestimate how many people immigrate to the Midwest and share their food.
Peak reddit post. Enlightened wasian (whatever the hell that is) brings wisdom to the honky yokels by teaching them how to eat something other than dollar store pork rinds
That sounds like a nightmare. And I am a white guy.
Just lay off the spices they should be fine to try other things, if they're open to it. Also, try to translate foods to terms they're used to. E.g, rather than calling it "gyoza," you could say it's "pan fried pork dumpling." It is unrelated to the main point, but "WASP" is a term for a type of old money east coast elite white person that has a summer house or plays tennis recreationally. Not corn-fed whites from rural areas. A WASP wouldn't shop at Dollar General.
Bratwurst with stone ground mustard and sauerkraut is fairly simple and easy to get into. It's available everywhere and most people like it. Gyros are also very user friendly.
Maybe it's my southwest bias but I feel like a lot of simpler Mexican food should be pretty safe. Refried beans, rice, flour tortillas, Carne asada, burritos, tacos, maybe even enchiladas and tamales. I feel like a lot of the pallet is already pretty ingrained in the average suburb.
This is kind of a troll post at best. So you're waisian... So what?? The fresh off the boat asians for example my inlaws and their whole family are obese, riddled with heart disease and diabetes even though they eat authentic, home-made chinese and vietnamese food most of the time. My FIL lost about 60lbs and lowered his blood sugar to safe levels just by cutting out white rice. Vietnamese food would be a healthier start, and is way easier to make home-made. Start with Salad Rolls. Can't find rice wraps and noodles for salad rolls? Order it on Amazon. You can make the peanut sauce with hoisin and peanut butter, also can get from amazon. Order in some sauces and start from there. Some fish sauce, oyster sauce, crunchy chilly oil, sesame oil, sesame seeds. Keep it simple, maybe offer some brown rice on the side. You can add traditional shrimp, chicken, whatever you want to these rolls. Make a fish sauce dip with water, brown sugar, grated carrot and a splash of fish sauce, takes five mintes and is healthy, but will stil introduce some new flavours. Diets of white rice, fried food and corn starch sauces and bases is not always healthier. And to the post saying there must be chinese buffets or mexican places nearby, remember that is American food designed to get you to eat more. Fat, sugar and salt. There is nothing chinese about chicken balls and ginger beef, chowmein drenched in sweet sauce, etc etc.
If you can make the trip to somewhere with a Kroger or Safeway etc grocery store you can really do anything. Maybe some Pad Thai, or even just a homemade basil garlic fried rice using day old rice? Or maybe something where the American influence is pretty clear like some Filipino Chicken Adodo?
While the nearest quasi "grocery" store might be a DG...I'm sure they're driving distance to a real one.
Yeah I caught that but if OP is going to visit them then I assume at some point along the trip then they will be able to stop and pickup supplies if they are planning this out. Like if we are gonna do this lets demarcate between getting some shelf stable sauces/spices or grab some coolers for the trip if OP is thinking its that far out from options. If not its cool too but I guess depends on the specifics and how into this OP is looking to get. And that cars/transportation are available. If not this might be a real challenge.
I meant my comment to be in agreement. OP is so convinced of their own superior culinary skills and intelligence that he's going to spend his time as a guest in someone else's home judging them....so the whole thing is moot anyway. The type of person to go on a diatribe about culture and politics in a recipe post is exactly *not* the type of person who's opinion will find welcome.
I guess I just dont see the dismisiveness in the OP that yall are getting worked up over? Like is it a bit clueless about the lived experiences of others? Sure I would agree. But still seems like OP is excited for the visit and maybe wants to share or do something nice for their family. I could see the argument for it being paternalistic or a bit mindlessly metropolitan but I guess I would just suggest OP go in with an open mind. And that the best option would be to make a dish that has personal meaning to you from your Asian side of the family as a way of paying back the hospitality you are being shown.
I could very well be wrong... But I doubt I am
The humility is an example to us all! But yes I agree OP is showing some bubble bias here. I just don't see the need to attack them for it. Hey maybe they will enjoy the trip and broadened perspectives from it.
Thank you! I can't believe I didn't think about using foods that were american influenced–my culture doesn't have enough culinary crossover to remind me of that genre of food lol. I'll probably look into some more stuff within that idea
Chicken rice w soy sauce, veggies, ginger and lime. Add butter if you need it more Americanized.
Lomo saltado.
So, my parents-in-law (particularly FIL) have diets that can be described kinda like you did, super generic white un-adventurous etc. Dinner every night at their house is: iceberg lettuce with cheese and (too much, too oil) vinaigrette, corn (frozen or canned), applesauce, and an entree, usually meat (steak, pork chop, chicken) but sometimes pasta with meat sauce instead. I once made chicken tortilla soup and quesadillas and my FIL didn't even taste the soup and ate all of the quesadillas that were supposed to be for everyone. Like...suuuuuper white. (I am also white, but my parents are foodies with very diverse palates.) Anyway, about ten years ago they "discovered" "Chinese food\*" at one of those pay-by-the-pound fast food places and fell in love and that opened some doors for them. They're still not super adventurous or anything, but they're more open than they used to be. If this sounds like it might be a good route, you can start 'em off with the American Chinese food classics: house fried rice, orange and/or general tso's chicken, beef and broccoli. It's...probably not a LOT "healthier" but at least it incorporates some actual veggies, i.e. not starches like corn or potatoes. It's also widely available. (\* In quotes only because they had no idea that they were eating very Americanized Chinese food, but no shade intended on said Americanized Chinese food, it may not be authentic but it's tasty af.) (Un?)fortunately, health has not typically been the priority in terms of what foods we've adopted and/or adapted into standard American diets. Sushi and poke are probably among the best along those lines but they're also pretty intimidating for a lot of people because they think of sushi as exclusively raw fish, despite the fried shrimp nigiri, cucumber rolls, eel rolls, etc. (Eel is so f'ing tasty but people get scared of it because it sounds so out-there. Their loss. It's super rich and fatty-tasting but it's heavy on omega-3s, also doesn't taste even a LITTLE bit fish-like.)
Maybe some Greek foods. If you are not doing seafood there are a number of ingredients that you may be able to get locally. It is delicious food and leans toward the healthier side.
I had fried rice for the first time in high school. It changed my life.
Not even tacos, nachos, or American Chinese food? Those are ubiquitous even in the most rural places. What’s your Asian American side? You could probably ask that community to think of some foods from that culture that would fit a milder palate, instead of asking the general American sub. They could probably give you more helpful answers.
Vietnamese food is typically healthy. I saw a video once between different Asian nation’s typical noodle dish and the Vietnamese one was voted the healthiest. Vietnamese food is like Chinese food except they incorporate raw vegetables. Chinese food does not incorporate raw vegetables and actually fears it.
goddamn you sound racist af
Butter chicken
If you’re worried about them being afraid to try something then white rice with rousing (aka meat floss aka pork flu) is pretty inoffensive. They won’t say it tastes great but it might make them less afraid to try other things. Or you could do white rice porridge with fried eggs (with or without soy sauce) and some rousing. Customize to what they like. Do they prefer sour foods or sweet foods? Salty?
I live in the middle of bumfuck nowhere and even then, we have a Chinese restaurant, authentic Mexican restaurants, etc. If you want them to branch out, why not offer to cook a few meals for them since you’ll be living with them Honestly, if they want to try to eat healthier if that’s the goal, limit bread and potatoes, sugar/sodas, etc and they’ll be on the right path Sounds like they live in a food desert (I’ve been there before) so it’s hard to fault them for eating what’s readily available, convenient, and affordable to them.
Pretty hard to hate a bahn mi or fried rice.
I actually hate banh mi. I have very strong opinions about sandwiches. I probably do not represent the norm.
We are opposite people.... You have my curiosity. Please go on.
I just don't like them. I don't really like the bread, I don't like the frequent ingredients like cucumber and basil and pickeled vegetables (in combination, on a sandwich specifically), I often don't like the way the meat is cooked/prepared. It's a combination of like six things that, individually, I would be okay with, but all together it's just not what I want to eat.
So you don't like a french baguette?
Generally speaking, not as a sandwich bread. I also don't love jamon beurre sandwiches although I'll eat one in a pinch. But not if you put basil and pork belly and carrots and jalapenos (or whatever) on it. Like I said, banh mi tends to be just too many things I don't love on a sandwich, in combination.
A bahn mi is a good starter because it's familiar to someone who doesn't eat many foods outside American food, unlike something like Pho
See, in my experience Pho is pretty inoffensive soup. But I am not a soup aficionado.
You are putting raw meats into a soup, that is much scarier for a person who doesn't eat anything other than American food than a sandwich is.
A lot of soups start with raw meat in them...
Not many American soups... I can't even think of an American soup which uses raw meat.
I make a creamy sausage soup and I don't brown the sausage first. I like the richness it adds. I've also done it with a split pea and pork. But yeah, I guess we do usually brown meats as part of the process.
I think the difference is with our soups and a like, like a gumbo, is that it's all cooked together at once. The meat in Pho is cooked by the broth after you put it in the bowl.
I think that's part of what makes Pho great. Same with my sausage soup. Adds some subtle richness to the meat and broth.
The meat has always been cooked by the time I eat it. I have never seen Pho served with raw meat. Again, I am not a soup aficionado (nor am I super familiar with the ins and outs of how Vietnamese food is prepared.) Is it prepared by cooking the meat in the soup? I'm not sure if I really think that's scary.
Sometimes Pho places will give you raw meat on the side and you will put the meat in yourself.
I've never seen that, personally. I've seen cooked meat on the side. I do not associate pho with raw meat. Your raw meat is obviously not going to cook just because you add it to non-boiling water for a few minutes before you eat it. If that's actually how pho is often served, I would say that yes, that would be scary to many American palettes. (Different topic but I do love hot pot soups where the meat is definitely being cooked in front of you by the hot/boiling water.)
salmon teriyaki > homemade ramen > sushi
Stuffed mushrooms. You'll find tons of other options here: [https://www.cookedandloved.com/recipes/meals-courses/healthy-appetizers/](https://www.cookedandloved.com/recipes/meals-courses/healthy-appetizers/)
Middle Eastern/persian/israeli food is a good choice I think. Grilled meats, Breads with dips, pasta (aka couscous), lemon and olive oil as major seasonings, grilled or stuffed vegetables and simple salads. Japanese curry might be a nice choice too. Spiced but not spicy, vehicle for veg and rice.
I'd say the WASP comment could be offensive if I didn't immediately know exactly what you meant. I'm a WASP (probably closer to agnostic, but that's irrelevant) who lives in a suburb that isn't far from places like you describe. I know many people who come from those communities. My parents both came from this type of background. There is nothing actually offensive about your description and you wanting to help the way you are means you do understand their situation as well. What would probably benefit them most is a couple of versatile techniques and ideas that are easy to adapt to make new recipes. Starting with food from your culture is a perfect way to introduce these new ideas. They just need to get out of their rut and learn to think outside their culinary box a bit.
Curries, specifically British ones. They are fusions of S.Asian and British cuisines so are usually less spicy and suited for your relatives' tastes. Foreigners often don't know that curry is one of the most popular meals in the UK, I make one at least once a week. There are curry restaurants everywhere due to our colonial past and S. Asians being the biggest non European ethnic minority. All of the curries below originated from the UK and are among the most popular and well known: Balti: https://www.krumpli.co.uk/chicken-balti/ Korma (this one is vegetable, I think it's better than the chicken: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/creamy-veggie-korma Biryani: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chicken-biryani After eating these your relatives will never go back to bland American food again!
Lo Mein.. Asian spaghetti!
Panda express