Why do elderly Americans tend to hoard possessions and food?

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Elderly Americans often hoard possessions and food due to a combination of cultural factors and personal experiences. Many express frustration with the quality of American cuisine, describing it as overly processed, greasy, and lacking in fresh produce. The difficulty in finding healthy food options while traveling exacerbates this issue, leading to a reliance on convenience stores and fast food. Some participants highlight the contrast with ethnic diners, which often provide better food choices. Overall, the discussion reveals a deep dissatisfaction with the American food landscape and its impact on dietary habits.
Rach3
They eat anything! Why, o why does this place have such awful taste, I can't even go out for lunch, it's all crisco-fried this, and 3,500g portons of that, or bird entrails served in rolled-up newspaper, or reprocessed garbage (served to 'over 99 billion'). And even if you should find a vegetable somewhere, chances are it's some shrivelled-up mess found sprouting in a gutter somewhere, then stored in a freezer for three years.

It makes it extremely difficult to travel domestically here; eating out is a perilous, exciting adventure. There goes $3 on what was falsely labeled a "fruit smoothie"; it's not fruit, it's 58g of sugar in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. Disgusting! And then the $6 that went for a "breakfast"; e.g., "crepes", fried in some revolting concotion of vegetable oil, still glistening on the surface. (The single-person order being big enough to feed a family of six, I add.) Or the atrocities that pass for the "complemantary" breakfast at this hotel ("complement"ary, my foot!). My stomache is churning as I write this rant...

I'm going to great lengths to avoid anything remotely American in cusine, and I'm still tripping up. Even the most innocent-sounding things ("fruit smoothies") are toxin-laden emetics. Even most ethnic restaurants re-arranged their recipies to cater to the sodium-craving, grease-coated palate (such as the tasteless, triple-salted "miso", in 750ml serving size.) I'd like to admit defeat and eat nothing but fresh produce - but I can't find that! No one eats fresh fruit in America; the best you can do is the rare, undersized, overripe, tasteless apple. I bet most Americans don't even know what a real apple tastes like.

Thank God for the first-generation immigrants and their tiny, unprofitable ethnic diners.
 
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Rach3 said:
They eat anything! Why, o why does this place have such awful taste, I can't even go out for lunch, it's all crisco-fried this, and 3,500g portons of that, or bird entrails served in rolled-up newspaper, or reprocessed garbage (served to 'over 99 billion'). And even if you should find a vegetable somewhere, chances are it's some shrivelled-up mess found sprouting in a gutter somewhere, then stored in a freezer for three years.

It makes it extremely difficult to travel domestically here; eating out is a perilous, exciting adventure. There goes $3 on what was falsely labeled a "fruit smoothie"; it's not fruit, it's 58g of sugar in the form of high-fructose corn syrup. Disgusting! And then the $6 that went for a "breakfast"; e.g., "crepes", fried in some revolting concotion of vegetable oil, still glistening on the surface. (The single-person order being big enough to feed a family of six, I add.) Or the atrocities that pass for the "complemantary" breakfast at this hotel ("complement"ary, my foot!). My stomache is churning as I write this rant...

I'm going to great lengths to avoid anything remotely American in cusine, and I'm still tripping up. Even the most innocent-sounding things ("fruit smoothies") are toxin-laden emetics. Even most ethnic restaurants re-arranged their recipies to cater to the sodium-craving, grease-coated palate (such as the tasteless, triple-salted "miso", in 750ml serving size.) I'd like to admit defeat and eat nothing but fresh produce - but I can't find that! No one eats fresh fruit in America; the best you can do is the rare, undersized, overripe, tasteless apple. I bet most Americans don't even know what a real apple tastes like.

Thank God for the first-generation immigrants and their tiny, unprofitable ethnic diners.

You are likely never more than a mile or two from a grocery store. There you will fiind amazing volumes of anything that you could want. But if you go to crap restaurants for food, that's what you'll get.
 
Ivan Seeking said:
You are likely never more than a mile or two from a grocery store. There you will fiind amazing volumes of anything that you could want. But if you go to crap restaurants for food, that's what you'll get.

You mean these "convenience" stores? Why would I go there, there's fresher vegetable matter in the alley dumpsters.
 
Rach3 said:
You mean these "convenience" stores? Why would I go there, there's fresher vegetable matter in the alley dumpsters.
Fine. You're probably within a mile or two of an alley dumpster too. :-p
 
Rach3 said:
You mean these "convenience" stores? Why would I go there, there's fresher vegetable matter in the alley dumpsters.

Do you know what a supermarket is?
 
My point is not that I'm incapable of finding edible food in this city (I'm alive, aren't I?); it's that this anti-cuisine of grease permeates the culture so thoroughly, that it takes significant effort to avoid it. I mean come on, since when do fruit drinks contain 58g of high-fructose corn syrup? (Please don't answer that.)
 
Ivan Seeking said:
Do you know what a supermarket is?

Yes. They keep me alive, when I am in a position to cook for myself. You know, access to a stove, all that.

I'm traveling at the moment, and I'm suddenly discovering the amazing world of American.
 
Well, I hardly ever eat any of it. This is true for many people. If you know an area you can usually find places that serve good food, but around hotels and such they cater to the fast food and business crowd.
 
I have no idea what city your in where you can't find a good meal. I've never had that problem, and I've been in every state. I almost always ask people who live local, where the best place to eat is. The tips have me off the beaten path, to some wonderful places.
 
  • #10
hypatia said:
I have no idea what city your in where you can't find a good meal. I've never had that problem, and I've been in every state. I almost always ask people who live local, where the best place to eat is. The tips have me off the beaten path, to some wonderful places.

I can; it's just taken too much trial-and-error.

Just let me enjoy my bitter ranting, please? :biggrin:
 
  • #11
Dumpster fruit smoothies are good for you.
 
  • #12
Just let me enjoy my bitter ranting, please?

Fair enough. Besides, my milkshake and nachos are ready.
 
  • #13
Back to my whining; why on Earth does anyone eat this stuff? Are people going crazy? Am I going crazy?
 
  • #14
MedullaPancreas said:
...fruit smoothies are good for you.

Funny statement coming from a username containing "Pancreas". :rolleyes:
 
  • #15
Lol, you could always run down to the supermarket, buy some wraps, tomatoes, lettuce, some nice cheese. mmmm, no stove necessary, and I am getting hungry just thinking about it.
 
  • #16
Ivan Seeking said:
Fair enough. Besides, my milkshake and nachos are ready.

Perhaps you have enemies so bitter they seek to poison you. No matter; you're outdoing them.
 
  • #17
Rach3 said:
I can; it's just taken too much trial-and-error.

Just let me enjoy my bitter ranting, please? :biggrin:


lol enjoy!:smile:
 
  • #18
Rach3 said:
Back to my whining; why on Earth does anyone eat this stuff? Are people going crazy? Am I going crazy?
Cheeseburger > all. (except maybe bacon cheeseburger) And pizza has all of the necessary food groups. I don't see why anyone would eat anything else!
 
  • #19
Rach3 said:
You mean these "convenience" stores? Why would I go there, there's fresher vegetable matter in the alley dumpsters.
No, real stores that real people buy their food from. It is possible to eat healthy and satisfying food almost anywhere in the US, but not if you settle for the "lowest common denominator". That is a recipe for crap.
 
  • #20
I understand what you mean Rach, even over here, everything is caked in sugar and grease. Even when you go to the supermarket and actually look at labels you will find that the things you thought were healthy actually contain way too much sugar. For instence fruit juice that says "no sugar added" just means that if the fruit was imported no sugar was added when it arrived here and was packaged
 
  • #21
You can get a meal in a grocery store that doesn't require cooking when traveling. When I'm traveling a lot or for an extended period of time, I do that because there are only so many days one can stand eating in restaurants before their digestive system rebels. Go to the bakery section, and get some fresh bread or rolls. Head to the salad bar and make yourself a salad (you can also use the salad bar to get yourself a single-serving of lettuce and tomato, pre-cut, to go on your sandwich). Go to the deli and get some sliced cheese (or pick up something from the cheese section that's more interesting than deli cheese). While at the deli, look for something like roast beef or roast turkey, which are the least processed deli meats, and get some of that to add to your sandwich. Grab an avocado to add some interest to your salad (or slice it onto your sandwich, or just enjoy it plain for another meal), and get a small jar of mustard to spread some on your sandwich (mustard keeps without refrigeration, so good if you need to store it at the hotel without a refrigerator for future sandwiches). Pick up some fruit from the produce section...this is good "on-the-go" for snacking.

Or, you can just find a good deli in the area and let them make your sandwich. Most delis make huge sandwiches, so you can eat half and wrap up the other half for a second meal later.

Oh, and don't forget to grab a box of plastic knives, forks and spoons so you have utensils to eat with. Water comes out of the tap at the hotel :wink:, so no need to resort to things like fruit smoothies.
 
  • #22
I agree with Rach3! Every apple(/fruit/vegetable) is a 'clone' of the other. They're nothing but good looking. If you ever visit another country not in North America or Europe for sightseeing or whatever, don't forget to eat fruits there. Countries in Asia and esp. the subcontinent have amazingly different fruits/vegetables. It's worth the try!
 
  • #23
And if you head to the deep south, try eating raccoon. If its cooked right, it dosent taste American at all.
 
  • #24
hypatia said:
And if you head to the deep south, try eating raccoon. If its cooked right, it dosent taste American at all.

you're making me homesick. :cry:
 
  • #25
You should see the thing they eat on the "American" TV show Fear Factor .
Makes me want to hug my mom ...
 
  • #26
apples said:
I agree with Rach3! Every apple(/fruit/vegetable) is a 'clone' of the other. They're nothing but good looking...

I was sick recently and thought I'd try apples to aid in my recovery and I discovered Honey Crisp apples. They are rather large, have a very crisp flesh, and are deliciously sweet. Yes, they are around $3.00/lb but worth it. I loath Red Delicious apples except for baking. They are small and grainy and suck as only small, grainy apples can.
 
  • #27
Echo 6 Sierra said:
Yes, they are around $3.00/lb but worth it.

That's nothing! The apples they have in Japan are typically $2 USD per apple, as big as oversize grapefruits, and more flavorful than all other fruits in the world put together. They're sold individually wrapped in white nets. (It's funny how over-wrapped things are in Japan, like the individually shrink-wrapped bananas. :confused:)
 
  • #28
My favorite are Gala apples, but they are pretty expensive to.
 
  • #29
Those are quite cheap over here and are delicious!
 
  • #30
Echo 6 Sierra said:
I was sick recently and thought I'd try apples to aid in my recovery and I discovered Honey Crisp apples. They are rather large, have a very crisp flesh, and are deliciously sweet. Yes, they are around $3.00/lb but worth it. I loath Red Delicious apples except for baking. They are small and grainy and suck as only small, grainy apples can.

A Red Or Golden Delicious Apple picked off the tree is pretty good, sweet and crunchy. They begin to degrade the instant they are picked, within a few days they are nearly in-edible, turning into apple sauce in a tough skin.
 
  • #31
Integral said:
A Red Or Golden Delicious Apple picked off the tree is pretty good, sweet and crunchy. They begin to degrade the instant they are picked, within a few days they are nearly in-edible, turning into apple sauce in a tough skin.

I agree. My grandfather used to have apple trees...red delicious, golden delicious, and macintosh. Freshly picked, they're just wonderful!
 
  • #32
scorpa said:
My favorite are Gala apples, but they are pretty expensive to.
Years ago, I was on a business trip to Ticonderoga and after crossing into NY at Crown Point and heading south, I saw an orchard with a roadside store. I stopped in and asked the young lady there what was the best-tasting apple they had. She handed me a Gala, I bit into it, and bought a peck of them. They're still my favorites, but only in season. They don't hold their character long after harvest. For that, I'll take Black Oxford any day. Pick them after a frost, and eat them all winter. They are a wonderful cold-climate variety, and if you look up FedCo Seeds on the Internet, you'll see that they are actively promoting this legacy variety. You can buy seedlings from them - grown here in Maine by organic growers.
 
  • #33
Apples rock, yes that includes me. :D
 
  • #34
Try living a lifetime with people who think that salt is a food group.

Growing up I never used salt on anything. I'm forced to do all of the cooking or skip meals prepared by my salt-freaked family members. The American diet doesn't live only at McDonalds. Me and my edematous feet search for salt relief a sea of haline cuisine.
 
  • #35
turbo-1 said:
For that, I'll take Black Oxford any day. Pick them after a frost, and eat them all winter. They are a wonderful cold-climate variety, and if you look up FedCo Seeds on the Internet, you'll see that they are actively promoting this legacy variety. You can buy seedlings from them - grown here in Maine by organic growers.

I've never heard of that variety before. Are they local to Maine? I'll keep an eye out, because I'd like to find some varieties that store well.
 
  • #36
jim mcnamara said:
Try living a lifetime with people who think that salt is a food group.

Growing up I never used salt on anything. I'm forced to do all of the cooking or skip meals prepared by my salt-freaked family members. The American diet doesn't live only at McDonalds. Me and my edematous feet search for salt relief a sea of haline cuisine.
Hmmmpf, I am one of those people that like a little food with my salt.

Yes, it will kill me someday, I'm sure, but I've tried life without salt and it's not worth living. The day I have to give up salt and spices, including fresh hot peppers, is the day life has no meaning. :frown:
 
  • #37
Moonbear said:
I've never heard of that variety before. Are they local to Maine? I'll keep an eye out, because I'd like to find some varieties that store well.
Yes, Black Oxford is a variety that was first identified in Oxford County in Maine (either in the towns of Paris or South Paris, IIR). They have a deep purplish-brown skin and yellow flesh and they are delicious. They are very firm, crisp apples and should be harvested late in the season. They will keep all winter if you have a cool place to store them. My wife and I rented a farm for a couple of years, and there was a Black Oxford tree next to the house. They are not a variety that you would eat before they're fully ripe, like Macs, because they are very hard until they ripen off. Buy a tree for $19.00 and enjoy. I have apple trees on my property, and and going to add a Black Oxford.

http://www.fedcoseeds.com/trees/TreesOrderItem.php?id=77&TreeName=
 
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  • #38
Evo said:
Yes, it will kill me someday, I'm sure, but I've tried life without salt and it's not worth living. The day I have to give up salt and spices, including fresh hot peppers, is the day life has no meaning. :frown:
Ditto! I am nuking a bowl of (slightly) salty Spanish rice left over from last night's supper, and it is seasoned with our fresh-frozen jalapenos and some of our canned habanero sauce (just chopped peppers and garlic packed in water and vinegar). I gave a little jar of that to our neighbor who gave us the fresh garlic that we made the sauce with. His crew had a "Subway night" at work, so he took what was left of the habanero sauce with him, put some on his sandwich and offered the rest around. One guy that brags about eating hot sauces put a couple of teaspoons of the sauce in his sandwich. Allen said that the guy didn't say anything as he started eating, but after a couple of bites, sweat was running from his temples and he headed for the water cooler. People that think Tabasco is real hot just haven't been properly educated. :-p
 
  • #39
I like seasoned or savory food, but I minimize, even exclude, salt in my cooking. Since I don't use salt, it is very apparent when I taste restaurant food where salt is used.

I certainly enjoy spicy (picante) foods like hot curries and hot pepper sauces - but salt is not necessarily part of it.
 
  • #40
In America, you can't get a tasty tomato unless you grow it yourself (or have a neighbor who does). How about where you come from?
 
  • #41
jimmysnyder said:
In America, you can't get a tasty tomato unless you grow it yourself (or have a neighbor who does). How about where you come from?
You're right. Tomatoes in US supermarkets generally suck. I haven't eaten a fresh tomato since the hard frost killed our garden. A new 24-acre greenhouse just started production about 5 miles from here - their plan is to ship vine-ripened tomatoes directly to supermarkets and restaurants all over northern New England. They'll be expensive, but should be several notches better than the "vine tomatoes" that are picked immature and gassed to make them appear ripe, and WAY better than the cardboard-tasting Hypack varieties.
 
  • #42
I too, already miss my tomatos. I did find a little store in Ann Arbor that sells "maters". So named to avoid the tomato growers union regs on tomatos, they are mis-shapen, wolderful, tastie, juicy tomatos, flown up from Fla, right off the vine.
 
  • #43
Moonbear said:
I agree. My grandfather used to have apple trees...red delicious, golden delicious, and macintosh. Freshly picked, they're just wonderful!

That's funny. Looks like Moonbear's kitty is taking a bead on a bluejay in an apple tree... :devil:
 
  • #44
turbo-1 said:
... People that think Tabasco is real hot just haven't been properly educated. :-p

Wrong. They haven't lived in New Mexico. My kids ate green Santo Domingo chiles fried in bacon fat. That's about 12000 Scoville units (SHUs). Tobasco rates 2500-5000.

Bought a tamale from a tamalena, then she gave me hot sauce - said "You can't taste this without some help...". Whoa, I could taste it alright.
 
  • #45
jim mcnamara said:
Wrong. They haven't lived in New Mexico. My kids ate green Santo Domingo chiles fried in bacon fat. That's about 12000 Scoville units (SHUs). Tobasco rates 2500-5000.

Bought a tamale from a tamalena, then she gave me hot sauce - said "You can't taste this without some help...". Whoa, I could taste it alright.
Well, habaneros range from 200,000 to 300,00 Scoville units, and our red Caribbeans are high on that scale. Although we grow them to process into sauces, etc to cook with, we also use those peppers "neat" in certain foods, like sauteed meat and vegetable fillings to use in wraps. I like the heat, and though the hot taste is great when you're used to them, they will make your scalp sweat, and that's not something you can control. If you feel a cold coming on, put some habanero sauce in your soup, sandwich, whatever, and ride it out. Great stuff. We eat our jalapenos split lengthwise with all the placenta and seeds left in, stuffed with cream cheese and topped with Monterey jack, cooked on the grill on a pizza pan. It doesn't matter how many I make (within reason) - there are no left-overs. Tabasco is not much hotter than our home-made tomato salsas, and we use those on eggs, omelets, meat, casseroles, sandwiches, etc.
 
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  • #47
In CA there are shops called Trader Joes, only place I have every bought food in America, they have decent produce, at a *fair* price
 
  • #48
I was raised Catholic... in a large Catholic family. Therefore am still plagued with guilt if I leave food on my plate. so yeah. I eat everything and am proud of it. :smile:

But while I'll eat anything, I definitely have preferences. :biggrin:
 
  • #49
Well - it appears I am mostly unaffected by THESE food issues as I've been so broke this year I rarely get to eat out. Might I propose that more Americans adopt my practice of "rationing" to avoid these food pitfalls. It might slow down the economy and GDP a bit, but right now would not affect me.
 
  • #50
Astronuc said:
I like seasoned or savory food, but I minimize, even exclude, salt in my cooking. Since I don't use salt, it is very apparent when I taste restaurant food where salt is used.

I certainly enjoy spicy (picante) foods like hot curries and hot pepper sauces - but salt is not necessarily part of it.

I make a mexican mole' sauce that I bet you would enjoy. I used dried chinese red peppers to give it some heat.
 

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