FOOD AND DRINK
Health is the most important thing in a person’s life. Eating habits is a big part of a healthy life, so to keep yourself in a healthy way you have to eat only healthy and well-balanced food.
Lithuanians like to eat good, tasty and filling foods. The tradition of eating well is inherited from our ancestors, who would say, he who eats well, works well.
Lithuanian cooks prepare simple but tasty foods. A good cook can create delicious meals using simple ingredients. It is said that each cook stirs the cookpot in her manner.
The traditional food preparer was and is mother, her knowledge and capabilities are handed down to the next female generation. Before food was prepared using only seasonal products, however during the last twenty-five years, fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs have been available all year round, imported or grown locally. The same applies to meat, now more fresh meat is used than salted or smoked.
Lithuanian traditional cuisine took shape over many centuries and was much influenced by cultural contacts with neighboring nations. A good example is potato cake – kugelis, which Lithuanians adapted from the German kitchen. This has now become a favorite dish throughout Lithuania. One of the oldest and most fundamental staple food was and is rye bread (rugine duona). It is eaten every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Potatoes have become an essential starch staple and are eaten throughout the year. Many delicious dishes are made with potatoes. The most popular are cepelinai, kugelis, potato pancakes (bulviniai blynai), potato casseroles etc. my favorite dish is cepelinai.
However, also in Lithuania fast food is getting more and more popular. Almost all age-groups enjoy junk food, all kind of chip, crisps, hamburgers. Children, especially teenagers, prefer junk food instead of healthy traditional home made food. To prevent people eating fast food the following measures should be taken. People should be advised to eat more healthy food and encouraged to take up sports activities instead of sitting in front of TV with huge bowl potatoes chips.