"Surprise Me"
Walking into the familiar Starbucks Grand River location without opening my Starbucks App felt extremely strange. As a Starbucks regular, I am proficient in the process of ordering from the baristas in the most seamless way. I offer a hello and a smile, begin with the size of the drink (In Starbucks-specific jargon: tall, grande, venti), whether I want it hot or cold, I mention any modifications I would like, and I end the order with my shortened name to increase efficiency, of course. After I pay with my app and receive my loyalty points, I stand at the end of the counter, scrolling through Instagram, until the barista calls my name. I hardly have to look at a single person during my usual visits.
The other morning, I stopped by Starbucks and decided to challenge the norm. I greeted the barista with a genuine kindness and direct eye contact. She was definitely taken aback when I asked her to surprise me with a coffee drink of her choosing. I could see that I had completely interrupted the system with my request. Since my order was clearly taking longer than normal, the manager took over for her. He seemed happy to make me a special drink and ensured that he would keep it a surprise. I cringed as I paid for the drink with my card rather than the app, knowing very well that I would not receive any loyalty points for my visit. I waited with excitement for the surprise drink I was about to get, wondering if it would be a crazy color or some foreign flavor. In the end, my “surprise drink” turned out to be a grande mocha, which is probably the most average drink imaginable.
I was actually very nervous to challenge the process of McDonaldization at Starbucks. Businesses and consumers alike want everything to be seamless, efficient, consistent, and controlled. While it is unfortunate that the human interaction element of the service industry has been lost, McDonaldization does offer many benefits. Personally, I am drawn to the fact that I can get my perfectly-crafted coffee drink that I know will taste good anytime I see the familiar Starbucks logo. I know that the strength of the coffee will always be exactly how I like it and it will always cost me the same amount of money. In the book, The McDonaldization of Society, George Ritzer states, “We must look at McDonaldization as both ‘enabling’ and ‘constraining.’” Even though there are benefits and downfalls to the McDonaldization of modern life, I do not see it being eliminated anytime soon.
This experience reminded me of the many times my Dad messes up the flow of our McDonaldized society. As a French native and one who does not stay up-to-date on many social trends, he often asks employees for recommendations at places like Chipotle and engages in conversation at the gas station. One particularly embarrassing thing he constantly does is ask those dining at the tables next to us what they ordered. One time, he actually managed to try a bite of the stranger’s food! Even though he does interrupt many systems, these interactions usually always result in a meaningful, human encounter. After this exercise, I will try to be more conscious of the systems we are so used to blindly following and I will seek more frequent human interactions.
The other morning, I stopped by Starbucks and decided to challenge the norm. I greeted the barista with a genuine kindness and direct eye contact. She was definitely taken aback when I asked her to surprise me with a coffee drink of her choosing. I could see that I had completely interrupted the system with my request. Since my order was clearly taking longer than normal, the manager took over for her. He seemed happy to make me a special drink and ensured that he would keep it a surprise. I cringed as I paid for the drink with my card rather than the app, knowing very well that I would not receive any loyalty points for my visit. I waited with excitement for the surprise drink I was about to get, wondering if it would be a crazy color or some foreign flavor. In the end, my “surprise drink” turned out to be a grande mocha, which is probably the most average drink imaginable.
I was actually very nervous to challenge the process of McDonaldization at Starbucks. Businesses and consumers alike want everything to be seamless, efficient, consistent, and controlled. While it is unfortunate that the human interaction element of the service industry has been lost, McDonaldization does offer many benefits. Personally, I am drawn to the fact that I can get my perfectly-crafted coffee drink that I know will taste good anytime I see the familiar Starbucks logo. I know that the strength of the coffee will always be exactly how I like it and it will always cost me the same amount of money. In the book, The McDonaldization of Society, George Ritzer states, “We must look at McDonaldization as both ‘enabling’ and ‘constraining.’” Even though there are benefits and downfalls to the McDonaldization of modern life, I do not see it being eliminated anytime soon.
This experience reminded me of the many times my Dad messes up the flow of our McDonaldized society. As a French native and one who does not stay up-to-date on many social trends, he often asks employees for recommendations at places like Chipotle and engages in conversation at the gas station. One particularly embarrassing thing he constantly does is ask those dining at the tables next to us what they ordered. One time, he actually managed to try a bite of the stranger’s food! Even though he does interrupt many systems, these interactions usually always result in a meaningful, human encounter. After this exercise, I will try to be more conscious of the systems we are so used to blindly following and I will seek more frequent human interactions.
Refrigerator Photography
You are what you eat. But can a person’s refrigerator really tell everything there is to know about about him or her? An image might not be able to unveil everything; however, we can make some predictions based off of our previous knowledge and daily interactions with food. Take this image, for example. One look at the size of it and I can assume that this fridge holds food for an entire family.
One of the first things I looked at in this fridge was the ratio of processed to unprocessed foods. While the refrigerator has many pre-made sauces, condiments, and convenience products like whipped cream, I did notice many foods that act as ingredients for cooking. These ingredients, like chicken stock and heavy cream, while still processed, depict a household that indeed has a balance between cooking from scratch in addition to using some processed, convenience products. Something I noticed in this fridge was a greater amount of vegetables than meat. I did notice an item with the word “bacon bits” on it; however, I would assume this family eats meat less often than the “average” American family due to the small amount of it kept in its fridge. Besides the large amount of ice cream tubs in the freezer, this fridge would most likely get a Chelsea Fagan Stamp of Approval. In her book, The Financial Diet, Fagan explains how always having numerous vegetables and staple products like chicken stock, in your fridge you will always be able to cook a filling dinner.
Another feature of this fridge that stood out to me was the leftovers in containers. This acts as another clue that this family cooks from scratch and follows rule number four from Fagan’s Italian Grandmother, “Think in two portions: one for tonight, one for lunch tomorrow (Fagan, 90).”
Overall, I think this family eats a fairly balanced diet. The ice cream shows that someone could have a guilty pleasure of eating a small amount each night, but following a home-cooked meal. This fridge resembles my fridge growing up with its ingredients for healthy, wholesome meals and the convenience foods needed for on-the-go kids and teenagers.
One of the first things I looked at in this fridge was the ratio of processed to unprocessed foods. While the refrigerator has many pre-made sauces, condiments, and convenience products like whipped cream, I did notice many foods that act as ingredients for cooking. These ingredients, like chicken stock and heavy cream, while still processed, depict a household that indeed has a balance between cooking from scratch in addition to using some processed, convenience products. Something I noticed in this fridge was a greater amount of vegetables than meat. I did notice an item with the word “bacon bits” on it; however, I would assume this family eats meat less often than the “average” American family due to the small amount of it kept in its fridge. Besides the large amount of ice cream tubs in the freezer, this fridge would most likely get a Chelsea Fagan Stamp of Approval. In her book, The Financial Diet, Fagan explains how always having numerous vegetables and staple products like chicken stock, in your fridge you will always be able to cook a filling dinner.
Another feature of this fridge that stood out to me was the leftovers in containers. This acts as another clue that this family cooks from scratch and follows rule number four from Fagan’s Italian Grandmother, “Think in two portions: one for tonight, one for lunch tomorrow (Fagan, 90).”
Overall, I think this family eats a fairly balanced diet. The ice cream shows that someone could have a guilty pleasure of eating a small amount each night, but following a home-cooked meal. This fridge resembles my fridge growing up with its ingredients for healthy, wholesome meals and the convenience foods needed for on-the-go kids and teenagers.
Food Diary: Follow Me To The Fridge
On Sunday, my “normal” day of eating, I was running very low on groceries and was trying to eat nutritious foods while making do with what I had in my fridge. My morning was off to a good start with my favorite blended concoction: banana ice cream topped with a small amount of very processed granola. I have tried so many alternative granolas and have even made granola at my house before; however, I keep coming back to the Love Crunch brand despite how processed it is. Everything in moderation, right? For my lunch, I whipped up my favorite stir fry sauce with vegetables that I had leftover in my fridge. For dinner, I settled on making a smoothie bowl.
The next day, I chose to limit the amount of processed foods I consumed. While I try not to buy too many processed foods to begin with, I found myself surprised by the nutrition labels on most of the foods in my fridge. I was double checking every item throughout the day. Since I couldn’t have my usual smoothie bowl with my favorite granola, I settled for plain oatmeal with peanut butter for breakfast. The peanut butter I buy is very simple and only contains peanuts, unlike the myriad of other peanut butters on the market. For lunch, I made an omelette with two eggs, a tomato, and cheddar cheese. Unfortunately, the cheese in my fridge was pre-shredded Sargento brand which obviously goes through some processing during production. My last meal of the day was salmon that I cooked on the stove top with honey, butter, and red pepper flakes. I also roasted brussel sprouts and red potatoes to eat with the fish. Overall, the meal was delicious and filling. Looking back, the meal took around forty-five minutes to make, but it allowed me to take some time for myself and unwind from my day. Afterwards, I had some leftover salmon and potatoes that I put in the fridge to eat the next day, just like Chelsea Fagan encourages in “How To Be Your Own Italian Grandmother.”
While the challenge of avoiding most processed foods was not too difficult for me, I was surprised by the ingredients in some of the foods I consume on a daily basis. The one that was the most alarming to me was the Sabra brand hummus. Before taking this class, the fact that it contains soybean oil would not phase me; however, after reading “Pandora’s Lunchbox” and learning more about the over-consumption of soybeans through processed food, I have decided to buy a new brand of hummus in the future. Ideally, I would like to make my own from scratch, but I simply eat too much hummus to keep up. During this challenge, I noticed that many of the natural and fresh products I buy have been manufactured to be easier to cook or consume. For example, I always buy pre-packaged, baby carrots when I could easily peel and cut whole carrots. In regards to the cheese that I used in my omelette, I could and probably should buy a small amount of locally-made cheddar cheese once in a while that I can shred myself as needed.
Overall, I think I make an honest effort to avoid consuming and excess of processed foods. As a college student, it is hard to avoid all processed foods since they keep for long periods of time. By grocery shopping at least once per week and always having some go-to recipes, like Fagan recommends, I am able to maintain a fairly balanced diet.
On Sunday, my “normal” day of eating, I was running very low on groceries and was trying to eat nutritious foods while making do with what I had in my fridge. My morning was off to a good start with my favorite blended concoction: banana ice cream topped with a small amount of very processed granola. I have tried so many alternative granolas and have even made granola at my house before; however, I keep coming back to the Love Crunch brand despite how processed it is. Everything in moderation, right? For my lunch, I whipped up my favorite stir fry sauce with vegetables that I had leftover in my fridge. For dinner, I settled on making a smoothie bowl.
The next day, I chose to limit the amount of processed foods I consumed. While I try not to buy too many processed foods to begin with, I found myself surprised by the nutrition labels on most of the foods in my fridge. I was double checking every item throughout the day. Since I couldn’t have my usual smoothie bowl with my favorite granola, I settled for plain oatmeal with peanut butter for breakfast. The peanut butter I buy is very simple and only contains peanuts, unlike the myriad of other peanut butters on the market. For lunch, I made an omelette with two eggs, a tomato, and cheddar cheese. Unfortunately, the cheese in my fridge was pre-shredded Sargento brand which obviously goes through some processing during production. My last meal of the day was salmon that I cooked on the stove top with honey, butter, and red pepper flakes. I also roasted brussel sprouts and red potatoes to eat with the fish. Overall, the meal was delicious and filling. Looking back, the meal took around forty-five minutes to make, but it allowed me to take some time for myself and unwind from my day. Afterwards, I had some leftover salmon and potatoes that I put in the fridge to eat the next day, just like Chelsea Fagan encourages in “How To Be Your Own Italian Grandmother.”
While the challenge of avoiding most processed foods was not too difficult for me, I was surprised by the ingredients in some of the foods I consume on a daily basis. The one that was the most alarming to me was the Sabra brand hummus. Before taking this class, the fact that it contains soybean oil would not phase me; however, after reading “Pandora’s Lunchbox” and learning more about the over-consumption of soybeans through processed food, I have decided to buy a new brand of hummus in the future. Ideally, I would like to make my own from scratch, but I simply eat too much hummus to keep up. During this challenge, I noticed that many of the natural and fresh products I buy have been manufactured to be easier to cook or consume. For example, I always buy pre-packaged, baby carrots when I could easily peel and cut whole carrots. In regards to the cheese that I used in my omelette, I could and probably should buy a small amount of locally-made cheddar cheese once in a while that I can shred myself as needed.
Overall, I think I make an honest effort to avoid consuming and excess of processed foods. As a college student, it is hard to avoid all processed foods since they keep for long periods of time. By grocery shopping at least once per week and always having some go-to recipes, like Fagan recommends, I am able to maintain a fairly balanced diet.
Day 1: Normal Day of Eating
Breakfast: Banana “nice” cream, Love Crunch granola, 2 cups brewed coffee with 2% milk Lunch: Green bell pepper and onion stir fry, cooked quinoa Snack: Baby carrots, Sabra hummus Dinner: Smoothie bowl (1 banana, peanut butter, frozen mixed berries, 2% milk), Love Crunch granola Snack: Homemade “Dunkaroo” dip (1 spoonful) 4-5 cups of water |
Day 2: Avoiding Processed Foods
Breakfast: Plain oatmeal with peanut butter, 2 cups brewed coffee with 2% milk Lunch: 2 egg omelette with 1 tomato, cheddar cheese, baby carrots Snack: Honey crisp apple with cinnamon Dinner: Salmon with roasted brussel sprouts and red potatoes 4-5 cups of water |