What different foods do kids eat around the world?
- Published
Left: Yusuf, 9, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Yusuf loves his mum’s cooking though he makes scrambled eggs and toast all on his own. His role models are Batman and his mother. Right: Tharkish (10) and Mierra (8) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tharkish and Mierra live with their mum and dad in a public housing project in Bukit Jalil, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. Tharkish’s favourite food is Puttu, steamed ground rice layered with coconut and topped with bananas and palm sugar. Mierra says her diet is healthy because her mom avoids foods with preservatives and additives, though after her Daily Bread portrait, she still thinks she could eat less processed food.
Left: Nur, 7, Kajang, Malaysia. Nur’s diet includes a variety of Chinese, Indian, and Malay dishes like chee cheong fun, rice noodle rolls filled with steamed tofu, bean curd skin, and fish balls served with a little sweet chilli paste. 90% of Nur’s meals are homemade and she loves her mother’s cooking. The unhealthiest food Nur eats are the snacks and sweet drinks she buys at her school canteen. Right: Rosalie, 10, Nice, France. She has a healthy diet (which includes lots of fresh fish, like sardines) thanks in part to her father, a restaurateur, who has taught her to make crepes, salads and lentils with sausage, her favourite dish.
Left: Leona “Nona”, 6, California, US. Nona can make oatmeal and pancakes. Nona grew a gigantic tomato plant that began to take over everything and is now as big as a tree. Her mother makes her eat vegetables, especially broccoli. Her diet has as many colours as the rainbow, though Nona also has not just a sweet tooth, but many “sugar teeth.” Right: Meissa, 11, Dakar, Senegal. Meissa, a devout Muslim and student at Quran School, loves goat meat and sweet foods like porridge.
Left: John, 7, Hamburg, Germany. John is fond of eating breakfast in bed. His parents bring him a tray of Muesli and toast every morning before school. John loves his grandma’s roast, Chinese curry with cashew nuts and Orange Fanta, though he’s only allowed to drink Fanta on weekends. Right: Isaiah, Long Beach, California. Isaiah’s favourite food is orange chicken and fried rice and he loves the smell of apples sautéed with cinnamon. His mom doesn’t let him drink soda and after this photo shoot, Isaiah decided to eliminate snacks from his diet.
Left: Ademilson (11) Vão de Almas, Goiás, Brazil. Ademilson is from Vão de Almas, a community of 300 families. There is no TV, electricity or running water. The family grows crops: rice, manihot (cassava), sweet potatoes, squash, beans, gherkin, okra, jiló, orange, lemon, watermelon, corn, coffee and sugar cane. They collect a bounty of native fruits too, including buriti, mangaba, mango, jatobá, pequi, caju, and coco indaiá. Right: Adveeta, (10) Mumbai, India. A vegetarian, she loves South Indian cuisine, particularly dosas (pancakes made from fermented rice and lentils) served with spicy chutney and yogurt. A few years ago, Adveeta was a picky eater. She didn’t eat 99% of the food she eats now.
Left: Henrico, 10, Brazil. His favourite dish is Feijoada, a Brazilian stew of black beans and pork, served with a side of white rice, "farofa" (fried cassava flour), and collard greens. Right: Hank, 8, Altadena, California. Hank and his parents have grown sun gold cherry tomatoes, artichokes, zucchini, spinach, pomegranates, yams, snap peas, watercress, rosemary, thyme, basil, Serrano chilli peppers, boysenberries, kyoho grapes, raspberries, rhubarb, and watermelon.
Left: Greta, 7, Hamburg, Germany. Greta’s favourite food is fish sticks with mashed potatoes and applesauce. She can’t stand rice pudding. Right: Frank, 8, Dakar, Senegal. He eats lots of peanuts from the peanut tree on his terrace. He’s especially fond of fish and the family cook knows how to prepare it just right.
Left: Daria, 6, Pasadena, California. Daria loves bacon, pasta, popcorn slathered with butter, milk chocolate and other sweets, particularly mint chocolate chip ice-cream. Right: Chetan, 10, Deonar, India. Chetan used to hate onions, but now he crushes them with his hands and eats them raw with chicken.
Left: Beryl, 8, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. . Beryl’s earliest memory of food is porridge and cake. Her favourite dish is spaghetti with carbonara sauce. Beryl grows bok choy and spinach in her balcony garden, is not allowed to drink sodas and refuses to eat ginger. Right: Anchal, 10, Mumbai, India. Anchal's father makes less than $5 a day, just enough for her mother to prepare okra & cauliflower curry, lentils and roti from scratch.
Left: Amelia, 12, Trecastagni, Sicily. Amelia eats mostly fresh fruits and vegetables and once a week some meat or fish. Right: Alexandra (9, left) and Jessica (8, right), Altadena, California. Their yard is filled with food: blackberry bushes, grape vines, and fruit trees - fig, peach, pomegranate, guava, mulberry, jujubes, and banana. They have chickens, too, and eat their eggs almost every day. Jessica loves sweets and pizza with ham but hates beans, peppers, sushi, and chocolate. Alex makes pizza rolls and quesadillas herself, but her favourite dish is macaroni and cheese. She refuses to eat brussel sprouts or soggy leftover broccoli.