What Do You Eat? By Morgan Mandel

What a person eats can say a lot about that person's lifestyle.

Vegetarians seem to be health conscious and also animal lovers.

I picture steak and potato lovers as large men who are not afraid to enjoy a good meal.

Then there are the soup and salad eaters. Discerning women, of course.

What about macaroni and cheese, or peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich gulpers? Kids, right?

Don't forget dishes that shout out a person's ethnicity, such as spaghetti and meatballs, matza balls, pierogis, won ton soup, gyros, and so on.

What I've offered are stereotypical examples of food preferences, but remember that stereotypes are often based on actuality.

When you describe characters in your books, be sure to include food preferences. If what your characters eat vary from the preconceived norm, have fun with that.

Some ways to do this:

A football player eating a salad so he can lose weight.
A kid who for some mysterious reason loves broccoli.
A vegetarian with a mysterious craving for a bologna sandwich.
A salad eater with ice cream binges.

I'll stop now. I'm getting hungry.

What about you - Are your eating habits different from the norm? In what way? Do you include food in your books? If so, how? Please share.