Many of us like to eat out and treat ourselves to delicious food. We are used to choosing hearty (丰盛的), fat-filled dishes and sugary desserts, which are not easily cooked at home.
The recent rise of light meals, however, gives us a smarter choice. According to Economic Daily, low-calorie, low-fat and high-fibre meals have become popular in China’s restaurants and online delivery platforms.
The country saw a rapid increase of restaurants concentrating on light meals, from just 600 in 2017 to more than 3,500 in 2018. According to a report published by Meituan, a major online food delivery platform, the number of light meals ordered online also rose 75 percent from the previous year.
Having a light meal, however, doesn’t mean eating only vegetables. Different from the meat-free lifestyle, a typical light dish avoids oily, salty and spicy food. Instead, it contains things like boiled meat, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Healthy nutrients(营养物)are the theme of the light meal.
These dishes are useful for keeping healthy and controlling your weight. That’s probably why so many people, especially the youths are into them. They see it as “a great way to avoid getting fat,” wrote the Telegraph.
“After eating several light meals, I now prefer light flavours,” Zou Jing, a college teacher in Wuhan, told China Daily. She shared a picture of her lunch: a mixture of beef, eggs, corn, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes.
These changes in eating behaviour are connected to deeper changes in how people think about food, says Walter Willett, chairman of the nutrition department at the Harvard T.Chan School of Public Health, US. “Diet quality, not quantity, is important for both weight control and long-term well-being,” Willett told The New York Times.
So the next time you have a party with friends, try a light meal. It will satisfy not only your stomachs but maybe also your hearts.
【小题1】What is the main way that the author used to prove the popularity of light meals in China?| A．Listing numbers. | B．Giving examples. | C．Giving descriptions. | D．Showing other people’s opinions. |
| A．They are usually colourful. | B．They are simple and convenient. |
| C．They are cheaper than other meals. | D．They can help people control their weight. |
| A．Light meals will stay popular for a while. |
| B．One’s eating habit shows their personality. |
| C．There is a change in attitude toward healthy eating. |
| D．It’s important to eat the right amount of good food. |
| A．How to lose weight quickly | B．Introduction about light meals |
| C．Tips on eating only vegetables | D．The rise of online food delivery platform |
