Healthy Dining Practices
Too often, Americans rush through meals and overeat. In the Mediterranean and Asia, people set aside time to eat with family and friends. In Greece, meals can last two or three hours.
In many countries around the world, it is rude for wait staff to bring a check before customers ask. Restaurant patrons can spend the entire day if they want to, Hogan says. While living in Greece, she saw restaurant patrons playing cards during meals and spending more time talking than eating.
In Greece, it is about the experience more than the food, she says. Restaurants often prepare one or two main entrees in the morning, and patrons can take it or leave it. It is a more relaxed atmosphere, which can aid digestion and give your body time to realize when it is full.