Personality Insight: What Does YOUR Favorite International Cuisine Say About You?

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Personality Insight: What does your favorite international cuisine say about you?

Whether you swoon for sushi or only have eyes for rigatoni, your favorite foreign cuisine can shed light on more than your menu preference. "Eating foreign food is an adventure," says psychologist David Eigen, Ph.D. (DavidEigen.com), "and it can be indicative of such things as how you embrace change and how you see yourself." Just find the food that gets your tummy growling for some juicy insight!






Indian: You're a stress-defying adventurer!

A "total sensory experience" - that's what Eigen calls the explosion of spice, color and aroma that is Indian food. super-inventive, you're always looking to challenge yourself and your taste buds. Your almost stress-proof temperament allows you to stretch past - and redefine - your limits.


French: You're a hard-charging sophisticate!

Defined by rich creams and sauces, "French food is full of the delicate flavors your sensitive palate appreciates," observes Eigen, who notes that you're as confident and driven as you are sophisticated. Indeed, you'd never avoid ordering a French entree just because it's a tongue-twister. Similarly, you'd never shy away from climbing the job ladder just because the ascent might be challenging.


Italian: You're a warm wit!

Italian food is a kind of comfort cuisine, the perfect complement to big get-togethers and long discussions. Sociable and charming, you like your meals peppered with wit. And while you enjoy experimenting with your menu, you find comfort in returning to your favorite, familiar pasta dishes.


Chinese: You're fascinatingly complex!


Chinese food is full of contrasting flavors - and it's this sweet-and-sour complexity you warm to because you're full of contradictions yourself. Sensitive and romantic one moment, in-charge and focused the next, you're an enigma who becomes more intriguing the more one gets to know you.


Japanese: You're a chic tastemaker!


"Japanese food is a very 'clean' cuisine," observes Eigen. "Not only is it healthy, it's also served in a precise, visually arresting manner." Feminine and creative, you relish a demure, artistic serving of sushi. and your discerning taste means you never veer toward materialism: For you, it's about choosing carefully, whether that philosophy applies to your menu choices or your accessories.


Mexican: You're a voracious variety-seeker!


In its fusion of Mayan, Aztec and Spanish influences, Mexican food boasts diverse flavors that thrill your taste buds, says Eigen. You thrive on this variety, from the guilty pleasure of fried burrito to the protein-packed goodness of rice and beans. And just as Mexican cuisine transformed the humble avacado into a globally adored dip, you can take a kernel of an idea and turn it into a creative whirlwind.

"Personally, I like Chinese, Mexican and Indian food but will also eat Italian and French! (Actually I like ALL kinds of food- Greek, Romanian, Russian, Korean ... you make it - I'll eat it!) So, I guess that makes me a fascinatingly complex individual, whose also a chic tastemaker with a voracious appetite for variety, but I can be warm and witty yet sophisticately confident and driven! Phew - what a mouthful!... But yep!.. That about sums up my personality!"

Resource: Womans World Magazine, Feb-01-2010 Issue, P.47