From Marianne: They Love Our Food. That's the Problem.

I've been cracking up reading stories about World Cup fans discovering American food.

One guy from London said it was greasy, disgusting... and absolutely glorious. Another couldn't stop talking about Chick-fil-A sauce. Someone else fell in love with poutine.

Welcome to North America. Please loosen your belt before boarding.

I get it. If I came here on vacation I'd want to try everything too. The thing is, they're not planning to eat Chick-fil-A sauce every Tuesday for the next twenty years. But a lot of us are.

Every time I travel to Europe I come home saying the same thing. How is it possible that I ate pasta twice a day, drank wine, had gelato almost every afternoon... and somehow came home weighing less? Everyone says it was all the walking. Maybe, but I don't think that's the whole story.

Our food tastes incredibly good, maybe a little too good. It's loaded with ingredients designed to make it taste better, last longer, stay crispier, fluffier, creamier, and keep us coming back for more. That's not an accident, it's a business model. And after a while, you start wondering what exactly you're actually eating.

If you're visiting America for two weeks, please, eat the burger, get the fries, have the milkshake. Life is short. But if you live here? Maybe don't eat like you're still on vacation.

I've gotten pickier as I've gotten older. The fewer ingredients I can't pronounce, the happier I am. I still love great food. I just don't want a chemistry set with my lunch.