Exploring food

OK, this is another one of those obvious topics that has been cropping up a lot lately.  We have a complicated relationship with food, which is just sad.

I should have a complicated relationship with my finances, shoes or closet space.  Less complicated with my friends, and totally uncomplicated with my dog.  But instead, there are so many unpleasant things being circulated about food that I almost feel like I’m cheating on my fridge when I eat.

First off, let me say something that will upset about half of my friends.  THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BAD FOOD. (with the exception of brussels sprouts.  They aren’t food, they’re tiny evil green poison-pills attempting to kill you.  And tofu.  I don’t care what magazines say, but it’s clearly not edible.)  Then there is the VERY short list of things to avoid: tempeh; carili; okra.  (I insist that they aren’t actual foods, just evil personified.)

We can all agree that there are certain foods that should not be eaten at every meal.  They’re indulgences, and should be enjoyed on their own or in special circumstances.  In this list, I include things like cake, ice cream, most sweets, “snack” foods, and anything containing whipped cream.  It would be “sick-making” to eat these all day, every day, but they certainly add to the enjoyment of a meal with loved ones.

Watching an average hour of TV with ads there will be a slew of commercials for breakfast cereals, fast food restaurants and weight-loss programs.  The breakfast cereals have entertaining spokes-animals (a hyperactive bee, a leprechaun, animated wheat squares,…); the fast food restaurants promote some manhole-sized burgers and ocean-sized drinks (have you ever noticed that in most burger ads, nobody actually bites the sandwich?) and following on from that, a wave of “get slim quick” ads. 

If you were to follow what the ads show, you’d eat a breakfast cereal, have a gigantic slab o’meat for lunch, power up with cereal bars, fill in with candy, then go out for dinner to consume another massive combination of heavily-salted, deep fried food, and top it off with a diet pill that helps you drop 2 sizes overnight.  MMM-good.

Of course, several of the other ads encourage you to by the “convenience foods” that “taste home-made.”  Skipping over the inherent juxtaposition of that, let’s look at why I need to pay 4 times as much for a “convenience” meal as when I cook myself?  Well, I suppose those dancing spice bottles command an impressive salary… the choreographer alone must be a millionaire!

I’m not anti-prepared meals.  Heavens, no!  I like a good take-out every once in a while myself.  And nobody could accuse me of being the reincarnation of Julia Child or Sylvia Hunt.  But I do question a few things.  Why is there this deep-held conviction that cooking = slavery?  And why should I “trick” kids into eating vegetables? And, really, am I so non compos that I need to eat foods that have been processed beyond edible in the name of “health”?  (Oh, yes, they are heavily processed.  And don’t expect me to believe that the granola bar is “healthy” or that the wheat-free, sugar-free, flour-free, egg-free cookies are anything but taste-free.)

My underlying point is that enjoying food is not a crime.  (Let us not discuss the “foodie”, those unfortunate people who actually hate their relationship with food, so they turn it into a form of pornography.)  Making meals isn’t drudgery, it’s a way of celebrating life.  (Don’t tell me, I know.  How can you celebrate life by something so boring, I hear you moan.)  Being able to prepare food that your loved ones enjoy, or even to experiment with something outlandish (there’s this raspberry-chocolate prawn recipe that I need a volunteer to try) is a celebration.  The daily grind of “what shall it be today?  Oh, maybe a PBJ again” is all a part of that – a reminder that life isn’t all unicorns and rainbows, but there’s a LOT of very plain stuff to get through.  And we all have our comfort meals.  (Mine is curried chicken.  With pumpkin, spinach and potatoes.  Don’t ask.)

Yes, every once in a while a restaurant meal is good.  And every now and then a visit to your local sub shop for the cheese-smothered chicken… (I think I’m due for a trip to Toronto again soon…) or some made-with-real-cream ice cream.  Make a different meal once a week, just to try something new. But skip the side serving of guilt.  It only helps to make you feel ugly.