The secret to enjoying what we eat

Recently I was giving my neighbour a ride home from a meeting and he asked me about my work and told me that he doesn't really enjoy eating. He just did it because he had to. Now this is someone who has lived a rich life that he's clearly enjoyed - from the enthusiasm with which he still talks about it. His comments about food struck me but his attitude, too. It made me wonder how many of us have this attitude to food. It was one of acceptance.

I keep hearing about the imminent food crisis in some shape or form. In this article, I want to share my thoughts on how we can each make a difference to the imminent food crisis with our attitude to our food.

How can our attitude to what we eat make a difference? Here are three reasons why it's important to enjoy what we eat and, in each case, two steps we can use to take action straightaway.

Reason 1

Nourishing oneself with food is also pleasure. Steps we can take for immediate action include:

1. Considering food as pleasure: in this way cooking becomes important and not just a duty. This positive attitude stimulates us to prepare and eat consciously.
2. Giving thanks for our food to really appreciate it. Think about all the people and energy that have gone into creating what we eat. Isn't that enough to be grateful for?

Reason 2

Enjoying our food helps us to feel satisfied. How many of us have eaten more than we'd like to during an average meal and then still had something sweet afterwards because we're not satisfied. Steps for immediate action include:

1. Eating a variety of fresh local organic seasonal food, different vegetables, varied grains, especially with the food crisis hitting the cereal industry so hard. In a WHO press release in 2003, Dr. Uauy advises us to "enjoy fruits, vegetables and legumes and prefer foods of plant and marine origin."*
2. Including Ayurvedic nutrition principles, e.g. that of the 6 tastes (sweet/neutral, sour, salty, hot, bitter, and astringent) in our food.

Reason 3

To improve digestion since good digestion is important to enjoy meal. Steps for immediate action include:

1. Eating according to the season, for example in spring, we would eat more lightly.
2. Using herbs and spices that are appropriate to each of us as individuals.

If each of us makes good use of our resources, we'll enjoy our food (and our taste buds and digestive system will thank us for it). We'll also be supporting our local farmers and getting actively involved in sustainable agriculture by reducing our pressure on the environment. It'll be our way to take responsibility for our earth and help to alleviate the food crisis.

A final point: Sometimes we're in a situation where we may find it difficult to enjoy what we eat. In this case how about taking a tip from my neighbour and simply accepting what it is we have to eat at the particular time?

*Source: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2003/pr20/en/index.html Copyright © 2008 Janet Gomez. All rights reserved