The Experience of Eating

I love to eat. Everyone I know knows that. I love the experience, the atmosphere, the flavors, the techniques, and the overall presentation. I think I became a fan of all the finer parts of dining when my best friend Wendy and I started dining out.

My first fine dining experience was with her at the Stein Erickson Lodge in Park City, Utah. It was everything you could imagine of a large expensive lodge in Park City. Rustic, but stunningly beautiful, high up in the mountains. I had loved food and cooking up until this point, but here it changed. Dressing up for a meal. The best service to create a perfect mood. I started to understand where it could end up. Eating was not just for survival, but to experience.

In most countries food is what brings people together. They converse over food, entertainment revolves around eating, and people enjoy life. It is an experience, not a necessary evil that gets in the way of your busy day. I hope we in America start to realize that more. So of us do, thank goodness, but unfortunately most of us don't.

Now starts my slight rant...

After going to the nutritionist I have learned a lot more about food and eating. I have shared this with friends and even some of them have gone for a visit to her. We are learning about healthier eating and that healthy food is good food. Natural flavors ARE delicious. You don't need pre-packaged processed shit to clog your body. It takes planning and a little more time, but I think the benefits are remarkable. Saying that, brings me back to the fine dining experience. You know why the food is so good? Is it the chef? The atmosphere? The price? Yeah, they all contribute to the experience, but the base product is fresh food. It is so good because it is fresh. Time was taken to prepare and cook it. It did not come frozen (like most chain restaurants), it did not come in a bag that needed to be cut open, and it was not microwaved. It was not scarfed down in a matter of minutes (I could eat a Big Mac in about a minute if I were in a hurry) but time was taken to enjoy and savor it. No matter how busy your day is, don't you owe it to yourself, your loved ones, to fill your body with fresh healthy food that is delicious?

The nutritionist made a good point to me. We were talking about soy creamer for my coffee as an alternative to half and half. She said, yes, soy is good for you, in it's pure form, but how much processing did it take to make it into a creamer you will enjoy with your coffee? Look how much had to change in that soy bean to make it creamer. If it is processed that much, it is no longer as good for you as it was. Good point. Purity is a key to eating healthy. I remember when living in Slovenia that I dropped weight drastically. I knew I was walking a lot more and getting more exercise than normal, but it was also that I was eating food in the pure form. At that time there were very few prepackaged meals, and you had to go to the store almost daily because there were no preservatives so the food did not last long in the refrigerator. It was not until I returned home to the US of A that I thought about it. If the preservatives are preserving food for that long, can't they be preserving fat in our bodies? AND our bodies themselves?

Here is a part of text from 101 Facts You Should Know About Food:

"It has long been an urban myth that corpses today don’t decay as fast as they did in the past because of the amount of food preservatives that have built up in our bodies. After watching the decay of exhumed human remains buried over the last30 years, Professor Rainer Horn of Kiel University in Germany has concluded that this is actually true. He believes that the combination of food preservatives and cosmetics is literally embalming us while we are still alive."

Not saying this is conclusive proof, but does make a very valid point.

Anyhow, back to my point...

Eating is something that should be experienced, not just done. Anyone can scarf a burger down and a few fries, but it takes time and thought to enjoy a burger and taste the seasoning of the fries. It takes time to cook it ourselves and play with seasonings we like, not that "Ronald McDonald" decides on for the masses. Use feta instead of a Kraft Singles. Use shallots instead of onions. Mix in some BBQ sauce and dry mustard to the beef. Do something! Just enjoy it. Invited friends over for a "Gourmet Burger" night. Use Turkey or Buffalo, or mix some pork in with the beef. Experiment and make life and dinner exciting!

It might be a burger, a lasagna, or some macaroni and cheese, but whatever it is, make it fresh, make it yourself, and make it an experience to enjoy! Just please take the time to enjoy every aspect of it...in moderation of course!