The F of Food

Food.  I love food.  It not only sustains our bodies but it feeds our souls.  It can warm a person's heart.  It can jump start conversations.  It brings families together around a dinner table.  It can even stir up feelings of love.  In fact, I probably wouldn't be on this earth if it weren't for my mother's biscuits.  My dad always said that he fell in love with my mom the first time she made her biscuits.  They are really good biscuits, but I think it's also the act of love behind the cooking that makes them special.

Food & memories go hand in hand for me.  When I think of a certain food, it automatically brings back a memory.  For example, the smell of real bacon cooking in a skillet automatically brings me back to my grandma's house.  When we would visit her, she would rise early in the morning before everyone else and start cooking the bacon.  The smell of the bacon penetrated our noses and forced us to rise out of our beds and make our way to the kitchen.  It was hypnotic.  We had no choice but to follow the smell of the bacon.  It was like Monterey Jack from Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers and his reaction to cheese.  I mean "ccchhhheeeessseee".  Do you remember that show?

I have a simple philosophy on food - keep it natural, mix it up, listen to your body and enjoy!

1. Keep it natural. I think God made this earth with everything we need to survive - water, plants and sources of meat.  The more we change a food from its natural state, the less beneficial it will be for us to eat.  Is there a soda tree that grows cans of soda pop?  Not that I'm aware, so it's probably not the best drink to consume regularly.  
2. Mix it up. Don't eat the same foods all the time, or another way to think about it is, everything in moderation.  It's common sense that junk food in excess is bad, but food or drink of any kind can be bad, if consumed in excess.  For example, carrots are very good for you, but even if you eat too many the palms of your hands can turn orange (a condition called carotenemia; I met a kid in college who had it). Have carrots this week, then buy a new veggie next week that you've never tried.  Don't know how to prepare it?  That's what Google and Pinterest are for.
3. Listen to your body.  We eat and drink to supply our body with the necessary ingredients to keep it going.  Therefore, since we are consuming for our bodies, we should listen to what our bodies are telling us.  If your body doesn't feel good after eating something that's a good sign that you probably shouldn't eat it again, or not in the same quantity.  I can get down on some chocolate chip cookie dough, but afterwards my stomach just feels sour.  My body is obviously trying to tell me that raw chocolate chip cookie dough is doing me no good.  {slap on the forehead, duh}  If your thirsty, drink water .  Then take that as a sign that you should drink water more often because thirst is a sign of dehydration.  God made our bodies intelligently.  They know what they are doing, we just have to be aware of what they're telling us.
4. Enjoy.  Although we should eat to live and not live to eat, there is nothing wrong with enjoying food.  Take some time to prepare a dinner.  Throw a little love and creativity into it.  As with anything in our life, the more we put into it, the more we will get out of it.  I personally think God had chocolate in mind when he invented the cacao tree and I am very thankful He did!

As Julia Child would say, "Bon Appetit!".