For the Love of Food

I feel like I have had several personal transformational moments in the last couple of weeks. I have started reading Barry Glassner’s “The Gospel of Food” and was struck by the way that he begins the book: “The word ‘enjoy’ appears in the official dietary guidelines issued by the governments of Britain, South Korea, Thailand, and Australia. Norway comes right out and declares, ‘food and joy = health.’ The United States’ dietary guidelines, faithful to our Puritan roots, say nothing about enjoyment. It’s high time we correct that omission” (2007, p. 1).

These transformational moments are what have inspired me to begin this blog. I’m starting to look at my relationship to food in a different way. When I was a teenager I used to use food as an emotional comfort. When I was upset, food calmed me down – and specifically, sweet fatty foods. Food meant gaining weight and therefore, food began to be equated with guilt.

When I moved to college and began living on my own, I started changing the kinds of foods I ate. I started eating vegetables and fruits. I started working out. I began to feel better about my body and my life.

Then I became very ill with several digestive issues. I had suffered from stomach pains all my life, but it became unbearable and I could barely sleep through the night. Every few months I was in the emergency room. I was on and off different medications, seeing specialists, and having every test performed. I'll spare you the details, but this went on for years and I still kept suffering from debilitating stomach pains. At one point I was even told by a doctor to stop eating fruits and vegetables. To me, this recommendation seemed to be exactly the opposite of what I would want to do.

The medications didn’t help and I began to realize that I needed to know more about food because I believed it would make me better. I first cut dairy out of my diet. I had suspicions I was lactose-intolerant and instantly I noticed a difference. Then I cut out meat. Initially, my decision to become vegetarian/vegan had nothing to do with animals. It was more about simplifying my diet and trying to figure out what was causing me pain.

I had been working in food service for three years and then started working at Chaco Canyon Organic Cafe. I learned a ton about food allergies and then began an elimination diet – no soy, wheat, gluten, dairy, sugar – for two months. This taught me what foods upset my system and helped me to see what I could eat. The last time I was in an emergency room was in the spring of 2008, which is a miracle.

However, this past week has made me realize that I have forgotten about food in terms of pleasure. Now I look at food in terms of health and how it will make me feel. Not that healthy food can’t taste great, but I have simply forgotten the joy of eating food.

After working on our Change Project the other day, my group mates, Erin and Sam, took me out for Ethiopian. I had never had Ethiopian food and I was a little skeptical, but it was absolutely amazing. This experience has inspired me to begin creating a different relationship with food.

I was on a five-day silent meditation retreat back in November and I remember eating the soup that was made for us and thinking how amazing it was. The meal breaks were an hour and a half, more than enough time to sit and savor the flavors of the meal. I want to bring this practice into my daily life. I want to find the time to really enjoy the foods I eat and remember that health does not simply come from healthy eating, but joyful eating as well.

References:
Glassner, B. (2007). The gospel of food. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.