Food for Thought: Food is Love
One of my favorite compliments someone could give me after eating a dish I made is when my food reminds them of their childhood. Of course, the past is in the past, and nobody could ever go back to what has already happened, but food has this beautiful power to bring back the past, creating a strong emotional connection to a dish that probably would’ve been forgotten if not for the memories it brought to life.
The reason why childhood foods often brings a sense of comfort is because it’s how we feel love from our most influential years of our lives-the years that determines extreme love or hate for the foods we experienced. Everyone should have a mother or grandmother who would cook for them delicious food growing up, and even if it’s not delicious it certainly creates some sort of feeling. Fast food stirs up memories in me to when I was little, as I used to eat McDonald’s all the time as a child, or opening a box of Kraft mac and cheese and following each step on the package with my sibling. It wasn’t the best food for me, as I suffered a lot with obesity as a young child. However, it was the food that was given to me, the food that was part of my culture growing up. Everyone has a childhood comfort food, often celebrated among friends and family who we may not get to see very much as time goes by.
There is a common saying, “You are what you eat”, and it’s true that what you eat is how you love yourself. Let’s be real, somebody who eats shit food will always think of themselves as shit, but somebody who nourishes themselves want the best for themselves. Maybe we live in a society that convinces the majority of us who have little money in our pockets that all we can afford is shit food made out of shit ingredients. What are we going to gain from investing our $5 for shit instead of 1 lb of chicken breast, or 2 bags of yams? Especially in this economy, it’s wiser to eat at home and learn to cook for yourself and maybe even start a garden. On the other hand, shit food can taste really good! The taste is addictive, and it causes more harm than good, like a horrible relationship, but if you have so high self love and self respect, you will make wiser food choices. Then, not only your morality is in check, but so is your physical health, mental health, sleep habits, and even your relationships with other people. All in all, you will be much hotter.
As someone who grew up eating shit food, I eventually grew out of it. If you’re someone who is in the habit of eating shit food, I understand completely. It doesn’t make you less of a human being. However, you can grow out of it. If you want to be your best version possible, it comes down to how you love yourself and what kind of diet you choose to have. Even if good food isn’t easy to come by, just a slight change in thinking, “Okay, I will have one meal a day homemade instead of eating take out all the time, even if it’s just avocado toast.” That’s already a huge leap to self love, and following the recipes of the Good Humble Foodie blog is a huge leap too! Why choosing good food is an act of self love? Because you don’t consider the unhealthy consequences when ordering fast food, only the easy way out, and whoever said love is easy? Learn to slow down, and appreciate the process of making your own food for yourself.
Whether the food is shit or wholesome, it should always be respected when food is given. Most of the time, people who give food just simply want to make you happy and cared for, so it’s more about the love and thought behind it. Of course, it’s the best when someone cooks for you nourishing food out of good ingredients, such as fresh vegetables and protein. However, it’s more so up to you whether or not healthy good food is part of your diet, because most food that’s given in our culture, or at least my culture, is solely based on boosting your happiness rather than health. Even I really enjoy baking delicious sweets and sharing it with the people around me. And when I do, I don’t think that I am harming people by sharing unhealthy food, I think of it as sharing my love. Same thing if a friend offers me their own baked goods, I try to avoid processed sugars as much as possible due to the ugly neck acne it gives me, but I will gladly accept it anyways, as it is an act of love. A small bite isn’t going to kill anyone.
The overall point is that no matter what food someone offers to you, it is an act of love and should be recognized as a thoughtful gesture. Rejecting the food is like rejecting the person offering it to you. Even if the food being shared or given isn’t necessarily your favorite thing in the whole world, you can pass the food onto someone who will appreciate the food. The love and energy being put into food goes around when sharing it to others, hence creating good memories and strengthening emotional bonds, enriching our human experience with the food that brings us together. In a world where we need love and community more than ever, food is also being wasted more than ever too, food that somebody somewhere desperately needs as there are many who lack food, who lack love. Maybe my point won’t solve world hunger, but it starts with me and you. What can you do to spread food to others? What can you do instead of rejecting or wasting food?
When it comes to the food you feed yourself with, it’s a different sort of love. When someone offers you food or you share a meal with loved ones, it’s more so about the giving. The diet that you solely choose to live on is more so about how well you take care of yourself. Undeniably if you were to live under your parents or have no say in your meals, that’s different circumstances. I’m talking very specifically about the choices you make if you have the freedom and privilege to consume your heart’s desire. The more wholistic, fresh, and nutrient-dense foods you eat, the more you love yourself. It’s not the love you will get from fast, packaged and processed foods, although they’re so easy, convenient, and addictive. It’s about what person you want to be, how you want to feel in your body, and how much you respect yourself.