I Like Food!

Dreaming of Food...

I like food!  OK, I put it out there.  I like various flavors, textures, smells and the feeling of having just enjoyed a tasty meal.  As a kid, my father jokingly referred to me as Electrolux, after the vacuum cleaner brand, because, out of my brothers, I was always the one that would swoop in and polish off whatever food was left on their plates.  As a parent, all of our children go through a phase in their life where they do not finish what is in front of them.  When you go out to eat, that can become a costly waste of food.  My parents had Wayne, so there was never food neither left on a plate nor wasted.  Like many peers, I was taught to eat whatever was put in front of me (except the hated liver).  Going to visit my grandparents, my grandmother would open the “dessert drawer” and throw that carrot in front of me, “Make all gone, Wayne, and you can pick something from the draw.”  My dad grew up learning to polish off a whole tray of fresh baked cookies.  I remember as an adult, visiting some cousins that exhibited traits of being good eaters, saying to my parents, then later to Debbie, “Don’t you feed him?  He doesn’t look healthy.”  I am not sure if this was a family thing, a cultural thing, or an American thing.  Food was always foisted onto me.

A number of years ago, a new word was added to the English language – Foodie.  This was officially added in the 1980’s.  Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines Foodie (n) as “a person having an avid interest in the latest food fads.”  Collins English Dictionary defines the word as, “a person having an enthusiastic interest in the preparation and consumption of good food.”  I am not necessarily interested in food fads.  While I enjoy cooking and eating, I cannot say that I have an “enthusiastic interest” in these.  One of my daughters thought she might be a Foodie, but I think she stated it best, “I am not a Foodie.  I just like to eat!”

“But, Wayne, your goal for the year was to transform your body.  How can you talk about eating like this?” 

Great question!  If we look at the “celebrity” chefs, who are definitely Foodies, take their food expertise seriously and eat / taste as part of their livelihood / life style, a majority of them are not overweight.  “Yeah, but…” no, there are no “yeah, buts” in this case.  Enjoying food does not equal gluttony.  I do not count the calories of the foods that I eat.  I no longer eat until I feel like I am about to explode.  I limit the types of foods that I eat on a regular basis, saving the more “unhealthy” options as an occasionally “treat.”  What I have found is that by changing my perspective, my daily meals are to fuel me for the day ahead and have certain parameters that are repeated, which means that the foods I avoid, over time, I no longer miss.  When the infrequent meals come that I want to “let myself go,” I find that I enjoy them more.  Like anything else, once I set my mind to it, became diligent (some might accuse me of being anal), and followed through, my eating habits changed.  However, let us not be fooled…I still like food!