Beek Eats!

Quite a mouthful (no pun intended) right?  My goal in writing this post is to expound on the question of why we choose what to eat.  I have thought about this countless of times throughout the past few years and I am finally coming to a growing conclusion about what that reason is.

Think about this: everyday, (especially among the food-healthy-living blog community) we are aware and thinking about what we eat.  We look forward to and/or stress over our next meal.  We grocery shop.  We (as food bloggers) take pictures of the same thing we eat, day after day.  We even plan our meals in advance half the time.  These facts lead to the question of why?

Why do some people rely on fast food?  Why do some other people fear the dinner table and the communal act of eating?  Why do others always return to what is familiar to their palette?  Why do some of us eliminate specific foods all together?  Why are we constantly labeling ourselves of any one of the following: flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan, raw foodist, gluten-free, fat/carb-free, wheat-free, soy-free, pescatarian, meat-free, glutton, anorexic, recovering anorexic, clean eater, etc, etc??  The list even goes on.

I have been discovering most of the answers to these questions in my Gastronomy class- from our discussions to our required reading materials.  Gastronomy as defined by Dictionary.com is “the art or science of good eating.”  I am NOT saying the above list is not good eating.  It IS- otherwise I would not consume a head of raw broccoli on a daily basis, but I do think we have forgotten the fact  that we are omnivores.  Unlike animals,  we are designed to eat most, if not all food!  Jeffrey Steingarten writes in the introduction to The Man Who Ate Everything, “Our teeth and digestive systems are all purpose and ready for anything” (Steingarten 6).  He even goes on to state that as humans we need variety to stay healthy!  Yes, some may have allergies and others were made biologically  inapt to devour wheat, and some of us may choose to not eat certain foods because morally, we believe it to be wrong- but other than that: we base our decisions of eating and not eating by our own personal preference!

Our decisions to eat are based on preference.  What we want.  What we do not want. Our preferences derive from our life experience up until today.  It may seem like an obvious fact of life- yeah, yeah, we do what we want- but it goes beyond that.  Since discussing this in class, a light has gone off (and ironically will not shut off) in my head that sort of explains why as healthy living bloggers, we blog.  We blog because we each have a story regarding our health, weight loss, recovered eating disorder or case of disordered eating that somehow involves food and our previous preferences that have come full circle to our struggles and eating preferences we now have today.

Eating also coincides with emotion.  Food and emotion are so commonly linked that it isn’t funny. “Emotion” is also associated with “disorder” which explains to me why many young women divert to eating disorders.  I do not want to decipher into this topic very much because I cannot speak from direct experience nor do I do want to try and explain something I am not fully educated about- but, it should be common sense that eating disorders are a unbalanced mixture of eating and emotion.  Likewise, the same concept applies to binge eating or over-gluttonous behavior.  All of these habits are linked from emotion to food because the act of eating is an extremely sensual, emotional experience.   I wanted to share with you an excerpt from a textbook of mine, titled The Taste Culture Reader from an article called “Food and Emotion” by Deborah Lupton.

“An appetite is an emotionally flavoured hunger: the appetite experienced when a favourite food is being cooked   and is almost ready to be served differs from that of the simple hunger felt when the stomach is empty and requires food.  So too, lack of appetite is often an emotional response, an interaction between a feeling of anxiety, nervousness, grief, or even joy or elation (the emotion of being ‘in love’ is often associated with a loss of appetite)(Lupton 321).”

That being said, I think a lot of us (myself included) bury ourselves in our safe foods.  Either an incident, bad experience, failed recipe, “fat” year, case of food poisoning, or horror memory has turned us off of either entire groups of  food, or specific textures and flavors of a single ingredient.

Jeffrey Steingarten states this in his naturally-bold-and-well-educated-celebrity-food-critic-manner, but he is unfortunately, right.  I would not be able to argue this statement even if I wanted to.  This fact of human nature saddens me because I am ( what I believe to be biologically) a foodie.  I love trying new foods.  I love the craft of cooking and the joy and excitement a person can feel simply by trying a new food or splurging ($ 250 later) and indulging (5000 calories later) on a ten course tasting meal a la French Laundry.  We as humans and omnivores, BY NATURE, should not have to worry about whether or not our tub of oatmeal was processed in a wheat plant, or whether or not our vegetables were cross contaminated with raw beef.  We were made to eat everything.  But we DO worry!  We have fears and anxieties, preferences and aversions to simple things from fluoride laden toothpaste, dirty door handles, eating out and showering  to foods like dairy, meat, sugar, soda and caffeine.

BUT: we are all different.  I am not saying the vegetarians of this world should start eating meat- because let us be honest- if everyone ate everything, it would screw up the whole “supply and demand” aspect of our world- and I do not even want to go there. I do think it is important to recognize why we do what we do.  From our way of eating to our way of life.  For instance, I have my own set of fears and aversions for certain foods like carbs after a certain time of day, fast/highly processed foods and cheese- but I have my reasons much like all of you do.  I do not want these preferences and aversions to get in the way of myself living my life either.  I get up everyday not only because I am looking forward to my cup of coffee and bowl of breakfast- but because I truly want to get up.  Much like food, I enjoy life.

You should too.

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Let’s hope I can turn these philosophical posts into future essays, yeah?!

My apologies for the ramble, on to last Tuesday thru Thursday outfits and eats. Just a reminder- I do not post everything I eat- and everything here does not go eaten!  How I’ve been surviving eating my way through culinary school- umm.. by NOT licking my plate clean.  Whenever I make my own food- usually, I eat everything I make.

Tuesday:

Maple-nut oatmeal for breakfast.

Lunch: Shrimp salad on crostini appetizer.  Sauce-grapefruit, lime or pomegranate- I honestly cannot remember.

Veal Osso Bucco with sauteed spinach and brown sauce.

Dinnnerr: salad bar and greek yogurt on the side.

Wednesday:

Cocoa-coconut oats with dark chocolate dreams peanut butter.

More snow on my walk to class.

Lunch appetizer: gravad lax with fennel and arugula salad and dill.

Stuffed boneless chicken breast with broccolini and Israeli couscous.

My friend Alyssa at dinner. She is a new baking and pastry student. (Not my fellow Tucsonan, they both just happen to have the same name.)

I ate at “Cuisines of Americas” kitchen I want to say?

Red snapper with sweet potato sauce, black bean puree, coconut rice and grapefruit salsa.  Best meal so far!  So fresh and yummy. The fish was perfectly cooked.

Thursday!

Breakfast: Egg white coconut oats with tahini, maple syrup and a few chocolate chips.

Tights!

I told you it looked like Hogwarts.  They call the CIA (so I’ve been told) “The Hogwarts of Hudson Valley”.

Lunch Thursday: butternut squash soup with a garnish of candied ginger and pepitas.

Roasted duck leg with more brown sauce and brussel sprouts and carrots!  I was so happy to see brussels!  Not quite as good as my brussel chips though.

Where we usually eat: (More Hogwarts lookalikes)

Dinner Thursday: Mahi Mahi with pineapple salsa, sauteed spinach and grilled vegetables!

Snack later on:  I took a hint from Kaysie- she suggested a sliced apple with yogurt sauce made of plain yogurt+peanut butter in my dorm.  Naturally, I chose greek yogurt+tahini+little maple syrup for some sweetness, and it was soo tasty.  Definitely recommend it!

Ahhh it has been such a long weekend. And what a long post!  I feel like if I posted more often- it would actually take less time to write.  We will see.  I have a bunch of writing assignments coming up and I figure if I try and incorporate them as blog posts as well, they might be more fun to write.  I have brain storming to do!

This week at the CIA: Quarterly Career Fair, photography club, and my chef whites/uniforms are finally arriving! This weekend is Valentine’s Day.  I think I will be spending it with a girlfriend in New York City.  My first weekend trip!  What better way to spend it right?  Do you girls have Valentines this year?  I’ve always been a big supporter of buying Valentines and handing them out in class, but I have a feeling college kids are so over that!  Oh well.

I also have always loved Valentine’s Day because it usually falls on my birthday week!  It’s been such a hectic time in my life that I almost forgot about it!  I am usually one to count down months ahead of time too, but here we are already!  It is on the 18th which is a week from Thursday.  I will be 19. GAH. (In case you don’t know me too well, I feel like I’m THIRTY.)

Alrighty- off to do some reading!  Love you all so much.  Your support never ceases to amaze me!  I’ve been tackling my google reader a couple bloggers at a time.  So in case you haven’t experienced the Bekah Comment Slam- you might be at the end of the alphabet in my google reader.  I try and mix it up!  Have a great week.

X’s and O’s-

Lori is giving away an ice cream maker!!!