Food For Thought

February means just one thing – Valentines Day! The shops were full of ideas on what gifts you could get for that special person in your life. Food is certainly high on the agenda this time of year with people booking tables in their local restaurants and who doesn’t love a bit of chocolate?

“A way to a mans heart is through his stomach” – have you heard of this saying before and do you think it’s true?

Food means different things to different people. Some people eat food because they need to- they don’t have any pleasure from it, it’s a simple necessity to stay healthy and alive. Some people put a lot of love and thought into meal preparation. Painstakingly searching for recipes, taking into account all details such as colour, texture, smell and presentation. Nothing is left to chance ensuring it is a pleasurable experience for the eater.

Some people become obsessed with food, especially if they are following a particular diet in their bid to shed a few pounds and become a healthier version of themselves.

Recipes can be valuable too,  with companies going to extreme measures to ensure their branded recipe cannot be disclosed or used by anyone else.

Then there are family recipes that have been handed down through a family from generation to generation. These are the types of recipes I like the best. It almost goes beyond the recipe itself. Smelling and tasting the food can trigger some pretty strong emotions and memories. It certainly is a blast from the past and some families carefully spend time and effort teaching their children how to cook the meals that seem to be woven into the very fabric of their families history.

Cooking is indeed a life skill that is still being taught to children today in schools. But, are we losing the skill to cook proper meals and actually sitting down with each other spending time with our families? Set meal times are sadly a thing of the past for some families, with people working more flexible working hours. Flexible working has many advantages but one big disadvantage of this is that at least one or even two parents will be working when the children get home from school – that means they are not there at tea time.  They tend to eat later when the children are in bed.

It is so evident today our younger generation are more used to processed convenience foods and eating at different times to their parents. Many people believe that families eating together is very much a social interaction. This is a great time to switch everything off and actually interact with each other- just imagine having to talk to each other! I truly believe that we are missing out on so much by losing this practise.

So, what’s on your menu tonight? Is it dinner for one or have you a full tribe to feed? Is it going to be a takeaway or are you having a family favourite? Whatever your plans are – enjoy! Not just the food but the company too.

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