Food...we have an unavoidable relationship and interest in food. It sustains us, nourishes us, intrigues us, and sometimes kills us. We all must eat, plain and simple. Yet there is a plethora of psychological and physical factors that affect our choices in what we eat. Do our food choices define us?
I'm not a food specialist. I'm not a dietician...did I even spell that correctly? I am, however, a consumer and the author of two cookbooks, which in many ways is very strange and bizarre.
Here's my basic philosophy: I eat when I'm hungry and I sleep when I'm tired. Now, that sounds simple enough...but the fact is most people don't do these things. Most Americans, it turns out, are sleep deprived. Most Americans are obese or overweight. Why?
There are two attitudes towards food: Those who live to eat, and those who eat to live. The latter are rarely obese or overweight unless they make consistently poor food choices. I am one who eats to live.
I suppose you could say I'm a fussy eater. I don't think of myself as one, but I am a person who simply will not eat food that does not appeal to me. If that means I'm fussy, then so be it. Is it visual? A bit. It's also knowing, or not knowing, what the contents are in the recipe. I can be starving, but if the food is not appealing, I'll just pass on it and wait. (I'm sure if I was literally starving, I'd eat anything.)
So, how did I come to write two cookbooks? Me, someone who doesn't really think about food until it's time to eat? Someone who doesn't salivate all day waiting for a succulent dinner on Thanksgiving Day? Someone who refuses to spend all damn day preparing a meal?
TMJ Disorder. That was the start. It took me a long time to figure out that my jaw would get better if I just ate a softer diet. Ah. That's tougher than it sounds. It definitely eliminates most restaurant meals (and I dislike eating out anyway). Soup and oatmeal rapidly grew boring, which prompted me to start making lists of all the meals I could eat that would be tasty yet easy-to-chew...and even better, easy-to-prepare. Thus, "You Can Conquer TMJ: Ideas and Recipes" was born. My TMJD slowly resolved, but I still use these great recipes most of the time. Many of these recipes were given to me by friends, so I can't claim any great creativity here, although I did make up a few menus - and they're darn delicious!
In fact, I sold more copies of this book to people who DIDN'T have TMJD than to those who did. People loved the easy-to-prepare nutritious recipes, so I reorganized the book, added desserts and bread recipes (mainly for boaters who often are far from bakeries) and published it as "One Pot Galley Gourmet," since most of these meals can be prepared using only one pot or pan.
In writing these books I found that food tells a lot about who you are. This sounds overly simplistic, but what you choose to eat speaks volumes about you. Based on my recipes, I'm pretty simple and straightforward. No fuss, little muss. I use lots of onions, garlic and organic items including organically raised meats/poultry, etc. I enjoy eating healthfully, but I refuse to spend all day fiddling around in the kitchen. Do I eat junk food? Sure. I love chocolate milkshakes, and I'll even eat a Whopper Jr. once or twice a year. Part of one anyway, until I start thinking about the cows and the slaughterhouses. Then I lose my appetite.
Writing these books and talking with groups made me start examining my relationship to food. Some of it is not pretty. As a child I was definitely finnicky, skinny and rickety. I cried at almost every meal which drove my family to exasperation and anger. I did not look upon sitting down to dinner as a good experience (yet when I had children of my own, we always ate dinner together and had a good time talking, laughing and sharing). As a child, however, sitting down to dinner was terrifying and awful. It was not a good feeling at all. I think there was a lot of hostility at that table, to be honest. I suspect I perceived that as a child but didn't know how to deal with it. For many years, eating was more of a burden than a pleasure.
I've had a considerable number of issues with "epiglotis hysteria," and I have my share of choking phobias. I suspect I am easily influenced by traumatic events, and seeing someone choke is my version of terror. I even quit smoking after looking at photos of charcoal, crispy looking lungs, so obviously I am easily motivated!
Anyway, did my childhood phobias and fears ultimately result in my TMJ Disorder? My penchant for wanting to spend as little time as possible preparing meals? My choking fears? Probably. Maybe.
What I have discovered, however, is that in writing my cookbooks I have solved not only my TMJ Disorder, but also come to terms with my eating habits, likes and dislikes. My recipes are absolutely inspired by my listening to what my body truly wants.
Have you thought of what your real attitudes are about food? It's very complicated - especially if you have "issues."
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