Food. It's not just fuel.

I owe you all a post about my food philosophy.  I promised you that after my confession.  So, here you go.....

Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.  ~Voltaire

I love food.  I love eating.

There is a tendency in some health circles (to avoid emotional or over-eating) or some religious circles (in order to avoid making food an idol or succumbing to the sin of gluttony) to take the position that food is only fuel for our bodies and nothing more.  Eating is sort of equivalent to stopping at the gas station.  It's not the end, it's only the means.

I just cannot feel that way, though.  When I take one whiff of a sumptuous chowder rich with cream and a pinch of nutmeg, I feel instinctively that the chowder is an end and a means.  When I walk through the farmer's market and see tomatoes in every shade from red to deep purple and almost black and see the fruit, tender and ripe, I have to admit, they don't always make it home.  Sometimes we have to enjoy them in the car.  When I'm getting together with friends at the park or taking the kids to the zoo, one of the highlights of the day is preparing the picnic basket.  Nothing beats a perfect sandwich, unless it's the perfect dessert.  Speaking of dessert, I eat it every day.  Sometimes more than once a day.

The Bible has a lot to say on the subject if we look for it.

Ecclesiastes 2:24, "A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God..."

Ecclesiastes 8:5, "So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun."

Eating is not just a necessary part of existence.  Rather, feasting was commanded by the law of God!  I don't think when you sit down to feast you are just fueling up for more work.  There is a deeper thing going on.


Besides being about taste, food is social.  Being that I'm an extrovert, I love that part aspect of eating.  When people eat together there is a sense of community, a renewal that occurs. It's good for the body and for the soul.

We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink... ~Epicurus

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  1 Corinthians 10:31

But what about healthy eating?  I am big on healthy eating.  A health nut, some would mark me.  Whenever possible and affordable I like to buy organic.  I like to eat balanced.  I like to eat natural.  But (here's the caveat) healthy eating can be as idolatrous as gluttony.  If having to eat so healthy that I can no longer enjoy fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ, if I can no longer be a witness by going to the neighborhood barbecue or invite my neighbors in for dinner, if I can no longer be grateful for what is set before me and only see the nutritional flaws, healthy eating has become an idol.  1 Timothy 4:4 says, "Nothing is to be refused if received with thanksgiving."  Because eating is not just about fueling up with healthy things to keep us going, but also a social function, my nutritional standards cannot be so high so as to limit my partaking of the fellowship!
 
I really believe that if people had a holistic view of eating--that it is good, to be enjoyed, commanded by God, to be enjoyed in its natural state and as a social not just biological function--over-eating and obesity would not be the problem that it is in this country.  Would there be so many drive thru fast food places serving sub-par (out right disgusting at times) non-food to be eaten on the run in the car if we had this perspective of food?  Would we be serving school kids edible food-like substances (to borrow from Michael Pollan) warmed in the microwave to be eaten in a 20 minute lunch "hour" if we had this perspective of food?  Would we be stocking our pantries with single serving high-fat foods if we had this perspective?

So much in our society that is labeled a health problem is partly a health problem and partly a social problem, partly an emotional problem, partly a sin problem, partly a lack of faith, partly political....you get the idea.  We are whole people, people!  And we cannot dissect food and eating from our essential make-up and social structure without dire side effects.

So, how does the Gombojav Tribe eat?  We have a few principles and each new principles builds on the previous one:

1. We eat food.  Not things with numbers (e.g. Red 40) or things we cannot pronounce. (such as the 59 ingredients in a certain fast food restaurant's shake.  Here's a sampling: Amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethylpropionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphrenyl-2-butanone (10% solution in alcohol), ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylace-tophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphtyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, undecalactone, rum ether, rose, vanillin and solvent)

2. We want to eat clean food--meaning food in close to its natural state.  We choose fresh over canned, cook from scratch, and avoid anything that isn't classified "food."  For example, we eat potatoes (cooked a variety of ways).  We don't eat instant mashed potatoes.  We eat bacon.  We don't eat fakin' bacon. (I don't care how good for you people claim it is.  It's not a real food!)  We eat cheese.  We don't eat cheez-whiz.  You will not find a lot of cans and boxes in our pantry.

As for butter versus margarine,

I trust cows more than chemists. 

~Joan Gussow

3. Unless you're at a cocktail party, sit down to eat your food.  We eat three meals at the table--unless we are on a blanket on the grass in the backyard.  


4. We eat variety and color.  Food is a feast for the eyes and not just the stomach.  Yellow, red, purple, green, blue, white, brown.....enjoy!  We let our plates be a canvas.  I think if food is presented beautifully and if it appeals to all the senses one doesn't have to gorge oneself or shovel it in.  Sushi is a perfect example.  It looks so lovely and is so lovingly prepared, that when I am finished I feel satisfied in body and soul.  I do not feel like I need to be wearing my fat-pants.


5. Eat with a thankful heart.  We do not allow our children to complain about the food.  We would be teaching them to be hypocrites if we made them pray "Thank you, Jesus, for providing this food, bless it to our bodies." and in the next breath to say "Oooo, yuck!  I don't like broccoli!"  If it is indeed what Jesus provided, that proper response is always "thank you."


6. Sharing food and fellowship with others is a spiritual discipline.  When we lived in a 40-foot 5th wheel trailer we had people over for dinner.  When we lived in a two bedroom apartment we had people over for dinner.  When we lived upstairs in a three bedroom sauna duplex we had people over for dinner.  Now in our home with the view, we have people over for dinner.  Jesus, who had no place to lay his head, fixed fish on the beach for his disciples.  We have no excuse for not extending hospitality.  Hospitality isn't so much a gift you have as it is a gift you give.


Now what do we do with our principles if someone invites us over to dinner and offers us red kool-aid and monochromatic food, that we eat standing up?  We eat it!  We enjoy it!  We receive it with gratefulness believing that that is what the Lord had prepared for us and nothing is unclean to us.


In closing, have you ever stopped and given thought to your embedded ideas about food and really taken stock of your eating habits?  What do you really believe and what has just sort of been assimilated because of culture or convenience?  Is it time for a paradigm shift?


Wishing you a beautiful plate, a kitchen full of lovely aromas and a happy heart!