Foodie, Formerly Fat

‘Tis the season for many of us who struggle with our weight to rededicate ourselves to “getting back on track” by making a New Year’s resolution to lose weight. Many people who don’t have a chronic struggle with their weight also make a resolution to undo the damage to their waistlines that was done by holiday eating.

But this year, I’m not going to make a resolution about losing weight. I’m going to get up on my soap box here for a second so, bear with me… because the issue of weight can be a red herring when we’re talking about health. Of course, they are closely linked, but we tend to think that getting fat is just about eating too much and we need to remember that, more importantly, it’s about the quality of what we eat.

One of the reasons I cook so much (in addition to enjoying it) is that it’s harder than just buying something pre-made in the store. Huh? That doesn’t make sense does it? Well, to me it does. Do I want a cheesecake for dessert at my next dinner party? Do I want my kids to have cookies when they get home from school or banana bread for breakfast? If the answer is yes (and let’s face it, the answer is always yes) then I need to be the one to make it. Making it takes more time and more energy and more dedication. But the reason I make this choice isn’t because I’m trying to be a martyr. The reason is that if I make it then I know what went into it. I know if the ingredients were fresh, organic, natural, reduced in fat and sugar, processed, or not.

Now I don’t always cook with organic foods and there are certainly plenty of things I cook that call for frozen vegetables or fruits. But do you know what I never cook with? Potassium bromate. Or polysorbate 80. I also never need to preserve what I’ve cooked with tertiary butylhydroquinone either; because who wants to have the food they eat and feed their families cause stomach cancer in lab animals? But these are the kinds of things you can be eating without realizing it when you eat “fast food”, “convenience food, pre-made processed food, or what  food writer Michael Pollan calls “edible food-like substances”.

Another reason I cook and bake so much is because it’s harder. Wait? Didn’t I already say that? Oh, yeah, I guess I did. But it’s still another good reason. Because if it’s harder to make the cookies or french fries from scratch then you’ll actually eat less of them. I’m not making french fries more than once or twice a year so, right off the bat I’m going to be eating them less frequently. And when I do make them, I’m not going to be making an industrial sized amount; I’ll be making only a potato or two so I’ll be eating a smaller quantity every time I eat them. This helps to keep things in moderation, to keep us healthy while not depriving us of the things we love to eat.

And the last reason (I’ll mention now) as to why I do so much cooking is that it teaches my kids what food looks like before it gets cooked and plated and no longer resembles it’s component parts. And my kids need to know the difference between an avocado and an artichoke; between a tomato and an apple. You see one day I won’t be around to cook for them anymore and they’ll need to know how to do it for themselves. Because it’s harder that way.

British chef, Jamie Oliver, is leading a revolution designed to help change how we think about the way we eat and how our culture of food can be changed to support health. Here’s a link to his TED talk about his Food Revolution. It’s a must watch if you care about your health and the health of your loved ones.

Happy New Year everyone! Here’s to a new year filled with good food and lots of love!