I like the 1920’s and I often imagine what it would be like to live in such a classy era. The lights, the glam, the music, everything was so ostentatious. America has changed a good deal since the jazz age. One thing that remains is our love for extravagance, and no greater evidence can be given than our diets. We eat things that are beyond extravagant. Everything we eat is brightly colored, larger than life (almost a parody of itself), and seasoned, spiced and flavored artificially.
Grand feast days of the past are simply a Tuesday night for us. Is that wrong? Is it wrong to eat so much, consume so many delicious things? Yes, it certainly is. Now let’s not be people of the law and force ourselves into ascetism. But let us not justify our gluttony or try and excuse it away. Take a second to ponder: many of our foods are considered evil. We have deviled eggs, devil food cakes and cookies, “That cake was simply sinful”. The term decadent (which is often used to describe food) means immoral. But we speak in our tongue in cheek sort of way and excuse ourselves. I am not meaning to imply that food is good or evil, but I am making the claim that we know that our eating habits can be good or evil.
I suggest a change, let’s eat modestly. There is no need for us to spend our money on unnecessary food and extravagant fare. This raises the question; “what is a modest meal”. There’s no rule or regulation, there is only balance. Three things you must remember; occasion, measure, and integrity. In consideration for our food we must consider the occasion, or even the reason why we are eating. I found myself eating an ice cream sandwich in the middle of a workday. Its that sort of thing that we know is wrong because it isn’t the appropriate occasion. Is it wrong to eat birthday cake? Only, perhaps, if it is unknown who’s birthday it is. We ought not eat as if we’re celebrating when we are not.
If we are eating for the right reason and the occasion is correct for us to eat, then we should consider the measure of food we ought to eat. Again, there is an argument made for eating more on special occasions, but in the west, we are guilty of overeating. I could go to the trouble of looking up statistics but it’s not a hotly contested fact. We must consider how much is reasonable. And that brings up an important point. Eating must become less informed by our feelings and controlled by our reason. This is a difficult task, no doubt, but an imperative one.
Lastly, in order to eat modestly we should eat food that has the integrity of being real food. Things that are extracted and processed are almost never good for us. We must make a conscious decision to eat real food. Again, there’s no law to what real food is, but I believe in your intelligence; you know what food is real and what is not. Before you sit down at your next meal consider these three things: Why, How much, and What Kind? Be intentional, be modest.
lofteideas 