I spend a lot of time noding about food. between public domain cookbooks, my original recipes and tidbits on food history I think that a full 20% of my node-space somehow revolves around food. Unfortunately in this day and age food has been losing it's place in our society. The majority of food sold today is "quick and easy" be it fast food from McDonald's or "one step" dinners from the local supermarket.

This is truly a sad state, but it's an accurate one. Throughout human history the food of a culture has reflected the nature of the culture. Today's age is one that is fast-paced and impersonal it is reflected in our food, and vice-versa.

There are many people out there that view food more as a necessity than anything else, meals become an unwelcome interruption in the daily flow of their lives. I'd like to stop this trend, starting with e2. And with the sufficient number of people I see noding recipes, food facts and nutritional information I feel that there's a good body of people here who would agree with me.

There are many ways one can renew our relationship with our food, and in doing so renew our relationships with the people around us. It all starts though with cooking good food, at home, and sharing it with those important to you. the sharing of food has, throughout the ages, been a symbol of friendship and goodwill. It's an easy and fairly inexpensive way to let your friends and family know how much they mean to you. And it doesn't take much more effort to cook for three or four than it does for just one or two.

Learn about the recipes you use. Most dishes have a history behind them, and even if you've added your own special touches it's nice to know the roots of your creation. Was this recipe invented by a cook for the Roman infantry who needed a quick way to feed a hundred troops, or was this dish created by Russian peasants as a way to take advantage of leftover bread, or to extend the limited supplies of meat? These little tidbits help us appreciate the food better, give us a connection to our ancestors and serve as a way to stir conversation at meal time.

Don't eat in silence. Encourage comments during meal time, both about the food and about the person enjoying it. You will probably find that most people prefer eating a good home-cooked meal than going out to a restaurant, the added bonus being that you've got the whole place to yourself. The conversation will also force you to slow down and enjoy the food a bit more. If you eat in silence you might as well be eating alone, and that's never any fun.

Most importantly, Learn To Cook. In the age of microwaves, take out and "meals in a bag" this is often overlooked. Knowing how to cook isn't merely a novelty, it's a survival tool as well. Also people appreciate meals which take a little effort, they also usually taste better. Anyone can cook, the basics are easy. If you "can't cook" then stick to the recipe, if you can, then invent your own and expand your knowledge. By cooking your own food you'll appreciate it more. Learn the recipes that your grandmother used to cook, in this way you can connect to your own roots.
I hope that you will take the time to think of the part food plays in your life. Food is something that should be celebrated. It enriches our life. It should be shared with those around us. Think about your childhood and the dishes you had growing up (or even the dishes you would have liked to have had). Think about what you eat and what it says about you.
Food is almost universally recognised as being a Good Thing. It provides nutrients and energy, and without it, life cannot exist. All food is essentially accumulated solar energy; if human beings could synthesise sunlight directly, the world would probably be a paradise.

Along with shelter, sex, and medicine, food, and the pursuit of same, has been one of the most important driving forces of civilisation. Food is still a fundamental commodity in many parts of the world; people will kill for it, go to war for it, sell their souls for it, and deny it to others in order to advance themselves.

Amongst human beings, the most popular foodstuffs are fruit, rice, bread, and meat, in no particular order. A full list of all foodstuffs, including mixtures and preparations, is beyond the scope of this entry.

Alone of nature's creations, only a few human beings believe that food is unimportant - these people call themselves 'breatharians' and are a good example of how too much thinking can sometimes be bad.

Too little food leads to starvation and death; too much leads to obesity and guilt.

Food (?), n. [OE. fode, AS. foda; akin to Icel. fae[eth]a, fae[eth]i, Sw. foda, Dan. & LG. fode, OHG. fatunga, Gr. patei^sthai to eat, and perh. to Skr. pa to protect, L. pascere to feed, pasture, pabulum food, E. pasture. 75. Cf. Feed, Fodder food, Foster to cherish.]

1.

What is fed upon; that which goes to support life by being received within, and assimilated by, the organism of an animal or a plant; nutriment; aliment; especially, what is eaten by animals for nourishment.

In a physiological sense, true aliment is to be distinguished as that portion of the food which is capable of being digested and absorbed into the blood, thus furnishing nourishment, in distinction from the indigestible matter which passes out through the alimentary canal as faeces.

Foods are divided into two main groups: nitrogenous, or proteid, foods, i.e., those which contain nitrogen, and nonnitrogenous, i.e., those which do not contain nitrogen. The latter group embraces the fats and carbohydrates, which collectively are sometimes termed heat producers or respiratory foods, since by oxidation in the body they especially subserve the production of heat. The proteids, on the other hand, are known as plastic foods or tissue formers, since no tissue can be formed without them. These latter terms, however, are misleading, since proteid foods may also give rise to heat both directly and indirectly, and the fats and carbohydrates are useful in other ways than in producing heat.

2.

Anything that instructs the intellect, excites the feelings, or molds habits of character; that which nourishes.

This may prove food to my displeasure. Shak.

In this moment there is life and food For future years. Wordsworth.

Food is often used adjectively or in self-explaining compounds, as in food fish or food-fish, food supply.

Food vacuole Zool., one of the spaces in the interior of a protozoan in which food is contained, during digestion. -- Food yolk. Biol. See under Yolk.

Syn. -- Aliment; sustenance; nutriment; feed; fare; victuals; provisions; meat.

 

© Webster 1913.


Food, v. t.

To supply with food.

[Obs.]

Baret.

 

© Webster 1913.

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