3 reasons TO take good food seriously in your life

There are all sorts of different approaches – you could almost say “philosophies” – to food.

On the one hand, you’ve got people who go for the purely utilitarian approach and will eat the same basic and bland meal every day, more or less indefinitely, because it’s easy to prepare and fills their belly. Then, you’ve got the impulsive, hedonistic eaters, who will have takeaway whenever they can get it, and sugary snacks on a regular basis.

By far the best approach, though – at least from the perspective of this article and its writer – is to treat food more or less as something sacred, and to honour the experience of eating good and “artisanal” food, whether that’s in the form of a meal at Abacus Jasper’s Restaurant Group, or a home-cooked gourmet experience shared with loved ones.

Here are a few reasons to take good food seriously in your life.

1. Because a good meal is one of the true and harmless sensual pleasures in life

Eating well-balanced meals, cooked from raw and whole ingredients, and designed and arranged to be as aesthetically pleasing and tasty as possible, is great. As in, it’s a deeply pleasurable experience.

Of course, there is a certain balance to be struck – if you eat rich and gourmet meals multiple times every day, you might not be in the best health after a while, and you might get “desensitised” to that food. But good cooking, done sensibly, is a gift that you can give to yourself over and over again, and enjoy day-in and day-out

A lot of the sensual pleasures that people get hooked on in life can be self-destructive. Binge drinking and drug use, for example.

Learning to cook well, though, and treating each meal as a deeply meaningful experience, is one of the true and harmless sensual pleasures of life. So, enjoy it – whether that just means making the best omelette you can possibly make in the morning, or preparing a filet mignon masterpiece in the evening.

1. Because the quality of your food will have a big impact on how you feel in everyday life

Assuming you are being thoughtful about the ingredients you use in your cooking, their origin and quality, and the way in which you balance and spice each meal, you can generally take it as a given that the meals you cook and eat are going to be healthy – at the very least, much, much healthier for you than the kind of processed snacks that make up so much of the “Standard American Diet.”

Food isn’t just something that you eat so that you stop feeling hungry. It’s got an immense impact on your overall mood, energy level, and more.

By taking good food seriously, you will give yourself the best possible chance of not only being healthy, but also of enjoying each day, being energetic and active, and being the most balanced and positive version of yourself you can be, for your loved ones.

1. Because enjoying a good meal with your loved ones is one of the best possible ways of bonding

Since the dawn of time, people have been sharing food with their loved ones as a bonding ritual – and although we may not be passing chunks of elk around a bonfire so often these days, the same principle still applies.

In a very fast-paced and busy world such as ours, enjoying a good meal with your loved ones is one of the best possible ways of returning the present moment, bonding, and cherishing each other’s company.

Of course, it should go without saying that when you’ve prepared the meal yourself and have put real thought and care into it, the gesture becomes all the more powerful.