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| Sauce for pasta carbonara: cheap and easy. But don't you make this just with fresh eggs, some grated cheese and pancetta? |
For me it is more than normal to be very aware of what I eat, where I buy it and how my body reacts to this. However, for many this is different. Most people just enter the supermarket and get there everything they are used to buy for years, without thinking one moment about what they buy. I think it is a pity. Therefore in this blog I am going to explain you my considerations hoping that some of the readers (maybe even you) understand the importance of this and thus change their habits.
The reason that I
pay attention to where I buy food and what I eat has nothing to do with
allergies or another type of diet. Thinking back I think it started at the same
time as my interest for the relation between food, people and cities, around
the second half of 2008. I started to read about the current agriculture and
food industries and understood almost immediately that something was wrong.
The first thing I
changed was starting to eat less meat and changing from ‘conventional’ to
organic meat. Immediately I tasted the difference between the meat I used to
eat and the one I switched to, even though I know that organic does not always
stand for ‘better’.
The fact that I noted
a difference between that what I used to eat and that what I started to eat,
also meant that in general I became more aware of flavours, like for example
excessive salt in ready-to-eat meals or sauces, smells and the influence of
conservatives and artificial ingredients on food products. It might seem only
details but these can really change the way you eat.
This modification
of ‘eating habits’ is very positive as
long as I stay within my household, where me and my husband decide what to eat.
But as soon as we are someone’s guest it might become difficult to accept the
choices someone else made: thinking that what he or she prepared is exotic and
good, while we think it wants to be exotic but is mainly cheap. And as
you can see in this doc (and many more) on mozzarella by the Keuringsdienst van Waarde, you might
understand what I mean.
However, here
rises also the question whether to start the discussion with my host and maybe
did its utmost to make me a good meal. Because my suggestions to be more aware
of the ingredients you buy and the quality they have, might be perceived as criticism
by them. While my intention is only to introduce the people in a world where
food is really something delicious, not just good.
Unfortunately
most people’s first reaction is that the food I eat is very expensive and not
available in a normal shop. But it really does not take much to enjoy – what I
call – better food. It might already help you to buy in-season food that has
not travelled more than, say, 100 kilometers between the farmland and your
kitchen. And if you buy a bit less of a bit better, I am sure your satisfied
faster.
I hope that after
reading this post, you are going to try to be more conscious while doing your
shopping. I don’t expect you to change overnight, but at least to start treating
yourself with some simple quality food during tomorrow’s dinner. Maybe slowly
you get convinced and see the advantage of this way of life. Like I once did.
