Day 139- Food as Hygiene (Slow Foods)

Day 139- Food As Hygiene (Slow Foods)

Hygiene is not just about making your body smell good. It is about making your body feel good.

So today, our radical hygiene segment is about what you put in your body to feel good.

We all know that a good diet has long term effects on how our bodies feel and react to our environments. But how do we know what to eat that will make us feel good?

The slow foods movement believes the easiest way to discern is by trusting nature. As natural beings, we feel best when our bodies are in tune with our natural surroundings. This does not mean eating "natural foods" but rather foods that resemble nature.

The slow foods movement began about a decade ago in Italy. It is not a list of rules, but rather a philosophy of how to eat.

Simply enough, slow food is seasonal, local and simple.

1. Seasonal--Fruits, vegetables, and meat are all the most healthy when they are prepared according to season. Growing a tomato in winter requires a lot more resources and puts stress on the fruit. Ultimately, out of season fruits and vegetables do not taste good and they are sapped of vitamins and minerals.
2. Local-- Organic is great. I support organic foods a lot. But, if it is grown on a factory farm somewhere on the other side of the continent, hemisphere, or world, and then shipped to you many of the benefits of buying organic foods will be counteracted. Also, buying locally (or growing your own) guarantees that your food is picked at the peak of freshness
3. Simple--Americans have forgotten what food should taste like. Our food is full of sugar and fat and chemicals. But there are few meals as satisfying as a simple dish made with quality items that have complimentary flavors and textures.

With those three guide lines, I give you my philosophy on slow foods. These are the things I try to think about when I think of food.

1. Have a relationship with my food- I love going to my farmer's markets. I love getting to know the people who make my food. I also like growing my food in my garden. By having a relationship with my food, it becomes more than just what I put in my mouth. I become much more in tuned with my food.
2. Try not to eat anything I cannot pronounce- Quick food is convenient. But often it requires all sorts of chemicals I cannot pronounce. And if I cannot pronounce it, it should not be going into my body. Tomato= eat. Monohydrogenated sodium bepotal= do not eat.
3. Four Walls- Sometimes, you do need to go to the grocery store. It is really convenient, especially when you don't have a farmer's market. But think of the layout of the super market. If you go along the four walls, you get the freshest foods. Produce, freshly baked goods, animal protein, dairy all lie along the four walls of the store. When you start moving into the aisles, you start to see things that are not fresh. You see things that are jam packed with chemicals. Although, there is a caveat, there are plenty of good, healthy things in the aisles. For instance, flour, olive oil, frozen veggies, pasta. Just be thoughtful about what you are eating.
4. Avoid anything "all-natural"--Anything that has a label that says "all-natural" is probably an advertising gimmick, especially if it comes from a muti-billion dollar corporation. Really, what would all-natural Ritz crackers really have in them? There is no way to know, and that is not slow foods.

Slow foods is a great philosophy on life, in my opinion. But it does not always work. It is a commitment. And in this go-go gadget world of ours, we cannot always commit to it. As one finds out, it becomes increasingly more difficult in the winter months. But it is worth a try. One may even find it enjoyable and preferable.

And, you also cut down the risk of eating nothing but junk food all day long and then find yourself doubled over and vomiting in front of a night club on 14th St NW. Not that I have any real experience of that at all.

What a coincidence! Both How-To's of the day are on radical hygiene. And one of them is about Slow Foods. It is cosmic, I tell you. Cosmic.

Competency moment: Bought strawberries at Eastern Market (complimented a dollar off each quart saving $4) and made a year's worth of strawberry jam.