Food Renegade: Puttin' Love in the Food

Dave and I have a running gag that if I'm grouchy when I make dinner, the grumpiness will go into the food and ruin our dinner. It's based on a 1972 episode of The Mike Douglas Show which included special guests John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and a macrobiotic cook. The super-groovy, hippy-chick cook gave a cooking demonstration and insisted that the celebrities cutting the carrots be peaceful, lest their aggression be transferred into the food and, ultimately, into the people who ate the food. It's a pretty hilarious bit, especially in contrast to the way most people produce and consume food in 2009 America.

Today the Food Renegade, a.k.a., Kristen M, has a lovely post entitled "There is No Love in That Food" about the role that love plays in making quality, nutritious food.

I do believe that healthy food is love. What's the first thing we do in a crisis or celebration? Gather our friends and family together around a table laden with food.

Right about the time I started CrossFit, I decided that the food I make for the people I love is going to be healthy and delicious, rather than traditional "comfort" food. Someone's sad? They get a nourishing bowl of Turkish Chopped Salad or My Favorite Chili. Someone is celebrating? They get a bowl of fresh berries with a jar of coconut milk on the side or a basket of crudite with Sunshine Sauce. Sometimes a perfect mango is a nice reward.

That's true love.