Food for Thought

I just thought of another positive result from the current financial crisis. Maybe portions will be smaller. Wouldn't that be wonderful? When did we ever get the idea that the bigger the portion, the better the meal? I have tried, from time to time, to order a smaller portion at a restaurant. I think it gives some indication of just how poor our eating culture is that, regardless of the supposed quality of the restaurant (and I live in an area that has many "good" restaurants) that I have always been told by the server that the portions are controlled and uniform, that I cannot have a smaller portion.

Of course, if I lived in France, this would not be an issue. The French don't serve big portions in the fine restaurants. It's all about quality. I realize that super-size McDonald's has made inroads even in France, but the French are resisting. Vive le resistance! If we were to celebrate the eating of small portions of good food as the French do, maybe we Americans would have less trouble with obesity.

Most of the good diet regimens now emphasize taking real time to eat instead of running through Arby's drive-through and eating the value-size meal on the way to the kids' soccer practice. Losing weight, they say, means that you take the time to sit down and enjoy the food you eat -- to really taste thoughtfully, chew thoroughly, and pause frequently to enjoy your surroundings and your companions. As a consequence, people who follow this practice lose weight and do not feel deprived.

And a word about taste. I ran into a French woman in my grocery store the other day. She asked me about some label she was reading and we began to talk about supermarkets. I started to brag about the ever-increasing variety of organic foods. She smiled sweetly, and without a trace of condescension, told me that most foods in France were organic. How lucky for them, because, have you ever noticed how much more taste organic foods have? I suspect that's one of the reasons we eat more; we are missing a lot of taste that has been "preserved" and "pesticided" out of our food. I know the organics are more expensive, but the more popular they become, the lower the price will be.

So instead of thinking that we have all the answers, that the American way is the best way, and that everyone in the world wants to be just like us, maybe we ought to acknowledge that we could learn much from those cultures, such as the French, that cultivate good organic food, a discerning palate, and the leisure time in which to eat.