Brief Thought on Food and Seasons

This past year I have gotten more interested in what I eat and what it does to me or for me.  While I haven't been adamant about only eating real food, or even cutting down on my ice cream and junk food intake, I have become more aware of how I feel when I eat certain things.  I am naturally tending to choose real food as a result, which I think is a more lasting new habit.  I hope to become even more willing to eat actual food as the years go by.

Thanksgiving is such a feasting holiday that it reminds me of what I choose to eat and what I enjoy the most.  Part of Thanksgiving being so wonderful is the inclusion of friends and family, and infusing joy and love into the cooking process.  I think this can only benefit whoever eats the results.  Also, it is a day of actual cooking, not simply warming up an instant meal from a box.  Real food! Yay!

I have been eating stew with gusto this week.  I have felt a real need for something warm and thick and yummy.  Hearty foods, to get me through the winter.  There is a natural order to what we eat if we pay attention to the seasons and what our body craves.  I want meat, and fat, starches and green beans if they are around, carrots - all of the roots.  Beets would be nice, too.  Cranberries, though I dislike them, are probably also good.  Anything that is actually in season.  Broccoli and cabbages.  Cold weather foods to thicken the blood and help me stay warm in cold weather.

With strawberries available at the market, it's easy to think that we can and should eat anything we want year round.  But they are not in season, and they thin the blood and help us in the summer.  They drain us in the winter, or at least don't help us stay warm.  Foods that launch us into hyperactivity and action are best left for Spring and Summer, not for this season of hibernation.  Anyway, I was thinking about this today and wanted to remember that there is a reason our bodies cave what they crave, and when we listen to them, we will likely end up in better health.

I haven't figured out yet what alcohol does to my body beyond make my thought to action swimmy, and generally adding to asthmatic reactions if I am having any.  It is not good for me, but I still enjoy it - perhaps that is the only thing it is good for!

Here's to good cooking this evening into tomorrow.  I can't wait for our Thanksgiving feast!