Food, Food, Glorious Food

I love food; no I mean I really do LOVE food. For some people eating is just a temporary inconvenience that they must endure in order to get their body through the day. But for me, it is a vitally important part of my daily routine. I get great pleasure wondering about, debating over, and choosing my next meal. Whether it be my breakfast, lunch or dinner.
I LOVE IT.
I love other people's food too. I can sit at my laptop and lust after the many pictures people post on Face Book of their own food, showing me their latest culinary creations, or the latest meal they have been treated to in some posh restaurant.
I LOVE IT.
I love watching TV programmes such as Master Chef, watching the creativity and the passion of the wanna-be chefs and the slobbering enjoyment of Gregg Wallace as he devours another delicious pudding creation.
I LOVE IT.
Can I cook???? At a basic level, I guess I can knock up a decent meal if I follow one of Jamie Oliver's recipes (I choose Jamie due to his penchant for chilli and garlic, a union which never fails to make me happy)

But I do enjoy quality food, food that tastes of something, food that provides me with goodness as well as enjoyment. For this reason I try to eat healthily, well as healthily as my craving for chocolate and chips allows. I tend to follow the Yellow Rule. That is, if it is yellow try to avoid it or keep it to a minimum. For instance, pasta, cakes, biscuits, chips, crisps, pastries, pies...... the list is endless. The idea is to try and keep my food varied and colourful which means including plenty of  fruits and vegetables. But none of this is rocket science, we've been being told this for a long time "everything in moderation", "variety is the spice of life", "you are what you eat"

Because food is so important to me I get passionate not only about eating it, but also about some of the many issues around it, such as the illusions created by food labelling, the health issues around processed food, supermarkets' control of the food supply, food poverty in Britain in the 21st Century, the huge rise in food banks within Britain and the US and the associated links to the 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor. All of these issues, and more, will be discussed at some point in my blogs, but for now I will finish with a word of warning.......

If you plan on travelling abroad remember to learn how to order some of the local food dishes in the native language and do not make the mistake I did of eating nothing but Kao Pad Gai (chicken fried rice) for three days because its all you know how to order.  ; )

"If you really want to make a friend, go to someone's house and eat with him......the people who give you their food, give you their heart."  - Cesar Chavez

Why now ? Why me ?

Increasingly I find myself frustrated, angry and down-right fed-up with the illusions that exist all around me. And no, I'm not talking David Blane or Darren Brown, I'm talking about the way in which we are surrounded by illusions and mis-truths, how smoke and mirrors are used to distort our view of society, from the way in which manufactured, processed food is packaged and sold to us as 'wholesome', to how politicians convince us that 'there is no alternative'.

Some illusions are fun and seemingly innocent, like the way in which we re-produce and re-invent ourselves through our Facebook profiles, posting only the 'good' photos and spend our days telling our 'friends' what wonderful food we eat, what wonderful partners we have and what perfect children we have produced. But who do we convince with these posts ? Why are we all not more real and honest about our lives?

So....... Why Now? Why Me?
Well.......... Why Not?
In a previous chapter of my life I was a Lecturer and I had ample opportunity to research and discuss some of the many issues and topics which affect our everyday lives, however, I now find myself at the beginning of a new chapter and I hope this Blog will serve as an arena where I can have both fun and frank discussions of the many realities and illusions that impact upon me, and you, everyday.

"One day everything will be well, that is our hope. Everything's fine today, that is our illusion" -Voltaire