Food and Happiness: take care of yourself, and experience.
You know that feeling when biting into your absolute favorite dish at a restaurant and being overwhelmed with early memories and just, joy? Many people will say you are crazy, addicted to food or maybe even overreacting. But is it so bad to have such a good relationship with food? What are the health benefits of a healthy food relationship? Are people aware of the excitement and joy it can bring to a person’s life?
Carefully read this blog post, so next time someone laughs at you for ‘over-enjoying’ your meal, you can tell them how this actually improves your happiness. Now, why is this promoted on a channel that supports local start-ups? It’s not a secret, not everyone is a professional home cook that puts out the most delicious dishes every day. And that’s nothing to be ashamed of. However, there are solutions for this in order to still enjoy your food. Take-out, delivery — it’s corona time, the food-scene possibilities are endless.
The importance and value that people put on food is very different for many people. For one it might only be seen as a necessity to survive, but for the other this might be a way of greater value in their life. In this blog I will primarily focus on the happiness that eating out brings.
Eating out is explained as a leisure activity in the book ‘Food for Thought’ (recommend!). The fun thing about eating out is being able to cherish the pleasures and exercise judgement, it is a whole other level of leisure activity. It is a way of self-expression, as well as for the user as the creator. The connection that comes to life when textures and flavours come to life, inspired by memories or even music.
“The pleasure of the food includes not only the pleasure of eating it, but also the pleasure of choosing it: the pleasure of exercising one’s judgement and taste in selecting what will suit the occasion and combine well together — expressing oneself and being creative,…” by Elizabeth Telfer
Many researchers have tried to research the connection between food and happiness. I can confidently say that when I take a bite of a well-prepared ebi tempura sushi roll, I will land in a state of euphoria that’s hard to explain. As said in this article “Foods that taste good are more likely to trigger dopamine release and the release of other neurotransmitters linked to pleasure”, it is proven that good food, can result in great moments of pleasure. Isn’t that what we all need right now? Why limit yourself to self-prepared food every night, while there is a whole food scene to explore.
Going out for food is an outgoing experience where you try new foods. Remember the feeling of joy once you tried something new and liked it? This works the same with food experiences. Broadening your taste palette and opening your eyes to new cuisines can result in finding a new favorite food. And whilst many may connect food and dining out to socializing, friends and family; why be stopped by the social aspect of food due to corona? Remember the importance of individual happiness through food, and continue this even though the “out” factor is gone. Take the food “in” and enjoy the creative food experiences created by the makers to enjoy it at home. Take care of yourself in the time your body and mind needs it the most.
Don’t take the current food- and drink solutions for granted, corona will end at some point and the opportunity to eat that 4-course meal in your pyjamas on the couch will turn into a missed opportunity that you might regret in the end. Trust me, it’s worth it.
