I was sitting at the table the other day, thinking about food. As one does. But in this case, I wasn’t thinking about eating or actually eating, I was thinking about the gift of food.

The gift of cooking, of thoughtful preparation and presentation.

We could be scavengers, picking up whatever we find on the side of the road and bringing it home (or eating on site).

Or, we could just eat like my dogs, a jumble of raw meats, fruits and vegetables tossed in a bowl. Though, my Belgian Malinois has no complaints - he practically inhales it.

But we don’t. Which, to me, means that food was meant to be so much more than fuel for us.

We get texture and flavor and color - a feast for all our senses, not just our tastebuds. We get to combine and experiment. We get to gather and savor together. We get wine!

And that is where I see the disconnect in our (American) culture, especially in the healthy eating sphere. We treat food as merely fuel, an inconvenience even. As if things would be so much easier if we just didn’t even have to bother with eating. (I know, I’ve said it myself.) Hence the popularity of meal replacement shakes.

Then there’s the confusion. Eat this to gain muscle. Don’t eat this to lose fat. Protein is good. Carbs are good. Carbs are bad. Fat is evil. Fat is the savior!

Restrict. Eliminate. Count calories. Eat for your macros. And try not to drown in shame when you inevitably fail in your restrictive diet plan and binge eat ice cream in the bathroom.

When did food get twisted from a beautiful gift into such a burden?

We got off track and the solution is a simple one.

Reconnect with God, the source of this beautiful gift. The gift of sensual pleasure - taste, sight, smell - that is food. We could just be eating like vultures. Be grateful that we are not.

Reconnect with ourselves, our bodies. The temples that are the actual dwelling places of God. (Meditate on that for a while - it kinda rocked my world when I did.) How often do we treat ourselves like sacred temples? How often do we treat ourselves like dumpsters? I call it eating like a raccoon.

Reconnect with food. Real food. Not the processed garbage that’s filled with chemicals. I’m talking about food that you can grow, harvest, forage, hunt. Food my great-grandma would have recognized. Not an experiment that requires a chemistry degree to produce, that since its introduction has caused cases of chronic diseases and obesity to skyrocket. (That was not a coincidence, folks.)

Reconnect with where our food comes from. How is it grown? And not just where it’s grown, but how it’s prepared. What’s actually in it? This is why I’m such a huge proponent of home cooked food. Yes, it saves money, but more than that, I know exactly what I’ve put in it and it further connects me with my food.

Our grandparents and great-grandparents knew this. If you’re old enough, your parents knew this.

This disconnect is new. But it’s reversible. How?

Eat real food. Also known as buying single ingredients and turning it into meals. I write a lot about saving money on real food because I want people to see that it’s possible to eat healthy without spending a lot. We call it peasant maxing in my house, but the truth is the food we eat is high quality and artisan. It would cost a LOT to get in a restaurant.

Cook. If you don’t cook a lot or don’t know how, there are SO many resources available now. Start small - pick a new recipe or two to try this week. Something that doesn’t require a ton of ingredients but maybe just some new herbs and spices you’ve never tried before. French and Italian cooking is great for that - it seems hella fancy but really, they’re just creative with simple ingredients.

And if you don’t have time to cook, cook. Make time to cook. Those simple recipes take so little time, it’s laughable. I’ve been making the same Alfredo sauce since I was 16 and it takes me 10 minutes and I cook it while I boil the pasta and grill some chicken. Throw some quick-roasting veggies in the oven to roast when you start boiling the water, and boom, a delicious, home-cooked meal that will feed a big family in no time at all.

If you don’t know where to start, leave a comment. I’ll give you some suggestions.

Read labels. Ask questions. Get curious. You won’t know where food comes from or how it’s prepared until you ask and do some research. If you’re happy with the answer, great. If not, you know what you can start changing, bit by bit.

Eat slowly. Give thanks for your meal. When you sit down to eat, just eat. Or better, eat with loved ones and talk. Connect. Savor. Chew slowly. Notice the flavors and textures. Stop when you’re satisfied so you don’t get stuffed.

Make meal times sacred. I think one of the greatest reasons there’s such a disconnect is that we so rarely sit down to eat. We eat on the go or in the car or standing at the counter while we multitask and we now look at it as just another task on our long list of to-dos. This is a special, sacred act. You are a sacred temple. The table is your altar. Treat it like a church, not a drive-thru.

Reconnecting takes time and intentional action. It takes a shift in how you think about food. It requires slowing down, asking questions and getting rid of distractions. But the payoff is worth it. For you, for your family, for our planet.

It’s a journey, a delicious one, that begins with a single step - choose to reconnect with food and see it as the beautiful gift that it is.

Buon appetito!