we are supposed to eat for nourishment, but, for some of us, there are a host of other things associated with food.
Mom alternated between anorexia and bulimia. She was obsessive about food and would also go years (YEARS) on end eating the same food (egg-salad sandwiches for dinner, for example. She also went through a fried egg and a tamale phase).
Food was important in our house.Food was an indicator of love. Mom cooked to show she loved us, but, if we didn't eat the food (you HAD to have seconds) it meant you were rejecting her love!... we learned to "trick" her by using mini-servings, so you could have seconds...or even a third helping!
There was always excess food at the house. Mom liked to have "extra" in case we decided to invite a friend or two...we were a family of 4, and always sat at a table for 10...and, believe me, there was enough food for 10 at the table! (food for the maids- yes maidS, there were at least 3 of them- was separated before the food got to the table...contrary to local custom, maids didn't get to eat what was left over from the table, nor did they get beans and rice only: they got whatever we got, and a full portion was separated before sending the food to the table. If, additionally to this, they wanted something more, there were always beans and rice and tortillas). Any leftovers were packed in individual bags and given to poor people who (knowing there were ALWAYS leftovers at the house) would come by once or twice a week to collect them for their families.
So...yes, we could spend a lot less in food (mind you, we DON'T cook for 10 nowadays!)but...food is important EMOTIONALLY for us...
And, it's funny, sis stops eating when nervous, while I eat non-stop! oy!
***
chose this image because my friends all say one of the things that impressed them the most when they came to visit was that our pantry looked like this!
Mom also HAD to have food available in large quantities... know that '@' symbol? In Spanish, it is called an "arroba", and it is the symbol for 25lb!...we bought our potatos and onions by the arroba!!
Why do you eat?
May 13th, 2008 at 09:44 pm
May 14th, 2008 at 12:56 am 1210726580
i also find, when i don't eat when i am hungry, if it goes past a certain point i get really bad hunger pains/cramps which then leads to bloating and stomach upsets. i have to be a regular eater.
May 14th, 2008 at 01:10 am 1210727406
May 14th, 2008 at 11:10 am 1210763448
May 14th, 2008 at 02:46 pm 1210776399
Mostly I eat to fill an empty stomach. I'm the one around here who tends to kill off leftovers for lunch so they won't go to waste, so eating is often more about filling the tank than enjoying it.
My mom was weird and controlling with food. Oddly though, most of my issues from her controlling don't affect me when I eat, they are more about how you do and don't treat other people.
May 14th, 2008 at 03:12 pm 1210777957
This is definitely an area I need to work on, budget-wise. We end up throwing too many spoiled things away. If the fridge gets too full things get lost.
May 14th, 2008 at 05:34 pm 1210786441
That said, I live in a house of picky eaters! I'm not picky about my food, as long as it's vegan (LOL). NT isn't picky, as long as he can have several servings of fresh fruit a day, and a wide variety. AS isn't picky, as long as it suits her very specific palate! We work very hard to plan and prepare meals we all three enjoy eating for dinner, but our grocery expenses are still quite high.
Writing it down, I think we all have good reasons for our various opinions on food, but if we were just trying to survive, we wouldn't have to be vegan, or have so much fresh fruit, or eat only what suits our palate. So I guess we eat for lots of reasons besides survival.
May 15th, 2008 at 12:45 am 1210812309