W5 The Power of Food

For many people food is a form of communication. I know that I talk to my own family about food eighty percent of the time. Do you ever notice what kinds of foods you eat or associate with your emotional state of being? I do, because lets face it so many times when a woman is upset what does she crave? Chocolate or some kind of hearty comfort food. Even men crave things when they are upset, I believe it is usually something with an alcoholic twist to it, but non the less they have them to.
Having those cravings when upset does seem to have female negative connotations to it, doesn't it? Why is that? Why do we not associate eating out of stress or boredom to men as well? I'm thinking it is because men don't feel as guilty or make a big fuss when they eat something a little more gratuitously hearty that healthy. Anyways, back to those questions of what we crave when. I believe there is a pattern to this culinary puzzle. For example, when someone has been up eating nothing but greasy cheesy food, there is a breaking point, for some it may come at different times but it does exist, and what is it we turn to after those muffin top moments? Salad, fresh produce, WATER! Whenever someone feels fat or gross it is always water that gives the person the satisfying cure they were in search for.
When we are sick we have specific foods we prefer to have as well. I think the number one contender would have to be soup. But why is this? People may argue it is because that is how they were raised, but why were your ancestors raised to crave hot liquid with floating bits of meat, beans, and vegetables? No one may know this answer but the make-up of soup is a hot liquid soothing a stressed throat, and the hot stream loosens and breaks mucus. (Wow how disturbing to be talking about mucus and food in the same sentence.) So is it the composition of the food itself we crave as opposed to the taste? Or is it the memories attached to the food itself? I think its safe to say its a mix of both.
When your feeling good about yourself what is it you crave most? I feel a lot of people aren't that hungry when they are in a good mood. Do you ever ask yourself why? It appears that food is more of an emotional attachment and necessity than it is basic instinct for survival. I feel that sometimes food feeds your soul more so than your body. I know this sounds ridiculous and may be diving into psychology a bit, but it is still something to think about, because it is apparent what we want to eat in correlation to our personal temperaments.
Food speaks to us, when we see it, when we cook it, and we speak back, our saliva, our mmm's and ohhh's. We even use food as gifts of love or sympathy. Even the foods we give to people we have to contemplate thoughtfully our choices. If they are sad or a broken heart it is a gooey casserole or ice cream cake. If it's to celebrate it is something fancy like pasta, grilled meats, or pizza. Why do we choose these foods? The next time you get a craving, decipher what kind of mood your in, see if this is a pattern with you and think about why. Your food choices will tell you something about yourself you may not have recognized before.