Food Is Fun

Go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!

“I gotta say—that was the best meat I’ve ever had,” my husband,Tim, said slowly.

“Aww, Eli, what do you do with that type of compliment?” my friend Ashley asked.

“Uh, it’s a little dusty in here,” Eli said with a smile, pretending to wipe a tear as the rest of us laughed.

Our families were on vacation together, and Eli had just spent the last few days using a sous vide method for tri-tip, a triangular beef cut from the bottom of a sirloin. He and my husband have an ongoing, friendly food competition, so Tim’s compliment was hard-won. Wanting photo proof, I’d asked Tim to repeat his words for the video I was recording.

Now, each time my husband takes out our sous vide cooker to make something, I’m reminded of that memorable week away with our friends. The truth is that many of our best memories are tied to food. My mom’s cheesy potatoes remind me of Thanksgiving holidays; pho and banh mi sandwiches remind me of cooking classes my husband and I took together. Seeing my oldest daughter bake cupcakes reminds me of my second daughter, who only eats the frosting. I’ve got childhood memories of eating my dad’s Norwegian pancakes or drinking Kool-Aid at Aunt Delpha’s house.

Many foods remind me of places I’ve been—arepas in Venezuela, papayas fresh off the tree in my brother-in-law’s yard in Hawaii, hot and salty chips and cheese in Oxford on a dreary night. Sometimes food even reminds us of people we’ve loved and lost, like my sister Katrina’s handwritten recipe card for “Fanciful Fruit Pizza” and the fudge my Grandma Jo made every Christmas.

Yes, food is fuel, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be joyful. When we choose to enjoy the food we have to eat, it’s just one more way to thank God for his provision. Today is a gift, and so is the food that graces our table. Even the simplest of fare can taste wonderful if we take the time to notice the flavors or simply be present with those around us.

Kristin

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Choose to eat something that’s tied to a fond memory. Or visit a restaurant and make a new memory.