The best for last

Nothing beats the taste of the last morsels of food one scoops up from the plate. But how many of us spare time for little joys such as these, asks SHANTHINI RAJKUMAR

October 16, 2014 08:40 pm | Updated May 23, 2016 07:37 pm IST

Look, smell, touch and taste: The right way to enjoying your meal

Look, smell, touch and taste: The right way to enjoying your meal

Watching my kid eat his breakfast and relish it, got me thinking. It was his favourite breakfast made up of an oozy fried egg, a plump red grilled tomato and crunchy toast. All clean, simple flavours that work so well together. Unbeknown to him, I looked on as he put together the perfect last bite. He speared together a bit of egg with his polka dotted fork, a chunk of the juicy tomato and the leftover corner of toast. The fork then continued to move over the plate, scooping up remnants of the rich yolk before disappearing into the waiting mouth.

Eyes closed, head thrown back and an expression of pure contentment is what I saw. The ‘mommy’ bit of my heart was filled with pure joy.

Is this not what food should mean to each one of us? The act of really looking at our plate, chewing that morsel and letting the tastes pleasure the senses…

We are so guilty of multi-tasking during mealtimes. We read the newspaper while we gulp down breakfast. Neither the mind nor the body get its due. Ever wondered why we hear the sounds of birds chirping most often while we’re on holiday and not when we’re at home? Because only on a vacation do we spare undivided attention and time for ourselves.

I suggest you look at your plate every day. Do you prefer your dosas crisp or soft? Is that your favourite chutney? Notice how your dad likes to swirl the gravy on his plate while mum likes to dab at little blobs of chutney… Mealtimes are a time to bond. Our food preferences are unique. When we focus on the meal at hand and enjoy it, we subconsciously nurture our body with ‘feel good’ thoughts. These release endorphins which leave us feeling happy. Therefore, not only are the nutrients doing their job, but they are also being helped along by your focus on the act of eating and savouring.

When we feed little kids, the moms especially, take a lot of delight in scooping up that last bit of food and feeding the child. We like to eat with our hand and also feed our kids the same way. There is something so satisfying about this. But as we grow up, these special moments disappear. We rush around stuffing our mouths with food, and yet feel no sense of contentment at the end of it.

We owe it to ourselves to enjoy at least one meal a day. I am not advocating overeating. On the contrary. If we focus on the taste, then we focus on quality and quantity which ultimately leads to a focus on health. Paruppu saadham is one of the tastiest food combos but, how many of us actually see it that way?

I watched an interview on TV with a lady from Yorkshire. She was a ‘taste educator’ who taught kids about the importance of tasting their food. She said it was sorely lacking in homes today. Are we as a generation, guilty of failing in our duties as taste educators? In the course of our frantically busy lives, food is not getting its due. It's really not about fancy meals or having the time to cook. It’s about appreciating what you have before you and allowing yourself a few minutes to focus on that meal and really enjoy it with all your senses. There are days when I have eaten a meal by myself. At such times, my simple meal of wheat upma, curd and pickle have nourished me to the point of me not missing my family! The last bite, the final slurp are meant to be savoured as an end to a meal that is meant to comfort and fulfil a basic need. Please do not let go of one of life’s simplest and easiest of pleasures. There aren’t that many of those for grabs, you know.

Read more about food on Shanthini’s website.

www.pinklemontreerecipes.com

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