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Monday 9 December 2013

Write Tribe 2nd day of Festival of words # Food


Balanced Food                 


Every living being, whether a human being or an animal, requires food for survival. Even a new born baby, who is born without teeth, requires nourishment for growth and survival.  The health and well being of a nation depends on the kind of food that they consume.
                        In olden days women spent all most the whole day in the kitchen, preparing food for the family. Though illiterate, the food that they cooked had all the essential elements, which are beneficial for health. The ingredients used were diverse, containing proteins, carbohydrates, iron, calcium, potassium and much more. Green vegetables had a place of prestige in the food. The family, therefore ate food which was wholesome as well as tasty.

With changing times, women acquired literacy. They started studying in all fields, like engineering, medical, administration etc, They stepped out of their homes and entered the portals of offices, to supplement family income and to assert themselves. This was a turning point in the eating habits of the families. Where as they previously they ate three meals a day, they now had only one full meal.   Breakfast and lunch became the causalities. Packed food became popular.  With the passage of time even packed food lost its clientele. It was the turn of pizzas, noodles, burgers, and pastas which caught the fancy of not only the youngsters but also the not so old, office goers. These fast foods contain salt and saturated fat items. They cause several diseases, if taken for a long period.

                        A question arises why we eat food. Wikipedia lists three main reasons why do we consume food. They are (1) physiological,(2) psychological and (3) social.

The main need is to keep our body healthy. The saying “a healthy mind lives in a healthy body” is true. If our body is healthy, we will have a healthy disposition, we will perform better. All food passes through a complex process of digestion, absorption, assimilation and excretion. Food provides us with calories, which are metabolised in the body to provide energy. Energy is required for all the functions of the body including heart beat, functioning of the brain and other vital organs the body. 
We must take balanced food. This is the physiological function.

The psychological need is important to be presentable in society. A person who is lean, unhealthy and sickly can never face others with confidence. He lacks the ability to face others with a high spirit of self esteem.

 The social need is to  share food with others in a gathering or functions like parties, marriages and social functions.

 Scientists today are aware of the adverse effects of fast food on the community. Their aim is to highlight the problems that can arise due to unrestricted consumption of fast foods and how to develop good eating habits. Let us hope that’ Kitchen Literacy ‘will successfully bring about a change.


 2nd day of  Festival of Words sponsored by Write Tribe. The topic is # 'Food'.
I am participating in the contest.








42 comments:

  1. Mrs Menon, loved the fact that you used this prompt to highlight an important problem that is facing all of us today, the menace of fast food and packed food. While I am Ok with them substituting cooked food in times of necessity, today's fast paced lives have ensured that they have become the staple diet of many people, and that does not bode well for the health of a large majority of our working population.

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    1. Yes Jairam,even though we relish fast food , but we must not make it a substitute for home made simple 'khana'.

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  2. In the olden days when women were confined indoors , they were very conscious of how and what they cooked.Though illiterate they knew about health and cleanliness.

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    1. Thanks Kalpana. Yes in olden days people did not suffer for life style diseases.

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  3. " Kitchen Literacy " is such a wonderful term. I hope so too Ushaji. Everyone talks about the ills of fast food, but even then spend most weekends enjoying them. I used to enjoy vacations in India because that kept the kids away from Burgers and Pizzas. Now you find them in every corner of my city too. Sad but true. :(

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    1. Yes Jyothi, the younger generation is crazy for fast food.I think if the children stick to once a week habit, we may ignore it.

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  4. This is something that every junk-eater should read! While the US is going away from burgers and pizzaz (they learnt it the hard way), we Indians are moving towards it!

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    1. Very correct.We Indians acquire the bad habits of people of USA and UK. Welcome to my site.

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  5. a very informative read... thanks for sharing..

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    1. Thank you Pratikshya. Thank you for dropping by.

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  6. very true... earlier each meal had proper proportion of carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.. now this has changed with the advent of fast food. I always try to cook a balanced diet :D

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    1. Thank you Rajlakshmi.You are fortunate that your family has adapted to balanced food.

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  7. A very informative post. Even when we know that junk foods should be kept away we always see ourselves in front if all those pizzas and Macs during weekends.

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    1. Yes Sheetal very true. We must change first and then only we can advise our children.

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  8. True.. nowadays parents fullfil their kids demands and then they complain that kids do not listen.. cooking should be a pleasure not a task and the one cooking should have an interest in tasty food and then their kids will not ask for junk food.. parents should learn to say NO.

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    1. Alef, you have rightly said that we must make our cooking more attractive to tempt our children. Thank you for your sweet comments.

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  9. Agree with you, Ma'am. The food habits today are much different when compared to the times when we were kids. Truly, we must junk away the junk food and adopt healthy eating habits and healthy food too!

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    1. Yes Shilpa,we must make efforts to change our food habits.

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  10. So true, in the olden days they certainly had a better view of food and ate a lot healthier than we do now. I always said my grandmother's daily menus were the most balanced and nourishing meals I had.

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    1. Yes Suzy,we must try to bring a change . The problem is that adults also are fond of fast food.

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  11. Ma'am, you have hit the nail on the head when you say that food habits have swerved from healthy to unhealthy genre. I believe that eating healthy is also an art and every one must consciously work towards it.

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    1. Yes Padmanabha unless adults change their craze for junk food, we cannot expect our children to give up fast food.

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  12. I am the last person who should be commenting on healthy eating. But I whole-heartedly agree with you. Food habits are changing drastically and not necessarily for the better

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    1. Yes the problem is that we also like fast food. To bring about a change, the adults have to take a lead.

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  13. Enjoyed reading this one ma'am and it's an education:)
    www.vishalbheeroo.wordpress.com

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    1. Thank you Vishal.We must educate our children, but first we must change ourselves.

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  14. As a mum to 7 year twins I cannot agree with you more. It's so hard to get the kids to eat healthy. You should see the tears at the table each day.

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    1. Good you are trying to give healthy food to the kids. You can relax the rules once a week.

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  15. yep. Agree with you completely. I try too.. to eat healthy and cook healthy..

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    1. Thank you. Good that you are trying to change .

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  16. My consumption of fast foods is restricted already :) I prefer mom's food to restaurant's of course.

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    1. Wow, great to know that you have cut down fast foods from your diet.Thanks for responding, Leo.

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  17. We mothers can understand this perfectly. I remember how i had to be careful what i fed my daughter who is a black belt in taekwondo.Your post brought back many of those memories to the fore. :)

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    1. Yes Sunita it is the mothers who can inculcate good eating habits in our children.

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  18. I love junk food but eat it with caution cause I am not getting younger by the day ;)
    great post, ushaji

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    1. Thanks Ruchira. I know it requires a strong will power to change our eating habits.

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  19. Very true ma'am, with time our taste in food has moved from fresh and healthy that catered to our developmental needs to one that purely tickles the taste-buds without a care for health factor.

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    1. Yes Reshma it is correct we have drifted away from eating a healthy diet.We must make efforts to bring about a change.

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  20. You have brought out the contrast in food habits very well ma'am. I have heard the vibrations of the person who cooks is also important. He/she should cook with positive thoughts. Also, fresh food is supposed to have prana(life) while refridgerated and preserved food is supposed to be dead in nutrients. nice post.

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    1. Thanks Asha. It is true that if the food is cooked with good thoughts, positive energy is transmitted.

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  21. I agree with you breakfast and lunch have become the causality in the changed scenario. Nice post.

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    1. Thanks Geeta. Sh?ould we not make efforts to revive break fast and lunch back in our eating style

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