fredag 12. november 2010

Thought of the day; Less treats = more enjoyment

Less is more
This is a term which often is used to remind people that sometimes, not making a big deal out of [whatever] is not worth it. Most frequently it is mentioned by stylists of various kinds, be it fashion or interior. However, this is a term which mayb easily apply to most other aspects of life. Not overdoing things while leaving thought to the detail can often give more effect than the pompous.
The issue I wish to adress with this term does however not have anything to do with the appearance of things, but food. People love food. They always have and always will. Those highly skilled in the kitchen have been well appreciated at all time during history. During the Viking ages, the women highly skilled with baking would travel around and bake for people. The title bakstekjerring (“baking batch woman”) was highly esteemed and there was a high demand for them around the farms. These days we don’t see the same demand appear as most people have their needs supplied by bakeries. However, anyone with a certain skill in cooking will quickly get a very positive reputation. The saying “The best way to a man’s heart is through his stomack” still rings true.
But I digress, as I easily do. My thought for the day is regarding the correlation between “less is more” and food. These days it is easy to notice how food culture has become more focused around negative indulgence. Grand portions of food which often are single portion increased with dual digits. Interestingly enough, there is also a trend of starvation. Not in the sense of actually depriving yourself of any food, but keeping any kind of food with your taste preference away for a while. But is self depriving yourself from what you find a virtue of self control? The other side of this trend is that when people who deprive themselves finally allow themselves to have some of these things, they end up indulging themselves massively. This type of binge eating is not healthy for the physical as well as mental health. If you haven’t been eating any kind of treat for a month and then decide that this weekend you will allow yourself everything. What can easily happen is that you over eat and end up feeling sick and nauseous. Which is effect connects your eating experiense with a bad feeling, making you want to deprive yourself again. This can be the beginning of a vicious circle which, if not moderated, can easily turn into an eating disorder.
So where does “less is more” come into play? This comes from an observance I had made recently. Basically I have started to give myself a treat almost every day. This can be anything from a handful of nuts, some good chocolate or a piece from a piece of amazing brandy marzipan kindly given to me. I have some of this almost every single day. However, in small quantities. Having a little treat every day works wonders as a way of making myself relaxed and happy in the evening after a long day. This again reminds me of the words of a french pastry maker which summed up the thought behind food enjoyment in France. He said that allowing yourself to have something good every day makes you happy every day, instead of depriving yourself, over eating and then feeling miserable about it. So less is more because I eat in smaller quantities but my happiness in greater. Enjoying treats in smaller quantities is something one can quickly get used to and once accomplished, heavily appreciated.

If one pays attention, it’s easy to see how all french pastries are in small portions, made for daily consumption.
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So enjoy yourself, every day.  :)
Sources:
Mayo Clinic – Complications of Binge Eating

1 kommentar:

  1. Hah, I had not realised that you walked away to write a blog post about this as well, after our conversation!

    Really well-written, and yes, very much to the point.

    SvarSlett