Okay here are the facts, Quebecer's are one of the few living species on earth that truly have a good relationship with food.
Sitting at a café at 7:30 in the morning in the warmth, and humidity of Montreal it all came to me. We, women that is, have this love hate relationship with food, why because we were not brought up in La Belle Province. Alright I began here but left too early. After much observation in the last several decades I have boiled it down to this.
When was the last time you truly sat down and enjoyed a meal, didn't think about driving the kids to dance, skating, soccer, didn't think about the myriad amount of work to be done after dinner, or what your doing on the week-end or your next great trip out of town.
The French live in the moment, they spend 50% of their finances on food. Most of us think of rich decadent desserts, cheeses and fine wine, are their lives, it's time, they savor the flavor, do you?
The truth is they spend it on time, they sit with friends, family and enjoy un café, a beer and dinner and yes desserts. Yes, their lives are just as busy as ours and their kids are off to sailing lessons, but along the way they have learned what is important and what constitutes a wonderful life. And that is relationships. So when I hear the new age Christians bashing the Catholics of Quebec saying, they are not true Christians, or that they are drawn away from Christ, I questions where their motives are coming from. Do they simply need yet another country, city or town to prophesize themselves, are they as equally lost? I digress, the point here is as Christians we brought onto this earth for relationship, to host it have, have it and enjoy it, and I believe there is no better example than in Quebec.
All the foodies in the world can expound their knowledge on what is chic today and gone tomorrow. How many diet plans are their out there? You want to live your life bouncing on a jojo, go for it, yet for most of us that have been blessed with wonderful experiences with food, family and friends, we prefer to savor them.
The first thing to a good relationship with food is to taste it. Laugh as you may, most of us don't stop long enough to chew let alone swallow. The next time you eat sit down, no T.V., no computer allowed, friends and family would be best, take a bite and relish the flavors. Think about what a strawberry tastes like, it's succulent juices, wondrous freshness. Fresh food markets are on every corner in Quebec, they out number Starbucks, 15 -1, and they buy food daily from local farms. That is the key, fresh food that has flavor not our plastic congealed pre-frozen fruit that is picked raw sits in warehouses for a year until managers feel it is our privilege to be served. We stuff ourselves with polymer tasting food that never satiates us. Spend a dime on good quality food and your might actually enjoy life in a new way. Your health, well being will and body will thank-you for it. Sante.
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