Slow food
Does the term ‘slow food’ bring to mind images of crock pots and Sunday roasts? Started in Italy in the mid 1980s, the slow food movement is all about eating food that tastes good, has been produced in an environmentally friendly way, is healthy and rewards the food producer fairly for their work. It originally came about as a response to our growing societal reliance on fast food.
Slow food in our fast food culture
The basis of the slow food concept is about understanding our foods. The process of growing, preparing, cooking, and experiencing the joy of eating with family and friends. It is all about celebrating food, as well as the cultural aspects, taking time to prepare it and eat it.
Shopping at farmers’ markets, growing your own vegies and being aware of food miles, are all components of the slow food culture. When we buy fast food, we are often not aware of how far the food has travelled, the types of additives used or the degree of processing the food has undergone. As a result, highly processed foods, low in nutrients but high in energy, can easily become part of our daily menu. Adopting a slow food approach to eating can offer improved health benefits, as it involves more whole foods, which often provide greater quantities of nutrients than their more processed alternatives.
The slow food movement is also involved in how the food is farmed and produced. It supports protecting biodiversity and encourages seed saving to protect the originality of seed lines. It defends sustainable agriculture, fishing and breeding and food production that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or consumer’s health.
The slow food movement now has over 100,000 members in 132 countries and even a university where you can study Gastronomic Science.
How can we slow our food down?
With our busy lifestyles there can be times when we feel we don’t have time to spend on preparing food from scratch or spending time savouring our food as we eat it. However there are a few small things we can do to begin to make the change away from fast food. After a bit of time it becomes easier and we can begin to incorporate more new ideas.
- Grow your own. Even if you have limited garden space or live in an apartment you can still grow a few vegetables or herbs yourself. Get the kids involved - they are more likely to eat it if they have grown it themselves.
- Use whole foods. Whole foods are those that have had little or no processing so they have had no nutrients removed and have no (or very few) added ingredients (such as salt or sugar). Whole foods are fruit and vegetables, wholegrain breads and cereals, legumes, nuts and seeds.
- Buy seasonal fruit and vegetables and try to use farmers’ markets or locally grown produce where possible.
- Get the family involved in preparing meals. Even if it’s just helping peel potatoes it saves on time and is a great opportunity to catch up with each other.
- Eat at the table. Eating at the table with no distractions (such as TV) promotes conversation and quality time together. Eating slowly in an enjoyable environment with those you care about, allows us to savour the taste and really enjoy our food as well as helping our digestion.
- Try preparing larger portions of food that can be frozen and used another day. This saves on preparation time so you will have more time to enjoy eating it.