Lifestyle's, choice or monkey see monkey do?

With modern life, stress levels increase and as a direct consequence time for family and friends diminishes.

You readers know that I am Southern European, meaning that culturally we value very much family and friend’s relationships.

So, lack of time due to a stressy workload or stressy urban life has a direct hit also in your eating habits. How come?  Well, a close relation with your family means periodical lunch and dinners, meaning traditional food in our case (southern Europe) Mediterranean Style Food (healthier).

I believe that such lack of time can be observed under many external signals, obesity in Western Developed countries (with the proliferation of Junk or Plastic Food) and also the destruction of core Family values (respect, accountability, friendship).

With so many external signals, some profit for business, see the overflow of Spa’s, Gym’s, Relaxation and Philosophical courses (for body and mind) but also and coming more to my Blog Theme many Trendy New Wave restaurants promising Home Cooking, Natural Flavours, Slow Food, Healthy Resto’s, Vegetarian Resto’s, Sushi, etc, etc

What is my point? My point is, are we making a conscience choice or are we been driven to make one?!

Confused? Take a Family of four for example, living in the urban area of a large European city, both kids at school and both parents working in the city. Wake up early, prepare the kids, kids to school, train to work, more public transports, pollution, stress, workload, poor lunch in a crowed cantina or junk food small Resto, then run to catch the last train, recover kids, arrive home completely dead (mentally and physically). What is missing? Dinner? Frozen, Take away or fast food???

It is all this combination of factors or some of them, which are limiting our behaviour and affecting our choices. So, when one thinks that today I am eating Sushi because is healthier than a Burger do not think that is an innocuous choice.

My point, take a deep breath, make two steps back and try to look to the overall picture. Choose you, choose family, choose time, choose quality in terms of free time, in terms of food, make your choices but conscientious of the outcome. Choose quality food and ingredients (not necessarily expensive). Remember what my friend “Cuisine Naturelle” Chef said “You are what you eat”.

So my dear reader, my post of today is liberation. Free to think, free to choose don’t be influentiated by trends, do not follow the crowds. Eat well, eat what you decide to.

Bon Apetit,

Chef Gourmet Du Art