Slow Food - Part 1

There was a time in my life where I really didn’t pay much attention to what I was eating on a daily basis. Not to say that I would always eat unhealthy, fried, greasy foods or have a diet rich with only one type of food group (i.e. bread, pasta, fries, and cookies anyone?), but I would eat things that were quick and convenient.  Unfortunately, there is often a trade off between these quick, convenient foods and the amount of nutrients you are getting.  However, I didn’t gain any weight from my food choices at the time so I didn’t really think anything of it.

For example, there was a time where I would heat up one of those microwavable frozen entrées you see in the frozen food section at the grocery store about 3 times a week at work. I was so busy that I would bring one of those frozen entrées to the office, and wolf it down in minutes before continuing on to the projects that awaited me.  I do remember feeling slightly guilty at times only because I had a colleague who would lecture me about all the sodium and preservatives I would be putting into my body every time he saw me eat one of those. Then I would look at his delicious, home-cooked-leftover-from-dinner-the-night before lunch with envy. It looked so healthy and his lunch always had some sort of protein, small amount of carbs and lots of veggies in a nice Pyrex container.  But I was so busy during that time, that I didn’t really make it a priority to set aside 10 minutes the night before to pack a nutritious lunch for the next day.

Then one day I heard someone say something that really resonated with me. Do you know how Oprah has those ‘A-ha’ moments? Well, I had one of those moments when I heard someone say something along the lines of, ‘Every time you put a piece of food into your mouth, you are making a choice about what direction your body and your health will take.’

Around this time, I started reading up on Slow Food. Slow Food is defined as food that is good, clean, and natural which preserves the long standing culinary traditions of where it came from and how it is prepared.  It really tries to prevent the disappearance of these food cultures and traditions that have been used for generations and instead, has us celebrate or embrace them. It also encourages discussion and awareness of what food people are eating, where the food came from, and how our food choices impact our community, environment and the world.  Slow food is the alternative to fast food, which unfortunately consumes many of our diets today because we are so busy and it is quick and convenient. 

Slow Food typically uses high quality, locally sourced, seasonal, and simple ingredients and is made with care the old fashioned way. There is an organization here called Slow Food Vancouver, and they hosted a Slow Food Bicycle Tour which allowed the public the opportunity to meet with several farmers and learn more about agriculture and where our food comes from and how it is grown. The tour was approximately 25 km on bike and it was a great educational experience and it made me appreciate the food I was eating.

At the cheese farm and watching how local cheese is made

One of the vegetable gardens we saw on the tour

A delicious afternoon snack purchased directly from the farmers

The beautiful scenery surrounding us on our bike tour

The idea of Slow Food and the Slow Food Movement began in Italy at the Spanish Steps in Rome and is now a global initiative with millions of participants from all over the world.

Spanish Steps in Rome!

When I went to Italy , I was so excited to learn more about Slow Food and experience it first hand at the country it originated from. More information about my direct experience with this will be forthcoming in my next posts!