I spent 2 1/2 hours cooking dinner tonight, and it was all gone in under 30 minutes. I scrubbed the dirt and grit off the garden potatoes, finely chopped an assortment of raw veggies for a mixed slaw, combined a dash of this and smattering of that to make a tasty meatloaf and baked tomato entree, and in the final moments stirred together a lovely tomato and beef drippings sauce. Once everything was finished, I took the time to place servings on individual plates neatly, then called the family to dinner.
I know you know this thought. You've just spent more than an hour chopping, slicing, sautéing, simmering, stirring, combining, and serving. The kitchen's aroma draws your family to the table. You have poured a good chunk of your day into loving your family with a meal. Everyone gathers around the table, and within 20 minutes, 30 if you savor and linger over your bites, the plates are cleared and you have a sink full of bubbles. "What just happened?" you ask yourself. One moment you're in a groove with your cooking, then next it's all gone.
While at face value, this may seem deflating, to put hours of work into a meal only to have it devoured in minutes, in reality, the food isn't "gone." The beautiful secret about food is that just because it's no longer on the plate doesn't mean that it's gone. That food, which was lovingly planned and prepared, is at work in the bodies of our loved ones for hours after the last dish is dried and put away.
If the meal is nutrient dense, it fuels the brain, sustains energy levels, and delivers health-boosting nutrients for 5 hours or more post-meal. Tissues are repaired, oxidative stress is neutralized, and the immune system is supported. Metabolism gets a boost, muscle tissue is repaired, and those foods you ate are restoring your physical body.
All of that delicious food you fed to your loved ones is hard at work, even when you can't see it. So the next time you cook a meal that takes hours to make and minutes to eat, don’t view it as a lopsided trade-off. Think of it as an investment. Your kitchen prep may be done, but the food you crafted with care is still hard at work, fueling the lives of you and your household, protecting health, and providing for bodies for hours to come.
