Thanksgiving is a tricky time for a lot of people. Firstly, family can be tricky, and even if you have a good relationship with most of your family, gathering them all together in one place can be a lot. If you don't have a good family dynamic, you may be looking at a horrible family event, or missing out entirely (and wishing you had the kind of family that is often shown on tv). And that's not even mentioning any issues with the holiday itself!
But underneath all the drama, I feel that the heart of Thanksgiving is about giving thanks. And because it's a feast-based holiday where the food isn't just trappings added on at the end, it is a time where we can give appreciation for the food we have.
Food is another thing that is tricky for a lot of people. Many people have food restrictions, that find their roots in medical, religious or monetary issues. We may love foods that are unhealthy for us, or struggle with eating in some other way. We might harbor guilt for having so many foods at our fingertips knowing that people in other areas of the world have so very little. We may be envious of people who have more than we do.
Food is such a basic necessity, and yet it is also something that many people take for granted (especially if you have never had any issues with it). It is ever present in our modern world. We may complain about having 'nothing to eat' but still have a cupboard full of staples. We may miss eating out when we still have access to frozen means or delivery. We watch shows that show food in many forms, and in fact have entire channels dedicated to food!
I am one of those lucky people who hasn't ever had to worry about starvation. Like many people, there have been lean times, and I try very hard to not be wasteful with my food (for a variety of reasons, but one of them is absolutely the recognition of the fact that there are people in this world who would love any food that I might carelessly toss away). I also have some food issues, I very much enjoy foods that aren't good for me and I have quite a bit of food anxiety (especially in regards to improperly prepared food, food spoilage or cross-contamination).
But on the whole, I recognize my food privilege and try hard to appreciate all the blessings I have, when it comes to food. And for me, that starts with being more mindful of the foods we buy and eat. One thing I think sometimes gets forgotten is that mindfulness doesn't always mean avoiding convenience foods or going super green. I'm definitely not shopping in the all organic section or avoiding processed foods.
What it means, for me at least, is paying attention to what I am buying. Being aware of both the healthiness of food and it's crave factor (and knowing which foods I'm likely to binge eat). It's balancing cost and taste (obviously we try to shop in our budget, but we aren't at a place where everything needs to be the cheapest).
Part of my personal food journey is thinking about my eating habits in a bigger picture sense. I'm often home alone for breakfast and lunch, and I know I'm a grazer so I typically get hungry after dinner and before bed. Which means I need to plan for all of that. I also know that I'm a pretty basic eater in some ways (having the same food every day for breakfast is not a big deal, and often I prefer it as it means I don't have to decide what I want to eat).
Food appreciation intersects with self care when I think about lunch foods. There are lots of great, cheap options, but there are also some really appealing choices that aren't so bad when you price compare to, for example, grabbing a meal from a fast food place. Part of my self-care and self-worth work is finding things that are slightly more pricey and reminding myself that I don't have to always pick the cheapest food.
Eating out is another place where food appreciation can be overlooked. Eating out is often both convenient and sometimes can be cost effective. It's one of those things that sneaks up on you, but sometimes when we plan meals at home, they end up costing us more than if we went out to eat. On the other hand, fast food is often deceptive, and there are quite a few great sit-down places by us where we can eat as cheap (or sometimes cheaper) than if we grab vast food (and often I'll get two meals out of a sit-down meal, as I'll take leftovers home).
There's nothing innately wrong with either out, either at a fast food place or a sit down place. But I think it's easier to take that food for granted as it's convenient. With all the changes lately in how food places are managing to stay open (or not, as many places have either had to shut down completely or drastically change how they operate), many people are coming face to face with just how much they took for granted these places being at their disposal.
In some ways, Thanksgiving reminds me a little of Valentines day. Both are 'once a year' holidays to recognize things we should be doing every day. Just as we shouldn't wait until Valentine's day to tell the people we love that we love them, we shouldn't wait until Thanksgiving day to give thanks for our food.
Whether you want to incorporate some kind of mealtime prayer or gratitude, acknowledge your blessings as you do grocery shopping or simply take a moment as you prepare food (or order it, if you are going out) to recognize the bounty you have, expressing our gratitude helps us appreciate the food we consume more. And having a solid appreciation for the foods we eat can help us maintain a healthy relationship with food...and ourselves.
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