What's eating you or what are you eating?

I have lots of books. They tell a story of some of my interests.

There is a shelf of cookbooks and nutrition books in the kitchen. Of those there are a few that are my favorites and some I almost never look at. Two well used ones are the Moosewood Cookbook and My Enchanted Broccoli Garden. Both are done by the same person or group of people and are done in the same format. They have lovely drawings and the information is presented in a way that I find logical. I also like the way they are indexed, which is to say extensively, so if you have a certain ingredient you want to use, you can find a recipe for you can find it.

Another of my favs is Nigella Lawson's "How to Eat". She had a cooking show on the Style network and I was a big fan. I've seen ads that she is going to be doing a new show on the cooking network, unfortunately it is scheduled at an inconvenient time for me. On a talk show someone said of her "she makes you want to do things, and not just cooking." I laughed when I heard this because I had found that to be true, too. I haven't put my finger on just why that is, perhaps something about having passion. I might get up from watching her show and want to go ride a bike or something. I like her style (an illusive quality). I picked up the phrase "which is to say," which I say frequently, from her.

Eating well is not only good for you, it is pleasurable too.

Sometimes when I am feeling out of sorts I can cook my way out of it. It's not just the eating but the cooking process that seems to be rather relaxing if I let it be. I don't feel guilty about this. (Even though it is true that I struggle with my weight.)

Eating well is good for you. When one of my brothers told me he had been feeling depressed and I suggested he consider his diet, he found it helpful.

I believe eating is just part of the picture. I think that the way the brain works and brain chemistry is a complicated interaction of factors. The same thing (serotonin) that is found in some of the drugs that are given by doctors for depression, etc. is released by eating the right foods. But I don't think that it is the case that our thoughts and feelings are just controlled by our brain chemistry. I think that is too simplistic.

So that's my soapbox rant of the day! I think I'll go see if I can find something to eat!