Can you be a qualitarian?

There are vegetarians, those who just eat vegetables; pescetarians, fish and vegetables;  omnivores, those who eat meat and vegetables and there now are qualitarians, people who favor quality food over quantity. After all, why fill yourself with junk food or food that does not satisfy your palate, but just fill your belly? We really need to check our value system to be reminded what to give value to – the taste or the quantity? I like tasting good food without necessarily having to gorge on them. Treat your palate, close your eyes and savor.

While eating is primarily for nutrition, to keep our bodies healthy and allow us to perform daily activities in life, eating must also be a pleasure to the senses. I do not mean to eat caviar or foie gras, or a good toro sashimi. I mean to eat and let the food give us gustatory pleasure besides just providing fuel for our bodies and brains. Some people call it comfort food, some call it indulgent pleasures. Some just eat whatever is served them.

As various diets are popular these days to keep one at an ideal weight, we must therefore choose what calories we put into our bodies. You can binge on a butter croissant or a good hot pandesal. Both satisfy the carbohydrate need, but give different pleasures and textures. Or one can binge on a good piece of steak or eat a karekare with gusto. We can choose what kind of food will satisfy us or what will make us guilty.

I heard of a diet my friends are trying and the bottom line of it is: Mindful Eating. Well, we have been saying that all along. Mind what you eat and focus when you are eating. People often multi-task and just eat on the fly. Some eat whatever is served them because we do not want to be perceived as picky or maarte and we end up consuming something we will regret when we weigh ourselves. Some are just used to eating very tasty (usually laden with fat) food without analyzing if it is full of fat (fried in butter or deep fried in oil) or very high in carbohydrates.

A very Filipino habit is eating pancit (noodles) with a piece of bread, or spaghetti with garlic bread. Definitely, carbohydrates are the easiest food to find, the cheapest to serve and contains a lot of empty calories. Mindful eating dictates we remember what food is better for us. We constantly have to make choices: soda or sparkling water, white rice or adlai, sourdough or white toast.

We also do not recommend “eat all you can” buffets because they do result in a lot of food waste. Imagine all the food people put onto their plates and then not finish – that ends up in waste cans. They also tend to be less tasty because the establishment has to serve “run of the mill” meat, fish or chicken to be able to afford the deal they promised. It also results in overeating for many, and a bad practice to see a lot of food being wasted.

Sometimes it is best to eat simply – a simple one dish breakfast or dinner with just one star ingredient or star of the meal, like a good baked fish or a roast chicken. The fish or chicken can be an old family recipe, rather than a store-bought, commercial version. Simple is good. And a recipe that is a family heirloom tastes much better than a commercial food item.

So how does one convert or change over to being qualitarian?

Choose your food well. All of us just needs a certain amount of calories per day to maintain our weight. Plan your menu around your lunch and dinner engagements. Try to eat more meals at home. If you are not in control of a meal served at a meeting, make up for it by eating well at home.

Know your food exchanges. The caloric value of each food is something many people do not read up on. One egg can contain 100 calories but with butter or oil can easily become 200. Scrambled will need two or three eggs to be substantial. Do the math.

Savor your food and practice mindful eating. Do not rush through a meal. Keep those gadgets away while you enjoy the taste of food.

Treat yourself to good-tasting food. One need not be a foodie or a gourmet. But one must be conscious of why we are eating a certain type of food, or why it needs to be the fresher version of a food favorite. Not canned or frozen.

I remember that an Italian friend scoffed at the idea of “doggie bags” or take out bags. He said it is never done in Europe because they like to eat just enough when they order food outside. They like to eat food at its freshest. Just when I thought he was being “overacting,” I met a Chinese friend who believed in the same idea – no “ta bao” or take out boxes because that food is no longer fresh. So think about it – the Chinese and the Italians both love good food; they are qualitarians. Order just enough, and no take out boxes for leftovers.

In fact, some Chinese families (back in 2005 anyway) would go to the wet market everyday, as they were used to buying fresh and cooking without the thought of storing food, I think because some of them did not have refrigerators. In Europe, we find people also buying what’s fresh at the market, even if they have to do it everyday. With the modern convenience of refrigerators and freezers, big warehouse clubs and discounts on bulk foods, the buying pattern of many people changed. They started buying in bulk with the intention to save on quantity versus quality.

But we all have choices. Let us then become qualitarians, more than just being vegetarian, gluten-free or flexitarian. Avoid eating food that is not of good quality. Even farmers and the less privileged can eat fruits and vegetables, more than instant noodles and canned goods. That is being qualitarian