4 ms·

> Food is not just a mechanical source of fuel, surely? Speak for yourself. > I couldn't abide eating the same stuff more than a couple of days in a row, let

> Food is not just a mechanical source of fuel, surely? Speak for yourself. > I couldn't abide eating the same stuff more than a couple of days in a row, let alone every day for weeks at a time. I've eaten the same lunch every day for well over a year or more at times. Food is fuel; it doesn't have to be a source of entertainment.

shrikant 14y ago
I could eat (and have done so as well) a simple cheese sandwich (slice of cheese, few veggies between two slices of bread) for lunch all the time. When I lived by myself for a little over a year, I was quite happy with this arrangement. As fuel and as entertainment -- I really really love my simple sandwiches.
fghh45sdfhr3 14y ago
I think we're seeing just how huge a difference the genes for tasting make. A super taster vs a low taster will treat food (kind of a big deal if you want to stay alive) extremely differently. I wonder which was a better evolutionary adaptation in the past? And which is better in the industrialized world today?
nemof 14y ago
Speak for yourself. I love food. I adore it. It's part of my heritage, my family, part of our lives, our childhoods. Good food is up there with good sex, it's an overwhelming and amazing experience. I absolutely understand that some people find food an annoying necessity and not something to take pleasure in, but many of us, I'd posit an overwhelming majority in fact, love and enjoy and relish our day to day meals. As such, living on the bread line can be a deeply depressing and dispiriting experience.
- gnaritas 14y ago
  I didn't say it can't be a source of entertainment, I said it doesn't have to be. I take great please in many meals; but food is fuel and I require "just" fuel most of the time, every meal isn't an experience and doesn't need to be. Most meals are just fuel. That doesn't mean I don't take pleasure in meals intended for taking pleasure in; it isn't that black and white.
prawks 14y ago
> Food is fuel; it doesn't have to be a source of entertainment. It doesn't have to be, but for many it is. I greatly enjoy making and tasting food. The true value of something is a combination of its physical and emotional cost to the purchaser. I think that gets lost in many budgeting articles. Of course, if you're truly on a tight budget like this article proposes, luxury and entertainment aren't even parts of your budget. But if not, you're going to be miserable unless you can do things you enjoy, and often times those things take a bit of financial support (obviously not everything, again).

shrikant 14y ago

I could eat (and have done so as well) a simple cheese sandwich (slice of cheese, few veggies between two slices of bread) for lunch all the time. When I lived by myself for a little over a year, I was quite happy with this arrangement. As fuel and as entertainment -- I really really love my simple sandwiches.

fghh45sdfhr3 14y ago

I think we're seeing just how huge a difference the genes for tasting make. A super taster vs a low taster will treat food (kind of a big deal if you want to stay alive) extremely differently. I wonder which was a better evolutionary adaptation in the past? And which is better in the industrialized world today?

nemof 14y ago

Speak for yourself. I love food. I adore it. It's part of my heritage, my family, part of our lives, our childhoods. Good food is up there with good sex, it's an overwhelming and amazing experience. I absolutely understand that some people find food an annoying necessity and not something to take pleasure in, but many of us, I'd posit an overwhelming majority in fact, love and enjoy and relish our day to day meals. As such, living on the bread line can be a deeply depressing and dispiriting experience.

gnaritas 14y ago
I didn't say it can't be a source of entertainment, I said it doesn't have to be. I take great please in many meals; but food is fuel and I require "just" fuel most of the time, every meal isn't an experience and doesn't need to be. Most meals are just fuel. That doesn't mean I don't take pleasure in meals intended for taking pleasure in; it isn't that black and white.

prawks 14y ago

> Food is fuel; it doesn't have to be a source of entertainment. It doesn't have to be, but for many it is. I greatly enjoy making and tasting food. The true value of something is a combination of its physical and emotional cost to the purchaser. I think that gets lost in many budgeting articles. Of course, if you're truly on a tight budget like this article proposes, luxury and entertainment aren't even parts of your budget. But if not, you're going to be miserable unless you can do things you enjoy, and often times those things take a bit of financial support (obviously not everything, again).