Slow Food for a Fast Life

　　(Written by Dale; Level: Advanced)

　　There has been a new trend in food recently… shifting away from fast food and moving toward “slow food.”

　　For decades, the pace of life has been increasing for most people. The trouble involved in buying, preparing and cleaning up after a meal was becoming more bother than it was worth - apparently. Fortunately, there were smart businesspeople who took the opportunity to provide “instant” solutions to the problem. Almost overnight, you could drop by the supermarket and buy complete (but raw) meals on a styrofoam tray with plastic wrap over them. All you had to do was drop it in a hot wok (after unwrapping it) and you could be eating a scrumptious (but less than healthy) meal in 5 minutes. Just add salt.

　　Still too slow? OK, just drive your car up to the fast-food restaurant, order your grease-soaked meal and within 2 minutes it will be handed over to you. With salt.

　　The problem is health. Fast food has much more oil, salt and empty calories and far less vitamins than food freshly prepared at home. And so, since people have always wanted to live longer and healthier, a small but growing population is choosing not only fresh food, but also organically grown food – food that hasn’t been grown with chemical fertilizers or insecticides.

　　Another reason for changes in eating habits is undoubtedly social. Over the centuries, meal times have been used to visit, laugh and learn. That doesn’t fit with today’s hectic lifestyle and many people are looking for ways to restore that. Goodbye McDonald’s.

　　Finally, there’s something unique about planning your meal, buying just the right ingredients and seeing something on your table that looks just like the picture in your recipe book. A culinary Rembrandt! So if you’re too busy, maybe it’s time you slowed down and enjoyed a meal with a friend.

　　Please pass the salt.