What a GREAT podcast! Totally interesting and something I will now look into. Coming from Protestantism, there is really no focus on food and communion and Eucharist that goes this deep, and I love it.

This was one weird podcast!

It raised lots of interesting questions, and was also the strangest Orthodox podcast I’ve heard yet.

Not necessarily a bad thing, btw.

After having some more time to think about it, I would argue that there are good times to eat to fuel your human body. Sometimes it’s not a bad thing to pick what you eat, knowing that it will fuel you throughout the day. For instance, my job requires me to do a lot of heavy lifting and pulling. I start at 4am when I work and work typically anywhere from 8 to 10 hours (I’m a merchandiser for a soda company) a day. I need to have good food put into my body in order to keep me going. I usually eat two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, along with trail mix and water and usually a powerade. On those days, I eat to survive during my job. If I don’t eat smart, I suffer.

I don’t quite know how to respond to this podcast. I completely agreed with the Grangers when they talked about how food needs to be more than just a mechanical fuel up. We should make our meals sacred in the way we sit down together, enjoy something that tastes good and ultimately, grow closer to God in our actions.

Where I don’t follow is how that act of sharing a meal is made somehow better by the type of food that is eaten. I understand that some foods are more healthy and can agree that a cancer patient could benefit from eating a Japanese based macrobiotic diet. To be totally honest though, I don’t want to serve my family or my guests that type of food, especially on an exclusive basis. Some of the meals that have seemed the closest to “communion” have been grilled chicken or steak and some asparagus or artichokes accompanied by a bottle of wine and good conversation.

When searching for a way of eating that is both good for the body and soul, I would much rather look to the French and their celebration of beautiful and fresh food that is consumed with joy and in moderation or even the Irish with their “meat and two veg” pub dinners and very few evening meals outside the home.

I don’t see anything wrong in understanding the scientific components of what we eat and acknowledging each person needs a different combination of protein, carb and fat to make for a healthy diet. When Mary mentioned that she doesn’t think about carbs, she thinks about what the grain component of the meal will be, it seemed like she was just exchanging one word for one she preferred. more. The danger seems to be (no matter which approach you take) of laying out a plan of eating that is designed to cover all people.

All that said, I may be in the minority in that I feel very comfortable in our kitchen and relish the food I prepare for our family and friends. Still, I’d be interested in reading Mary’s cookbook and I apologize if I’m totally missing something here.

I agree with the comment by
Calee Lee! I’ve been a “personal trainer” for 35 yrs. and I found much good in this podcast, and yet, there were thoughts…I totally disagreed with too. I would like to read Mary’s book and sift through it. I don’t mind someone stretching my thinking. Differences make life interesting! Perpetua

I am looking for an email address, for John and Mary Granger. I took a Microbiotic cooking class with them around 1994, when they were in Okinawa. Can you help me out with the email address?

Joseph T. Price

Joe-

I don’t have their email address, but this is John Granger’s website. I’m sure you can leave him a comment there and get in touch that way.

http://www.hogwartsprofessor.com/