As many of you may (or may not know), I work part-time at a real-estate office as a receptionist. This would therefore mean that I spend a countless amount of time sitting in front of a computer while answering phone calls. Being a Saturday afternoon, where the phone lines are pretty much dead, I’m left sitting here with nothing much to do but to surf the internet. That’s when I came across this store called “MXYPLYZYK”, which is a specialty store that features unique items from around the world, where many of their pieces are inspired by early superman comics. Among the numerous quirky items on their website, what really caught my attention is their interesting selection of kitchen-ware. I was immediately drawn to them because they just looked like so much fun to cook with. Imagine cooking with a cheese grater and veggie peeler that is shaped like an action figure!
I think that products like these are great because it turns cooking into a fun and enjoyable experience. Being in Toronto, where many lead a hectic and busy schedule, cooking at home may not exactly be considered something that is enjoyable. For instance, why else would there be so many restaurants offering take-out menus? Or aisles and aisles of convenience food items sold at the supermarket? There is evidently a market for these cooking options, which is why they have become so popular today. Even being a Nutrition and Food major myself, I often find myself eating instant noodles for lunch whenever I am at home because I simply do not have the time to cook myself a nutritious meal. On the contrary, if I were at home with fun cooking gadgets to cook with, I would most definitely be more willing to spend some time in the kitchen cooking myself a wholesome meal.
Of course, cooking at home does not necessarily need to involve nicely decorated products like the ones I just mentioned, to make it a fun and enjoyable experience. For instance, I would be more than happy to cook if I were in the kitchen with just my mother or some friends. This would allow me to spend quality time with them just chatting and catching up with one another. I just feel like situations like these rarely happen because everyone has become so busy. I think that it is important for health promoters to promote and encourage the concept of social cooking more often because it is something that is often regarded as being irrelevant to health. For example, I often see advertisements or announcements about reducing sodium intake, or limiting the amount of fat in one’s diet, but very rarely do I notice one that advocates for eating and preparing meals together with family or friends. As discussed at the beginning of the semester, social wellness is a very important component to health. I think that not a lot of people know about this however, because health promotion is more often centered on the clinical aspects of health rather than the social aspects of health. This does not mean that it is not important however, which is why I feel that communities need to be further educated about the benefits of eating and preparing meals together, and further encouraged to participate in community programs which allow for social cooking to occur (i.e. baking together at the community bake ovens found at Dufferin Grove Park). After reflecting about this matter, I have decided that I will make a greater effort to eat and cook together with my family because not only is my health benefitting from this, but my family’s health as well.
Source: https://www.mxyplyzyk.com/v03/index2.php?cat=100
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