EAT TO LIVE OR LIVE TO EAT

ANDRELINA P. CORONEL

We Filipinos are gourmet/gourmand in our food choices especially we learned from our past cultures developed our palates for eating. Often times we eat for our health aside from eating the three square meals a day, breakfast, lunch, and supper, though some of us eat a Segundo Almuerzo as in brunch, midmorning, coffee break or mid-afternoon snack or merienda.

We eat between meals from sunrise to sundown then back to sunrise again. We are very fond between meal snacks as in putokutsinta, suman, biko, halo-halo, kalamay, mahablanka, banana cue, ice cream and some bakery goods.

We eat according to our needs and time to eat, we sometimes eat humburger, pizza, salads, french fries, chicken nuggets anytime we feel like eating , we like it or not, food is a big business among people that’s why we see mini carinderias, eateries, panciterias, kapihan, mini store, snack bars and yet it is amazing to see these food chains back to back with no jealousis .

It seems our lives center around food, instead of greetings good morning, our greeting is have you eaten yet?

For one thing we Filipinos are known for our hospitality, requires the serving of food to anybody ,transacting business over a cup of coffee, we, while our friends over some drinks or refreshments. No wonder obesity surface our body and figure though we flock to reducing foods to lessen our weights.

So whether we are big tummy or looking like a walking stick still food surfaces our minds, coz as the adage say, live to eat and not eat to live or vice versa we eat in order to live, and not to live for food alone or live to eat. Where are now folks, which is which, live to eat or eat to live? — oOo— The author is Teacher III at Malino National High School