Of course you can! Did you think we were going to say “NO!”?
But, like anything else, there are things about loving food, in all its glory, which have consequences.
In some cases, there are foods that you may be allergic to or you have a medical condition impacted by certain foods.
For example, those with Sickle Cell Anemia should avoid eating fava beans, as they are known to dramatically increase symptoms.
If you really love to prepare food, you may be using ingredients that are lower on the food chain, like fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry, fish and seafood, grains, eggs, dairy, and herbs and spices, rather than relying on prepackaged goods. Shopping and preparing meals made with simpleingredi ents ensure that you know what kinds of things are going into your recipe.
You may have made particular choices about what you’re willing to consume if you’re a vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian (fish-eating vegetarian), and so forth.
You may have made a commitment to a new dietary lifestyle, like Paleo or Mediterranean; each diet has its own set of restrictions, demands, and design that impacts your ability, available resources, and desire to follow it.
For example the Paleo Diet asks that you consume much of your animal protein from wild animals likekangaroo, venison, alligator, and emu. Do you have any idea where to buy emu meat? Yeah, I thought so.
It also may be true that, for example, due to allergies (tree nut or diary)or other health considerations, that you might have to forgo a diet altogether.
We hate to pick on the Paleo Diet, but due to its high dependence on animal proteins, it may simply be inappropriate for those with chronically high cholesterol.
It’s never a bad idea to check with your doctor before radically altering your diet.
Eating out may be a different matter, altogether.
Let’s say you have reservations at a new and very creative restaurant.
You look over the menu and you see things like marrow bones, foie gras scrambled eggs, Hamachi crudo with pork belly, chili aioli and caperberries, or roasted quail with salsify, maitako and pickled fresno.
You might think: sounds yummy!
Or you might think: what?
But the important concern for your health is: what is in these dishes? How is it prepared?
Might it compromise my diet or my health?
In many higher-end restaurants, servers are trained to ask if any diners have dietary restrictions, but beyond knowing that the disk you’re about to order contains no tree nuts, it’s never a bad idea to find out exactly how it’s prepared.
In conclusion, you can CERTAINLY be a foodie and remain healthy, it just requires being attentive and proactive about what you consume.